Washington Sanitarium & Hospital

Dr. A.W. Truman, Medical Director

March 10, 1931

Elder J. H. N. Tindall
San Francisco, California

Dear Brother Tindall:

The fact that I have been tardy replying to your letter is no evidence of my lack of interest in the sug-
gestion which you have made.
I have just completed a rather lengthy epistle; to our dear Brother Burden, who recently sent me in
addition to a letter, another manuscript of thirty pages made up largely of excerpts from the letters and
testimonies which came during the early days to Loma Linda.
Somehow, Brother Tindall, I believe that Loma Linda is still a prisoner of hope. A worthwhile accom-
plishment has been achieved in securing the present standing of the College before the authorities of
the world, but in my letter to Brother Burden, I stated that it seemed to me that this accomplishment
had been achieved at considerable loss, and with the sacrifice of interests that are vital to the ultimate
success of the institution and of our medical missionary program. I do not know just what the “Chief
Director” has in mind from this on, but I do not believe He has surrendered the helm; and I think we
have come to a time too near the wind-up of the work to consider possible eventualities of ultimate fail-
ure at Loma Linda with the thought of starting over again somewhere else. I should like to see the tide
turn at Loma Linda which would somehow result in a revolution as regards the ideals and purposes
and objectives, so that as the result we might from this time on turn out at least a larger percent of those
“thousands who were to be trained not to labor in professional lines but as medical missionary evangel-
ists.” Sometimes I am reminded of the statement that “the Lord will do a strange work very soon; thou-
sands who do not see the necessity of what is to be done will be passed by and the Lord will choose
workers from among the common people even as of old who called humble fishermen to do His work.”
[similar to Loma Linda Messages, 83] Somehow I hope that it will not finally be necessary to reject the su-
per-trained medical men and women and turn to those “whose hearts are susceptible to pity though
their hands may be rough and unskilled.” [Education, 270] At any rate I believe that we have trained at
Loma Linda some good men who will not always be content to serve tables or amass gold etc., but who
will yet find their highest joy in fulfilling the original purpose of the medical school. To this end I shall
continue to labor and pray.
If in the providence of God you should be guided to transfer your field training school down to the
vicinity of Loma Linda where some of these medical men could get a real field training and develop an
adequate ability to meet the public on the lecture platform, I should be very happy. A number of years
ago I came to a final conclusion that what is needed at Loma Linda is not a medical evangelistic expert
who would try to sandwich in if possible a little field training or develop the missionary ideals and de-

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sires of these students; but, as I conceive it, the leading authorities of the medical school must have this
essential vision as a fire burning in their bones; and with that, it will be difficult enough to keep the
minds of the students who are naturally ambitious for personal achievement, and honor, and wealth,
directed toward the humble aims of the medical missionary.
We are consistently and persistently pushing our field health educational program here at headquar-
ters. The medical staff of the Washington Sanitarium has a program on in connection with the president
of the Union Conference which takes a group into the churches of this Union every Sabbath for health
educational work; there has scarcely been a Sabbath since the General Conference that I have not per-
sonally been in the field in such effort. We have visited many churches within a radius of two or three
hundred miles, and in the immediate future our group will visit Erie, Pennsylvania, and Mount Vernon,
Ohio, a distance of four hundred miles, also Pittsburgh. I am glad to tell you that we have the closest
and most sympathetic cooperation from our Union president, Elder F.H. Robbins, who usually accom-
panies us on these trips and takes part in the service.
I believe, Brother Tindall, it is too late to get discouraged. I note with considerable encouragement
the good work along medical evangelistic lines being accomplished in the Pacific Union, in the Atlantic
Union, in the South. eastern Union arid in the Columbia Union. I believe our people are ready and
waiting for a sane, well-balanced, but emphatic presentation of the health principles
Many are sick and are willing to pay the price of health. I know also that the people of the world out-
side are becoming more and more interested in disease prevention, and in our program of diet and
treatments. I trust that somehow, our medical missionary force may be rallied and coordinate together
with the evangelists in such a way as to in the near future bring about a great impetus and forward an
advance movement along medical missionary lines.

Sincerely,

A.W. Truman

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 Reply from John H.N. Tindall

March 15, 1931

A.W. Truman, M.D.

Dear Doctor Truman,

I very much appreciate your last letter; your sentiments in regard to what is needed at Loma Linda,
express my view-point exactly. Yes, I wish that a change could come that would put such leaders in
Loma Linda as will have the medical evangelistic spirit as a fire in their bones; and as you well say even
with a program of this kind it will be difficult enough to persuade any considerable number of those
students.
I note with considerable interest that Elder Daniells is on the ground and they are having a meeting
today, which doubtless will be significant. I am sorry you cannot be there. I would like to be there my-
self. But I know Jesus will be there and we shall pray for the best.
The statement you wrote in your letter “the Lord will do a strange work very soon;… whose hearts
are susceptible to pity though their hands may be rough and unskilled,” is an excellent one and I wish
you would be kind enough to give me the reference for it, so I may either look it up or have it sent to
me from the vaults.
In turn I want to give you one which has recently come into my hands which expresses a similar
thought: it is found in “extra document file” W-102-1894 and reads as follows: “Under the showers of
the latter rain the inventions of man, the human machinery, will at times be swept away, the boundary
of man’s authority will be as broken reeds, and the Holy Spirit will speak through the living, human
agent with convincing power. No one then will watch to see if the sentences are well rounded off, if the
grammar is faultless. The living water will flow in God’s own channels.” [see General Conference Bulletin,
February 15, 1895]
Well dear doctor, we are certainly nearing the end and I pray the Lord to keep you humble and faith-
ful. We are approaching trying times and I am sure the nearer we get to the end the more the medical
missionary work will come to the front. If it is possible for you to have any special influence on the
Loma Linda situation, I wish you would not be reluctant to give your advice. Write the brethren and
urge your view point as expressed in your letter to me.
May the Lord bless you, Dr. Truman, and let me hear from you again soon.
Very sincerely

JHNT

Reproduced from: John H.N. Tindall : fifty years a gospel-medical missionary evangelist / by Calvin L. Thrash, Jr. ; gleanings from
J.H.N. Tindall's files compiled by David Lee. In Loma Linda University Libraries Special Collections, Call #BX 6127 T47 2002.
Available in this form from http://www.AdventistCityMissions.org/acm--downloads.html