The principles relating to health reform constituted only a portion of the vision given to Mrs. White on June 6, 1863. As already stated, she wrote out at once the instruction given for her husband and herself, pointing out where they had transgressed some of the laws of life and were suffering physically in consequence. Several personal testimonies written shortly thereafter, and inspired by that vision, are on file among Mrs. White's handwritten letters. In Testimonies for the Church, No. 10 (now Vol. I, pp. 390-395), published about six months later, are chapters containing instruction given at the same time.
During the latter part of that year Mrs. White's life was crowded with literary activity. She was endeavoring to complete the third and fourth volumes of Spiritual Gifts. At Battle Creek, Michigan, the headquarters of the work, there were many demands upon her time and energies, and she longed for a place of quiet where she could write without constant interruptions. In August the White family left their home for a visit among churches in the eastern states, and plans were laid for retirement during the winter months in order that Mrs. White might give herself whole-heartedly to her literary work.
Plans Thwarted
Their plan, however, was tragically thwarted. At Topsham, Maine, Henry White, their eldest son, was stricken with pneumonia. This threatening condition followed a cold that resulted from sleeping by an open window after severe physical exertion. The family physician, who was called in, took measures that only hastened the fatal out-come, and a few days later the saddened family were returning to Battle Creek, where they laid Henry to rest in the Oak Hill Cemetery.
In the first church paper issued after the funeral (The Review and Herald, January 5, 1864) appeared a note to the effect that the sudden bereavement of Elder and Mrs. White had broken up their arrangements for the winter in the East, and that their work was much delayed, particularly that on Mrs. White's third volume of Spiritual Gifts.
Soon they were confronted with another occasion for alarm. Willie, their youngest son, was suddenly and violently prostrated with sickness--with the same affliction that had so recently snatched Henry from them. The child became delirious and made no response when spoken to. His heart beat rapidly, and he suffered with severe pain.
Sending for a few friends, the anxious parents prayed earnestly for divine help. Then they decided that rather than to employ the accepted methods of the time, they would use simple water treatments in the home. They placed cold compresses, frequently renewed, on the youth's head and chest, keeping his feet and hands warm. For five days they prayed and worked untiringly. During this time the sufferer ate nothing save one small cracker.
An Instructive Dream
By this time the mother was utterly exhausted, and she retired to her room to try to snatch a few hours of sleep. But sleep refused to come, and she could only toss restlessly about. At last, feeling the need for fresh air, she opened the door of her room into the hall. Soon she was asleep, and in a dream she seemed to see an experienced physician standing by the sick child, watching his breathing and feeling his pulse. Turning to the mother, he said:
"'The crisis has passed. He has seen his worst night. He will now come up speedily, for he has not the injurious influence of drugs to recover from. Nature has nobly done her work to rid the system of impurities.'"--Spiritual Gifts 4a:152.
Then, referring to the relief experienced by Mrs. White after opening the door to her sleeping room, the physician continued:
"'That which gave you relief will also relieve your child. He needs air. You have kept him too warm. The heated air coming from a stove is injurious, and were it not for the air coming in at the crevices of the windows, would be poisonous and destroy life. Stove heat destroys the vitality of the air and weakens the lungs. The child's lungs have been weakened by the room being kept too warm. Sick persons are debilitated by disease and need all the invigorating air that they can bear to strengthen the vital organs to resist disease. And yet in most cases air and light are excluded from the sick room at the very time when most needed, as though dangerous enemies.'"--Ibid., 152, 153.
The hope inspired by these words was realized. The following day Willie's fever broke, and he seemed much better. Though weak for a time, his recovery was rapid, and he enjoyed better health after the sickness than before.
"This experience is valuable to us," wrote Mrs. White in concluding the story. The counsel and experience thus gained were freely made available to others. After this she was called not infrequently by her neighbors to act as a nurse to the sick, sometimes at their own homes; and at times the sick were brought to the White home. Thus she tested by actual experience the principles revealed to her and advocated by her pen, and found them effective and beneficial.
Mrs. White's First Health Publication
Mrs. White's first publication (a booklet) on the subject of health bore the title "An Appeal to Mothers. The Great Cause of the Physical, Mental, and Moral Ruin of Many of the Children of Our Time." It dealt primarily with the prevalence of secret vice in children and youth. The purpose and scope of the book is indicated in the opening paragraph, as follows:
"My sisters, my apology for addressing you on this subject is, I am a mother, and feel alarmed for those children and youth who by solitary vice are ruining themselves for this world and for that which is to come. Let us closely inquire into this subject from the physical, mental, and moral points of view."--An Appeal to Mothers, 5.
Following the article by Mrs. White in this booklet are found thirty pages of matter relating to the subject of chastity. The pamphlet concluded with corroborative statements from several authoritative writers. In an introductory note to this portion of the book, the publishers said: "We have thought proper to add to the foregoing the following testimonies from men of high standing and authority in the medical world, corroborative of the views presented in the preceding pages. And in justice to the writer of those pages, we would say that she had read nothing from the authors here quoted, and had read no other works on this subject, previous to putting into our hands what she has written. She is not, therefore, a copyist, although she has stated important truths to which men who are entitled to our highest confidence have borne testimony."--Ibid., 34.
The reason for her burden on the matter is said to be a view that was presented before her of "the state of our world" and especially of "the youth of our time." As she saw a group of imbeciles, with "dwarfed forms, crippled limbs, misshapen heads, and deformity of every description," the causes of these terrible conditions were set forth. Of this she wrote:
"Sins and crimes, and the violation of nature's laws, were shown me as the causes of this accumulation of human woe and suffering. I saw such degradation and vile practices, such defiance of God, and I heard such words of blasphemy, that my soul sickened. From what was shown me, a large share of the youth now living are worthless. Corrupt habits are wasting their energies and bringing upon them loathsome and complicated diseases."--Ibid., 17.
Modern statistics regarding the prevalence of insanity and other ills resulting from sexual perversion and excesses enable us today to understand the truthfulness of such a picture far better than could those who lived at the time when this view was given.
"An Appeal to Mothers"
In the pamphlet cited is found the first published statement from Mrs. White showing the relation of diet to the spiritual life and advocating a return to the Edenic diet. Mothers were urged to show their children that "we make a great account of health, and that they should not violate its laws." Instead of wearing themselves out by cooking elaborate dishes and preparing food to tempt the appetite, they should rather adopt a "plain, nourishing diet," which would not require so great an amount of labor. And it is significant to note that in making her first appeal for a return to God's original plan for man's diet, she laid down a principle of deeper import than the mere preservation of health. "In order to strengthen in them [the children] the moral perceptions, the love of spiritual things, we must regulate the manner of our living, dispense with animal food, and use grains, vegetables, and fruits as articles of food."--Ibid., 19, 20.
One month after the issuance of Mrs. White's "An Appeal to Mothers," the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists met in Battle Creek for its first annual session. One of the actions of the conference pertained to that booklet, deeming it a "work of great importance for general circulation," and commending it "to the attention of our brethren everywhere." Parents and guardians of children were urged to place it in the hands of the young.
During the latter part of 1863 and the first months of 1864, Mrs. White was completing the third and fourth volumes of Spiritual Gifts. The latter came from the press in August, 1864, and contained a thirty-two-page article entitled "Health." This was the first comprehensive treatise on the subject found in any Seventh-day Adventist publication. In the opening paragraph reference is again made to the view that had been presented to her, as related in "An Appeal to Mothers," of the tragic condition of the human race today, with "disease, deformity, and imbecility" to be observed everywhere. "I inquired the cause of this wonderful degeneracy," she wrote, "and was pointed back to Eden."--Spiritual Gifts 4a:120.
Since the fall of man, she stated, there has been a violation of the laws of health by the human family, with the result that "disease has been steadily increasing. The cause has been followed by the effect." (Ibid.)
The prevalence of perverted appetite was traced through Bible history, with reference to the antediluvians, to the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, to the attempted diet reform when the children of Israel were in the wilderness, with their rebellion against it, and to the story of Nadab and Abihu as illustrating the results of intemperance. Emphasis was laid upon the express command against the use of swine's flesh. The evils of present-day indulgence in liquor and tobacco were vividly portrayed, and the stimulating effects of tea and coffee were pointed out.
Unwholesome Foods Discussed
The baneful effects of injurious articles of food, such as "highly seasoned meats, with rich gravies," "rich cake, pies, and puddings," and the free use of meat were set forth in contrast to the benefits of "a plain, wholesome, and nutritious diet." And of the free use of drugs, she wrote:
"I was shown that more deaths are caused by drug-taking than from all other causes combined. ... Generally the persons who suffer pain become impatient. They are not willing to use self-denial and suffer a little from hunger. Neither are they willing to wait the slow process of nature to build up the overtaxed energies of the system. But they are determined to obtain relief at once and take powerful drugs prescribed by physicians.
"Nature was doing her work well and would have triumphed, but while accomplishing her task, a foreign substance of a poisonous nature was introduced. ... Drugs never cure disease. They only change the form and location. Nature alone is the effectual restorer, and how much better could she perform her task if left to herself."--Ibid., 134.
A Warning Against Drugs
The warning against the use of drugs was not only general, but specific in some instances. Of strychnine, used freely at that time, we read:
"I was shown persons under the influence of this poison. It produced heat and seemed to act particularly on the spinal column, but affected the whole system. ... When first taken, its influence may seem to be beneficial. It excites the nerves connected with the spinal column, but when the excitement passes away, it is followed by a sense of prostration and of chilliness the whole length of the spinal column, especially upon the head and back of the neck. The patients generally cannot endure the least draught of air. They are inclined to close every crevice, and for want of the free, invigorating air of heaven, the blood becomes impure. ... The sight and hearing are often affected, and in many cases the patient becomes helpless."--Ibid., 138.
With equal detail the effects of other drugs commonly prescribed by physicians in those days were portrayed. "I was shown that the innocent, modest-looking, white poppy yields a dangerous drug," begins Mrs. White in the introductory sentence of a paragraph setting forth the pitiful condition of the opium slave. Mercury, calomel, and quinine are also specifically mentioned as drugs that "have brought their amount of wretchedness, which the day of God alone will fully reveal."--Ibid., 138, 139.
The importance of cleanliness, sunlight, fresh air, the rational use of water, the value of the power of the will as a "mighty soother of the nerves" and in resistance to disease, and other principles of general hygiene were emphasized. Two pages were devoted to the dangers of the use of flesh as food. "Many die of disease caused wholly by meat eating, yet the world does not seem to be the wiser."--Ibid., 147.
A vivid picture was drawn of the terror and distress of the animals before their slaughter, frequently resulting in a fevered and poisoned condition of the blood. The article closed with an earnest appeal to follow Christ, who resisted temptation on the point of appetite, and to seek to perfect holiness in the fear of God.
It was not long before the effects of the instruction on health as published by Mrs. White in Spiritual Gifts, Vol. IV, began to be seen. In those days counsel from the Spirit of prophecy was eagerly received. Her books or pamphlets, as they came from the press from time to time, were not large and soon found their way into nearly all Seventh-day Adventist homes. An intimation of the eagerness with which the new volumes were received is seen in an announcement:
"The call for Spiritual Gifts is so great that we are unable to fill orders as soon as they are received. We have two binders at work, but today have not a single copy in the office."--The Review and Herald, August 23, 1864.
Mrs. White's Testimony
The Review and Herald, with its columns open to correspondence, also set forth the response of its readers to the messages contained in the book. A few weeks after the publication of Spiritual Gifts, Vol. IV, a communication appeared from H. S. Gurney, expressing his conviction that a dietetic reform was needed, and stating:
"It has now become evident that such a reform movement has commenced among Seventh-day Adventists. And I rejoice that I have the opportunity to unite my influence with such a movement, and adopt a system which appears rational, convenient, and Scriptural."--The Review and Herald, November 8, 1864.
As those who adopted the health reform principles began to see the beneficial results, they wrote of their experiences. Mrs. White herself bore testimony of a marked improvement. For years she had thought that she was dependent upon a flesh diet for strength. She suffered from discomfort of the stomach and from dizziness, and frequently fainted. Because eating flesh food seemed to remove these distressing symptoms, she had decided that it was indispensable, at least in her case. Writing in 1864, she said:
"Since the Lord presented before me, in June, 1863, the subject of meat eating in relation to health, I have left the use of meat. For a while it was rather difficult to bring my appetite to bread, for which, formerly, I have had but little relish. But by persevering, I have been able to do this. I have lived for nearly one year without meat. For about six months most of the bread upon our table has been unleavened cakes, made of unbolted wheat meal and water, and a very little salt. We use fruits and vegetables liberally. I have lived for eight months upon two meals a day."--Spiritual Gifts 4a:153.
As a result of these changes she could report that, though taxing her mind constantly in writing, with but little exercise, her health had never been better. The faint and dizzy feelings had left her. And for the first time she had gone through the spring season without a loss of appetite. Of the rigid determination that it took for her to make some of these changes, she says in another connection:
"I suffered keen hunger. I was a great meat eater. But when faint, I placed my arms across my stomach and said, 'I will not taste a morsel. I will eat simple food, or I will not eat at all.' Bread was distasteful to me. I could seldom eat a piece as large as a dollar. Some things in the reform I could get along with very well; but when it came to the bread, I was especially set against it. When I made these changes, I had a special battle to fight. The first two or three meals, I could not eat. I said to my stomach, 'You may wait until you can eat bread.' In a little while I could eat bread, and graham bread too. This I could not eat before; but now it tastes good, and I have had no loss of appetite."--Testimonies for the Church 2:371, 372.
An Enthusiastic Response
In the church paper correspondents enthusiastically rejoiced in the new light on health reform and testified of great benefits they had received as they had adopted the principles. Elder Isaac Sanborn reported that for ten years he had been afflicted with inflammatory rheumatism and had tried many remedies, but without help. In the spring of 1864 he discontinued the use of pork. In October he adopted the "two-meal system, leaving out meat of every variety." Having used no medicine of any kind, the only change being in accordance with the recent instruction through the Spirit of prophecy, he says of the happy out-come and his appreciation of the light:
"I enjoy as perfect health as probably can be enjoyed in this mortal state. I would not return to my old habits of eating for any consideration. ... I thank God for the light He has given upon this subject."--The Review and Herald, April 11, 1865.
Elder M.E. Cornell reported that after his wife had nursed him for ten days through a fever, she came down with typhoid. For several days she lay at the point of death. "We knew," he says, "that to take the drugs of physicians would be in this case certain death." Water treatments were used, and the attendants did what they could to "give nature a chance to throw off the disease." With these measures they united the prayer of faith, and Mrs. Cornell was reported to be out of danger. Ibid., October 25, 1864.
Such experiences related by the ministers as they went about among the churches, together with selected articles in the Review and Herald, helped to make the people health conscious.
Mrs. White, having completed her writing of a comprehensive statement regarding the health principles that had been shown to her in vision, was ready to turn with interest to learn what she could regarding the progress of the health reform as it was practiced and advocated by others.