In April, 1905, Ellen G. White wrote to John Burden, manager of the Glendale Sanitarium: "Redlands and Riverside have been presented to me as places that should be worked. . . . Please consider the advisability of establishing a sanitarium in the vicinity of these towns." At about this time, in the course of a conversation at Elmshaven, her home in the Napa Valley, she had told the president of the Southern California Conference that there was a "Sanitarium waiting near Riverside and Redlands." She thought it was nearer Redlands. She assured him: “You can find it, if you want to.”
In May, 1905, Burden reported he had evaluated 76 acres of land five miles from Redlands. He felt that this site matched White’s description. The most recent venture—a sanitarium—had lasted only a few years and then, with sometimes no patients, closed its doors. In April 1904 “those entrusted to look” in the Redlands/Riverside district found that the original $155,000 investment called Loma Linda could now be purchased for $110.000. This price, however, was still out of the question. Later, Burden reported that the price for Loma Linda had been lowered to $85,000,
Enthusiastically, Mrs. White wrote to church members: “Arouse, and avail yourselves of the opportunities open to you” (April 12, 1905). Still, that $85,000 might as well have been $85 million. Some church members even questioned whether the church should be investing so much money in sanitariums. They were supporting their own 22 Southern California churches and helping to support the two sanitariums started there in 1904. And their General Conference had established a no-debt policy and couldn’t help.
On February 4, 1905, Mrs. White provided an historical perspective on the issue: “The remark is often made . . . ‘Why depend so much on sanitariums? Why do we not pray for the miraculous healing of the sick, as the people of God used to do?’ In the early history of our work many were healed by prayer. And some, after they were healed, pursued the same course in the indulgence of appetite, which they had followed in the past. They did not live and work in such a way as to avoid sickness. . . . Again and again they were brought to suffering through their own careless, thoughtless course of action.”
“When the light came that we should have a sanitarium, the reason was plainly given. There were many who needed to be educated in regard to healthful living. A place must be provided to which the sick could be taken, where they could be taught how to live so as to preserve health.” (Mrs. White’s “eight natural remedies” eventually led National Geographic magazine to name Loma Linda one of five “Blue Zones” in the world, the only one in the United States.)
Financially embarrassed, the Loma Linda Association (80 physicians and 40 businessmen) soon had to drop the price to $45,000. Burden met Mrs. White when she stopped in Los Angeles on her way to the denomination’s 1905 General Conference Session near Washington, D.C. When he described the spectacular bargain, she asked him to inspect the property more closely and report to her.
Burden’s account could hardly have been more encouraging. He found that Loma Linda included 31 acres of grain, 22 acres of alfalfa, vegetable gardens, an apricot orchard, a barn, and a 23-acre terraced hill covered with orchards, gardens, and beautifully landscaped lawns. Its grounds included scores of tall shade trees and pepper trees filled with canaries; a profusion of flowers and ornamental shrubs, carriage drives, and over a mile of gracefully curving concrete walks. The summit of the hill rose about 75 feet above the valley floor. Structures included five cottages, a large recreation hall, two bowling alleys, and the 64-room luxury hotel. All in excellent condition, the buildings were lighted with electricity and heated with steam. Water was piped throughout the property from a large artesian well. The price also included $12,000 worth of almost new equipment and a stock of supplies that had never been used. It would be a perfect site for a sanitarium.
Then, of course, the issue of money came up. When Burden asked what the lowest amount the owners would accept, they said they would settle for $40,000.00. Finally, in 1905, Loma Linda fit Mrs. White’s 1901 and 1902 descriptions. Not only did its trees form tent-like canopies, but it was unoccupied and offered for much less than its original cost of $155,000.
“What shall we do?” Burden asked. “We must act at once as the [the Loma Linda Association] is anxious to sell, and there are others who want it.” He suggested that Mrs. White confer with conference leaders. Based on a confirming vision she received the night before, she asked her son, W. C. White, to send a telegram to Burden. He should immediately secure an option to purchase Loma Linda. To compound the issue, one of the church officers sent another telegram advising Burden to cancel the deal!
Ellen White was so disturbed by the controversy that she could not sleep for several nights. In the meantime, Burden contacted Loma Linda’s owners and declined the purchase.
On May 14, 1905, however, Mrs. White wrote an impassioned letter: “Dear Brother Burden: 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. . . . 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. Do not delay; for it is just what is needed.”
To be continued…