In recent evangelistic efforts, we have used a series of health talks as a part of the preliminary program. Each night, between the song service and the offering, from ten to twenty minutes is given to some phase of health instruction.
We seek to present our health message as a chain of connected links, instead of a mixture of unrelated subjects. Recognizing that a knowledge of physiology and hygiene should be the basis of all educational effort, we seek to lead the audience into a study of the human body instead of merely laying down rules of eating and drinking. When the body is presented as the temple of God, and the truth clearly grasped that man is made in the Creator's image, the study of physiology takes its 'rightful place as an essential part of the message for this hour, calling men to the worship of the Creator. And when the fact is stressed that the brain is built from the food material received by the blood, the important relation of diet to character building becomes evident.
The laws that govern our physical body have been written upon every nerve, muscle, and fiber of the body. Therefore, it is our endeavor to teach health habits as revealed in the laws of the body itself rather than in books by human authors. (The testimony of scientific authorities is used to supplement and confirm, but not as primary .authority.) As a result the listeners are led to look upon the laws of life as divine. This opens up the privilege of seeking divine help to obey 'every divine command, whether it is in the physical or the spiritual realm.
Visual material is a great aid in such a program. We have found most valuable the beautiful slides prepared by the Associated Lecturers' Bureau, at Madison College, Tennessee. These pictures of -the various organs of the body and views of many natural foods—fruit, grains, nuts, and vegetables—help us in our attempt to carry out the instruction of the Spirit of prophecy to present the principles of temperance and health reform in the most attractive way.
The Illustrated lectures are supplemented by short demonstrations of simple treatments by our nurses, and cooking demonstrations emphasizing the best way to use natural foods so as to preserve their fine flavors and nutritive qualities. Following is a list of some of the subjects used in our last effort:
"American Health and National Defense"
"Foods for Defense" (Cooking Demonstration)
"Eating for Health and Efficiency"
"Food Selection and Meal Planning" (Cooking Demonstration)
"Eating for Health and Happiness"
"Healthful Sweets" (Cooking Demonstration)
"Foods That Digest"
"Simple Treatments for the Home" (Nurse's Demonstration)
"The Soldiers of the Blood" (White Blood Cells)
"Fighting Germs With Cold Water" (Nurse's Demonstration)
"Postponing Your Funeral" (The Heart)
"What to Do for Headaches" (Nurse's Demonstration)
"High Blood Pressure"
"The Cigarette and National Defense"
"Your First Line of Defense" (The Skin and Mucous Membranes)
"Nerves and Nervousness"
"The Power of the Mind"
