Reviewing a Century of Health Reform Principles
The transcript below is from the whiteestate.org and highlights the importance of current research supporting the teachings of the church.
"Ellen G White was given a vision of the relation of physical health to spirituality, of the importance of following right principles in diet and in the care of the body, and of the benefits of nature's remedies--clean air, sunshine, exercise, and pure water.
Previous to this vision, little thought or time had been given to health matters, and several of the overtaxed ministers had been forced to become inactive because of sickness. This revelation on June 6, 1863, impressed upon the leaders in the newly organized church the importance of health reform. In the months that followed, as the health message was seen to be a part of the message of Seventh-day Adventists, a health educational program was inaugurated.
It is written that "Ellen White’s contribution to an advanced understanding of health and disease may be attributed to these factors: (1) insights received through visions; (2) her Spirit-directed ability to perceive what was in harmony with those insights from the maze of current opinion, and (3) her governing principle of the Great Controversy Theme that placed health matters within the context of a person’s spiritual motivation, commitment, and preparation for the Advent.
The lifestyle of Seventh-day Adventists “is reflected in the phenomenal accumulation of published research papers concerning the Adventist lifestyle. . . . It seems probable that no other religious group has attracted so much recent interest from scientists.”208 "
