The meeting that Ellen White looked forward to attending in Mountain View was the biennial session of the Pacific Union Conference, to be held in the church January 25-30, 1910. It was to be a momentous meeting for the Seventh-day Adventist Church and one of deep concern for Ellen White. On the agenda was the matter of a medical school at Loma Linda. Known to Mrs. White were not only the steps that were being taken in medical education at Loma Linda but also what God would have the school be as an agency in furthering the third angel's message. As the time of the meeting approached, she, by observation and by revelation from God, was aware of situations that could greatly hinder the advance steps that should be taken. The attitude of the president of the Pacific Union Conference, at this time a key man in Loma Linda affairs, was negative.
On January 13, as she arose very early and took her pen to write, she addressed a letter to "Dear Brethren." She opened it with an expression of her happiness in the Lord and noted freedom from aches or pains, and gave thanks to God. Broaching the primary theme of the six-page letter, she declared:
This is my prayer, "Remove from our ministers, our physicians, and the teachers in our schools everything that will gender the spirit of strife." We are none of us to have the spirit of exaltation.
She then directed the reader to Christ's example and referred to many precious lessons in Matthew, chapters four to seven. In the heart of the communication she wrote of some "carrying responsibilities that they were not chosen of God to bear" and the confusion that resulted. Then she declared:
When I returned from Australia, I saw that men had assumed a strange authority over the church of God. Some seemed to consider that if any official responsibility was placed upon them, they were to treat others as some unwise school teachers treat their pupils in school. Human teachers having position, supposed to be helpers to the churches, magnified their official authority as rulers, and this spoiled them as teachers and shepherds of the flock. They acted too much as worldly officials act. Those who dared to differ with them were not encouraged in their work.
She continued, showing the deceptive nature of such attitudes:
It was a great surprise to me that the testimonies I bore, reproving this work of "lording it over God's heritage," had so little effect upon those exercising undue authority. They seemed to think they were carrying out wisely their official responsibilities. This evil in our work must not be permitted to bear sway again.
The past experience should be sufficient for every soul to know that position does not give the qualifications necessary to enable a man to rule his brethren. Ruling is not in the Lord's order. We need to pray, and to watch unto prayer; we need to experience the deep movings of the Spirit of God, and to walk intelligently before the Lord.
It will take much close, hard watching on the part of the Conference officers to uproot the spirit of self-exaltation. This must be done before the true character of their work is understood, and it is clearly seen that human wisdom cannot take the place of wisdom from above.
Much more must be done to uproot fully the fibers of this erratic human power exercised as authority, as though it were the voice of God.--Letter 8, 1910.
This message was obviously written for the benefit of executives on all levels in the Pacific Union Conference, and even some in the General Conference. The general approach was typical, in that Ellen White often dealt with delicate situations first in general than specific terms, hoping that men of discernment would understand the meaning and be guided thereby. Undoubtedly it reached a number of key men before the session opened on Tuesday morning, January 25.
The Union Session in Mountain View
In addition to the some fifty delegates in Mountain View for the opening meeting were both Ellen White and W. C. White; and from the General Conference, Elder G. A. Irwin, vice-president, and Elder I. H. Evans, former treasurer, under appointment to a new assignment in the Far East. The usual reports, beginning with that of the union president, were presented, and the various committees were appointed.
The nominating committee, working rather quickly, was ready with a report on Tuesday afternoon, but the secretary indicated that it failed to carry the signature of one nominating committee member, S. N. Haskell. Haskell was known to be a man of large experience and was the president of the largest local conference in the union--the California Conference. He also was in close communication with Ellen White. Even so, the delegates called for the report and proceeded to the election. The name of the man who had served as union president headed the list of names. Knowing that the report did not carry Haskell's signature, there was some uneasiness, and someone proposed that the report be returned to the committee for further study. This was agreed upon. At this point the real issues, which had not been squarely faced earlier, came prominently to the front. In the nominating committee someone asked whether the incumbent "intended to stand as a stone wall to block the way of the Loma Linda College of Medical Evangelists" (WCW to AGD, January 28, 1910).
It was agreed that before proceeding further, consideration be given to the development of the work at Loma Linda in the light of the counsel received through the Spirit of Prophecy. All knew that the issue was whether the developing school should be a full-fledged medical school. All knew that if it was, the costs would be large and the involvement deep.
A Medical School Early Envisioned by Ellen White
From the first, Ellen White had been enthusiastic for the securing of Loma Linda, and when she first drove onto the grounds, she recognized the buildings as the ones shown to her in vision two years before. She was instructed that it should be had for the work of the church. The property was purchased in the summer of 1905, ostensibly for a sanitarium.
A few weeks later she declared, "This place will become an important educational center."--Letter 277, 1905.
On October 28 she wrote:
The Lord will open, yes, He is opening ways whereby your children can be given an education in medical missionary lines without endangering their souls.... In a short time we shall have facilities for giving the necessary requirements.--Manuscript 151, 1905.
November 1, 1905, she wrote to Elder John A. Burden:
A school will be established as soon as possible, and the Lord will open the way.--Letter 309, 1905.
A few weeks later, on December 10, she urged:
In regard to the school, I would say, Make it all you possibly can in the education of nurses and physicians.--Letter 325, 1905.
In reporting to the readers of the Review and Herald on the dedication of Loma Linda on April 15, 1906, she announced:
Loma Linda is to be not only a sanitarium, but an educational center.... A school is to be established here for the training of gospel medical missionary evangelists.--The Review and Herald, June 21, 1906.
Writing to S. N. Haskell on June 8, 1906, she referred to steps being taken in response to her urging:
Brother Howell is very desirous of knowing how to plan for the educational work with which he is connected, so that no mistakes may be made. I told him that the Lord will lead all who are willing to be led.--Letter 192, 1906.
On August 19, in a letter to Elders Reaser and Burden and the executive committee of the Southern California Conference, she indicated her burden for the educational work that should be done there.
Be very careful not to do anything that would restrict the work at Loma Linda. It is in the order of God that this property has been secured, and He has given instruction that a school should be connected with the Sanitarium.--Letter 274, 1906.
A month later, September 20, the Loma Linda College of Evangelists was opened, yet without a clear sense of direction. Shortly thereafter Elder Burden and his associates at Loma Linda, being eager to establish the school on right lines, wrote to Mrs. White requesting any further light that would be of service to them.
In response, in October they received from Elmshaven a document comprised of extracts on the training of medical students. The compilation had been made by a member of the Elmshaven staff, presenting the light that had been given to Ellen White. This was studied very carefully by faculty and students.
On October 30, 1907, Ellen White was at Loma Linda and addressed students and faculty on the high standards that should characterize the educational features of the work. At the close of her presentation, Elder Burden addressed the question to her that was uppermost in his mind:
I want to ask a question. Is this school that you have spoken of simply to qualify nurses, or is it to embrace also the qualification of physicians?--Manuscript 151, 1907.
To this she replied:
Physicians are to receive their education here.-- Ibid.
There was no question that on the basis of the visions given to her Ellen White had insights into the future of the work at Loma Linda that far exceeded concepts held by those about her, and the Lord was leading His people just as fast as they could grasp the potential of the work before them. At the General Conference session at Washington, on June 1, 1909, Ellen White addressed the delegates, reading from a manuscript entitled "The Loma Linda College of Evangelists." In this she stressed:
Loma Linda is to be not only a sanitarium, but an educational center. A school is to be established here for the training of gospel medical missionary evangelists. Much is involved in this work, and it is very essential that a right beginning be made....
In regard to the school I would say, Make it especially strong in the education of nurses and physicians. In medical missionary schools, many workers are to be qualified with the ability of physicians to labor as medical missionary evangelists. This training, the Lord has specified, is in harmony with the principles underlying true higher education.--The General Conference Bulletin, 1909, 308 (see also Testimonies for the Church 9:173, 174).
She spoke at length concerning the standards that should guide in the training of Seventh-day Adventists for medical missionary service, urging that "they are to be educated from the standpoint of conscience" and to follow right methods. In pointing out what was and what was not to be done, she seemed to imply that the church would be operating a medical school, for she declared:
We should not at this time seek to compete with worldly medical schools. Should we do this, our chances of success would be small. We are not now prepared to carry out successfully the work of establishing large medical institutions of learning.-- Ibid. (see also Ibid., 9:175, 176).
And then she laid before the conference what at that time she saw as the objectives for the school:
At Loma Linda many can be educated to work as missionaries in the cause of health and temperance. Teachers are to be prepared for many lines of work. Schools are to be established in places where as yet no efforts have been made....
I feel a deep interest that careful study shall be given to the needs of our institution at Loma Linda, and that right moves shall be made.--Ibid., 9:309 (see also Ibid., 9:177).
Step by step the counsels given by Ellen White seemed to be leading to a medical school fully recognized for the training given to physicians. Measures were taken with the view in mind that at Loma Linda one or two years of medical studies would be given, which might be accepted by a recognized medical college as part of a regular medical course (General Conference Committee Minutes, July 25, 1909 [see also DF 5, Medical Practice and the Educational Program at Loma Linda, p. 74]). It seemed that the next step would be the securing of a charter that would give such work acceptance. Elder Burden, on September 20, 1909, counseled with Ellen White at her home about this. He found that she was distressed with any plan that called for "having medical students take some work at Loma Linda" and then "get the finishing touches of their education from some worldly institution". She exclaimed, "God forbid that such a plan should be followed," and commented, "I must state that the light I have received is that we are to stand as a distinct, commandment-keeping people."--Manuscript 72, 1909.
As the interview continued, Burden explained that they simply wanted to know whether they "were moving in right lines." He declared, "If the Lord gives you light, well and good, we will be glad to receive it; and if not, then we will wait."
In response Ellen White explained:
There are some who may not be able to see that here is a test as to whether we shall put our dependence on man, or depend upon God. Shall we by our course seem to acknowledge that there is a stronger power with unbelievers than there is with God's own people? When we take hold upon God, and trust in Him, He will work in our behalf. But whatever the consequences may be, we are in regard to our faith to stand distinct and separate from the world.-- Ibid.
She was asked, "Does that mean that we are not to have any more physicians, but that our people will work simply as nurses, or does it mean that we shall have a school of our own, where we can educate physicians?" She replied:
We shall have a school of our own. But we are not to be dependent upon the world. We must place our dependence upon a Power that is higher than all human power. If we honor God, He will honor us.-- Ibid.
Burden then asked, "Would the securing of a charter for a medical school, where our students might obtain a medical education, militate against our dependence upon God?"
Ellen White replied:
No, I do not see that it would, if a charter were secured on the right terms. Only be sure that you do not exalt men above God. If you can gain force and influence that will make your work more effective without tying yourselves to worldly men, that would be right. But we are not to exalt the human above the divine.-- Ibid.
As the steps were taken to secure a charter for medical education at Loma Linda, Ellen White on November 5, 1909, gave strong counsel:
Some questions have been asked me regarding our relation to the laws governing medical practitioners. We need to move understandingly, for the enemy would be pleased to hedge up our work so that our physicians would have only a limited influence. Some men do not act in the fear of God, and they may seek to bring us into trouble by placing on our necks yokes that we could not consent to bear. We cannot submit to regulations if the sacrifice of principles is involved, for this would imperil the soul's salvation.
But whenever we can comply with the law of the land without putting ourselves in a false position, we should do so. Wise laws have been framed in order to safeguard the people against the imposition of unqualified physicians. These laws we should respect, for we are ourselves protected from presumptuous pretenders. Should we manifest opposition to these requirements, it would tend to restrict the influence of our medical missionaries.--Letter 140, 1909 (Medical Ministry, 84).
On December 9, 1909, with the full approval of the General Conference Committee, a charter was secured under the laws of the State of California authorizing the College of Medical Evangelists to grant degrees in the liberal sciences, dentistry, and medicine (see The Story of Our Health Message, 383).
Now, at the session of the Pacific Union Conference in late January, 1910, held at Mountain View, the future of medical education conducted by Seventh-day Adventists was in the balance. The dramatic story of what took place is one of faith, divine guidance, and of expressed determination on the part of church leaders to follow the light God was giving to His people. The story was clearly laid out in the February 3 issue of the Pacific Union Recorder, with fifteen of its sixteen pages devoted to various speeches and actions.
The Delegates Take Hold of Medical School Issues
With the matter of the future of the school at Loma Linda now prominently in the forefront, and the plans committee wrestling with the involvements, the election of officers was held in abeyance:
The committee also took into account the responsibility, financial and otherwise, which would rest upon any organization that might attempt to organize and support a denominational medical college. The object to be gained was greatly to be desired, but the expense would be so large, and the difficulties so many, that they did not feel free to recommend the undertaking of such an enterprise, before satisfying themselves, first, that they correctly understood the instruction given in the communications received from Sister White.--Pacific Union Recorder, February 3, 1910.
Many of her statements relating to the point were reviewed, and there were differences of interpretation. Some held that the school she called for should be to train ministers in physiology and a knowledge of how to give treatments as a means of enhancing their ministry. Others held that the church was called upon to operate a school in which physicians would be trained. So at this point, on Tuesday, January 25, it was decided to make a specific inquiry of Sister White. Elders I. H. Evans, E. E. Andross, and H. W. Cottrell were authorized to place this before her in writing, hopeful of receiving a clear-cut answer in writing. Their letter opened:
Dear Sister White,
We have read the testimonies, as far as we have seen them, that you have given concerning Loma Linda, and the establishment of a medical school in connection with the work at that place. As far as we know, our people are anxious to carry out the light that the Lord has given; but there is a difference of opinion between us in regard to what you mean when you use the term, "a medical school."-- Ibid.
Then the differences of interpretation were clearly outlined, probing especially the point as to whether the training along medical lines should "qualify the students who take the course, to pass State Board examinations and become registered, qualified physicians for public work." The letter of inquiry addressed to the messenger of the Lord closed with this paragraph:
We are very anxious to preserve unity and harmony of action. In order to do this, we must have a clear understanding of what is to be done. Are we to understand, from what you have written concerning the establishment of a medical school at Loma Linda, that, according to the light you have received from the Lord, we are to establish a thoroughly equipped medical school, the graduates from which will be able to take State Board examinations and become registered, qualified physicians?-- Ibid.
This was submitted to Ellen White on Wednesday at noon. Early Thursday morning, January 27, she penned her reply, and sometime Thursday it was placed in the hands of the committee. It was short and to the point and left no room for doubt as to what she meant or the course the church must follow:
The light given me is, We must provide that which is essential to qualify our youth who desire to be physicians, so that they may intelligently fit themselves to be able to stand the examinations required to prove their efficiency as physicians. They should be taught to treat understandingly the cases of those who are diseased, so that the door will be closed for any sensible physician to imagine that we are not giving in our school the instruction necessary for properly qualifying young men and young women to do the work of a physician. Continually the students who are graduated are to advance in knowledge, for practice makes perfect.
The medical school at Loma Linda is to be of the highest order, because those who are in that school have the privilege of maintaining a living connection with the wisest of all physicians, from whom there is communicated knowledge of a superior order. And for the special preparation of those of our youth who have clear convictions of their duty to obtain a medical education that will enable them to pass the examinations required by law of all who practice as regularly qualified physicians, we are to supply whatever may be required, [In these words is found the justification for accrediting Seventh-day Adventist Educational Institutions, a point developed in Counsels to parents and teachers in the statement: "our larger union conference training schools ... Should be placed in the most favorable position for qualifying our youth to meet the entrance requirements specified by State laws regarding medical students."--Page 479.] so that these youth need not be compelled to go to medical schools conducted by men not of our faith. Thus we shall close a door that the enemy will be pleased to have left open; and our young men and young women, whose spiritual interests the Lord desires us to safeguard, will not feel compelled to connect with unbelievers in order to obtain a thorough training along medical lines. (Signed) Ellen G. White.-- Ibid.
This response, far-reaching in its implications, made it clear to the committee on plans and the nominating committee that the work of developing the educational interests at Loma Linda must be in the hands of men in full sympathy with steps that should be taken.
Earnest Labors in Meeting a Critical Situation
Ellen White's address to the session on Thursday morning was an appeal for humility of heart. She used as her opening text, "What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" (Micah 6:8).
She began her remarks with these words:
In these perilous times, when the forces of evil are marshaling their hosts to thwart, if possible, the efforts of God's servants in the earth, it is vitally necessary for every laborer to walk humbly with God. Daily he is to maintain a close connection with heavenly agencies. Light has been coming to me that unless the workers lean heavily on the divine Source of their strength, many will be overcome by the power of the enemy. Satanic agencies will surround the soul of him who cherishes a spirit of independence and self-exaltation, and will seek to destroy his influence for good.--Pacific Union Recorder, April 14, 1910.
She spoke of Christ as our example in the humble position He took as He represented His Father here on earth. Then coming to the point she was evidently trying to make clear, she stated with conviction:
God's servants should be very careful that their influence is sacredly kept on the side of truth and righteousness.... God expects right-doing and humility of heart from everyone who claims to be a follower of the meek and lowly Jesus.
Those who are standing in responsible positions should understand clearly that they are not rulers over their fellow workers. Men in responsibility should be Christlike in deportment. They need to be leaders in every reformatory movement for the purification of the church. They are to reveal that angels of God are constantly round about them, and that they are laboring under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Carefully are they to avoid everything that savors of a spirit of selfishness and self-esteem, for in meekness and humility of heart they are to be ensamples to the flock.-- Ibid.
"I desire that everyone who stands in an important position," she continued, "shall learn of the great Teacher, who is our leader," and she admonished that leaders "are to avoid ruling arbitrarily." She expressed thankfulness "that such manifestations of arbitrary dealings one with another as have been seen in years past are not seen so often now." She added:
Those who are placed in positions of responsibility are to feel that unless God shall help them, it will be impossible for them to carry the responsibilities placed upon them. It is so easy for man to become exalted; but God will guide the meek in judgment. He will cooperate with those who remain lowly of heart, and sit at the feet of Jesus.
Brethren and sisters, will we covenant with God at this meeting that we will not seek for the highest place, and make that the burden of our thoughts? ... Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility.-- Ibid.
On Thursday afternoon two members of the nominating committee interviewed Ellen White regarding the names that should be brought forward as the future officers of the Pacific Union Conference. She advised "a change in the presidency" (WCW to AGD, January 28, 1910). When this was reported to the delegates at the afternoon business session, it "created quite a sensation" (Ibid.).
That afternoon Ellen White wrote a six-page letter to the president that opened with these words:
I am instructed by the Lord to say to our brethren and to you, that it is not the will and mind of the Spirit of God that your brethren should place you in positions of large responsibility while you determinedly maintain your own ideas, for these ideas are not all correct, and the Lord will hold our people responsible for pursuing a wrong course. It would also be doing an injury to yourself, to sustain and uphold you in wrong decisions that have been made.
I am instructed by the Lord to advise our brethren to choose some other man to stand in your place as president of the Pacific Union Conference. This would make it less difficult than otherwise for you to put away some traits of character that are not Christlike.
In your present state of mind, it would not be a blessing for you to have to remain in positions of large responsibility, as this heavy burden would place you in situations where you would be strongly tempted to have your own way, and would make it increasingly difficult for you to overcome objectionable traits of character.--Letter 18, 1910.
She added, "I feel sorry to say to you, my brother, that you have grieved the Spirit of God, and we cannot at present feel clear to ask you to continue in the position you have filled in the union conference." "In some respects, you have not been a wise counselor and leader" she said. In her counsel she pointed out that "the Lord has helped you many, many times in the past. He has richly blessed you in your labors," and she assured him that Jesus stood ready to help him overcome "objectionable traits" and to fit him "for continued usefulness in His cause."
She then spoke of the church's institutions as agencies of divine appointment, and stated that at times we should come into possession of favorable properties even though all the money for their purchase was not in hand. At such times, she said, "we are to learn to walk by faith when necessary."
She closed her sympathetic but firm letter by reference to the main issue--Loma Linda:
It is the favorable situation of the property that makes Loma Linda an ideal place for the recovery of the sick, and for the warning of many who might otherwise never hear the truth for this time. It is God's plan that Loma Linda shall be not only a sanitarium, but a special center for the training of gospel medical missionary evangelists.-- Ibid.
The president received this testimony Thursday evening. Ellen White was to take the devotional hour again on Friday morning. She chose to read to the congregation this letter that she had written the day before to the president, whose term would close with the session. This she followed with remarks that filled eight manuscript pages. She told of how since coming to the union session she had "been writing out the things that" she was "required to write," for, she explained, "the end desired could not be accomplished unless matters were brought before" the conference "plainly and decidedly." She told of the distress of soul this had caused her, but she said, "When messages come to me for the people of God, I must not conceal them, but must write them out, and speak of them."--Manuscript 25, 1910. [Note: see Appendix A for a letter from the president of the general conference to the union president reproved by Ellen White's Testimony.]
An Encounter with Evil Angels
She spoke of her burden for the cities and her burden for Loma Linda and then recounted a very unusual experience through which she had passed. This is the story as she told it to the congregation that Friday morning, January 28:
One day [Wednesday, January 26], after appearing before the conference to read some matter to you, the burden that was upon my soul continued to press upon me after I returned to my room. I was in distress of mind. That night I could not seem to lose myself in sleep. It seemed as if evil angels were right in the room where I was. And while I was suffering in mind, it seemed as if I was suffering great bodily pain. My right arm, which through the years has nearly always been preserved from disease and suffering, seemed powerless. I could not lift it. Then I had a most severe, excruciating pain in the ear; then the most terrible suffering in the jaw. It seemed as if I must scream. But I kept saying, "Lord, You know all about it."
I was in perfect agony. It seemed that my brain and every part of my body was suffering. At times I would rise up, and think, "I will not lie here another moment." Then I would think, "You will only arouse those who are in the house, and they cannot do anything for you." And so I kept looking to the Lord, and saying, "Lord, You know all about this pain." The suffering continued, at times in the jaw, then in the brain, and then in other members of the body, until nearly daylight. Just before the break of day I fell asleep for about an hour.
My arm is all right this morning. Legions of evil angels were in that room, and if I had not clung by faith to the Lord, I do not know what might have become of me. I would not call anyone. I said, "This must be between me and these evil spirits."
I would find myself at times rising up in bed, crying to the Lord to give me relief. But no genuine relief came to me. A sense of relief from the presence of those evil angels came to me, but no relief from pain and suffering came to me, until I stood here upon this platform with a manuscript in my hand, and began to read what I had to read to you. As soon as I stood up here with that manuscript in my hand, every pain left me. My right side was just as strong as it had been before.
I shall never be able to give you a description of the satanic forces that were at work in that room. I shall never be able to tell it in a way that will enable you to comprehend it.-- Ibid.
Then turning to the matter that was on her heart--concerning the incumbent union conference president--she said in pleading terms:
Brethren, God is in earnest with us. He does not desire Brother ----- to take a position that will lead both him and many others to make wrong decisions. Some may think it cruel to speak thus plainly; but it would be very cruel to allow our brother to cherish his natural tendency to think that when he takes a position, he has to hold to this position without changing his view.
Over and over again, in the night season, One with arms outstretched has instructed me, "Tell My people to come into line. Tell My people to unite with Jesus Christ in doing a work that they have not yet done. God desires His people to take steps forward and upward.-- Ibid.
In the light of these most earnest words a deep solemnity came over the delegates. Turning to the work before them in the few closing hours of the conference, a new nominating committee was appointed, for the original committee had lapsed.
Plans Develop for a Medical School
In the meantime the plans committee, which had initiated the letter of inquiry to Ellen White and now had her response in their hands, addressed itself to preparing a set of resolutions to bring to the session based on that correspondence. Their report was ready Friday afternoon for consideration by the delegates. Its opening paragraphs read:
We recommend, (1) That, in harmony with the above instruction, we favor the establishment and maintenance of a medical school at Loma Linda, Calif.
(2) In order that this medical school may meet the mind of the Lord in doing the work appointed for it by the Spirit of Prophecy, we invite the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, the Lake, Northern, Central, Southwestern, and North Pacific Union Conferences and the Southern California Conference, to unite with the Pacific Union Conference in establishing and suitably equipping and maintaining this school.--Pacific Union Recorder, February 3, 1910.
Recommendation 3 had to do with the appointment of a board with wide representation. Provision 4 dealt with finance, providing that the school would be maintained by tuition and donations, and that deficits would be made up by the organizations named in provision 2. The next item called for requests to be shared equally, with each of the organizations to raise $1,000 in behalf of the equipment and maintenance of the school for the calendar year 1910.
The last provision, 7, called for a committee of five to present the matter of establishing this medical school to the General Conference and the union conferences named (The Review and Herald, May 19, 1910).
At this point it was decided to defer action on the recommendations of the plans committee until "a meeting to be held the evening after the Sabbath, January 29." Either on that Friday afternoon or two days later, on Sunday morning, the nominating committee brought in its report, presenting the name of Elder G. A. Irwin for president of the Pacific Union Conference. Irwin was a seasoned administrator; for four years he had been president of the General Conference [1897-1901], with subsequent experience as president of the Australasian Union Conference and then as General Conference vice-president. He was known to have unbounded confidence in the counsels of the messenger of the Lord. The vote for his election was unanimous. As treasurer and secretary, J. J. Ireland, a son-in-law of Elder J. N. Loughborough, would stand by his side.
The Night of the Decision
It was an eager but subdued group of workers and members that gathered that Saturday night in the Mountain View church. The outgoing president, who presided throughout the assembly, opened the meeting and then called Elder Irwin to the chair. Irwin reviewed the experience of the church in arranging in the 1890s for the education of physicians at the American Medical Missionary College in Chicago. He pointed out the church's responsibility in providing medical education for its youth under favorable spiritual conditions. Elder Burden followed with a review of the developments at Loma Linda. The letter to Sister White and her response were read.
Burden was followed by Elder I. H. Evans. The latter, on his way from Washington to Mountain View, had spent a few hours in Chicago conferring with the officers of the American Medical Association. This is the body that is recognized in the United States as establishing standards to be followed in medical education and practice. When Evans had presented the proposals he had in mind, the medical men in Chicago had laughed at the proposition, declaring that it was useless for Seventh-day Adventists, with their limited finances, personnel, and facilities, to consider starting a medical school. "Why," they said, "the best you could do would be to start a 'C' grade school, and we are closing all 'C' grade schools."
But Evans was a man of faith. He opened his remarks in the Mountain View Saturday-night meeting by saying:
I am deeply interested in what has been read to us tonight from the Spirit of Prophecy. The question before the meeting is one of great importance, and needs most careful consideration from every standpoint.
The establishment of a medical school has been under consideration for several years by some of our leading brethren. Not a few of our men have believed that we should have such a school. They have hesitated to establish a school, because of their lack of experience in operating such an enterprise, and because they did not know where to secure either the teachers or the money with which to carry forward the same.
When the statement from Sister White is read, I am sure that the majority of our brethren will feel as we feel tonight--that the Lord has spoken, and we will obey.
To some, this counsel from Sister White may come as a trial of their faith; to others, I am sure the words spoken will seem God-given and timely. Oftentimes, the light God has sent to His people has seemed to be foolishness to those who did not view things as Heaven views them.
Now if we always were wise-hearted, and saw everything as the Lord would have us view it, there would be no need of further light through the Spirit of Prophecy; but we are mortal, and our vision is limited, and we often see things in a perverted light. Because of our lack of clear perception, the Lord in mercy speaks to His people through the Spirit of Prophecy. He has had to do this in the past, and we may well hope that He may long continue speaking to us concerning our duty and the needs of His cause.
And he continued, saying in part:
Since our brethren have been talking on this subject tonight, I have been thinking of the many times in the past when the Lord has spoken to this people, counseling them to do one thing or another, when many of the leading men at the time were not able to see any light in doing that which was suggested.
He then reviewed some of God's guiding providences in establishing the church's publishing work and church school work. He dwelt at some length with the work in Australia as an object lesson, commenting:
I cannot think of a single enterprise that has been started by the instruction of the Spirit of Prophecy, that has not worked out for the best good of the Lord's work. Many times we have been told to move forward, when the Red Sea seemed before us, and the mountains on either side; but every time we have accepted the instruction and stepped cheerfully forward, the Lord has made plain a pathway in which we could walk, and we have found not only prosperity to the cause of God, but we have found our own hearts nurtured in the Lord.
Evans maintained that such experiences should strengthen faith, and he declared, "We have before us tonight a plain, straightforward statement from Sister White, in regard to the establishment of a medical school." He laid the matter out in straight terms:
There is no guesswork about it; there is no equivocation; there is no false construction that need be put upon these words. The question is, Will we follow the counsel given? Do we intend to obey what the Lord has said to us in regard to the establishment and maintenance of a medical school?
Most earnest attention was paid as this representative from the General Conference pressed the matter:
Someone may say, "The time is most inopportune." But the question is, When the Lord reveals to us His desire that we shall establish a medical school, and do it soon, is the time inopportune for doing such a work?
I can conjure up many reasons why at this time we are ill-prepared to establish and operate a medical school. It is not hard for any man to say that we have not the money at hand. Any man need not be very wise to say, "We do not know where we shall get medical men trained and qualified to take up this work."
But the question is, Will we establish this medical school, when the Lord has indicated so plainly our duty?
I believe, brethren, if we step forward in the fear of God, and make an effort to establish this school, the Lord will help us and make the way clear.
Elder Evans then discussed at length a number of features of the work, but stressed the importance of safeguarding the church's youth from the subtle influences and erroneous teachings in the schools of the world. He observed:
I believe we shall see light, more and more, as we advance by faith, in accordance with the words of counsel that have come to us through the servant of the Lord.--Pacific Union Recorder, February 3, 1910.
W. C. White, in the last speech made, declared:
Brethren and friends, I believe that the Lord God of Israel is leader of this people, and I believe that it is He who is leading us to undertake this tremendous enterprise--an enterprise which will mean more to us in the matter of expense and sacrifice than we may estimate today; an enterprise which will mean many times more to us in results--in the saving of souls and in the fitting up of efficient missionaries--than we can possibly calculate today.
And while the world will continue to say to us, as it has said in the past, "Ye are not able to go up and possess this field of usefulness," I believe that our people will unite in saying, "We are well able to go up and possess it, and do this great work.-- Ibid.
The Vote To Advance
At this point the delegates were called upon to vote on the recommendations presented by the plans committee. This called for the establishment of a full-fledged medical school at Loma Linda. The vote was unanimous.
Then the delegates proposed that the matter be submitted to the whole congregation for their action. Again the vote favoring the establishment of a medical school was unanimous. The die was cast. The church would have a medical school at Loma Linda.
Ellen White continued to watch with deep interest the developments at Loma Linda, and her counsel was sought often and followed. Yet the high point of decision-making, predicated on the counsels given to the church through the messenger of the Lord, was reached at the meeting in Mountain View. The whole experience was a heavy strain on Ellen White; of it she declared, "That severe taxation at Mountain View was a terrible ordeal to me."--Letter 150, 1910.