Health Reform Begins (1863)

Berean Seventh-day Adventist Church Elder Tracey Wallace, M.D. often gives presentations that refer to the amazing accuracy and efficacy of Ellen G. White’s insight into the importance of the proper maintenance of what Paul describes as “the temple of God,” our bodies. Dr. Wallace attended Loma Linda University, a medical school that is currently the heart of denominational health affairs. He is an enthusiastic evangelist for the Adventist “Health Message,” first revealed in 1863. He describes it as being 150 years ahead of its time. It was concurrent with now obsolete medical practices such as “bleeding, purging, and poisoning.” Dr. Wallace notes that Ellen White’s prescient revelations are founded upon Scriptural prescriptions for healthy living, with an emphasis on dietary law. The evils of tobacco and meat were apprehended early in the history of the church. Recent observers note that “the world has gone after” the health message in this day and age (much of the world, but regrettably not all of it). Here is a long quote from a recent article on health reform from the Adventist Review: Ellen White, while explaining her vision of 1863, did not have or need scientific credentials. Indeed, the science of the day would have hindered rather than helped. Instead, she laid out a number of simple ideas that were at the time fairly revolutionary as a package, although not individually unique. Contemporary Adventist scholar Leo Van Dolsen once summarized these simple health principles—nutrition, exercise, water, sunlight, temperance, air, rest, and trust—in terms that were easy for most people to understand.