Broader and more exalted were the views of the work of the Christian physician and of the medical missionary as set forth from time to time in the messages that came through the Spirit of prophecy. With the launching of the journal Medical Missionary in 1891, these messages were given a wide circulation among Seventh-day Adventists, and they exercised a profound influence upon the youth of the denomination by turning their minds toward the health work. Under the heading "The Christian Physician as a Missionary," Mrs. E.G. White set forth the responsibility of all church members to do home missionary work, and asked, "How shall the Lord's work be done? How can we gain access to souls buried in midnight darkness?"
"Many Doors Will Be Opened"
To that the following answer was given: "There is a way in which many doors will be opened to the missionary. Let him become intelligent in the care of the sick, as a nurse, or learn how to treat disease, as a physician; and if he is imbued with the spirit of Christ, what a field of usefulness is opened before him. ...
"Here is an opportunity to proclaim the gospel--to hold up Jesus, the hope and consolation of all men. When the suffering body has been relieved, and you have shown a lively interest in the afflicted, the heart is opened, and you can pour in the heavenly balm. If you are looking to Jesus and drawing from Him knowledge, and strength, and grace, you can impart His consolation to others, because the Comforter is with you. ...
"There should be those who are preparing themselves to become Christian missionary physicians and nurses. Doors will then be opened into the families of the higher classes as well as among the lowly."--The Medical Missionary, January, 1891.
This appeal preceded by a few months the spontaneous move of which Dr. David Paulson later declared that "as if moved by a common impulse, thirteen of us within the space of a few weeks felt impressed to become medical missionaries."--Ibid., July, 1910.
The thirteen referred to by Dr. Paulson were among the twenty persons selected by the General Conference Committee and the Medical and Surgical Sanitarium Board. They later lived at the home in Ann Arbor, Michigan, while pursuing their medical studies at the state university.
Counsels to Physicians
Before returning to Ann Arbor for their second year of training, the group of medical students, with the recruits for medical missionary service, were again present at a joint meeting of the General Conference Committee and the Medical and Surgical Sanitarium Board, at which time a document just received from Mrs. White, entitled "Address to Physicians," was read by the General Conference president, Elder O.A. Olsen. A few sentences taken from this document will illustrate the general tenor of the address and reveal the high standard set for Christian physicians and medical missionary workers:
"In learning of Christ, in looking to Jesus, in depending upon His strength, the physician will be brought into sympathy with Christ; and in treating the sick he will seek God for wisdom. ...
"The Lord will hear and answer the prayer of the Christian physician, and he may reach an elevated standard if he will but lay hold upon the hand of Christ and determine that he will not let go.
"Golden opportunities are open to the Christian physician, for he may exert a precious influence upon those with whom he is brought in contact. He may guide and mold and fashion the lives of his patients by holding before them heavenly principles. ...
"If the physician has the mind of Christ, he will be cheerful, hopeful, and happy, but not trifling. He will realize that heavenly angels accompany him to the sickroom, and will find words to speak readily, truthfully, to his patients, that will cheer and bless them. His faith will be full of simplicity, of childlike confidence in the Lord. He will be able to repeat to the repenting soul the gracious promises of God, and thus place the trembling hand of the afflicted ones in the hand of Christ, that they may find repose in God.
"Thus through the grace imparted to him, the physician will fulfill his heavenly Father's claims upon him. In delicate and perilous operations he may know that Jesus is by his side to counsel, to strengthen, to nerve him to act with precision and skill in his efforts to save human life. ...
"A physician occupies a more important position because of dealing with morbid souls, diseased minds, and afflicted bodies, than does the minister of the gospel. ... If the physician has religion, he can impart the fragrance of heavenly grace to the softened and subdued heart of the suffering one. He can direct the thoughts of the patient to the great Physician. He can present Jesus to the sin-sick soul. ...
"Deep love for souls for whom Christ died should imbue the physician. In the fear of God I tell you that none but a Christian physician can rightly discharge the duties of this sacred profession."--Health, Philanthropic, and Medical Missionary Work, 36-40. Reprinted in Counsels on Health, 340-343.
A Testimony From Mrs. White
One of the purposes of the meeting at which this message was read was to enable the joint committee, who had in charge the direction and training of medical missionaries, to meet the medical students who had been pursuing their studies at the sanitarium and at the state university, and to learn of their progress and their interest in the work. The attitude of these young men and women was gratifying indeed. With augmented confidence the physicians and leaders bade them Godspeed as they returned for their second year of training at Ann Arbor.
Even while the report of this inspiring meeting was being read by the subscribers to Medical Missionary, there was a letter on its way from Australia, in which Mrs. White set forth more forcefully than ever before the benefits of a medical training as a physician or a nurse in winning the hearts of the sick to Christ.
"I am deeply interested in the subject of medical missionary work," she wrote, "and the education of men and women for that work. I could wish that there were one hundred nurses in training where there is one. It ought to be thus. Both men and women can be so much more useful as medical missionaries than as missionaries without the medical education. I am more and more impressed with the fact that a more decided testimony must be borne upon this subject. ...
"I have been surprised at being asked by physicians if I did not think it would be more pleasing to God for them to give up their medical practice and enter the ministry. I am prepared to answer such an inquirer: If you are a Christian and a competent physician, you are qualified to do tenfold more good as a missionary for God than if you were to go forth merely as a preacher of the Word. ...
"In almost every church there are young men and women who might receive education either as nurses or physicians. They will never have a more favorable opportunity than now. I would urge that this subject be considered prayerfully, that special effort be made to select those youth who give promise of usefulness and moral strength."-- The Medical Missionary, November and December, 1892. Reprinted in Counsels on Health, 503-507.
Progress in Chicago
The development of the medical missionary work in the city of Chicago, Illinois, forms a necessary background to an understanding of the launching of a fully equipped, first-class medical college by Seventh-day Adventists.
Dr. J.H. Kellogg's visit to Dr. Dowkontt in the summer of 1891 had inspired in him "the desire to see a similar work established in Chicago," and he received from Dr. Dowkontt "a great many valuable suggestions concerning it." Ibid., July, 1900.
In the spring of 1892 a further impetus to the project was given when Col. George R. Clarke, who had been conducting in Chicago a work similar in many respects to that of Dr. Dowkontt in New York, was a guest at the sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan, for some weeks. One evening, by special request and in a simple narrative which touched every heart with its pathos, he related to the sanitarium family the story of the work he had been conducting. "He also told of its financial success through the power of prayer." Ibid., April, 1892.
A few months later the way was opened for beginning such work in Chicago. A wealthy gentleman in that city offered to pay for the services of a missionary nurse from the sanitarium to labor among the poorer classes in that great metropolis. There was already in Chicago a Visiting Nurses' Association, whose purpose was to alleviate the suffering and distress among the very poor, but they were crippled for means and workers and were able to support only five workers. The sanitarium sent, as its pioneer worker in this line, a Miss Emily Schramm as a minister of mercy to work at first under the auspices of the Visiting Nurses' Association, and to be supported by the generosity of the gentleman mentioned. Soon other nurses from the sanitarium at Battle Creek volunteered to give several weeks of their time to visiting the poor, "the sanitarium giving them their actual support, and their fellow nurses aiding them to meet other expenses." Ibid., January, 1894.
A Providential Donation
About this time a gentleman told Dr. Kellogg of a friend who was anxious to see the doctor, but who could not find an opportunity, for he was not sick. The doctor very readily made an appointment, and his visitor stated "that for three months he had been impressed that he ought to make a liberal contribution to medical missionary work." He said, "Should we present to you $40,000 in cash, I would like to know what you would do with it." Dr. Kellogg replied, "We will go to Chicago and start a medical missionary work."--Ibid., February, 1893; July, 1905.
This project pleased the prospective donor, and he and his brother wrote out checks for that amount. These two brothers were from South Africa. Their money had come to them through the sale of their farm in the diamond fields near Kimberly. So the long arm of circumstance links the discovery of diamonds with the medical missionary work of Seventh-day Adventists.
The money was not all spent at once, but its possession made it possible for Dr. Kellogg and his associates to make the beginning of dispensary work in Chicago. With much feeling he used to relate the providences connected with the finding of a suitable location. Colonel Clarke, their old friend, was dead. Those in charge of his work at the Pacific Garden Mission were unacquainted with the sanitarium physicians and were not interested in the plan to establish another work similar to theirs. A suitable place was found in another part of the city, but the rental was prohibitive. The doctor walked about and finally stood in despair upon the curbstone, asking himself why he could not find a suitable place.
It was almost time for him to take the train back to Battle Creek, when he raised his head, looked across the street, and saw on a building the sign "Rooms to Let." It was the same place where he had been so many times--the Pacific Garden Mission. Since his last visit there the proprietors had changed their minds. Thus the doctor found that the way was now open for the work to be started in this desirable place and at a moderate rental.
"I did not know it," he continued, "but the Lord did, and it was He who directed me to that street and held me there on the curbstone until at last I saw the sign. They took me in and showed me all over the place. We secured a few rooms and the use of a large hall, and began our work in a humble way."--Ibid., July, 1900.
The new dispensary was opened on June 25, 1893. A basement twenty-five by fifty feet, a third-story front room about twenty by forty feet, and a large room on the first floor about fifty by one hundred feet were rented from the Pacific Garden Mission on the corner of Van Buren Street and Fourth Avenue in Chicago. Five lines of work, all free, were inaugurated--a dispensary, a bathroom, a laundry, an evening school for the Chinese, and a nursing bureau. Dr. O.G. Place of the sanitarium in Battle Creek was assisted by Drs. Howard Rand, E.R. Caro, and D.H. Kress, besides two visiting nurses and twenty-five Bible workers.
During the first five weeks more than 1,300 different persons received benefit from the dispensary. Of this number more than 700 were given medical assistance. The others made use of the free bath and the laundry. In addition to this over a hundred were cared for at their homes by the missionary nurses.
Another Dispensary in Chicago
After two years another mission dispensary was started in the southern part of Chicago. Through these two institutions and the nurses' visits to homes, more than 20,000 people annually were soon receiving medical attention. Thus, though the enterprise had grown with no thought of the ultimate result, it was now found that it was of sufficient size to furnish the clinical practice necessary for a medical college.
Having followed briefly this development in Chicago, we turn our attention again to the training of the students who offered themselves for medical missionary service as physicians.
The great majority of the medical students in the first class of about twenty, whom we found living in the Christian atmosphere of the home at Ann Arbor, Michigan, maintained their loyalty to the principles of Christian reform. Nevertheless there was a growing anxiety among the leaders of the medical missionary work as it became evident that some in later classes, influenced by their worldly associations and the teachings of non-Christian professors, were losing the ideals which had led them to enter upon the medical course.
From far-off Australia Mrs. White was sending timely words of caution and appeal, pointing out anew and with added emphasis the dangers connected with attendance at worldly universities. "In no time in your life," she wrote to one of the medical students, "have you been more critically placed than you are while prosecuting your medical studies in Ann Arbor." And she besought him to "cling to the wisdom which is revealed to you in the Word of God, for it will bind you, if you obey its teachings, to the throne of God."--E. G. White Letter 17a, 1893. (Written October 2, 1893.)
Cautions From Mrs. White
A few weeks later Mrs. White wrote of having her mind "again deeply exercised in reference to students going to Ann Arbor," and said, "It was shown me that this ought not to be, unless it was deemed essential for their receiving medical completion of their education in that line. ... I would advise no one to go there unless it is a positive necessity."--E. G. White Letter 50, 1893. (Written November 14, 1893.)
Still later, she wrote: "No one who is seeking an education for the work and service of God will be made more complete in Jesus Christ by receiving the supposed finishing touches at Ann Arbor, either in literary or medical lines. Many have been unfitted to do missionary work by attending such schools."--E. G. White Manuscript 9, 1894. (Written February 10, 1894.)
The need for these cautions was realized as time went on. Yet because of the rapid expansion of the medical missionary work, the necessity for training physicians in ever-increasing numbers became more and more evident. At length, in the early part of 1895, serious consideration was given to the possibility of conducting a medical college for Seventh-day Adventist youth who desired to become medical missionary physicians.
This, indeed, was the only solution to the difficulty, if medical students were not to secure their education in a popular school of medicine. The leaders in the denominational medical work had stood unalterably against early proposals to establish a college for the training of physicians. They realized that it would have been weak and inefficient, and that because of the unpopularity of the sanitarium methods in the earlier years, the graduates of such a school, even if they might be registered by the state, would nevertheless be discredited by the medical profession generally.
But times had now changed. The institution at Battle Creek had acquired a high standing with the medical profession. The principles for which it stood had come to be respected. The facilities afforded in the Battle Creek and Chicago institutions were equal to or better than those in many recognized medical colleges. The scientific standing of Dr. Kellogg and his associates was established, and already the educational work had gradually developed until it stood almost on a level with a medical college. Many of the obstacles to obtaining recognition for a medical college had been removed.
For Establishing a Medical College
At a meeting of the Seventh-day Adventist Medical Missionary and Benevolent Association, held in June, 1895, the main topic on the agenda was the establishment of a medical missionary college. The magnitude of the undertaking seemed, at first thought, beyond the ability of the denomination to compass; but as the favorable conditions were rehearsed, the doubts began to disappear.
It was pointed out that the large class that had taken its preliminary work at Battle Creek and Ann Arbor was now graduated, and several of them were taking postgraduate work, specializing in certain subjects which gave them good qualifications as instructors. Two able physicians, who had freely rendered service in connection with the Chicago dispensaries, already had expressed their willingness to teach special branches in the college. Thus a faculty sufficient for the work of the first year was in sight.
The opportunities in connection with the large sanitarium and hospital at Battle Creek made it possible for prospective medical students to devote their entire time to lines of work that would give them the very best preparation for medical missionary work, and the thousands of patients coming to the Chicago dispensaries met the requirements for clinical experience.
The laboratory facilities were found to be equal to those of the best medical colleges in the country. The enterprise was to be supported by the earnings of the Battle Creek sanitarium; and opportunity would be granted to the students, when necessary, to earn their tuition and expenses while taking the course of study.
It was not even necessary to delay the enterprise until funds could be raised to meet the initial expense. The $40,000 that had been given for medical missionary work in Chicago was, with the consent of the donors, made available to the medical missionary college. And the property connected with the Chicago Medical Mission (already described) was well adapted to the work of a medical college.
In view of all these favorable conditions the sanitarium board voted to launch the enterprise to be known as the American Medical Missionary College. Application was made to the Illinois legislature for a charter, which was granted July 3, 1895.
The Plan Announced Publicly
The first notice to the public that such a move had been effected was found in the The Review and Herald, June 11, 1895. The college was to be located in Chicago and incorporated under the laws of the State of Illinois. The instruction was to be given partly in Chicago and partly in Battle Creek. Arrangements were made with the Battle Creek College for a portion of their building, located near the sanitarium, to be used for laboratory room and classrooms. The lecture rooms at the sanitarium were also made available.
The course of instruction was to extend through four years, with about three or four weeks' vacation each year. Only such students would be received as were imbued with the true missionary spirit, all of whom would be received on probation. It was announced that "those who are found, on trial, to be incompetent for the work, or who lack consecration or a true missionary spirit, and who do not make a satisfactory change for the better after being duly admonished and instructed, will be dropped out of the class." The Review and Herald, June 11, 1895.
The few weeks remaining before the opening of the medical college were filled with bustling activity both in Chicago and in Battle Creek. By the first of October, 1895, everything was in readiness for the opening. Considering the brief notice that was given, and judging by past responses to appeals for prospective medical students, leaders did not expect that the first class in the American Medical Missionary College would be large, but the response exceeded all hopes. Forty-one students had enrolled by the opening date, October 1, and it was announced that these were as many as could possibly be accommodated. Ibid., Oct. 8, 1895.
Thus was established in Battle Creek, Michigan, such an enterprise as had been the dream of Dr. Dowkontt for New York City. His expectations and hopes had been doomed to disappointment largely because of the opposition of the medical colleges. Dr. Dowkontt was ever a firm friend to the founders of the American Medical Missionary College, and in later years he often visited the school and addressed the students.
It will be remembered that, while in New York City, Dr. Paulson had been impressed that the Lord wanted a medical college started in Battle Creek, and that on his return from New York he was not surprised to learn that the sanitarium board had just taken action favorable to the undertaking. Many times, both before and after the launching of this enterprise, the Lord worked in unexpected ways to meet urgent needs as they arose.
An Instance of Providential Help
Once such instance happened only about a week after the opening of the medical college. An elderly gentleman rang the bell at the office where the president of the school was hard at work, and explained that "his business was to find a way to dispose of a few thousand dollars which he had in his pocket." He had been interested in the work of the sanitarium and its various branches, and had stopped off at Battle Creek to see how the work was progressing. Dr. Kellogg rehearsed recent developments of the medical missionary work in Mexico, Colorado, and other places, and especially of the American Medical Missionary College. The visitor then expressed a desire to dispose of his means in such a manner as to secure for himself a possession "over in the other country," and said he would like to leave $2,000 to be used for the benefit of the American Medical Missionary College.
For the moment Dr. Kellogg had forgotten that only the evening before, "when discussing ways and means for meeting some of the most urgent necessities of the enterprise," the sanitarium board had determined to go ahead with what seemed to be clearly duty and necessity, although the necessary funds were not in sight, trusting that the Lord would send the money in due time. The Medical Missionary, October, 1895.
In relating this incident, Dr. Kellogg said, "This donation, like all others which have been received for our medical missionary enterprises, was wholly unsolicited, and it was entirely unexpected as regards the individual source from which it came."--Ibid.
Such experiences tended to deepen the confidence of those who were leading out in this enterprise that a divine providence had been going before them, and would continue to guide them as they followed His providential leading.