Ellen White's Telegram, “Secure the Property”

And yet, as W. C. White reported shortly after this experience, Elder Burden's description of Loma Linda “answered more closely to what had been presented” to his mother than any property she had ever seen. The Lord had been moving on her mind to appeal to the members to do something immediately in establishing a sanitarium in “Redlands and Riverside,” and “this place described by Elder Burden seemed” “perfectly in accord with our needs.” What could they do?6BIO 15.1

“We must take action at once,” Ellen White told her son.6BIO 15.2

“Willie,” she queried, “will you do as I ask?”6BIO 15.3

“I usually do,” he responded.6BIO 15.4

Then came her request: “I want you to send a telegram to Elder Burden to secure the property at once.”6BIO 15.5

As Willie was leaving the room to send the telegram, she called him back and extracted a promise to send the telegram immediately, before taking counsel with anyone regarding the matter (28 WCW, p. 443).6BIO 15.6

He promised, and the telegram was sent. Only the overwhelming conviction that Loma Linda was the place God wished His people to have could have led Ellen White to take such a course of action so foreign to her relationship to church organization. True, she had just a few months earlier assisted in the purchase of the property near San Diego and in starting the Paradise Valley Sanitarium. This had been done with the knowledge of the Southern California Conference but without their official support or financial backing. On another occasion she explained her instruction to W. C. White as follows: “I did not consult with anyone, because I thought this would hinder us, and I believed that we could carry the matter forward without putting the burden on the conference.”—Letter 153, 1905.6BIO 15.7

Friday's telegram was followed by a letter to Elder Burden on Sunday, May 14, which opened:6BIO 15.8

Your letter has just been read. I had no sooner finished reading it than I said, “I will consult no one; for I have no question at all about the matter. I advised Willie to send you a telegram without spending time to ask the advice of the brethren. Secure the property by all means, so that it can be held, and then obtain all the money you can and make sufficient payments to hold the place. This is the very property that we ought to have. Do not delay; for it is just what is needed. As soon as it is secured, a working force can begin operations in it. I think that sufficient help can be secured to carry this matter through. I want you to be sure to lose no time in securing the right to purchase the property. We will do our utmost to help you raise the money. I know that Redlands and Riverside are to be worked, and I pray that the Lord may be gracious, and not allow anyone else to get this property instead of us....6BIO 15.9

Here is the word of the Lord. Open up every place possible. We are to labor in faith, taking hold of a power that is pledged to do large things for us. We are to reach out in faith in Los Angeles and in Redlands and Riverside.—Letter 139, 1905.6BIO 16.1

In defense of her unprecedented action, she declared: “I considered that the advantages of this location authorized me to speak positively regarding this matter.”—Letter 247, 1905.6BIO 16.2