Heritage Snapshot: Part 148

One Christmas morning Mervyn Hardinge’s mother confided in him that his parents wanted to leave England. The winters were too cold. She reported that she and Mervyn’s dad had written to relatives in Australia and South Africa, and to friends in California. They wanted to take Mervyn with them. She even said, “If we go to California and you want to take the medical course we will help you!” Mervyn couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Then he confided in her about the voice that had spoken to him on October 1, his struggle, and the decision he had made the previous Thursday evening to study medicine. “We are going to California,” his mother declared with finality. “I’ll write to the medical school and tell them you are coming.” That Christmas was a drastic turning point in Mervyn’s life. God had spoken and He had worked it out in a way in which Mervyn would have never dreamed. Hardinge’s academic search led him to Pacific Union College in Angwin, California, where he studied pre-medicine. In the spring of that year, he started dating Margaret Feldcamp, a junior student who graded papers for the physics department part time. By the end of the summer the two became engaged. The next year the College of Medical Evangelists in Loma Linda accepted Mervyn and two years later, after Mervyn had completed his first two years of medicine, he and Margaret married. A major problem developed in the Hardinge family plans. As World War II raged, the British government froze all funds in England. Not only did his father’s pension stop, but also financial help for Mervyn and Margaret stopped as well. Mervyn had to find a job not only to pay for his tuition, but also to help support his parents. While still in medical school, he found a position performing emergency laboratory work at the White Memorial Hospital, in Los Angeles. Because income from this job was insufficient to meet the Hardinge family needs, Mervyn found another job building cabinets and doing finish carpentry in new homes. Margaret, herself a full-time lab technologist at the White Memorial Hospital Laboratory, covered for him when his jobs conflicted. The hectic schedule prevented the newlyweds from even seeing each other some nights and took a toll on their spiritual life. One weekend when both were off work for a couple of hours together, Mervyn said, “Margaret, we can’t go on like this. Emotionally and spiritually we are dead. We either take time to worship and practice our religion or we quit it altogether. I can’t be a half-hearted Christian anymore.” “How do we regain our spiritual life,” she queried. “Try to help someone else in their’s. Give Bible studies.” Margaret looked at Mervyn and asked, “How do we find someone with whom to study?” “I have no idea, but the Lord can provide someone if we ask Him. Why don’t we decide to truly serve Him and ask Him to revive our parched souls?” The Hardinges then fell on their knees, poured out their hearts, and made new commitments that were never broken. As Mervyn approached the hospital he saw one of his patients who had just returned for her final checkup following surgery; a young woman with her mother. “How are you doing?” he inquired with a smile. “Just wonderfully,” she replied. And then her mother spoke up, “What would you do with a girl who wants to read continually?” “It all depends on what she reads,” Dr. Hardinge replied. “Oh, she reads only good books, in fact, mainly religious books.” “Then I would encourage her,” and they all laughed. “Would you like to study the Bible? Mervyn asked. “Oh, yes, yes,” they spoke in unison. “When can we start?” Less than five minutes after the Hardinges had arisen from their knees, Bible studies had been arranged! The following Friday evening they started Bible studies. In response, Dr. Hardinge exclaimed, “What an answer to prayer of two desperate souls! In his autobiography My Unexpected Life, Dr. Hardinge reported an interesting development. When he was on duty Friday evenings he had to arrange for someone to cover for him. It was not difficult, as he would agree to take the other interns’ duties some subsequent evenings. When his fellow interns learned that he was giving Bible studies, they refused to allow him to make up the time. “It’s the least I can do for a good cause,” was the usual reply. Following a year of internship in Loma Linda, Mervyn graduated from CME in 1942 and joined the Department of Anatomy. He had never thought he would enjoy teaching, but teaching a variety of subjects, including pathology and pharmacology, became his joy and delight for the next 40 years. He especially enjoyed teaching anatomy because under his very fingers unfolded the handiwork of God Himself; the masterpiece of all His creation. It was an inspiring experience. Later, Dr. Hardinge earned a Doctor of Public Health degree in nutrition from the School of Public Health at Harvard University, and a PhD degree in pharmacology from Stanford University. One afternoon at Massachusetts Institute of Technology Dr. Robert Harris, professor and co-chair of the Department of Food Technology, delivered a most brilliant, but scathing, denunciation of a vegetarian and concluded, “You can always recognize a vegetarian because they are sallow skinned, bleary-eyed, and dull mentally.” One could have heard a pin drop. Mervyn’s fellow students all knew he was a vegetarian. In a quiet but clear voice Mervyn spoke, “Dr. Harris, I am a life-time vegetarian!” A stunned silence followed. The good doctor turned a crimson red, stood on one foot and then the other, and broke out in a sweat. Mervyn’s fellow classmates stamped their feet and roared with delight. Finally Dr. Harris regained his composure, and in a relatively soft voice addressed the class. “Gentlemen, we can all learn a lesson from this experience; keep your mouth shut!”