Child Guidance
Ellen G. White
1954
Copyright © 2018
Ellen G. White Estate, Inc.
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About the Author
Ellen G. White (1827-1915) is considered the most widely translated
American author, her works having been published in more than 160
languages. She wrote more than 100,000 pages on a wide variety of
spiritual and practical topics. Guided by the Holy Spirit, she exalted
Jesus and pointed to the Scriptures as the basis of one’s faith.
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i
ii
Foreword
As marriage unites two hearts and lives in love, and a new home
is created, an early concern of its founders is that the children which
grace this new home shall be properly reared. The question of
Manoah of old, “How shall we order the child?” is thoughtfully
pondered by parents today as they look into the face of the precious
and helpless gift entrusted to their care.
The significance of instruction on child guidance is best under-
stood as we note the important place it takes in the word of God and
the frequent and detailed references to the subject in the spirit of
prophecy writings. In her several books, but more particularly in
the articles on practical Christian living which appeared from week
to week in the various journals of the denomination, Mrs. White
set forth a wealth of counsel to parents. In addition to this, she
addressed to various families hundreds of personal testimonies in
which she dealt specifically with the problems they faced. In these
articles and personal testimonies she described the principles which
should guide parents, and the procedures they should follow as they
were kept before her in vision.
In her later years Mrs. White expressed a desire to bring out
a book for Christian parents that would make clear “The Mother’s
Duty And Influence Over Her Children.” In the recently issued The
Adventist Home and this companion work, that desire is now fulfilled.
Only the thoughtful and prayerful perusal of the significant counsels
of this volume can reveal the tremendous and far-reaching influence
of training the child properly as God has placed the responsibility
with parents.
The fact that Ellen White was the mother of four boys enabled
[6]
her to set forth in an understanding and sympathetic manner the in-
struction imparted to her. Her experience in the practical application
of the principles she has set before others begets confidence in the
heart of the reader.
iii
All the E. G. White sources, published and unpublished, have
been drawn upon in preparing Child Guidance. Because the content
of this volume has been brought together from a number of sources
written over a period of seventy years, there occasionally occurs an
unavoidable break in thought and manner of address as the several
statements are linked together in their natural subject sequence. The
compilers were limited in their work to the selecting and arranging
of the various statements and to the supplying of headings.
Child Guidance was prepared under the direction of the board
of Trustees of the Ellen G. White publications in their offices in
Washington, D.C. The work was done in harmony with Mrs. White’s
instruction to her trustees that they should provide for the printing
of compilations from her manuscript and published sources.
The need for this volume is great. Eternal interests are at stake.
The detailed counsels on discipline, character building, and physical
and spiritual education will be treasured by every thoughtful par-
ent. That this volume, standing by the side of The Adventist Home,
Messages to Young People, and other of the E. G. White books of
counsel to parents and youth, may serve to guide fathers and mothers
in their most important work is the sincere wish of the publishers
and
The Trustees of the
Ellen G. White Publications
Contents
Information about this Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i
Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
To the Reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii
Section 1—Home, The First School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Chapter 1—Importance of the Home School . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Chapter 2—The First Teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Chapter 3—When to Begin the Child’s Training . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Section 2—Methods and Textbooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Chapter 4—Methods of Teaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Chapter 5—The Bible as a Textbook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Chapter 6—The Book of Nature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Chapter 7—Practical Lessons from Nature’s Book . . . . . . . . 36
Section 3—Teachers Adequately Trained . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Chapter 8—Preparation is Needed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Chapter 9—A Call for Self-improvement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Section 4—Obedience, The Most Important Lesson . . . . . . . . . 55
Chapter 10—The Key to Happiness and Success . . . . . . . . . 56
Chapter 11—To be Taught from Babyhood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Chapter 12—Obedience Must Become a Habit . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Section 5—Other Basic Lessons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Chapter 13—Self-control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Chapter 14—Quietness, Respect, and Reverence . . . . . . . . . . 71
Chapter 15—Care in Handling Property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Chapter 16—Health Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Chapter 17—Cleanliness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Chapter 18—Neatness, Order, and Regularity . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Chapter 19—Purity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Section 6—Lessons in Practical Virtues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Chapter 20—Helpfulness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Chapter 21—Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Chapter 22—Diligence and Perseverance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Chapter 23—Self-Denial, Unselfishness, and Thoughtfulness
100
Chapter 24—Economy and Thrift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Section 7—Developing Christian Qualities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
v
vi Child Guidance
Chapter 25—Simplicity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Chapter 26—Courtesy and Reserve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Chapter 27—Cheerfulness and Thankfulness . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Chapter 28—Truthfulness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Chapter 29—Honesty and Integrity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Chapter 30—Self-reliance and Sense of Honor . . . . . . . . . . 121
Section 8—The Paramount Task—Character Development . . 123
Chapter 31—Importance of Character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Chapter 32—How Character Is Formed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Chapter 33—Parental Responsibility in Character Formation
131
Chapter 34—Ways in Which Character Is Ruined . . . . . . . 136
Chapter 35—How Parents May Build Strong Characters . . 143
Section 9—Fundamental Elements of Character Building . . . 149
Chapter 36—Advantage of the Early Years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Chapter 37—The Power of Habit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Chapter 38—Study Age, Disposition, and Temperament . . 159
Chapter 39—The Will a Factor in Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Chapter 40—Exemplify Christian Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Section 10—Discipline and its Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Chapter 41—Objectives of Discipline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Chapter 42—The Time to Begin Discipline . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Chapter 43—Discipline in the Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Chapter 44—Administration of Corrective Discipline . . . . 191
Chapter 45—With Love and Firmness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Section 11—Faulty Discipline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Chapter 46—Evils of Indulgence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Chapter 47—Lax Discipline and Its Fruitage . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Chapter 48—The Child’s Reaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Chapter 49—Attitude of Relatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Section 12—Development of the Mental Powers . . . . . . . . . . 229
Chapter 50—What Comprises True Education? . . . . . . . . . 230
Chapter 51—Preparing for School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Chapter 52—Choosing the School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Chapter 53—The Church’s Responsibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Chapter 54—Teachers and Parents in Partnership . . . . . . . . 250
Chapter 55—Unity in Discipline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Chapter 56—Academy and College Training . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Section 13—Primary Importance of Physical Development . . 265
Contents vii
Chapter 57—Exercise and Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Chapter 58—Training for Practical Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Chapter 59—Teaching Useful Trades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Chapter 60—Knowledge of and Obedience to the Laws of
Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Section 14—Maintaining Physical Fitness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Chapter 61—The Homemaker in the Kitchen . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Chapter 62—Eating to Live . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Chapter 63—Temperance in All Things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
Chapter 64—The Home and the Temperance Crusade . . . . 316
Section 15—Fitting Attire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
Chapter 65—The Blessings of Proper Dress . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
Chapter 66—Teaching the Fundamental Principles of Dress 331
Chapter 67—The Fascinating Power of Fashion . . . . . . . . . 341
Section 16—Preserving Moral Integrity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
Chapter 68—Prevalence of Corrupting Vices . . . . . . . . . . . 346
Chapter 69—Effects of Harmful Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
Chapter 70—Cautions and Counsels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
Chapter 71—Parental Vigilance and Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
Chapter 72—The Battle for Reform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
Section 17—Arousing the Spiritual Powers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
Chapter 73—Responsibility for Eternal Interests . . . . . . . . 372
Chapter 74—Every Home a Church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
Chapter 75—Leading Little Children to Christ . . . . . . . . . . 384
Chapter 76—Preparing for Church Membership . . . . . . . . . 390
Section 18—Maintaining the Religious Experience . . . . . . . . 399
Chapter 77—The Bible in the Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400
Chapter 78—The Power of Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409
Chapter 79—Sabbath—The Day of Delight . . . . . . . . . . . . 417
Chapter 80—Reverence for That Which Is Holy . . . . . . . . . 425
Chapter 81—Co-Ordination of Home and Church . . . . . . . 433
Section 19—The Day of Reckoning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437
Chapter 82—The Hour Is Late . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438
Chapter 83—The Rewards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442
To the Reader[7]
It is the privilege of parents to take their children with them to
the gates of the city of God, saying, “I have tried to instruct my
children to love the Lord, to do His will, and to glorify Him.” To
such the gate will be thrown open, and parents and children will enter
in. But all cannot enter. Some are left outside with their children,
whose characters have not been transformed by submission to the
will of God. A hand is raised, and the words are spoken, “You have
neglected home duties. You have failed to do the work that would
have fitted the soul for a home in heaven. You cannot enter.” The
gates are closed to the children because they have not learned to
do the will of God, and to parents because they have neglected the
responsibilities resting upon them. [Manuscript 31, 1909.]
Light has been shining from the Word of God and the testimonies
of His Spirit so that none need err in regard to their duty. God
requires parents to bring up their children to know Him and to
respect His claims; they are to train their little ones, as the younger
members of the Lord’s family, to have beautiful characters and lovely
tempers, that they may be fitted to shine in the heavenly courts. By
neglecting their duty and indulging their children in wrong, parents
close to them the gates of the city of God. These facts must be
pressed home upon parents; they must arouse and take up their long-
neglected work. [Testimonies for the Church 5:325, 326.] Ellen G.
White.
viii
Section 1—Home, The First School [14]
[15]
Chapter 1—Importance of the Home School[16]
[17]
Education Begins at Home
—It is in the home that the educa-
tion of the child is to begin. Here is his first school. Here, with his
parents as instructors, he is to learn the lessons that are to guide him
throughout life—lessons of respect, obedience, reverence, self-con-
trol. The educational influences of the home are a decided power for
good or for evil. They are in many respects silent and gradual, but if
exerted on the right side, they become a far-reaching power for truth
and righteousness. If the child is not instructed aright here, Satan
will educate him through agencies of his choosing. How important,
then, is the school in the home!
1
Here the Foundations Are Laid—Upon all parents there rests
the obligation of giving physical, mental, and spiritual instruction. It
should be the object of every parent to secure to his child a well-bal-
anced, symmetrical character. This is a work of no small magnitude
and importance—a work requiring earnest thought and prayer no
less than patient, persevering effort. A right foundation must be laid,
a framework, strong and firm, erected; and then day by day the work
of building, polishing, perfecting, must go forward.
2
Deny the Child Anything but This Right
—Parents, remember
that your home is a training school, in which your children are to
be prepared for the home above. Deny them anything rather than
the education that they should receive in their earliest years. Allow
no word of pettishness. Teach your children to be kind and patient.
Teach them to be thoughtful of others. Thus you are preparing them
[18]
for higher ministry in religious things.
3
The home should be a preparatory school, where children and
youth may be fitted to do service for the Master, preparatory to
joining the higher school in the kingdom of God.
4
Not a Secondary Matter
—Let not home education be regarded
as a secondary matter. It occupies the first place in all true education.
Fathers and mothers have entrusted to them the molding of their
children’s minds.
5
10
Importance of the Home School 11
How startling is the proverb, “As the twig is bent, the tree is
inclined.” This is to be applied to the training of our children. Parents,
will you remember that the education of your children from their
earliest years is committed to you as a sacred trust? These young
trees are to be tenderly trained, that they may be transplanted to
the garden of the Lord. Home education is not by any means to be
neglected. Those who neglect it neglect a religious duty.
6
The Great Scope of Home Education
—Home education
means much. It is a matter of great scope. Abraham was called
the father of the faithful. Among the things that made him a remark-
able example of godliness was the strict regard that in his home he
paid to the commands of God. He cultivated home religion. He
who sees the education given in every home, and who measures the
influence of this education, said, “I know him that he will command
his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the
way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment.”
7
God commanded the Hebrews to teach their children His require-
ments, and to make them acquainted with all His dealings with their
[19]
people. The home and the school were one. In the place of stranger
lips, the loving hearts of the father and mother were to give instruc-
tion to their children. Thoughts of God were associated with all the
events of daily life in the home dwelling. The mighty works of God
in the deliverance of His people were recounted with eloquence and
reverential awe. The great truths of God’s providence and of the
future life were impressed on the young mind. It became acquainted
with the true, the good, the beautiful.
By the use of figures and symbols the lessons given were il-
lustrated, and thus more firmly fixed in the memory. Through this
animated imagery the child was, almost from infancy, initiated into
the mysteries, the wisdom, and the hopes of his fathers, and guided in
a way of thinking and feeling and anticipating, that reached beyond
things seen and transitory, to the unseen and eternal.
8
It Precedes and Prepares for the Day School
—The work of
parents precedes that of the teacher. They have a home school—the
first grade. If they seek carefully and prayerfully to know and to
do their duty, they will prepare their children to enter the second
grade—to receive instructions from the teacher.
9
12 Child Guidance
It Fashions Character
—The home may be a school where the
children are indeed fashioned in character after the similitude of a
palace.
10
Education in the Nazareth Home
—Jesus secured His educa-
tion in the home. His mother was His first human teacher. From her
lips, and from the scrolls of the prophets, He learned of heavenly
things. He lived in a peasant’s home and faithfully and cheerfully
[20]
acted His part in bearing the household burdens. He who had been
the commander of heaven was a willing servant, a loving, obedient
son. He learned a trade, and with His own hands worked in the
carpenter’s shop with Joseph.
11
1
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 107.
2
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 107, 108.
3
Manuscript 102, 1903.
4
Manuscript 7, 1899.
5
The Review and Herald, June 6, 1899.
6
Manuscript 84, 1897.
7
Letter 9, 1904.
8
Fundamentals of Christian Education, 95.
9
The Review and Herald, June 13, 1882.
10
Manuscript 136, 1898.
11
The Ministry of Healing, 399.
Chapter 2—The First Teachers [21]
Parents to Understand Their Responsibility
—The father and
the mother should be the first teachers of their children.
1
Fathers and mothers need to understand their responsibility. The
world is full of snares for the feet of the young. Multitudes are
attracted by a life of selfish and sensual pleasure. They cannot
discern the hidden dangers or the fearful ending of the path that
seems to them the way of happiness. Through the indulgence of
appetite and passion, their energies are wasted, and millions are
ruined for this world and for the world to come. Parents should
remember that their children must encounter these temptations. Even
before the birth of the child, the preparation should begin that will
enable it to fight successfully the battle against evil.
2
More than human wisdom is needed by parents at every step, that
they may understand how best to educate their children for a useful,
happy life here, and for higher service and greater joy hereafter.
3
Child Training an Important Part of God’s Plan
—The train-
ing of children constitutes an important part of God’s plan for demon-
strating the power of Christianity. A solemn responsibility rests upon
parents so to train their children that when they go forth into the
world, they will do good and not evil to those with whom they
associate.
4
Parents should not lightly regard the work of training their chil-
dren, nor neglect it upon any account. They should employ much
[22]
time in careful study of the laws which regulate our being. They
should make it their first object to become intelligent in regard to the
proper manner of dealing with their children, that they may secure
to them sound minds in sound bodies....
Many who profess to be followers of Christ are sadly neglectful
of home duties; they do not perceive the sacred importance of the
trust which God has placed in their hands, to so mold the characters
of their children that they will have the moral stamina to resist the
many temptations that ensnare the feet of youth.
5
13
14 Child Guidance
Co-operation With God Is Necessary
—Christ did not ask His
Father to take the disciples out of the world, but to keep them from
the evil in the world, to keep them from yielding to the temptations
which they would meet on every hand. This prayer fathers and
mothers should offer for their children. But shall they plead with
God, and then leave their children to do as they please? God cannot
keep children from evil if the parents do not co-operate with Him.
Bravely and cheerfully parents should take up their work, carrying
it forward with unwearying endeavor.
6
If parents would feel that they are never released from their
burden of educating and training their children for God, if they
would do their work in faith, co-operating with God by earnest
prayer and work, they would be successful in bringing their children
to the Saviour.
7
How One Couple Met Their Responsibilities
—An angel from
heaven came to instruct Zacharias and Elizabeth as to how they
should train and educate their child, so as to work in harmony with
God in preparing a messenger to announce the coming of Christ. As
[23]
parents they were to faithfully co-operate with God in forming such
a character in John as would fit him to perform the part God had
assigned him as a competent worker.
John was the son of their old age, he was a child of miracle, and
the parents might have reasoned that he had a special work to do
for the Lord and the Lord would take care of him. But the parents
did not thus reason; they moved to a retired place in the country,
where their son would not be exposed to the temptations of city
life, or induced to depart from the counsel and instruction which
they as parents would give him. They acted their part in developing
a character in the child that would in every way meet the purpose
for which God had designed his life.... They sacredly fulfilled their
obligation.
8
Regard Children as a Trust
—Parents are to look upon their
children as entrusted to them of God to be educated for the family
above. Train them in the fear and love of God; for “the fear of the
Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”
9
Those who are loyal to God will represent Him in the home life.
They will look upon the training of their children as a sacred work,
entrusted to them by the Most High.
10
First Teachers 15
Parents to Qualify as Christian Teachers
—The work of par-
ents, which means so much, is greatly neglected. Awake, parents,
from your spiritual slumber and understand that the very first teach-
ing the child receives is to be given to him by you. You are to teach
your little ones to know Christ. This work you must do before Satan
sows his seeds in their hearts. Christ calls the children, and they are
to be led to Him, educated in habits of industry, neatness, and order.
[24]
This is the discipline Christ desires them to receive.
11
Sin will lie at the door of parents unless they take themselves
in hand and qualify themselves to become wise, safe, Christian
teachers.
12
Unity Between Parents Is Necessary
—Husband and wife are
to be closely united in their work in the home school. They are to
be very tender and very guarded in their speech, lest they open a
door of temptation through which Satan will enter to obtain victory
after victory. They are to be kind and courteous to each other, acting
in such a way that they can respect one another. Each is to help
the other to bring into the home a pleasant, wholesome atmosphere.
They should not differ in the presence of their children. Christian
dignity is ever to be preserved.
13
The Special Instructor Given for Every Child
—The mother
must ever stand preeminent in this work of training the children;
while grave and important duties rest upon the father, the mother,
by almost constant association with her children, especially dur-
ing their tender years, must always be their special instructor and
companion.
14
An Education Broader Than Mere Instruction
—Parents
must learn the lesson of implicit obedience to God’s voice, which
speaks to them out of His Word; and as they learn this lesson, they
can teach their children respect and obedience in word and action.
This is the work that should be carried on in the home. Those who do
it will reach upward themselves, realizing that they must elevate their
children. This education means much more than mere instruction.
15
Haphazard Work Not Acceptable
—Haphazard work in the
[25]
home will not pass the review in the judgment. Faith and works are
to be combined by Christian parents. As Abraham commanded his
household after him, so they are to command their households after
them. The standard which every parent must raise is given: “They
16 Child Guidance
shall keep the way of the Lord.” Every other way is a path which
leads, not to the city of God, but to the ranks of the destroyer.
16
Let Parents Review Work
—Will parents review their work in
the educating and training of their children, and consider whether
they have done their whole duty in hope and faith that these children
may be a crown of rejoicing in the day of the Lord Jesus? Have
they so labored for the welfare of their children that Jesus can look
down from heaven and by the gift of His Spirit sanctify their efforts?
Parents, it may be yours to prepare your children for the highest
usefulness in this life, and to share at last the glory of that which is
to come.
17
1
Manuscript 67, 1903.
2
The Ministry of Healing, 371.
3
The Review and Herald, September 13, 1881.
4
The Signs of the Times, September 25, 1901.
5
Pacific Health Journal, April, 1890.
6
The Review and Herald, July 9, 1901.
7
The Signs of the Times, April 9, 1896.
8
The Signs of the Times, April 16, 1896.
9
Ibid.
10
Manuscript 103, 1902.
11
The Review and Herald, October 9, 1900.
12
Manuscript 38, 1895.
13
Letter 272, 1903.
14
Pacific Health Journal, January 1890.
15
Manuscript 84, 1897.
16
The Review and Herald, March 30, 1897.
17
Good Health, January, 1880.
Chapter 3—When to Begin the Child’s Training [26]
Education Begins With the Infant
—The word “education”
means more than a course of study at college. Education begins with
the infant in its mother’s arms. While the mother is molding and
fashioning the character of her children, she is educating them.
1
Parents send their children to school; and when they have done
this, they think they have educated them. But education is a matter
of greater breadth than many realize: it comprises the whole process
by which the child is instructed from babyhood to childhood, from
childhood to youth, and from youth to manhood. As soon as a child
is capable of forming an idea, his education should begin.
2
Start When the Mind Is Most Impressible
—The work of ed-
ucation and training should commence with the babyhood of the
child; for then the mind is the most impressible, and the lessons
given are remembered.
3
Children should virtually be trained in a home school from the
cradle to maturity. And, as in the case of any well-regulated school,
the teachers themselves gain important knowledge; the mother espe-
cially, who is the principal teacher in the home, should there learn
the most valuable lessons of her life.
4
It is a parent’s duty to speak right words.... Day by day parents
should learn in the school of Christ lessons from One that loves
them. Then the story of God’s everlasting love will be repeated in
[27]
the home school to the tender flock. Thus, before reason is fully
developed, children may catch a right spirit from their parents.
5
Give Study to the Early Training
—The early training of chil-
dren is a subject that all should carefully study. We need to make
the education of our children a business, for their salvation depends
largely upon the education given them in childhood. Parents and
guardians must themselves maintain purity of heart and life, if they
desire their children to be pure. As fathers and mothers, we should
train and discipline ourselves. Then as teachers in the home, we can
train our children, preparing them for the immortal inheritance.
6
17
18 Child Guidance
Make a Right Beginning
—Your children are God’s property,
bought with a price. Be very particular, O fathers and mothers, to
treat them in a Christlike manner.
7
The youth should be carefully and judiciously trained, for the
wrong habits formed in childhood and youth often cling to the entire
life-experience. May God help us to see the necessity of beginning
right.
8
Importance of Training the First Child
—The first child espe-
cially should be trained with great care, for he will educate the rest.
Children grow according to the influence of those who surround
them. If they are handled by those who are noisy and boisterous,
they become noisy and almost unbearable.
9
The Plant—An Object Lesson in Child Training
—The grad-
ual development of the plant from the seed is an object lesson in
child training. There is “first the blade, then the ear, after that the
full corn in the ear.” Mark 4:28. He who gave this parable created
[28]
the tiny seed, gave it its vital properties, and ordained the laws that
govern its growth. And the truths taught by the parable were made a
reality in His own life. He, the Majesty of heaven, the King of glory,
became a babe in Bethlehem, and for a time represented the helpless
infant in its mother’s care. In childhood He spoke and acted as a
child, honoring His parents, and carrying out their wishes in helpful
ways. But from the first dawning of intelligence He was constantly
growing in grace and in a knowledge of truth.
10
1
Good Health, July, 1880 par. 12.
2
The Review and Herald, June 27, 1899.
3
Letter 1, 1877.
4
Pacific Health Journal, May, 1890.
5
Manuscript 84, 1897.
6
The Review and Herald, September 8, 1904.
7
Manuscript 126, 1897.
8
The Gospel Herald, December 24, 1902.
9
Manuscript 64, 1899.
10
Education, 106, 107.
Section 2—Methods and Textbooks [29]
Chapter 4—Methods of Teaching[30]
[31]
Parental Government to Be a Study.—
The work of the parent
is seldom done as it should be.... Parents, have you studied parental
government that you may wisely train the will and impulse of your
children? Teach the young tendrils to entwine about God for support.
It is not enough that you say, Do this, or, Do that, and then become
utterly regardless and forgetful of what you have required, and the
children are not careful to do your commands. Prepare the way for
your child to obey your commands cheerfully; teach the tendrils to
cling to Jesus.... Teach them to ask the Lord to help them in the little
things of life; to be wide awake to see the small duties which need
to be done; to be helpful in the home. If you do not educate them,
there is one who will, for Satan is watching his opportunity to sow
the seeds of tares in the heart.
1
Approach Task With Restful Spirit and Loving Heart
—My
sister, has God entrusted you with the responsibilities of a mother?
... You need to learn right methods and acquire tact for the training
of your little ones, that they may keep the way of the Lord. You need
to seek constantly the highest culture of mind and soul, that you may
bring to the education and training of your children a restful spirit, a
loving heart; that you may imbue them with pure aspirations, and
cultivate in them a love for things honest and pure and holy. As a
humble child of God, learn in the school of Christ; seek constantly
to improve your powers, that you may do the most perfect, thorough
[32]
work at home, by both precept and example.
2
The Effect of a Quiet, Gentle Manner
—Few realize the effect
of a mild, firm manner, even in the care of an infant. The fretful,
impatient mother or nurse creates peevishness in the child in her
arms, whereas a gentle manner tends to quiet the nerves of the little
one.
3
Theories Are to Be Tested
—The study of books will be of
little benefit, unless the ideas gained can be carried out in practical
life. And yet the most valuable suggestions of others should not
20
Methods of Teaching 21
be adopted without thought and discrimination. They may not be
equally adapted to the circumstances of every mother, or to the
peculiar disposition or temperament of each child in the family.
Let the mother study with care the experience of others, note the
difference between their methods and her own, and carefully test
those that appear to be of real value.
4
Methods Employed in Ancient Times
—From the earliest
times the faithful in Israel had given much attention to the mat-
ter of education. The Lord had directed that the children, even from
babyhood, should be taught of His goodness and His greatness, es-
pecially as revealed in His law and shown in the history of Israel.
Through song and prayer, and lessons from the Scriptures, adapted
to the opening mind, fathers and mothers were to instruct their chil-
dren that the law of God is an expression of His character, and that
as they received the principles of the law into the heart, the image of
God was traced on mind and soul. In both the school and the home,
much of the teaching was oral, but the youth also learned to read
the Hebrew writings; and the parchment rolls of the Old Testament [33]
Scriptures were open to their study.
5
Teach With Kindliness and Affection
—It is the special work
of fathers and mothers to teach their children with kindliness and
affection. They are to show that as parents they are the ones to hold
the lines, to govern, and not to be governed by their children. They
are to teach that obedience is required of them.
6
The restless spirit naturally inclines to mischief; the active mind,
if left unoccupied with better things, will give heed to that which
Satan may suggest. The children need ... to be instructed, to be
guided in safe paths, to be kept from vice, to be won by kindness,
and be confirmed in well-doing.
7
Fathers and mothers, you have a solemn work to do. The eternal
salvation of your children depends upon your course of action. How
will you successfully educate your children? Not by scolding, for
it will do no good. Talk to your children as if you had confidence
in their intelligence. Deal with them kindly, tenderly, lovingly. Tell
them what God would have them do. Tell them that God would have
them educated and trained to be laborers together with Him. When
you act your part, you can trust the Lord to act His part.
8
22 Child Guidance
Take Time to Reason
—Every mother should take time to rea-
son with her children, to correct their errors, and patiently teach
them the right way.
9
Vary the Manner of Instruction
—The greatest care should be
taken in the education of youth, to vary the manner of instruction so
as to call forth the high and noble powers of the mind.... There are
very few who realize the most essential wants of the mind, and how
to direct the developing intellect, the growing thoughts and feelings
[34]
of youth.
10
Teach the First Lessons in the Out-of-doors
—Mothers, let the
little ones play in the open air; let them listen to the songs of the
birds and learn the love of God as expressed in His beautiful works.
Teach them simple lessons from the book of nature and the things
about them; and as their minds expand, lessons from books may be
added and firmly fixed in their memory.
11
The cultivation of the soil is good work for children and youth.
It brings them into direct contact with nature and nature’s God. And
that they may have this advantage, there should be, as far as possible,
in connection with our schools, large flower gardens and extensive
lands for cultivation.
An education amid such surroundings is in accordance with the
directions which God has given for the instruction of youth....
To the nervous child or youth, who finds lessons from books
exhausting and hard to remember, it will be especially valuable.
There is health and happiness for him in the study of nature; and
the impressions made will not fade out of his mind, for they will be
associated with objects that are continually before his eyes.
12
Make Lessons Short and Interesting
—When parents thor-
oughly act their part, giving them line upon line, and precept upon
precept, making their lessons short and interesting, and teaching
them not only by precept but by example, the Lord will work with
their efforts and make them efficient teachers.
13
“Say It Simply; Say It Often.”
—Those who instruct children
should avoid tedious remarks. Short remarks and to the point will
[35]
have a happy influence. If much is to be said, make up for briefness
by frequency. A few words of interest, now and then, will be more
beneficial than to have it all at once. Long speeches burden the
small minds of children. Too much talk will lead them to loathe
Methods of Teaching 23
even spiritual instruction, just as overeating burdens the stomach
and lessens the appetite, leading even to a loathing of food. The
minds of the people may be glutted with too much speechifying.
14
Encourage Independent Thinking
—While the children and
youth gain a knowledge of facts from teachers and textbooks, let
them learn to draw lessons and discern truth for themselves. In their
gardening, question them as to what they learn from the care of their
plants. As they look on a beautiful landscape, ask them why God
clothed the fields and woods with such lovely and varied hues. Why
was not all colored a somber brown? When they gather the flowers,
lead them to think why He spared us the beauty of these wanderers
from Eden. Teach them to notice the evidences everywhere manifest
in nature of God’s thought for us, the wonderful adaptation of all
things to our need and happiness.
15
Direct Childhood Activity
—Parents need not feel that it is nec-
essary to repress the activity of their children, but they are to under-
stand that it is essential to guide and train them in right and proper
directions. These active impulses are like the vines, that, if untrained,
will run over every stump and brush, and fasten their tendrils upon
low supports. If the vines are not trained about some proper support,
they waste their energies to no purpose. So it is with children. Their
activities must be trained in the right direction. Give their hands
[36]
and minds something to do that will advance them in physical and
mental attainments.
16
Teach Helpfulness at an Early Age
—Very early the lesson
of helpfulness should be taught the child. As soon as strength and
reasoning power are sufficiently developed, he should be given duties
to perform in the home. He should be encouraged in trying to help
father and mother, encouraged to deny and to control himself, to
put others’ happiness and convenience before his own, to watch for
opportunities to cheer and assist brothers and sisters and playmates,
and to show kindness to the aged, the sick, and the unfortunate. The
more fully the spirit of true ministry pervades the home, the more
fully it will be developed in the lives of the children. They will learn
to find joy in service and sacrifice for the good of others.
17
Parents, help your children to do the will of God by being faith-
ful in the performance of the duties which really belong to them as
members of the family. This will give them a most valuable expe-
24 Child Guidance
rience. It will teach them that they are not to center their thoughts
upon themselves, to do their own pleasure, or to amuse themselves.
Patiently educate them to act their part in the family circle.
18
Fashion Character by Little Attentions, Often Repeated
—
Parents, in the training of your children, study the lessons that God
has given in nature. If you would train a pink, or rose, or lily, how
would you do it? Ask the gardener by what process he makes every
branch and leaf to flourish so beautifully, and to develop in symmetry
and loveliness. He will tell you that it was by no rude touch, no
[37]
violent effort; for this would only break the delicate stems. It was by
little attentions, often repeated. He moistened the soil and protected
the growing plants from the fierce blasts and from the scorching
sun, and God caused them to flourish and to blossom into loveliness.
In dealing with your children, follow the method of the gardener.
By gentle touches, by loving ministrations, seek to fashion their
characters after the pattern of the character of Christ.
19
Give Attention to Little Things
—What a great mistake is made
in the education of children and youth, in favoring, indulging, and
petting them! They become selfish and inefficient, and lack energy
in the little things of life. They are not trained to acquire strength of
character by the performance of everyday duties, lowly though they
may be....
No one is qualified for great and important work, unless he has
been faithful in the performance of little duties. It is by degrees that
the character is formed, and that the soul is trained to put forth effort
and energy proportionate to the task which is to be accomplished.
20
Talented Children Require Greater Care
—We should im-
print upon our children’s minds that they are not their own, to go,
and to come, and dress, and act, as they please.... If they possess
personal attractions and rare natural abilities, greater care should be
taken in their education, lest these endowments be turned to a curse,
and are so used as to disqualify them for the sober realities of this
life, and, through flattery and vanity and love of display, unfit them
for the better life.
21
Refrain From Undue Notice or Flattery
—Give children but
little notice. Let them learn to amuse themselves. Do not put them
[38]
on exhibition before visitors as prodigies of wit or wisdom, but leave
them as far as possible to the simplicity of their childhood. One great
Methods of Teaching 25
reason why so many children are forward, bold, and impertinent is
they are noticed and praised too much, and their smart, sharp sayings
repeated in their hearing. Endeavor not to censure unduly, nor to
overwhelm with praise and flattery. Satan will all too soon sow evil
seed in their young hearts, and you should not aid him in his work.
22
Read to Your Children
—Fathers and mothers, obtain all the
help you can from the study of our books and publications. Take
time to read to your children.... Form a home reading circle, in
which every member of the family shall lay aside the busy cares of
the day, and unite in study. Especially will the youth who have been
accustomed to reading novels and cheap storybooks receive benefit
from joining in the evening family study.
23
“Train,” Not “Tell”
—To parents is committed the great work
of educating and training their children for the future, immortal life.
Many fathers and mothers seem to think that if they feed and clothe
their little ones, and educate them according to the standard of the
world, they have done their duty. They are too much occupied with
business or pleasure to make the education of their children the study
of their lives. They do not seek to train them so that they will employ
their talents for the honor of their Redeemer. Solomon did not say,
“Tell a child the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not
depart from it.” But, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and
when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
24
Educate for Self-control
—No work ever undertaken by man
[39]
requires greater care and skill than the proper training and educa-
tion of youth and children. There are no influences so potent as
those which surround us in our early years.... The nature of man is
threefold, and the training enjoined by Solomon comprehends the
right development of the physical, intellectual, and moral powers.
To perform this work aright, parents and teachers must themselves
understand “the way the child should go.” This embraces more than
a knowledge of books or the learning of the schools. It comprehends
the practice of temperance, brotherly kindness, and godliness; the
discharge of our duty to ourselves, to our neighbors, and to God.
The training of children must be conducted on a different princi-
ple from that which governs the training of irrational animals. The
brute has only to be accustomed to submit to its master, but the child
must be taught to control himself. The will must be trained to obey
26 Child Guidance
the dictates of reason and conscience. A child may be so disciplined
as to have, like the beast, no will of its own, his individuality being
lost in that of his teacher. Such training is unwise, and its effect
disastrous. Children thus educated will be deficient in firmness and
decision. They are not taught to act from principle; the reasoning
powers are not strengthened by exercise. So far as possible, every
child should be trained to self-reliance. By calling into exercise
the various faculties, he will learn where he is strongest, and in
what he is deficient. A wise instructor will give special attention
to the development of the weaker traits, that the child may form a
well-balanced, harmonious character.
25
1
Manuscript 5, 1896.
2
The Review and Herald, September 15, 1891.
3
Pacific Health Journal, January, 1890.
4
The Signs of the Times, February 9, 1882.
5
Fundamentals of Christian Education, 442.
6
Letter 104, 1897.
7
Letter 28, 1890.
8
Manuscript 33, 1909.
9
Testimonies For The Church 1:390.
10
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 73.
11
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 146.
12
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 186, 187.
13
The Signs of the Times, August 13, 1896.
14
Testimonies For The Church 2:420.
15
Education, 119.
16
The Signs of the Times, August 13, 1896.
17
The Ministry of Healing, 401.
18
The Review and Herald, November 17, 1896.
19
The Desire of Ages, 516.
20
Testimonies For The Church 3:46, 47.
21
The Signs of the Times, December 9, 1875.
22
The Signs of the Times, February 9, 1882.
23
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 138.
24
The Review and Herald, June 24, 1890.
25
Fundamentals of Christian Education, 57.
Chapter 5—The Bible as a Textbook [40]
[41]
The Child’s First Textbook
—The Bible should be the child’s
first textbook. From this book, parents are to give wise instruction.
The Word of God is to be made the rule of the life. From it the
children are to learn that God is their father, and from the beautiful
lessons of His Word they are to gain a knowledge of His character.
Through the inculcation of its principles, they are to learn to do
justice and judgment.
1
A Book of Promises, Blessings, and Reproofs
—The mother
must keep her mind refreshed and stored with the promises and
blessings of God’s Word, and also the forbidden things, that when
her children do wrong she may present as a reproof the words of
God, and show them how they are grieving the Spirit of God. Teach
them that the approbation and smiles of Jesus are of greater value
than the praise or flattery or approval of the most wealthy, the most
exalted, the most learned of the earth. Lead them to Jesus Christ day
by day, lovingly, tenderly, earnestly. You must not allow anything to
come between you and this great work.
2
Its Study Builds Character
—The lessons of the Bible have a
moral and religious influence on the character, as they are brought
into the practical life. Timothy learned and practiced these lessons.
The great apostle often drew him out and questioned him in regard
to Scripture history. He showed him the necessity of shunning every
evil way and told him that blessing would surely attend all who are
faithful and true, giving them a faithful, noble manhood. A noble,
[42]
all-round manhood does not come by chance. It is the result of the
molding process of character building in the early years of youth,
and a practice of the law of God in the home. God will bless the
faithful efforts of all who teach their children as He has directed.
3
It Presents God’s Love as a Pleasant Theme
—The children
in every family are to be brought up in the nurture and admonition
of the Lord. Evil propensities are to be controlled, evil tempers
subdued; and the children are to be instructed that they are the
27
28 Child Guidance
Lord’s property, bought with His own precious blood, and that they
cannot live a life of pleasure and vanity, have their own will and carry
out their own ideas, and yet be numbered among the children of
God. The children are to be instructed with kindness and patience....
Let the parents teach them of the love of God in such a way that
it will be a pleasant theme in the family circle, and let the church
take upon them the responsibility of feeding the lambs as well as the
sheep of the flock.
4
Its Stories Bring Assurance to the Timid Child
—Only the
sense of God’s presence can banish the fear that, for the timid child,
would make life a burden. Let him fix in his memory the promise,
“The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him,
and delivereth them.” Psalm 34:7. Let him read that wonderful story
of Elisha in the mountain city, and, between him and the hosts of
armed foemen, a mighty encircling band of heavenly angels. Let him
read how to Peter, in prison and condemned to death, God’s angel
appeared; how, past the armed guards, the massive doors and great
iron gateway with their bolts and bars, the angel led God’s servant
[43]
forth in safety. Let him read of that scene on the sea, when to the
tempest-tossed soldiers and seamen, worn with labor and watching
and long fasting, Paul the prisoner, on his way to trial and execution,
spoke those grand words of courage and hope: “Be of good cheer:
for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you.... For there
stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I
serve, saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar:
and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.” In the faith
of this promise Paul assured his companions, “There shall not an
hair fall from the head of any of you.” So it came to pass. Because
there was in that ship one man through whom God could work, the
whole shipload of heathen soldiers and sailors was preserved. “They
escaped all safe to land.” Acts 27:22-24, 34, 44.
These things were not written merely that we might read and
wonder, but that the same faith which wrought in God’s servants of
old might work in us. In no less marked a manner than He wrought
then will He work now wherever there are hearts of faith to be
channels of His power.
5
Be strong in faith, and teach your children that we are all depen-
dent upon God. Read to them the story of the four Hebrew children,
Bible as a Textbook 29
and impress their minds with a realization of the influence for good
that was exerted in Daniel’s time because of strict adherence to
principle.
6
Make the Bible Lessons Simple
—The parents are to teach their
children lessons from the Bible, making them so simple that they
can readily be understood.
7
Teach your children that the commandments of God must be-
come the rule of their life. Circumstances may occur to separate
[44]
them from the parents and from their homes, but the lessons of in-
struction given in childhood and youth will be a blessing to them
throughout their lifetime.
8
1
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 108, 109.
2
The Review and Herald, April 14, 1885.
3
Letter 33, 1897.
4
The Review and Herald, October 25, 1892.
5
Education, 255, 256.
6
Manuscript 33, 1909.
7
Letter 189, 1903.
8
Manuscript 57, 1897.
Chapter 6—The Book of Nature[45]
An Unfailing Source of Instruction
—Next to the Bible, nature
is to be our great lesson book.
1
To the little child, not yet capable of learning from the printed
page or of being introduced to the routine of the schoolroom, nature
presents an unfailing source of instruction and delight. The heart not
yet hardened by contact with evil is quick to recognize the Presence
that pervades all created things. The ear as yet undulled by the
world’s clamor is attentive to the Voice that speaks through nature’s
utterances. And for those of older years, needing continually its
silent reminders of the spiritual and eternal, nature’s teaching will
be no less a source of pleasure and of instruction.
2
Used as a Textbook in Eden
—The whole natural world is de-
signed to be an interpreter of the things of God. To Adam and Eve in
their Eden home, nature was full of the knowledge of God, teeming
with divine instruction. To their attentive ears it was vocal with the
voice of wisdom. Wisdom spoke to the eye and was received into
the heart, for they communed with God in His created works.
3
The book of nature, which spread its living lessons before them,
afforded an exhaustless source of instruction and delight. On every
leaf of the forest and stone of the mountains, in every shining star,
in earth and sea and sky, God’s name was written. With both the
animate and the inanimate creation—with leaf and flower and tree,
and with every living creature, from the leviathan of the waters to the
mote in the sunbeam—the dwellers in Eden held converse, gathering
[46]
from each the secrets of its life. God’s glory in the heavens, the
innumerable worlds in their orderly revolutions, “the balancings of
the clouds” (Job 37:16), the mysteries of light and sound, of day and
night—all were objects of study by the pupils of earth’s first school.
4
Added Lessons Since the Fall
—Although the earth was
blighted with the curse, nature was still to be man’s lesson book.
It could not now represent goodness only; for evil was everywhere
present, marring earth and sea and air with its defiling touch. Where
30
Book of Nature 31
once was written only the character of God, the knowledge of good,
was now written also the character of Satan, the knowledge of evil.
From nature, which now revealed the knowledge of good and evil,
man was continually to receive warning as to the results of sin.
5
Nature Illustrates Bible Lessons
—Many illustrations from na-
ture are used by the Bible writers; and as we observe the things of
the natural world, we shall be enabled, under the guiding of the Holy
Spirit, more fully to understand the lessons of God’s Word.
6
In the natural world God has placed in the hands of the children
of men the key to unlock the treasure house of His Word. The unseen
is illustrated by the seen; divine wisdom, eternal truth, infinite grace,
are understood by the things that God has made.
7
Children should be encouraged to search out in nature the objects
that illustrate Bible teachings, and to trace in the Bible the similitudes
drawn from nature. They should search out, both in nature and in
Holy Writ, every object representing Christ, and those also that He
employed in illustrating truth. Thus may they learn to see Him in
tree and vine, in lily and rose, in sun and star. They may learn to
[47]
hear His voice in the song of birds, in the sighing of the trees, in
the rolling thunder, and in the music of the sea. And every object in
nature will repeat to them His precious lessons.
To those who thus acquaint themselves with Christ, the earth will
nevermore be a lonely and desolate place. It will be their Father’s
house, filled with the presence of Him who once dwelt among men.
8
The Bible Interprets Nature’s Mysteries
—The child, as he
comes in contact with nature, will see cause for perplexity. He
cannot but recognize the working of antagonistic forces. It is here
that nature needs an interpreter. Looking upon the evil manifest
even in the natural world, all have the same sorrowful lesson to
learn—“An enemy hath done this.” Matthew 13:28.
Only in the light that shines from Calvary can nature’s teaching
be read aright. Through the story of Bethlehem and the cross let it
be shown how good is to conquer evil, and how every blessing that
comes to us is a gift of redemption.
In brier and thorn, in thistle and tare, is represented the evil that
blights and mars. In singing bird and opening blossom, in rain and
sunshine, in summer breeze and gentle dew, in ten thousand objects
in nature, from the oak of the forest to the violet that blossoms at its
32 Child Guidance
root, is seen the love that restores. And nature still speaks to us of
God’s goodness.
9
Lessons in the Ideal Schoolroom
—As the dwellers in Eden
learned from nature’s pages, as Moses discerned God’s handwriting
on the Arabian plains and mountains, and the Child Jesus on the
hillsides of Nazareth, so the children of today may learn of Him.
[48]
The unseen is illustrated by the seen.
10
Cultivate a Love of Nature
—Let the mother ... find time to
cultivate in herself and her children a love for the beautiful things of
nature. Let her point them to the glories spread out in the heavens,
to the thousand forms of beauty that adorn the earth, and then tell
them of Him who made them all. Thus she can lead their young
minds up to the Creator, and awaken in their hearts reverence and
love for the Giver of every blessing. The fields and hills—nature’s
audience chamber—should be the schoolroom for little children.
Her treasures should be their textbook. The lessons thus imprinted
upon their minds will not be soon forgotten.
Parents may do much to connect their children with God by
encouraging them to love the things of nature which He has given
them, and to recognize the hand of the Giver in all they receive.
The soil of the heart may thus early be prepared for casting in the
precious seeds of truth, which in due time will spring up and bear a
rich harvest.
11
Join Birds in Songs of Praise
—The little children should come
especially close to nature. Instead of putting fashion’s shackles upon
them, let them be free like the lambs, to play in the sweet, fresh
sunlight. Point them to shrubs and flowers, the lowly grass and the
lofty trees, and let them become familiar with their beautiful, varied,
and delicate forms. Teach them to see the wisdom and love of God
in His created works; and as their hearts swell with joy and grateful
love, let them join the birds in their songs of praise.
Educate the children and youth to consider the works of the great
[49]
Master Artist, and to imitate the attractive graces of nature in their
character building. As the love of God wins their hearts, let them
bring into their lives the beauty of holiness. So shall they use their
capabilities to bless others and to honor God.
12
Point From Nature to Nature’s God
—The children need to
be given lessons that will nurture in them courage to resist evil.
Book of Nature 33
Point them from nature to nature’s God, and they will thus become
acquainted with the Creator. How can I best teach my children to
serve and glorify God? should be the question occupying the minds
of parents. If all heaven is interested in the welfare of the human
race, should not we be diligent to do all in our power for the welfare
of our children?
13
Nature Study Strengthens the Mind
—The glory of God is
displayed in His handiwork. Here are mysteries that the mind will
become strong in searching out. Minds that have been amused and
abused by reading fiction may in nature have an open book, and read
truth in the works of God around them. All may find themes for
study in the simple leaf of the forest tree, the spires of grass covering
the earth with their green velvet carpet, the plants and flowers, the
stately trees of the forest, the lofty mountains, the granite rocks,
the restless ocean, the precious gems of light studding the heavens
to make the night beautiful, the exhaustless riches of the sunlight,
the solemn glories of the moon, the winter’s cold, the summer’s
heat, the changing, recurring seasons, in perfect order and harmony,
controlled by infinite power; here are subjects which call for deep
thought, for the stretch of the imagination.
If the frivolous and pleasure-seeking will allow their minds to
[50]
dwell upon the real and true, the heart cannot but be filled with
reverence, and they will adore the God of nature. The contemplation
and study of God’s character as revealed in His created works will
open a field of thought that will draw the mind away from low,
debasing, enervating amusements. The knowledge of God’s works
and ways we can only begin to obtain in this world; the study will be
continued throughout eternity. God has provided for man subjects
of thought which will bring into activity every faculty of the mind.
We may read the character of the Creator in the heavens above and
the earth beneath, filling the heart with gratitude and thanksgiving.
Every nerve and sense will respond to the expressions of God’s love
in His marvelous works.
14
Nature and the Bible Were Jesus’ Textbooks
—His [Jesus’]
education was gained from Heaven-appointed sources, from useful
work, from the study of the Scriptures, from nature, and from the ex-
periences of life—God’s lesson books, full of instruction to all who
34 Child Guidance
bring to them the willing hand, the seeing eye, and the understanding
heart.
15
His intimate acquaintance with the Scriptures shows how dili-
gently His early years were given to the study of God’s Word. And
spread out before Him was the great library of God’s created works.
He who had made all things studied the lessons which His own hand
had written in earth and sea and sky. Apart from the unholy ways of
the world, He gathered stores of scientific knowledge from nature.
He studied the life of plants and animals, and the life of man. From
His earliest years He was possessed of one purpose; He lived to
bless others. For this He found resources in nature; new ideas of
[51]
ways and means flashed into His mind as He studied plant life and
animal life....
Thus to Jesus the significance of the Word and the works of
God was unfolded, as He was trying to understand the reason of
things. Heavenly beings were His attendants, and the culture of
holy thoughts and communings was His. From the first dawning
of intelligence He was constantly growing in spiritual grace and
knowledge of truth.
Every child may gain knowledge as Jesus did. As we try to
become acquainted with our heavenly Father through His Word,
angels will draw near, our minds will be strengthened, our characters
will be elevated and refined.
16
Later Used by Him in His Teaching
—The great Teacher
brought His hearers in contact with nature, that they might listen
to the voice which speaks in all created things; and as their hearts
became tender and their minds receptive, He helped them to interpret
the spiritual teaching of the scenes upon which their eyes rested.
The parables, by means of which He loved to teach lessons of truth,
show how open His spirit was to the influences of nature, and how
He delighted to gather the spiritual teaching from the surroundings
of daily life.
The birds of the air, the lilies of the field, the sower and the seed,
the shepherd and the sheep—with these Christ illustrated immortal
truth. He drew illustrations also from the events of life, facts of
experience familiar to the hearers—the leaven, the hid treasure, the
pearl, the fishing net, the lost coin, the prodigal son, the houses on
the rock and the sand. In His lessons there was something to interest
[52]
Book of Nature 35
every mind, to appeal to every heart. Thus the daily task, instead of
being a mere round of toil, bereft of higher thoughts, was brightened
and uplifted by constant reminders of the spiritual and the unseen.
So we should teach. Let the children learn to see in nature an
expression of the love and the wisdom of God; let the thought of Him
be linked with bird and flower and tree; let all things seen become
to them the interpreters of the unseen, and all the events of life be a
means of divine teaching.
As they learn thus to study the lessons in all created things, and
in all life’s experiences, show that the same laws which govern the
things of nature and the events of life are to control us; that they are
given for our good; and that only in obedience to them can we find
true happiness and success.
17
1
Testimonies For The Church 6:185.
2
Education, 100.
3
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 186.
4
Education, 21.
5
Education, 26.
6
Education, 120.
7
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 187.
8
Education, 120.
9
Education, 101.
10
Education, 100.
11
The Signs of the Times, December 6, 1877.
12
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 188.
13
Manuscript 29, 1886.
14
Testimonies For The Church 4:581.
15
The Ministry of Healing, 400.
16
The Desire of Ages, 70.
17
Education, 102, 103.
Chapter 7—Practical Lessons from Nature’s Book[53]
God’s Voice in His Handiwork
—Wherever we turn, we hear
the voice of God and behold His handiwork. From the solemn
roll of the deep-toned thunder and old ocean’s ceaseless roar, to
the glad songs that make the forests vocal with melody, nature’s
ten thousand voices speak His praise. In earth and sea and sky,
with their marvelous tint and color, varying in gorgeous contrast or
blended in harmony, we behold His glory. The everlasting hills tell
of His power. The trees that wave their green banners in the sunlight,
and the flowers in their delicate beauty, point to their Creator. The
living green that carpets the brown earth tells of God’s care for the
humblest of His creatures. The caves of the sea and the depths of
the earth reveal His treasures. He who placed the pearls in the ocean
and the amethyst and chrysolite among the rocks is a lover of the
beautiful. The sun rising in the heavens is a representative of Him
who is the life and light of all that He has made. All the brightness
and beauty that adorn the earth and light up the heavens speak of
God.
Shall we, then, in the enjoyment of His gifts, forget the Giver?
Let them rather lead us to contemplate His goodness and His love.
Let all that is beautiful in our earthly home remind us of the crystal
river and green fields, the waving trees and living fountains, the
shining city and the white-robed singers, of our heavenly home—
that world of beauty which no artist can picture, no mortal tongue
[54]
describe. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered
into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them
that love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9.
1
Of God’s Love and Character
—Mothers ... should not be so
engrossed with the artificial and burdened with care that they cannot
have time to educate their children from God’s great book of nature,
impressing their young minds with the beauties of opening buds and
flowers. The lofty trees, the lovely birds caroling forth their happy
songs to their Creator, speak to their senses of the goodness, mercy,
36
Practical Lessons from Nature’s Book 37
and benevolence of God. Every leaf and flower with their varied
tints, perfuming the air, teach them that God is love. All that is good
and lovely and beautiful in this world speaks to them of the love of
our heavenly Father. The character of God they may discern in His
created works.
2
Of God’s Perfection
—As the things of nature show their appre-
ciation of the Master Worker by doing their best to beautify the earth
and to represent God’s perfection, so human beings should strive in
their sphere to represent God’s perfection, allowing Him to work
out through them His purposes of justice, mercy, and goodness.
3
Of the Creator and the Sabbath
—Who gives us the sunshine
which makes the earth bring forth and bear? and who the fruitful
showers? Who has given us the heavens above and the sun and stars
in the heavens? Who gave you your reason, and who keeps watch
over you from day to day? ... Every time we look at the world,
we are reminded of the mighty hand of God which called it into
[55]
existence. The canopy over our head, and the earth beneath covered
with a carpet of green, call to remembrance the power of God and
also His loving-kindness. He might have made the grass brown or
black, but God is a lover of the beautiful, and therefore He has given
us beautiful things upon which to look. Who could paint upon the
flowers the delicate tint with which God has clothed them? ...
We can have no better lesson book than nature. “Consider the
lilies of the field; ... they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I
say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed
like one of these.” Let the minds of our children be carried up to
God. It is for this that He has given us the seventh day and left it as
a memorial of His created works.
4
Obedience to Law
—The same power that upholds nature is
working also in man. The same great laws that guide alike the star
and the atom control human life. The laws that govern the heart’s
action, regulating the flow of the current of life to the body, are
the laws of the mighty Intelligence that has the jurisdiction of the
soul. From Him all life proceeds. Only in harmony with Him can be
found its true sphere of action. For all the objects of His creation the
condition is the same—a life sustained by receiving the life of God,
a life exercised in harmony with the Creator’s will. To transgress
38 Child Guidance
His law—physical, mental, or moral—is to place one’s self out of
harmony with the universe, to introduce discord, anarchy, ruin.
To him who learns thus to interpret its teachings, all nature
becomes illuminated; the world is a lesson book, life a school. The
unity of man with nature and with God, the universal dominion of
law, the results of transgression, cannot fail of impressing the mind
[56]
and molding the character. These are lessons that our children need
to learn.
5
Other Lessons From Nature’s Laws
—In the cultivation of the
soil the thoughtful worker will find that treasures little dreamed
of are opening up before him. No one can succeed in agriculture
or gardening without attention to the laws involved. The special
needs of every variety of plant must be studied. Different varieties
require different soil and cultivation, and compliance with the laws
governing each is the condition of success.
The attention required in transplanting, that not even a root fiber
shall be crowded or misplaced, the care of the young plants, the
pruning and watering, the shielding from frost at night and sun by
day, keeping out weeds, disease, and insect pests, the training and
arranging, not only teach important lessons concerning the devel-
opment of character, but the work itself is a means of development.
In cultivating carefulness, patience, attention to detail, obedience to
law, it imparts a most essential training.
The constant contact with the mystery of life and the loveliness
of nature, as well as the tenderness called forth in ministering to
these beautiful objects of God’s creation, tends to quicken the mind
and refine and elevate the character; and the lessons taught prepare
the worker to deal more successfully with other minds.
6
Lessons From Seed Sowing
—The parable of the sower and
the seed conveys a deep spiritual lesson. The seed represents the
principles sown in the heart, and its growth the development of
character. Make the teaching on this point practical. The children
can prepare the soil and sow the seed; and as they work, the parent
[57]
or teacher can explain to them the garden of the heart, with the good
or bad seed sown there; and that as the garden must be prepared for
the natural seed, so the heart must be prepared for the seed of truth.
As the plant grows, the correspondence between the natural and the
spiritual sowing can be continued.
7
Practical Lessons from Nature’s Book 39
As the seed is cast into the ground, they can teach the lesson of
Christ’s death; and as the blade springs up, the truth of the resurrec-
tion.
8
The Garden of the Heart Needs Cultivating
—From the till-
ing of the soil, lessons may constantly be learned. No one settles
upon a raw piece of land with the expectation that it will at once
yield a harvest. Diligent, persevering labor must be put forth in the
preparation of the soil, the sowing of the seed, and the culture of the
crop. So it must be in the spiritual sowing. The garden of the heart
must be cultivated. The soil must be broken up by repentance. The
evil growths that choke the good grain must be uprooted. As soil
once overgrown with thorns can be reclaimed only by diligent labor,
so the evil tendencies of the heart can be overcome only by earnest
effort in the name and strength of Christ.
9
Growth in Grace
—Tell your children about the miracle-work-
ing power of God. As they study the great lesson book of nature,
God will impress their minds. The farmer plows his land and sows
his seed, but he cannot make the seed grow. He must depend on God
to do that which no human power can do. The Lord puts His vital
power into the seed, causing it to spring forth into life. Under His
care the germ of life breaks through the hard crust encasing it, and
springs up to bear fruit. First appears the blade, then the ear, then
[58]
the full corn in the ear. As the children are told of the work that God
does for the seed, they learn the secret of growth in grace.
10
Rising Above Surroundings
—In America we have the fresh
water lilies. These beautiful lilies come up pure, spotless, perfect,
without a single mar. They come up through a mass of debris. I said
to my son, “I want you to make an effort to get me the stem of that
lily as near the root as possible. I want you to understand something
about it.”
He drew up a handful of lilies, and I looked at them. They were
all full of open channels, and the stems were gathering the properties
from the pure sands beneath, and these were being developed into
the pure and spotless lily. It refused all the debris. It refused every
unsightly thing, but there it was developed in its purity.
Now this is exactly the way that we are to educate our youth in
this world. Let their minds and hearts be instructed who God is, who
Jesus Christ is, and the sacrifice that He has made in our behalf. Let
40 Child Guidance
them draw the purity, the virtue, the grace, the courtesy, the love,
the forbearance; let them draw it from the Source of all power.
11
Lessons in Trust and Perseverance
—“Ask now the beasts, and
they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:
... and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.” “Go to the ant; ...
consider her ways.” “Behold the birds.” “Consider the ravens.” Job
12:7, 8; Proverbs 6:6; Matthew 6:26, American Standard Version;
Luke 12:24.
We are not merely to tell the child about these creatures of God’s.
The animals themselves are to be his teachers. The ants teach lessons
[59]
of patient industry, of perseverance in surmounting obstacles, of
providence for the future. And the birds are teachers of the sweet
lesson of trust. Our heavenly Father provides for them; but they must
gather the food, they must build their nests and rear their young.
Every moment they are exposed to enemies that seek to destroy
them. Yet how cheerily they go about their work! How full of joy
are their little songs!
How beautiful the psalmist’s description of God’s care for the
creatures of the woods—
“The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats;
And the rocks for the conies.” Psalm 104:18.
He sends the springs to run among the hills, where the birds have
their habitation and “sing among the branches.” Psalm 104:12. All
the creatures of the woods and hills are a part of His great household.
He opens His hand and satisfies “the desire of every living thing.”
[Psalm 145:16.]
12
The Insects Teach Industry
—The industrious bee gives to men
of intelligence an example that they would do well to imitate. These
insects observe perfect order, and no idler is allowed in the hive.
They execute their appointed work with an intelligence and activity
that are beyond our comprehension.... The wise man calls our atten-
tion to the small things of the earth: “Go to the ant, thou sluggard;
consider her ways, and be wise; which having no guide, overseer,
or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food
in the harvest.” “The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare
their meat in the summer.” We may learn from these little teachers a
Practical Lessons from Nature’s Book 41
lesson of faithfulness. Should we improve with the same diligence
the faculties which an all-wise Creator has bestowed upon us, how
[60]
greatly would our capacities for usefulness be increased. God’s eye
is upon the smallest of His creatures; does He not, then, regard man
formed in His image, and require of him corresponding returns for
all the advantages He has given him?
13
1
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 54, 55.
2
The Signs of the Times, August 5, 1879.
3
Letter 47, 1903.
4
Manuscript 16, 1895.
5
Education, 99, 100.
6
Ibid.
7
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 142.
8
Education, 111.
9
Ibid.
10
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 124, 125.
11
Manuscript 43a, 1894.
12
Education, 117, 118.
13
Testimonies For The Church 4:455, 456.
42 Child Guidance
Section 3—Teachers Adequately Trained [61]
Chapter 8—Preparation is Needed[62]
[63]
The Mother’s Preparation Strangely Neglected
—The child’s
first teacher is the mother. During the period of greatest susceptibility
and most rapid development his education is to a great degree in her
hands. To her first is given opportunity to mold the character for
good or for evil. She should understand the value of her opportunity
and, above every other teacher, should be qualified to use it to the
best account. Yet there is no other to whose training so little thought
is given. The one whose influence in education is most potent
and far-reaching is the one for whose assistance there is the least
systematic effort.
1
Careful, Thorough Preparation Urgent
—Those to whom the
care of the little child is committed are too often ignorant of its
physical needs; they know little of the laws of health or the principles
of development. Nor are they better fitted to care for its mental and
spiritual growth. They may be qualified to conduct business or
to shine in society; they may have made creditable attainments in
literature and science; but of the training of a child they have little
knowledge....
Upon fathers as well as mothers rests a responsibility for the
child’s earlier as well as its later training, and for both parents the
demand for careful and thorough preparation is most urgent. Before
taking upon themselves the possibilities of fatherhood and mother-
hood, men and women should become acquainted with the laws of
physical development—with physiology and hygiene, with the bear-
ing of prenatal influences, with the laws of heredity, sanitation, dress,
[64]
exercise, and the treatment of disease; they should also understand
the laws of mental development and moral training....
Never will education accomplish all that it might and should
accomplish until the importance of the parents’ work is fully recog-
nized, and they receive a training for its sacred responsibilities.
2
Parents should study the laws of nature. They should become
acquainted with the organism of the human body. They need to
44
Preparation is Needed 45
understand the functions of the various organs, and their relation
and dependence. They should study the relation of the mental to the
physical powers, and the conditions required for the healthy action
of each. To assume the responsibilities of parenthood without such
preparation is a sin.
3
“Who Is Sufficient?”
—Parents may well inquire, “Who is suf-
ficient for these things?” God alone is their sufficiency, and if they
leave Him out of the question, seeking not His aid and counsel,
hopeless indeed is their task. But by prayer, by study of the Bible,
and by earnest zeal on their part, they may succeed nobly in this
important duty, and be repaid a hundredfold for all their time and
care.... The source of wisdom is open, from which they may draw
all necessary knowledge in this direction.
4
At times the heart may be ready to faint; but a living sense of the
dangers threatening the present and future happiness of their loved
ones should lead Christian parents to seek more earnestly for help
from the source of strength and wisdom. It should make them more
circumspect, more decided, more calm yet firm, while they watch
for these souls, as they that must give account.
5
Child Training Calls for Understanding God’s Will
—Parents
[65]
are without excuse if they fail to obtain a clear understanding of
God’s will, that they may obey the laws of His kingdom. Only thus
can they lead their children to heaven. My brethren and sisters, it is
your duty to understand God’s requirements. How can you educate
your children in the things of God unless you first know yourselves
what is right and what is wrong, unless you realize that obedience
means eternal life and disobedience eternal death?
We must make it our lifework to understand the will of God.
Only as we do this can we train our children aright.
6
God’s Manual With Full Instructions
—Parents cannot prop-
erly fulfill their responsibilities unless they take the Word of God as
the rule of their life, unless they realize that they are to so educate
and fashion the character of each dear human treasure that it may at
last lay hold of eternal life.
7
The Bible, a volume rich in instruction, should be their textbook.
If they train their children according to its precepts, they not only
set their young feet in the right path, but they educate themselves in
their most holy duties.
8
46 Child Guidance
The work of parents is an important, a solemn, work; the duties
devolving upon them are great. But if they will study the Word of
God carefully, they will find in it full instructions and many precious
promises made to them on condition that they perform their work
faithfully and well.
9
Rules for Parents and Children
—God has given rules for the
guidance of parents and children. These rules are to be strictly
obeyed. The children are not to be indulged and allowed to think
[66]
that they can follow their own desires without asking the advice of
their parents....
From the rules that God has given for the guidance of parents and
children, there can be no sinless swerving. God expects parents to
give their children a training that is in accordance with the principles
of His Word. Faith and works are to be combined. Everything that
is done in the home life and in the school life must be done decently
and in order.
10
To the Law and the Testimony
—The work of education in the
home, if it is to accomplish all that God designs it shall, demands that
parents be diligent students of the Scriptures. They must be learners
of the great Teacher. Day by day the law of love and kindness must
be upon their lips. Their lives must reveal the grace and truth that
was seen in the life of their Example. Then a sanctified love will
bind the hearts of parents and children together, and the youth will
grow up established in the faith and rooted and grounded in the love
of God.
When the will and ways of God become the will and ways of
Seventh-day Adventist parents, their children will grow up to love
and honor and obey God. Satan will not be able to gain control of
their minds, for they have been educated to regard the Word of the
Lord as supreme, and they will test every experience that comes to
them by the law and the testimony.
11
If Negligent, Redeem the Time
—Parents should be studying
the Word of God for themselves and for their families. But instead
of this, many children are left to grow up untaught, unmanaged,
unrestrained. Parents should now do everything in their power to
redeem their neglect and place their children where they will be
[67]
under the very best influences.
12
Preparation is Needed 47
Then search the Scriptures, parents. Be not only hearers; be
doers of the Word. Meet God’s standard in the education of your
children.
13
The Guiding Rule: What Saith the Lord?
—The work of all
parents is to train their children in the way of the Lord. This is not
a matter that can be trifled with, or set aside, without incurring the
displeasure of God. We are not called upon to decide what course
others shall pursue, or how we may get on the most easily, but,
What saith the Lord? Neither parents nor children can have peace
or happiness or rest of spirit in any false path. But when the fear of
God reigns in the heart, combined with love for Jesus, peace and joy
will be felt.
Parents, spread out the Word of God before Him who reads your
heart and every secret thing, and inquire, What saith the Scripture?
This must be the rule of your life. Those who have a love for souls
will not be silent when they see their danger. We are assured that
nothing but the truth of God can make parents savingly wise in
dealing with human minds, and keep them so.
14
Individual Preparation
—If there is any post of duty above an-
other which requires a cultivation of the mind, where the intellectual
and physical powers require healthy tone and vigor, it is the training
of children.
15
In view of the individual responsibility of mothers, every woman
should develop a well-balanced mind and pure character, reflecting
only the true, the good, and the beautiful. The wife and mother may
bind her husband and children to her heart by an unremitting love,
shown in gentle words and courteous deportment, which, as a rule,
[68]
will be copied by her children.
16
Mother, This Is Your Sacred Work
—My sister, Christ has
committed to you the sacred work of teaching His commandments
to your children. In order to be fitted for this work, you must yourself
live in obedience to all His precepts. Cultivate a watchful observance
of every word and action. Guard most diligently your words. Over-
come all hastiness of temper; for impatience, if manifested, will help
the adversary to make the home life disagreeable and unpleasant for
your children.
17
Work in Partnership With the Divine
—Mothers, let your
hearts be open to receive the instruction of God, ever bearing in
48 Child Guidance
mind the fact that you must act your part in conforming to the will
of God. You must place yourself in the light and seek from God
wisdom, that you may know how to act, that you may acknowledge
God as the chief worker, and realize that you are a laborer together
with Him. Let your heart be drawn out in contemplation of heavenly
things. Exercise your God-given talents in doing the duties which
God has enjoined upon you as a mother, and work in partnership
with divine agencies. Labor intelligently, and, “whether therefore ye
eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”
18
The mother should surrender herself and her children to the care
of the compassionate Redeemer. Earnestly, patiently, courageously,
she should seek to improve her own abilities, that she may use
aright the highest powers of the mind in the training of her children.
She should make it her highest aim to give her child an education
which will receive the approval of God. As she takes up her work
[69]
understandingly, she will receive power to perform her part.
19
The mother should feel her need of the Holy Spirit’s guidance,
that she may herself have a genuine experience in submission to the
way and will of the Lord. Then, through the grace of Christ, she can
be a wise, gentle, loving teacher of her children.
20
If You Have Begun Wrong
—To parents who have begun their
training wrong, I would say, Do not despair. You need to be soundly
converted to God. You need the true spirit of obedience to the Word
of God. You must make decided reforms in your own customs
and practices, conforming your life to the saving principles of the
law of God. When you do this, you will have the righteousness of
Christ which pervades that law, because you love God and recognize
His law as a transcript of His character. True faith in the merits of
Christ is not fancy. It is of the highest importance that you bring
the attributes of Christ into your own life and character, and educate
and train your children with persevering effort to be obedient to the
commandments of God. A “Thus saith the Lord” should guide you
in all your plans of education....
Let there be a deep and thorough repentance before God. Com-
mence the year ... by earnestly seeking God for grace, for spiritual
discernment to discover the defects in the work of the past. Repent
before God for your neglected work as home missionaries.
21
Preparation is Needed 49
This is your day of trust, your day of responsibility and oppor-
tunity. Soon will come your day of reckoning. Take up your work
with earnest prayer and faithful endeavor. Teach your children that it
is their privilege to receive every day the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
[70]
Let Christ find you His helping hand to carry out His purposes. By
prayer you may gain an experience that will make your ministry for
your children a perfect success.
22
1
Education, 275.
2
Education, 275, 276.
3
The Ministry of Healing, 380.
4
Testimonies For The Church 4:198.
5
The Review and Herald, August 30, 1881.
6
Manuscript 103, 1902.
7
Manuscript 84, 1897.
8
Testimonies For The Church 4:198.
9
The Signs of the Times, April 8, 1886.
10
Letter 9, 1904.
11
Letter 356, 1907.
12
Manuscript 76, 1905.
13
Manuscript 57, 1897.
14
The Review and Herald, March 30, 1897.
15
Pacific Health Journal, June, 1890.
16
Pacific Health Journal, September, 1890.
17
Letter 47a, 1902.
18
The Signs of the Times, April 9, 1896.
19
The Signs of the Times, April 3, 1901.
20
The Review and Herald, May 10, 1898.
21
Manuscript 12, 1898.
22
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 131.
Chapter 9—A Call for Self-improvement[71]
Continual Advancement Necessary
—The mother’s work is
such that it demands continual advancement in her own life, in order
that she may lead her children to higher and still higher attainments.
But Satan lays his plans to secure the souls of both parents and
children. Mothers are drawn away from the duties of home and
the careful training of their little ones, to the service of self and the
world.
1
For the sake of their children, if for no other reason, mothers
should cultivate their intellects, for they bear a greater responsibility
in their work than does the king upon his throne. Few mothers feel
the weight of the trust that is given them, or realize the efficiency
they can attain for their peculiar work through patient, thorough
effort in self-culture.
And first, the mother needs to strictly discipline and cultivate
all the faculties and affections of the mind and heart, that she may
not have a distorted or one-sided character and leave the marks of
her deficiency or eccentricity upon her offspring. Many mothers
need [to] be roused to see the positive necessity of a change in
their purposes and characters in order to perform acceptably the
duties they have voluntarily assumed by entering upon the married
life. The channel of woman’s usefulness can be widened and her
influence extended to an almost unlimited degree if she will give
proper attention to these matters, which affect the destiny of the
human race.
2
Constantly Increase in Wisdom and Efficiency
—Mothers,
above all others, should accustom themselves to thought and in-
[72]
vestigation if they would increase in wisdom and efficiency. Those
who persevere in this course will soon perceive that they are acquir-
ing the faculty in which they thought themselves deficient; they are
learning to form aright the characters of their children. The result
of the labor and thought given to this work will be seen in their
50
Call for Self-improvement 51
obedience, their simplicity, their modesty and purity. This result will
richly repay all the effort made.
God would have mothers seek constantly to improve both the
mind and the heart. They should feel that they have a work to do for
Him in the education and training of their children, and the more
perfectly they can improve their own powers, the more efficient will
they become in their work as parents.
3
Parents Should Grow Intellectually and Morally
—It is the
duty of mothers to cultivate their minds and keep their hearts pure.
They should improve every means within their reach for their in-
tellectual and moral improvement, that they may be qualified to
improve the minds of their children.
4
Parents should be constant learners in the school of Christ. They
need freshness and power, that with the simplicity of Christ they
may teach the younger members of God’s family the knowledge of
His will.
5
The Amazing Power of Christian Culture
—Parents have not
yet aroused to understand the amazing power of Christian culture.
There are mines of truth to be worked that have been strangely
neglected. This careless indifference does not meet the approval
of God. Parents, God calls upon you to look at this matter with
anointed eyes. You have as yet only skimmed the surface. Take up
your long-neglected work, and God will co-operate with you. Do
[73]
your work with wholeheartedness, and God will help you to make
improvement. Begin by bringing the gospel into the home life.
6
We are now in God’s workshop. Many of us are rough stones
from the quarry. But as the truth of God is brought to bear upon
us, every imperfection is removed and we are prepared to shine as
lively stones in the heavenly temple, where we shall be brought
into association, not only with the holy angels, but with the King of
heaven Himself.
7
The Aim—Perfection
—Mothers, will you not dispense with
useless, unimportant labor for that which must perish with the using?
Will you not seek to draw near to God, that His wisdom may guide
and His grace assist you, in a work which will be as enduring as
eternity? Aim to make your children perfect in character. Remember
that such only can see God....
52 Child Guidance
Many parents are neglecting their God-given work. They are
themselves far from purity and holiness, and they do not see the de-
fects of their children as they would if their own eyes were beholding
and admiring the perfection of Christ’s character.
8
How to Become an Ideal Mother
—Instead of sinking into a
mere household drudge, let the wife and mother take time to read, to
keep herself well informed, to be a companion to her husband, and
to keep in touch with the developing minds of her children. Let her
use wisely the opportunities now hers to influence her dear ones for
the higher life. Let her take time to make the dear Saviour a daily
companion and familiar friend. Let her take time for the study of
His Word, take time to go with the children into the fields and learn
[74]
of God through the beauty of His works.
Let her keep cheerful and buoyant. Instead of spending every
moment in endless sewing, make the evening a pleasant social sea-
son, a family reunion after the day’s duties. Many a man would thus
be led to choose the society of his home before that of the clubhouse
or the saloon. Many a boy would be kept from the street or the corner
grocery. Many a girl would be saved from frivolous, misleading
associations. The influence of the home would be to parents and
children what God designed it should be, a lifelong blessing.
9
Make a Success of Domestic Life—Counsel to a Mother
—
You should not follow your own inclinations. You should be very
careful to set a right example in all things. Do not be inactive.
Arouse your dormant energies. Make yourself a necessity to your
husband by being attentive and helpful. Be a blessing to him in
everything. Take up the duties essential to be done. Study how
to perform with alacrity the plain, uninteresting, homely, but most
needful duties which relate to domestic life....
Try to make a success of your domestic life. It means more to fill
the position of wife and mother than you have thought.... You need
the culture and experience of domestic life. You need the variety,
the stir, the earnest effort, the cultivation of the willpower, that this
life brings.
10
Parents Who Are Too Busy
—Many parents plead that they
have so much to do that they have no time to improve their minds,
to educate their children for practical life, or to teach them how they
[75]
may become lambs of Christ’s fold.
11
Call for Self-improvement 53
Parents must not neglect to arm their own minds against sin, to
guard against that which will not only ruin themselves, but transmit
pain and every kind of misery and evil to their offspring. By correctly
educating themselves, parents are to teach their children that the
heavens do rule.
12
Parents Should Welcome Counsel
—While they sleep in god-
less indifference, Satan is sowing in the hearts of their children seeds
which will spring up to bear a harvest of death. Yet often such parents
resent counsel as to their mistakes. They act as though they would
like to ask those who offer advice, What right have you to meddle
with my children? But are their children not God’s children also?
How does He regard their wicked neglect of duty? What excuse will
they offer when He asks them why they brought children into the
world, and then left them to be the sport of Satan’s temptations?
13
Be prepared to listen to counsel from others. Do not feel that it is
no business of your brethren or sisters how you treat your children,
or how your children conduct themselves.
14
Benefits of Meetings for Mutual Counsel
[Note: Reference is
here made to group study as in camp meeting.]—God has committed
to our hands a most sacred work, and we need to meet together to
receive instruction, that we may be fitted to perform this work....
We need to meet together and receive the divine touch that we may
understand our work in the home. Parents need to understand how
[76]
they may send forth from the sanctuary of the home their sons and
daughters so trained and educated that they will be fitted to shine as
lights in the world.
15
From the camp meeting we may take with us a better under-
standing of our home duties. There are lessons to be learned here
regarding the work the Lord would have our sisters do in their homes.
They are to learn to cultivate politeness of speech when speaking to
husband and children. They are to study how they may help to bring
every member of the family under discipline to God. Let fathers
and mothers realize that they are under obligation to make home
pleasant and attractive, and that obedience is not to be obtained by
scolding and threats. Many parents have yet to learn that no good
is accomplished by outbursts of scolding. Many do not consider
the need of speaking kindly to the children. They do not remember
54 Child Guidance
that these little ones are bought with a price and are the purchased
possession of the Lord Jesus.
16
1
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 60.
2
Pacific Health Journal, May 1890.
3
The Signs of the Times, February 9, 1882.
4
Testimonies For The Church 3:147.
5
The Signs of the Times, September 25, 1901.
6
The Signs of the Times, April 3, 1901.
7
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 161.
8
The Signs of the Times, July 1, 1886.
9
The Ministry of Healing, 294.
10
Letter 5, 1884.
11
Testimonies For The Church 3:145.
12
Letter 86, 1899.
13
The Signs of the Times, April 3, 1901.
14
Manuscript 27, 1911.
15
Testimonies For The Church 6:32, 33.
16
Manuscript 65, 1908.
Section 4—Obedience, The Most [77]
Important Lesson
Chapter 10—The Key to Happiness and Success[78]
[79]
Happiness Dependent on Obedience
—Let fathers, mothers,
and the educators in our schools remember that it is a higher branch
of education to teach children obedience. Altogether too little im-
portance is attached to this line of education.
1
Children will be happier, far happier, under proper discipline
than if left to do as their untrained impulses suggest.
2
Prompt and continual obedience to wise parental rule will pro-
mote the happiness of the children themselves, as well as the honor
of God and the good of society. Children should learn that in submis-
sion to the laws of the household is their perfect liberty. Christians
will learn the same lesson—that in their obedience to God’s law is
their perfect freedom.
3
The will of God is the law of heaven. As long as that law was
the rule of life, all the family of God were holy and happy. But when
the divine law was disobeyed, then envy, jealousy, and strife were
introduced, and a part of the inhabitants of heaven fell. As long as
God’s law is revered in our earthly homes, the family will be happy.
4
Disobedience Caused Loss of Eden
—The history of Adam and
Eve’s disobedience in the very beginning of this earth’s history is
fully given. By that one act of disobedience our first parents lost
their beautiful Eden home. And it was such a little thing! We have
reason to be thankful that it was not a larger matter, because if it had
[80]
been, little disregards in disobedience would have been multiplied.
It was the least test that God could give the holy pair in Eden.
Disobedience and transgression are ever a great offense to God.
Unfaithfulness in that which is least will soon, if uncorrected, lead
to transgression in that which is great. It is not the greatness of the
disobedience, but the disobedience itself which is the crime.
5
The Foundation of Temporal and Spiritual Prosperity
—
Temporal and spiritual prosperity are made conditional upon obedi-
ence to the law of God. But we do not read God’s Word, and thus
become familiar with the terms of the blessing that is to be given
56
Key to Happiness and Success 57
to all who hearken diligently to God’s law and teach it diligently in
their families. Obedience to God’s Word is our life, our happiness.
We look upon the world and see it groaning under the wickedness
and violence of men who have degraded the law of God. He has
withdrawn His blessing from orchard and vineyard. Were it not
for His commandment-keeping people who live upon the earth, He
would not stay His judgments. He extends His mercy because of the
righteous, who love and fear Him.
6
Guide the Children Into Paths of Obedience
—A sacred duty
rests upon parents to guide their children into paths of strict obedi-
ence. True happiness in this life and in the future life depends upon
obedience to a “Thus saith the Lord.” Parents, let Christ’s life be the
pattern. Satan will devise every possible means to break down this
high standard of piety as one altogether too strict. It is your work
to impress upon your children in their early years the thought that
they are formed in the image of God. Christ came to this world to
[81]
give them a living example of what they all must be, and parents
who claim to believe the truth for this time are to teach their children
to love God and to obey His law. This is the greatest and most
important work that fathers and mothers can do.... It is God’s design
that even the children and youth shall understand intelligently what
God requires, that they may distinguish between righteousness and
sin, between obedience and disobedience.
7
Obedience to Become a Delight
—Parents should educate their
children line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there
a little, not allowing any disregard of God’s holy law. They should
rely upon divine power, asking the Lord to help them to keep their
children true to Him who gave His only-begotten Son to bring the
disloyal and disobedient back to their allegiance. God longs to pour
upon men and women the rich current of His love. He longs to see
them delighting to do His will, using every jot of their entrusted
powers in His service, teaching all who come within the sphere of
their influence that the way to be treated as righteous for Christ’s
sake is to obey the law.
8
Chapter 11—To be Taught from Babyhood [82]
Begin the Teaching Early
—Obedience to parental authority
should be inculcated in babyhood and cultivated in youth.
1
Some parents think that they can let their little ones have their
own way in their babyhood, and then when they get older, they will
reason with them; but this is a mistake. Begin in the baby life to
teach obedience.... Require obedience in your home school.
2
From their earliest life children should be taught to obey their
parents, to respect their word, and to reverence their authority.
3
Before Reason Is Developed
—One of the first lessons a child
needs to learn is the lesson of obedience. Before he is old enough to
reason, he may be taught to obey.
4
The mother’s work should commence with the infant. She should
subdue the will and temper of the child and bring its disposition into
subjection. Teach it to obey, and as the child grows older, relax not
the hand.
5
Before Self-will Grows Strong
—Few parents begin early
enough to teach their children obedience. The child is usually al-
lowed to get two or three years the start of its parents, who forbear
to discipline it, thinking it is too young to learn to obey. But all this
time self is growing strong in the little being, and every day makes
it a harder task for the parent to gain control of the child.
At a very early age children can comprehend what is plainly and
simply told them, and, by kind and judicious management, can be
[83]
taught to obey.... The mother should not allow her child to gain an
advantage over her in a single instance; and, in order to maintain
this authority, it is not necessary to resort to harsh measures; a firm,
steady hand and a kindness which convinces the child of your love
will accomplish the purpose. But let selfishness, anger, and self-will
have their course for the first three years of a child’s life, and it will
be hard to bring it to submit to wholesome discipline. Its disposition
has become soured; it delights in having its own way; parental
control is distasteful. These evil tendencies grow with its growth,
59
60 Child Guidance
until, in manhood, supreme selfishness and a lack of self-control
place him at the mercy of the evils that run riot in our land.
6
Never should they [the children] be allowed to show their parents
disrespect. Self-will should never be permitted to go unrebuked.
The future well-being of the child requires kindly, loving, but firm
discipline.
7
Obedience to Parents Leads to Obedience to God
—The
youth and children who have praying parents have been greatly
privileged, for such have an opportunity to know and love God.
In respecting and rendering obedience to their parents, they may
learn how to respect and obey their heavenly Father. If they walk
as children of the light, they will be kind and courteous, loving and
respectful, to their parents, whom they have seen, and thus be better
qualified to love God, whom they have not seen. If they are faithful
representatives of their parents, practicing the truth through the help
given them of God, then by precept and example they acknowledge
the ownership of God and honor Him by a well-ordered life and
godly conversation.
8
Only the Obedient Enter Heaven
—Let parents and teachers
[84]
impress upon the minds of the children that the Lord is proving them
in this life, to see if they will render obedience to Him with love and
reverence. Those who would not be obedient to Christ here would
not obey Him in the eternal world.
9
If parents or children are ever welcomed into the mansions above,
it will be because they have in this world learned to obey the com-
mands of God.
10
1
The Review and Herald, March 13, 1894.
2
Letter 75, 1898.
3
The Review and Herald, July 16, 1895.
4
Education, 287.
5
The Signs of the Times, February 26, 1880.
6
Pacific Health Journal, April, 1890.
7
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 112.
8
The Youth’s Instructor, June 15, 1893.
9
Counsels on Sabbath School Work, 79.
10
Manuscript 60, 1903.
Chapter 12—Obedience Must Become a Habit [85]
Use Gentle but Persistent Effort
—Children are to be taught
that their capabilities were given them for the honor and glory of
God. To this end they must learn the lesson of obedience.... By
gentle, persistent effort the habit should be established. Thus to a
great degree may be prevented those later conflicts between will
and authority that do so much to arouse in the minds of the youth
alienation and bitterness toward parents and teachers, and too often
resistance of all authority, human and divine.
1
Allow No Arguments or Evasions
—The first care of the par-
ents should be to establish good government in the family. The
word of the parents should be law, precluding all arguments or eva-
sions. Children should be taught from infancy to implicitly obey
their parents.
2
Strict discipline may at times cause dissatisfaction, and children
will want their own way; yet where they have learned the lesson
of obedience to their parents, they are better prepared to submit to
the requirements of God. Thus the training received in childhood
influences the religious experience and molds the character of the
man.
3
Permit No Exceptions
—As teachers in their own family, par-
ents are to see that the rules are not disobeyed.... By allowing their
children to go on in disobedience, they fail to exercise proper dis-
cipline. Children must be brought to the point of submission and
obedience. Disobedience must not be allowed. Sin lies at the door
of the parents who allow their children to disobey.... Children are to
[86]
understand that they are to obey.
4
Require Prompt, Perfect Obedience
—When parents fail to
require prompt and perfect obedience in their children, they fail to
lay the right foundation of character in their little ones. They prepare
their children to dishonor them when they are old, and bring sorrow
to their hearts when they are nearing the grave.
5
61
62 Child Guidance
Requirements Should Be Reasonable
—The requirements of
the parents should always be reasonable; kindness should be ex-
pressed, not by foolish indulgence, but by wise direction. Parents
are to teach their children pleasantly, without scolding or faultfind-
ing, seeking to bind the hearts of the little ones to them by silken
cords of love. Let all, fathers and mothers, teachers, elder brothers
and sisters, become an educating force to strengthen every spiritual
interest, and to bring into the home and the school life a wholesome
atmosphere, which will help the younger children to grow up in the
nurture and admonition of the Lord.
6
In our own training of children, and in the training of children of
others, we have proved that they never love parents and guardians
less for restraining them from doing evil.
7
Reasons for Obedience Should Be Given
—Children are to
learn to obey in the family government. They are to form a symmet-
rical character that God can approve, maintaining law in the home
life. Christian parents are to educate their children to obey the law
of God.... The reasons for this obedience and respect for the law
of God may be impressed upon the children as soon as they can
[87]
understand its nature, so that they will know what they should do,
and what they should abstain from doing.
8
The Parent’s Word Should Be Law
—Your children, that are
under your control, should be made to mind you. Your word should
be their law.
9
Many Christian parents fail to command their children after
them, and then wonder that their children are perverse, disobedient,
unthankful, and unholy. Such parents are under the rebuke of God.
They have neglected to bring their children up in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord. They have failed to teach them the first
lesson of Christianity: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of
wisdom.” “Foolishness,” says the wise man, “is bound in the heart
of a child.” The love of folly, the desire to do evil, the hatred of
holy things, are some of the difficulties that parents must meet in the
home mission field....
In the strength of God, parents must arise and command their
households after them. They must learn to repress wrong with a firm
hand, yet without impatience or passion. They should not leave the
Obedience Must Become a Habit 63
children to guess at what is right, but should point out the way in
unmistakable terms and teach them to walk therein.
10
Influence of One Disobedient Child
—One disobedient child
will do great harm to those with whom he associates, for he will
fashion other children after his own pattern.
11
Winking at Sin
—Teach your children to honor you, because the
law of God lays this duty upon children. If you allow your children
to lightly esteem your wishes and pay no regard to the laws of the
[88]
household, you are winking at sin; you are permitting the devil to
work as he will; and the same insubordination, want of reverence,
and love of self will be carried with them even into the religious life
and into the church. And the beginning of all this evil is charged in
the books of heaven to the neglect of the parents.
12
Habit of Obedience Established by Repetition
.—Lessons on
obedience, on respect for authority, need to be often repeated. This
kind of work done in the family will be a power for good, and not
only will the children be restrained from evil and constrained to love
truth and righteousness, but parents will be equally benefited. This
kind of work which the Lord requires cannot be done without much
serious contemplation on their part, and much study of the Word of
God, in order that they may instruct according to His directions.
13
1
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 110, 111.
2
Pacific Health Journal, January, 1890.
3
The Signs of the Times, February 26, 1880.
4
Manuscript 82, 1901.
5
Manuscript 18, 1891.
6
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 158, 159.
7
The Review and Herald, May 10, 1898.
8
Manuscript 126, 1897.
9
The Review and Herald, September 19, 1854.
10
The Review and Herald, May 4, 1886.
11
The Review and Herald, March 13, 1894.
12
The Review and Herald, April 14, 1885.
13
Manuscript 24b, 1894.
64 Child Guidance
Section 5—Other Basic Lessons [89]
Chapter 13—Self-control[90]
[91]
Prepare Children for Life and Its Duties
—Well may the
mother inquire with deep anxiety, as she looks upon the children
given to her care, What is the great aim and object of their educa-
tion? Is it to fit them for life and its duties, to qualify them to take an
honorable position in the world, to do good, to benefit their fellow-
beings, to gain eventually the reward of the righteous? If so, then the
first lesson to be taught them is self-control; for no undisciplined,
headstrong person can hope for success in this world or reward in
the next.
1
Train the Child to Yield
—The little ones, before they are a year
old, hear and understand what is spoken in reference to themselves,
and know to what extent they are to be indulged. Mothers, you
should train your children to yield to your wishes. This point must
be gained if you would hold the control over your children, and
preserve your dignity as a mother. Your children quickly learn just
what you expect of them, they know when their will conquers yours,
and will make the most of their victory.
2
It is the veriest cruelty to allow wrong habits to be developed, to
give the law into the hands of the child and let him rule.
3
Do Not Gratify Selfish Wishes
—If parents are not careful, they
will treat their children in such a way as will lead the children to
demand attention and privileges that will call for the parents to
deprive themselves in order to indulge their little ones. The children
will call upon the parents to do things for them, to gratify their
[92]
wishes, and the parents will concede to their wishes, regardless of
the fact that it is inculcating selfishness in their children. But in
doing this work parents are wronging their children, and will find
out afterwards how difficult a thing it is to counteract the influence
of the education of the first few years in a child’s life. Children need
to learn early that they cannot be gratified when selfishness prompts
their wishes.
4
66
Self-control 67
Give Nothing for Which Children Cry
—One precious lesson
which the mother will need to repeat again and again is that the child
is not to rule; he is not the master, but her will and her wishes are
to be supreme. Thus she is teaching them self-control. Give them
nothing for which they cry, even if your tender heart desires ever
so much to do this; for if they gain the victory once by crying they
will expect to do it again. The second time the battle will be more
vehement.
5
Never Permit Display of Angry Passions
—Among the first
tasks of the mother is the restraining of passion in her little ones.
Children should not be allowed to manifest anger; they should not
be permitted to throw themselves upon the floor, striking and crying
because something has been denied them which was not for their
best good. I have been distressed as I have seen how many parents
indulge their children in the display of angry passions. Mothers
seem to look upon these outbursts of anger as something that must
be endured, and appear indifferent to the child’s behavior. But if
an evil is permitted once, it will be repeated, and its repetition will
result in habit, and so the child’s character will receive an evil mold.
6
When to Rebuke the Evil Spirit
—I have often seen the little
[93]
one throw itself and scream if its will was crossed in any way. This
is the time to rebuke the evil spirit. The enemy will try to control
the minds of our children, but shall we allow him to mold them
according to his will? These little ones cannot discern what spirit is
influencing them, and it is the duty of parents to exercise judgment
and discretion for them. Their habits must be carefully watched.
Evil tendencies are to be restrained, and the mind stimulated in favor
of the right. The child should be encouraged in every effort to govern
itself.
7
Begin With the “Songs of Bethlehem.”
—Mothers should ed-
ucate their babies in their arms after correct principles and habits.
They should not allow them to pound their heads on the floor....
Let the mothers educate them in their infancy. Commence with the
songs of Bethlehem. These soft tunes will have a quieting influence.
Sing them these subdued tunes in regard to Christ and His love.
8
No Wavering or Indecision
—Perverse temper should be
checked in the child as soon as possible; for the longer this duty is
delayed, the more difficult it is to accomplish. Children of quick,
68 Child Guidance
passionate disposition need the special care of their parents. They
should be dealt with in a particularly kind but firm manner; there
should be no wavering or indecision on the part of the parents in
their case. The traits of character which would naturally check the
growth of their peculiar faults should be carefully nourished and
strengthened. Indulgence of the child of passionate and perverse
disposition will result in his ruin. His faults will strengthen with his
years, retard the development of his mind, and overbalance all the
[94]
good and noble traits of his character.
9
An Example of Parental Self-control Is Vital
—Some parents
have not control over themselves. They do not control their own
morbid appetites or their passionate temper; therefore they cannot
educate their children in regard to the denial of their appetite, and
teach them self-control.
10
If parents desire to teach their children self-control, they must
first form the habit themselves. The scolding and faultfinding of
parents encourages a hasty, passionate temper in their children.
11
Weary Not in Well-doing
—Parents are too fond of ease and
pleasure to do the work appointed them of God in their home life.
We should not see the terrible state of evil that exists among the
youth of today if they had been properly trained at home. If parents
would take up their God-given work and would teach self-restraint,
self-denial, and self-control to their children, both by precept and
example, they would find that while they were seeking to do their
duty, so as to meet the approval of God, they would be learning
precious lessons in the school of Christ. They would be learning
patience, forbearance, love, and meekness; and these are the very
lessons that they must teach to their children.
After the moral sensibilities of the parents are aroused, and they
take up their neglected work with renewed energy, they should not
become discouraged or allow themselves to be hindered in the work.
Too many become weary in well-doing. When they find that it
requires taxing effort, and constant self-control, and increased grace,
as well as knowledge, to meet the unexpected emergencies that arise,
[95]
they become disheartened, and give up the struggle, and let the
enemy of souls have his own way. Day after day, month after month,
year after year, the work is to go on, till the character of your child is
formed, and the habits established in the right way. You should not
Self-control 69
give up and leave your families to drift along in a loose, ungoverned
manner.
12
Never Lose Control of Yourselves
—Never should we lose con-
trol of ourselves. Let us ever keep before us the perfect Pattern. It
is a sin to speak impatiently and fretfully or to feel angry—even
though we do not speak. We are to walk worthy, giving a right
representation of Christ. The speaking of an angry word is like flint
striking flint: it at once kindles wrathful feelings.
Never be like a chestnut bur. In the home do not allow yourself
to use harsh, rasping words. You should invite the heavenly Guest
to come into your home, at the same time making it possible for
Him and the heavenly angels to abide with you. You should receive
the righteousness of Christ, the sanctification of the Spirit of God,
the beauty of holiness, that you may reveal to those around you the
Light of life.
13
“He that is slow to anger,” says the wise man, “is better than
the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city.”
The man or woman who preserves the balance of the mind when
tempted to indulge passion stands higher in the sight of God and
heavenly angels than the most renowned general that ever led an
army to battle and to victory. Said a celebrated emperor when on his
dying bed, “Among all my conquests there is but one which affords
me any consolation now, and that is the conquest I have gained over
my own turbulent temper.” Alexander and Caesar found it easier to [96]
subdue a world than to subdue themselves. After conquering nation
after nation, they fell—one of them “the victim of intemperance, the
other of mad ambition.”
14
1
Pacific Health Journal, May, 1890.
2
The Signs of the Times, March 16, 1891.
3
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 68.
4
The Signs of the Times, August 13, 1896.
5
Manuscript 43, 1900.
6
The Signs of the Times, March 16, 1891.
7
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 61.
8
Manuscript 9, 1893.
9
Pacific Health Journal, January, 1890.
10
Pacific Health Journal, October 1897.
11
The Signs of the Times, November 24, 1881.
12
The Review and Herald, July 10, 1888.
Chapter 14—Quietness, Respect, and Reverence [97]
Repress Undue Noise and Turbulence
—Let not a mother al-
low her mind to be occupied with too many things.... With the
greatest diligence and the closest watchfulness she must care for
the little ones who, if allowed, will follow every impulse springing
out of the fullness of their unpracticed, ignorant hearts. In their
exuberance of spirit they will give utterance to noise and turbulence
in the home. This should be checked. Children will be just as happy
if they are educated not to do these things. They are to be taught that
when visitors come, they are to be quiet and respectful.
1
Let Quietness Reign in the Home
—Fathers and mothers, ...
teach your children that they must be subordinate to law. Do not
allow them to think that because they are children, it is their priv-
ilege to make all the noise they wish in the house. Wise rules and
regulations must be made and enforced, that the beauty of the home
life may not be spoiled.
2
Parents do their children great wrong when they allow them to
scream and cry. They should not be allowed to be careless and bois-
terous. If these objectionable traits of character are not checked in
their early years, the children will take them with them, strengthened
and developed, into religious and business life. Children will be just
as happy if they are taught to be quiet in the house.
3
Teach Respect for Experienced Judgment
—Children should
[98]
be taught to respect experienced judgment. They should be so edu-
cated that their minds will be united with the minds of their parents
and teachers, and so instructed that they can see the propriety of
heeding their counsel. Then when they go forth from the guiding
hand, their characters will not be like the reed trembling in the wind.
4
Parental Laxness Encourages Disrespect
—If in their own
homes children are allowed to be disrespectful, disobedient, un-
thankful, and peevish, their sins lie at the door of their parents.
5
The mother ... is to rule her household wisely, in the dignity
of her motherhood. Her influence in the home is to be paramount;
71
72 Child Guidance
her word, law. If she is a Christian, under God’s control, she will
command the respect of her children. Tell your children exactly
what you require of them.
6
When parents do not maintain their authority, when the children
go to school, they have no particular respect for the teachers or
principal of the school. The reverence and respect that they should
have, they were never taught to have at home. Father and mother
were on the same level with the children.
7
Results of Unchecked Impertinence
—Show respect for your
children, and do not allow them to speak one disrespectful word to
you.
8
A Wise Youthful Attitude
—Wise is that young man and highly
blest who feels it to be his duty, if he has parents, to look up to them,
and if he has not, who regards his guardian, or those with whom
he lives, as counselors, as comforters, and in some respects as his
rulers, and who allows the restraints of his home to abide upon him.
9
[99]
Reverence to Be Carefully Cherished
[Note: For a fuller treat-
ment of this subject, see chapter 80, “Reverence for That Which Is
Holy.”]—Reverence ... is a grace that should be carefully cherished.
Every child should be taught to show true reverence for God.
10
The Lord desires us to understand that we must place our children
in right relation to the world, the church, and the family. Their
relation to the family is the first point to be considered. Let us teach
them to be polite to one another, and polite to God. “What do you
mean,” you may inquire, “by saying that we should teach them to be
polite to God?” I mean that they are to be taught to reverence our
heavenly Father and to appreciate the great and infinite sacrifice that
Christ has made in our behalf.... Parents and children are to sustain
so close a relation to God that the heavenly angels can communicate
with them. These messengers are shut out from many a home where
iniquity and impoliteness to God abound. Let us catch from His
Word the spirit of heaven and bring it into our life here below.
11
How to Teach Reverence
—Parents can and should interest their
children in the varied knowledge found in the sacred pages. But if
they would interest their sons and daughters in the Word of God,
they must be interested in it themselves. They must be familiar with
its teachings and, as God commanded Israel, speak of it “when thou
sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou
Quietness, Respect, and Reverence 73
liest down, and when thou risest up.” Deuteronomy 11:19. Those
[100]
who desire their children to love and reverence God must talk of His
goodness, His majesty, and His power, as revealed in His Word and
in the works of creation.
12
Reverence Is Revealed by Obedience
—Let children be shown
that true reverence is revealed by obedience. God has commanded
nothing that is unessential, and there is no other way of manifesting
reverence so pleasing to Him as by obedience to that which He has
spoken.
13
1
Manuscript 64, 1899.
2
The Signs of the Times, September 25, 1901.
3
Ibid.
4
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 75.
5
Letter 104, 1897.
6
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 111.
7
Manuscript 14, 1894.
8
Manuscript 114, 1903.
9
Testimonies For The Church 2:308.
10
Prophets and Kings, 236.
11
Manuscript 100, 1902.
12
Patriarchs and Prophets, 504.
13
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 111.
Chapter 15—Care in Handling Property[101]
Repress Destructive Tendencies
—Education must be all-round
and uniform. Every mother needs to be diligent. She must allow
nothing to divert her mind. She must not allow her children to follow
their uneducated will in handling things in the home. They should
be taught that they are not to keep the house in perpetual disorder
by handling things for their own amusement. Mothers, teach your
children from their earliest years that they are not to look upon
everything in the home as playthings for them. By these little things
order is taught. No matter what fuss the children may make, let not
the organ of destruction, which is large in babyhood and childhood,
be strengthened and cultivated. “Thou shalt,” and “Thou shalt not,”
God says. Without loss of temper, but decidedly, parents are to say
to their children, No, and mean it.
With firmness they are to refuse to allow everything in the home
to be handled freely and thrown about on the floor or in the dirt.
Those who allow a child to pursue such a course are doing him a
great wrong. He may not be a bad child, but his education is making
him very troublesome and destructive.
1
Teach Respect for Others’ Property
—Some parents allow
their children to be destructive, to use as playthings things which
they have no right to touch. Children should be taught that they must
not handle the property of other people. For the comfort and happi-
ness of the family, they must learn to observe the rules of propriety.
Children are no happier when they are allowed to handle everything
[102]
they see. If they are not educated to be caretaking, they will grow
up with unlovely, destructive traits of character.
2
Strong and Durable Playthings
—Do not give the children
playthings that are easily broken. To do this is to teach lessons
in destructiveness. Let them have a few playthings, and let these be
strong and durable. Such suggestions, small though they may seem,
mean much in the education of the child.
3
74
Chapter 16—Health Principles[103]
Begin Health Education Early
.—The Creator of man has ar-
ranged the living machinery of our bodies. Every function is wonder-
fully and wisely made. And God has pledged Himself to keep this
human machinery in healthful action if the human agent will obey
His laws and co-operate with God.... We may behold and admire the
work of God in the natural world, but the human habitation is the
most wonderful.
From the first dawn of reason, the human mind should become
intelligent in regard to the physical structure. Here Jehovah has
given a specimen of Himself, for man was made in the image of
God.
1
The first study of the young should be to know themselves and
how to keep their bodies in health.
2
Lessons of Primary Importance
—In the early education of
children, many parents and teachers fail to understand that the great-
est attention needs to be given to the physical constitution, that a
healthy condition of body and brain can be secured.
3
The future happiness of your families and the welfare of society
depend largely upon the physical and moral education which your
children receive in the first years of their life.
4
Parents to Understand and Teach Physiology
—If parents
themselves would obtain knowledge and feel the importance of
putting it to a practical use in the education of their dear children, we
should see a different order of things among youth and children. The
children need to be instructed in regard to their own bodies. There
[104]
are but few youth who have any definite knowledge of the mysteries
of human life. They know but little about the living machinery. Says
David, “I will praise thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”
Teach your children to study from cause to effect; show them
that if they violate the laws of their being, they must pay the penalty
by suffering disease. If in your effort you can see no special im-
provement, be not discouraged; patiently instruct, line upon line,
76
Health Principles 77
precept upon precept, here a little and there a little.... Press on until
the victory is gained. Continue to teach your children in regard to
their own bodies, and how to take care of them. Recklessness in
regard to bodily health tends to recklessness in moral character.
5
Healthful Living Should Be a Family Matter
—Healthful liv-
ing must be made a family matter. Parents should awake to their
God-given responsibilities. Let them study the principles of health
reform and teach their children that the path of self-denial is the only
path of safety. The mass of the inhabitants of the world by their
disregard of physical law are destroying their power of self-control
and unfitting themselves to appreciate eternal realities. Willingly
ignorant of their own structure, they lead their children in the path
of self-indulgence, thus preparing the way for them to suffer the
penalty of the transgression of nature’s laws.
6
Physical Training Should Be Given
—Physical training, the
development of the body, is far more easily given than spiritual
training. The nursery, the playground, the workshop; the sowing of
the seed, and the gathering of the harvest—all these give physical
training. Under ordinarily favorable circumstances a child naturally
[105]
gains healthful vigor and a proper development of the bodily organs.
Yet even in physical lines the child should be carefully trained.
7
Obedience to Nature’s Laws Brings Health and Happiness
—
Our children should be instructed that they may be intelligent in
regard to their own physical organism. They can at an early age, by
patient instruction, be made to understand that they should be made
to obey the laws of their being if they would be free from pain and
disease. They should understand that their lives cannot be useful if
they are crippled by disease. Neither can they please God if they
bring sickness upon themselves by the disregard of nature’s laws.
8
1
Medical Ministry, 221.
2
Testimonies For The Church 3:142.
3
Health Reformer, December, 1872.
4
Fundamentals of Christian Education, 156.
5
Testimonies For The Church 2:526, 537.
6
Testimonies For The Church 6:370.
7
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 108.
8
Health Reformer, August, 1871.
Chapter 17—Cleanliness[106]
God Is Particular
—The Lord commanded the children of Israel
to wash their clothes and put away all impurity from their encamp-
ment, lest in passing by He should see their uncleanness. God is
passing by our homes today, and He looks upon the unsanitary con-
ditions of families and the lax habits. Had we not better reform, and
that without delay?
Parents, God has made you His agents, that you may instill right
principles in the minds of your children. You have in trust the Lord’s
little ones, and that God who was so particular that the children of
Israel should grow up with habits of cleanliness will not sanction
any impurity in the home today. God has given you the work of
educating your children in these lines, and in training your children
in habits of cleanliness, you teach them spiritual lessons. They will
see that God would have them clean in heart as well as in body, and
will be led to an understanding of the pure principles which God
designs should prompt every act of their lives.
1
If God was so particular to enjoin cleanliness upon those journey-
ing in the wilderness, who were in the open air nearly all the time,
He requires no less of us who live in ceiled houses, where impurities
are more observable and have a more unhealthful influence.
2
Cleanliness Should Become Second Nature
—Uncleanness in
the home is a great mistake, for it is educating in its effects and
casts its influence abroad. Even in babyhood a right direction should
be given to the minds and habits of children.... Show them that
uncleanness, whether in body or dress, is objectionable to God.
[107]
Teach them to eat in a clean manner. Constant vigilance must be
exercised that these habits may become second nature to them....
Impurity will be despised as it should be....
Oh, that all would understand that these small duties are not to be
neglected. The whole of their future life will be shaped by the habits
and practices of their childhood. Children are peculiarly susceptible
78
Cleanliness 79
to impressions, and sanitary knowledge may be imparted to them by
not permitting disorder.
3
Teach Love for Cleanliness and Hatred for Dirt
—You should
cultivate a love for neatness and strict cleanliness.
4
Dress your children simply and plainly. Let their clothes be made
of durable material. Keep them sweet and clean. Teach them to hate
anything like dirt and filth.
5
Let the strength which is now given to the unnecessary planning
of what you shall eat and drink, and wherewithal you shall be clothed,
be directed to keeping their persons clean and their clothes neat. Do
not misunderstand me in this. I do not say that you must keep them
indoors, like dolls. There is nothing impure in clean sand and dry
earth; it is the emanations from the body that defile, requiring the
clothing to be changed and the body washed.
6
Keep Premises Clean
—Whole families might be helped and
blessed if parents would find something for their children to do.
Why are not ministers and teachers more explicit on this subject that
means so much to physical health and spiritual soundness? The boys
and girls of the family should feel that they are a part of the home
[108]
firm. They should strive to keep the premises cleansed from every
unpleasant sight. Instruction in these lines should be given.
7
Every form of uncleanliness tends to disease. Death- producing
germs abound in dark, neglected corners, in decaying refuse, in
dampness and mold and must. No waste vegetables or heaps of
fallen leaves should be allowed to remain near the house to decay
and poison the air. Nothing unclean or decaying should be tolerated
within the home. In towns or cities regarded perfectly healthful,
many an epidemic of fever has been traced to decaying matter about
the dwelling of some careless householder. Perfect cleanliness,
plenty of sunlight, careful attention to sanitation in every detail
of the home life, are essential to freedom from disease and to the
cheerfulness and vigor of the inmates of the home.
8
Personal Cleanliness Essential to Health
—Scrupulous clean-
liness is essential to both physical and mental health. Impurities are
constantly thrown off from the body through the skin. Its millions
of pores are quickly clogged unless kept clean by frequent bathing,
and the impurities which should pass off through the skin become
an additional burden to the other eliminating organs.
80 Child Guidance
Most persons would receive benefit from a cool or tepid bath
every day, morning or evening. Instead of increasing the liability
to take cold, a bath, properly taken, fortifies against cold because it
improves the circulation; the blood is brought to the surface, and a
more easy and regular flow is obtained. The mind and the body are
alike invigorated. The muscles become more flexible; the intellect
is made brighter. The bath is a soother of the nerves. Bathing helps
[109]
the bowels, the stomach, and the liver, giving health and energy to
each, and it promotes digestion.
It is important also that the clothing be kept clean. The garments
worn absorb the waste matter that passes off through the pores; if
they are not frequently changed and washed, the impurities will be
reabsorbed.
9
Clean Surroundings Are an Aid to Purity
—I have often seen
children’s beds in such a condition that the foul, poisonous odor
constantly rising from them was to me unendurable. Keep everything
the eyes of the children rest upon and that comes in contact with
the body, night or day, clean and wholesome. This will be one
means of educating them to choose the cleanly and the pure. Let the
sleeping room of your children be neat, however destitute it may be
of expensive furniture.
10
Maintain a Proper Balance
—Cleanliness and order are Chris-
tian duties, yet even these may be carried too far and made the one
essential, while matters of greater importance are neglected. Those
who neglect the interests of the children for these considerations
are tithing the mint and cummin, while they neglect the weightier
matters of the law—justice, mercy, and the love of God.
11
1
Manuscript 32, 1899.
2
Counsels on Health, 82.
3
Manuscript 32, 1899.
4
Testimonies For The Church 2:66.
5
Manuscript 79, 1901.
6
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 141.
7
Letter 108, 1898.
8
The Ministry of Healing, 276.
9
Ibid.
10
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 142.
11
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 68.
Chapter 18—Neatness, Order, and Regularity [110]
Cultivate Order and Taste
—The cultivation of order and taste
is an important part of the education of children....
As the guardian and teacher of your children, you are in duty
bound to do every little thing in the home with nicety and in order.
Teach your children the invaluable lesson of keeping their clothing
tidy. Keep your own clothing clean and sweet and respectable....
You are under obligation to God always to be patterns of propri-
ety in your home.... Remember that in heaven there is no disorder,
and that your home should be a heaven here below. Remember that
in doing faithfully from day to day the little things to be done in the
home, you are a laborer together with God, perfecting a Christian
character.
1
Bear in mind, parents, that you are working for the salvation
of your children. If your habits are correct, if you reveal neatness
and order, virtue and righteousness, sanctification of soul, body, and
spirit, you respond to the words of the Redeemer, “Ye are the light
of the world.”
2
Train in Habits of Neatness
—Every family is required to be
trained in habits of neatness, cleanliness, and thoroughness. We who
profess to believe the truth must make manifest to the world that
the principles of truth and righteousness do not make people coarse,
rough, untidy, and disorderly....
Love for God will be expressed in the family by love for our
[111]
children. Genuine love will not let them drift into slackness and
untidiness, because this is the easiest way; but from the pure example
set before them by the parents, by the loving but inflexible firmness
in cultivating industrious habits, they will educate their children after
the same order.
3
Teach Children to Care for Clothing
—Begin early to teach
the little ones to take care of their clothing. Let them have a place
to lay their things away and be taught to fold every article neatly
and put it in its place. If you cannot afford even a cheap bureau, use
81
82 Child Guidance
a dry-goods box, fitting it with shelves and covering it with some
bright, pretty-figured cloth. This work of teaching neatness and
order will take a little time each day, but it will pay in the future of
your children, and in the end will save you much time and care.
4
To Keep Own Room Tidy
—If the children have a room which
they know is their own, and if they are taught how to keep it tidy
and make it pleasant, they will have a sense of ownership—they
will feel that they have within the home a home of their own, and
will have a satisfaction in keeping it neat and nice. The mother will
necessarily have to inspect their work and make suggestions and
give instruction. This is the mother’s work.
5
To Have Regular Hours for Sleep
—How prevalent is the habit
of turning day into night, and night into day. Many youth sleep
soundly in the morning, when they should be up with the early
singing birds and be stirring when all nature is awake.
6
Some youth are much opposed to order and discipline. They do
not respect the rules of the home by rising at a regular hour. They
[112]
lie in bed some hours after daylight, when everyone should be astir.
They burn the midnight oil, depending upon artificial light to supply
the place of the light that nature has provided at seasonable hours.
In so doing they not only waste precious opportunities, but cause
additional expense. But in almost every case the plea is made, “I
cannot get through my work; I have something to do; I cannot retire
early.” ... The precious habits of order are broken, and the moments
thus idled away in the early morning set things out of course for the
whole day.
Our God is a God of order, and He desires that His children shall
will to bring themselves into order and under His discipline. Would
it not be better, therefore, to break up this habit of turning night into
day, and the fresh hours of the morning into night? If the youth
would form habits of regularity and order, they would improve in
health, in spirits, in memory, and in disposition.
It is the duty of all to observe strict rules in their habits of life.
This is for your own good, dear youth, both physically and morally.
When you rise in the morning, take into consideration, as far as
possible, the work you must accomplish during the day. If necessary,
have a small book in which to jot down the things that need to be
done, and set yourself a time in which to do your work.
7
Chapter 19—Purity[113]
Give Instruction in the Principles of Purity
—Christian moth-
ers, be entreated by a mother to realize the responsibility resting
upon you. Teach your children from the cradle to practice self-de-
nial and self-control. Bring them up to have sound constitutions and
good morals. Impress upon their tender minds the truth that God
does not design that we shall live for present gratification merely,
but for our ultimate good. These lessons will be as seed sown in
fertile soil, and they will bear fruit that will make your hearts glad.
1
To shield their children from contaminating influences, parents
should instruct them in the principles of purity. Those children who
in the home form habits of obedience and self-control will have little
difficulty in their school life and will escape many of the temptations
that beset the youth. Parents should train their children to be true to
God under all circumstances and in all places. They should surround
them with influences that tend to strengthen character. With such a
training, children, when sent away to school, will not be a cause of
disturbance or anxiety. They will be a support to their teachers and
an example and encouragement to their fellow pupils.
2
Exercise Unceasing Watchfulness
—Parents and guardians
must themselves maintain purity of heart and life if they would
have their children pure. They must give the needed instruction, and
in addition to this they must exercise unceasing watchfulness. Every
day new thoughts are awakened in the minds of the young, new
impressions made upon their hearts. The associations they form, the
[114]
books they read, the habits they cherish—all must be guarded.
3
Keep the Home Pure and Attractive
—The home must be kept
pure and clean. Unclean, neglected corners in the house will tend
to make impure, neglected corners in the soul. Mothers, you are
the educators of your children, and you can do a great deal if you
begin early to inculcate pure thoughts, by fitting up their rooms in a
cleanly, tasteful, attractive manner.
4
84
Purity 85
Guard the Associations
—If parents desire their children to be
pure, they must surround them with pure associations such as God
can approve.
5
With what care parents should guard their children from careless,
loose, demoralizing habits! Fathers and mothers, do you realize the
importance of the responsibility resting on you? Do you allow your
children to associate with other children without being present to
know what kind of education they are receiving? Do not allow them
to be alone with other children. Give them your special care. Every
evening know where they are and what they are doing. Are they
pure in all their habits? Have you instructed them in the principles
of moral purity? If you have neglected to teach them line upon line,
precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, let not another
day pass without confessing to them your neglect to do this. Then
tell them that you mean now to do your God-appointed work. Ask
them to take hold with you in the reform.
6
Neighbors may permit their children to come to your house to
spend the evening and the night with your children. Here is a trial
and a choice for you, to run the risk of offending your neighbors by
[115]
sending their children to their own home, or gratify them, and let
them lodge with your children, and thus expose them to be instructed
in that knowledge which would be a lifelong curse to them. To save
my children from becoming corrupted, I have not allowed them to
sleep in the same bed, or in the same room, with other boys, and
have, as occasion has required, when traveling, made a scanty bed
upon the floor for them, rather than have them lodge with others. I
have tried to keep them from associating with rough, rude boys and
have presented inducements before them to make their employment
at home cheerful and happy. By keeping their minds and hands
occupied, they have had but little time, or disposition, to play in the
street with other boys and obtain a street education.
7
Erect Barriers Against Sensuality
—Those who have charge
of God’s property in the souls and bodies of the children formed in
His image should erect barriers against the sensual indulgence of
the age, which is ruining the physical and moral health of thousands.
If many of the crimes of this time were traced to their true cause, it
would be seen that they are chargeable to the ignorance of fathers
86 Child Guidance
and mothers who are indifferent on this subject. Health and life itself
are being sacrificed to this lamentable ignorance.
Parents, if you fail to give your children the education which
God has made it your duty to give them, you must answer to Him
for the results. These results will not be confined merely to your
children. As the one thistle permitted to grow in the field produces a
harvest of its kind, so the sins resulting from your neglect will work
to ruin all who come within the sphere of their influence.
8
Fill the Mind With Images of Purity
—The Christian life is
[116]
one of constant self-denial and self-control. These are the lessons to
be taught the children from their infancy. Teach them that they must
practice temperance, purity in thought and heart and act, that they
belong to God because they have been bought with a price, even the
precious blood of His dear Son.
9
If in their tender years the minds of children are filled with
pleasant images of truth, of purity and goodness, a taste will be
formed for that which is pure and elevated, and their imagination
will not become easily corrupted or defiled. While if the opposite
course is pursued, if the minds of the parents are continually dwelling
upon low scenes; if their conversation lingers over objectionable
features of character; if they form a habit of speaking complainingly
of the course others have pursued, the little ones will take lessons
from the words and expressions of contempt and will follow the
pernicious example. The evil impress, like the taint of the leprosy,
will cleave to them in afterlife.
The seed sown in infancy by the careful, God-fearing mother
will become trees of righteousness, which will blossom and bear
fruit; and the lessons given by a God-fearing father by precept and
example will, as in the case of Joseph, yield an abundant harvest by
and by.
10
1
Manuscript 44, 1900.
2
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 150.
3
The Signs of the Times, May 25, 1882.
4
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 142, 143.
5
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 142.
6
Manuscript 119, 1901.
7
A Solemn Appeal, 56.
8
The Review and Herald, June 27, 1899.
88 Child Guidance
Section 6—Lessons in Practical Virtues [117]
Chapter 20—Helpfulness[118]
[119]
Teach the Children to Be Helpful
—In the home school the
children should be taught how to perform the practical duties of
everyday life. While they are still young, the mother should give
them some simple task to do each day. It will take longer for her to
teach them how than it would to do it herself, but let her remember
that she is to lay for their character building the foundation of help-
fulness. Let her remember that the home is a school in which she
is the head teacher. It is hers to teach her children how to perform
the duties of the household quickly and skillfully. As early in life
as possible they should be trained to share the burdens of the home.
From childhood boys and girls should be taught to bear heavier and
still heavier burdens, intelligently helping in the work of the family
firm.
1
Overlook Childish Mistakes
—Thousands in their own homes
are left almost uneducated. “It is so much trouble,” says the mother.
“I would rather do these things myself; it is such a trouble; you
bother me.”
Does not mother remember that she herself had to learn in jots
and tittles before she could be helpful? It is a wrong to children to
refuse to teach them little by little. Keep these children with you.
Let them ask questions, and in patience answer them. Give your
little children something to do, and let them have the happiness of
supposing they help you.
There must be no repulsing of your children when trying to
do proper things. If they make mistakes, if accidents happen and
things break, do not blame them. Their whole future life depends
[120]
upon the education you give them in their childhood years. Teach
them that all their faculties of body and mind were given to them
to use, and that all are the Lord’s, pledged to His service. To some
of these children the Lord gives an early intimation of His will.
Parents and teachers, begin early to teach the children to cultivate
their God-given faculties.
2
90
Helpfulness 91
Let Children Share Home Burdens
—Make the life of your
children pleasant, and at the same time teach them to be obedient and
helpful, bearing small burdens as you bear larger ones. Educate them
to habits of industry, so that the enemy will not make a workshop of
their minds. Give your children something to think of, something to
do, that they may be fitted for usefulness in this life and in the future
life.
3
From their earliest years they should be trained to carry their
share of the home burdens. They should be taught that obligations
are mutual. They should also be taught to work quickly and neatly.
This education will be of the greatest value to them in after years.
4
Each member of the family should understand just the part he
is expected to act in union with the others. All, from the child six
years old and upward, should understand that it is required of them
to bear their share of life’s burdens.
5
A Source of Experience and Pleasure
—How important that
fathers and mothers should give their children, from their very baby-
hood, the right instruction. They are to teach them to obey the
command, “Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be
long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” And the
[121]
children as they grow in years are to appreciate the care that their
parents have given them. They are to find their greatest pleasure in
helping father and mother.
6
A Charm May Surround the Humblest Employment
—If
children were taught to regard the humble round of everyday duties
as the course marked out for them by the Lord, as a school in which
they were to be trained to render faithful and efficient service, how
much more pleasant and honorable would their work appear. To
perform every duty as unto the Lord throws a charm around the
humblest employment and links the workers on earth with the holy
beings who do God’s will in heaven. And in our appointed place
we should discharge our duties with as much faithfulness as do the
angels in their higher sphere.
7
1
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 122.
2
Letter 104, 1897.
3
Manuscript 62, 1901.
4
The Signs of the Times, December 11, 1901.
5
Testimonies For The Church 2:700.
Chapter 21—Industry [122]
A Safeguard for the Young
—One of the surest safeguards of
the young is useful occupation. Children who are trained to in-
dustrious habits, so that all their hours are usefully and pleasantly
employed, have no inclination to repine at their lot and no time for
idle daydreaming. They are in little danger of forming vicious habits
or associations.
1
There is untold value in industry. Let the children be taught to do
something useful. More than human wisdom is needed that parents
may understand how best to educate their children for a useful, happy
life here and for higher service and greater joy hereafter.
2
Assign Tasks Appropriate to Age and Ability
—From infancy
children should be trained to do those things which are appropriate
for their age and ability. Parents should now encourage their children
to become more independent. Serious troubles are soon to be seen
upon the earth, and children should be trained in such a way as to be
able to meet them.
3
Teach your children to be useful, to bear burdens according to
their years; then the habit of laboring will become second nature to
them, and useful work will never seem like drudgery.
4
The Fruitage of Idleness
—Parents cannot commit a greater
sin than to neglect their God-given responsibilities in leaving their
children with nothing to do; for these children will soon learn to
love idleness and grow up to be shiftless, useless men and women.
When they become old enough to earn their living and are taken
[123]
into employment, they will work in a lazy, droning way and will
think they will be paid just the same if they idle away their time,
as if they did faithful work. There is every difference between this
class of worker and the one who realizes that he must be a faithful
steward. In whatever line of work they engage, the youth should be
“diligent in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord”; for he that
is unfaithful in that which is least is unfaithful also in much.
5
93
94 Child Guidance
If children have proper home training, they will not be found
upon the streets, receiving the haphazard education that so many
receive. Parents who love their children in a sensible way will not
permit them to grow up with lazy habits and ignorant of how to do
home duties. Ignorance is not acceptable to God and is unfavorable
for the doing of His work.
6
The Wise Use of Time
—Where there is an abundance of idle-
ness, Satan works with his temptations to spoil life and character. If
youth are not trained to useful labor, whether they be rich or poor,
they are in peril; for Satan will find employment for them after his
own order. The youth who are not barricaded with principle do not
regard time as a precious treasure, a trust from God, for which every
human being must give an account.
7
Children should be educated to make the very best use of their
time, to be helpful to father and mother, to be self-reliant. They
should not be allowed to consider themselves above doing any kind
of labor that is necessary.
8
The value of time is beyond computation. Time squandered can
never be recovered.... The improvement of wasted moments is a
treasure.
9
Overcome Every Indolent Habit
—In His Word God has
[124]
marked out a plan for the education of children, and this plan parents
are to follow. They are to teach their children to overcome every
indolent habit. Each child should be taught that he has a work to do
in the world.
10
Laziness and indolence are not the fruit borne upon the Christian
tree.
11
Indolence is a great curse. God has blessed human beings with
nerves, organs, and muscles; and they are not to be allowed to
deteriorate because of inaction, but are to be strengthened and kept
in health by exercise. To have nothing to do is a great misfortune,
for idleness ever has been and ever will be a curse to the human
family.
12
Children, never prove unfaithful stewards in the home. Never
shirk your duty. Good hard work makes firm sinews and muscles.
In promoting the prosperity of the home, you will bring the richest
blessing to yourselves.
13
Industry 95
Why Work Before Play?
—My mother taught me to work. I
used to ask my mother, “Why must I always do so much work
before I play?” “It is to educate and train your mind for useful labor,
and another thing, to keep you out of mischief; and when you get
older, you will thank me for it.” When one of my little girls [a
granddaughter] said to me, “Why must I knit? Grandmothers knit,” I
replied, “Will you tell me how grandmothers learned to knit?” “Why,
they began when they were little girls.”
14
Value of a Daily Program
—As far as possible, it is well to
consider what is to be accomplished through the day. Make a mem-
orandum of the different duties that await your attention, and set
[125]
apart a certain time for the doing of each duty. Let everything be
done with thoroughness, neatness, and dispatch. If it falls to your
lot to do the chamber work, then see that the rooms are well aired,
and that the bed clothing is exposed to the sunlight. Give yourself a
number of minutes to do the work, and do not stop to read papers
and books that take your eye, but say to yourself, “No, I have just so
many minutes in which to do my work, and I must accomplish my
task in the given time.” ...
Let those who are naturally slow of movement seek to become
active, quick, energetic, remembering the words of the apostle, “Not
slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord.”
If it falls to your lot to prepare the meals, make careful calcula-
tions, and give yourself all the time necessary to prepare the food,
and set it on the table in good order, and on exact time. To have
the meal ready five minutes earlier than the time you have set is
more commendable than to have it five minutes later. But if you
are under the control of slow, dilatory movements, if your habits are
of a lazy order, you will make a long job out of a short one; and it
is the duty of those who are slow to reform and to become more
expeditious. If they will, they can overcome their fussy, lingering
habits. In washing dishes they may be careful and at the same time
do quick work. Exercise the will to this end, and the hands will
move with dispatch.
15
Blend the Physical With the Mental
—When children were
sent into my family to board, and they would say, “My mother does
not want me to do my washing,” I would say, “Well, shall we do it
for you and charge you half a dollar more for your board?” “Oh, no!
[126]
96 Child Guidance
Mother doesn’t want to pay any more for me.” “Well, then,” I would
say, “you may get up in the morning and do it for yourself. God
never designed that you should be waited upon by us. Instead of
your mother getting up and getting breakfast in the morning while
you lie in bed, you should be the one to say, ‘Mother, don’t you get
up in the morning. We will take hold of these burdens and perform
these duties.’ You should let those whose hairs are growing gray
take their rest in the morning.”
Why is this not so? Where is the trouble? It is with the parents
who let their children come up without bearing any burdens in the
family. When these children go out to school, they say, “Ma says
she doesn’t want me to work.” Such mothers are foolish. They spoil
their children and then send them to the school to spoil it.... Work is
the very best discipline they can have. It is no harder for them than
for their mothers. Blend the physical labor with the mental, and the
powers of the mind will develop far better.
16
Devise Ways
—Parents should devise ways and means for keep-
ing their children usefully busy. Let the children be given little
pieces of land to cultivate, that they may have something to give as
a freewill offering.
17
Allow them to help you in every way they can, and show them
that you appreciate their help. Let them feel that they are a part of
the family firm. Teach them to use their minds as much as possible,
so to plan their work that they may do it quickly and thoroughly.
Teach them to be prompt and energetic in their work, to economize
time so that no minutes may be lost in their allotted hours of work.
18
Labor Is Noble
—Let us teach the little ones to help us while
[127]
their hands are small and their strength is slight. Let us impress upon
their minds the fact that labor is noble, that it was ordained to man
of heaven, that it was enjoined upon Adam in Eden, as an essential
to the healthy development of mind and body. Let us teach them
that innocent pleasure is never half so satisfying as when it follows
active industry.
19
1
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 122.
2
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 125.
3
The Signs of the Times, August 13, 1896.
4
The Review and Herald, June 24, 1890.
5
Manuscript 117, 1899.
Industry 97
6
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 149.
7
Manuscript 43, 1900.
8
Letter 11, 1888.
9
Manuscript 117, 1899.
10
Manuscript 98, 1901.
11
Manuscript 24, 1894.
12
Manuscript 60, 1894.
13
Manuscript 117, 1899.
14
Manuscript 19, 1887.
15
The Youth’s Instructor, September 7, 1893.
16
Manuscript 19, 1887.
17
Manuscript 67, 1901.
18
Manuscript 60, 1903.
19
Pacific Health Journal, May, 1890.
Chapter 22—Diligence and Perseverance[128]
Satisfaction in Tasks Completed
—Children frequently begin
a piece of work with enthusiasm; but, becoming perplexed or wea-
ried with it, they wish to change and take hold of something new.
Thus they may take hold of several things, meet with a little dis-
couragement, and give them up; and so they pass from one thing
to another, perfecting nothing. Parents should not allow the love
of change to control their children. They should not be so much
engaged with other things that they will have no time to patiently
discipline the developing minds. A few words of encouragement, or
a little help at the right time, may carry them over their trouble and
discouragement; and the satisfaction they will derive from seeing
the task completed that they undertook will stimulate them to greater
exertion.
Many children, for want of words of encouragement and a little
assistance in their efforts, become disheartened and change from one
thing to another. And they carry this sad defect with them in mature
life. They fail to make a success of anything they engage in, for they
have not been taught to persevere under discouraging circumstances.
Thus the entire lifetime of many proves a failure, because they did
not have correct discipline when young. The education received in
childhood and youth affects their entire business career in mature
life, and their religious experience bears a corresponding stamp.
1
Habits of Indolence Are Carried Into Later Life
—Children
who have been petted and waited upon always expect it; and if their
[129]
expectations are not met, they are disappointed and discouraged.
This same disposition will be seen through their whole lives; they
will be helpless, leaning upon others for aid, expecting others to
favor them and yield to them. And if they are opposed, even after
they have grown to manhood and womanhood, they think themselves
abused; and thus they worry their way through the world, hardly
able to bear their own weight, often murmuring and fretting because
everything does not suit them.
2
98
Diligence and Perseverance 99
Develop Habits of Thoroughness and Dispatch
—From the
mother the children are to learn habits of neatness, thoroughness,
and dispatch. To allow a child to take an hour or two in doing a
piece of work that could easily be done in half an hour is to allow
it to form dilatory habits. Habits of industry and thoroughness will
be an untold blessing to the youth in the larger school of life, upon
which they must enter as they grow older.
3
Counsel Especially for Girls
—Another defect that has caused
me much uneasiness and trouble is the habit some girls have of let-
ting their tongues run, wasting precious time in talking of worthless
things. While girls give their attention to talk, their work drags be-
hind. These matters have been looked upon as little things, unworthy
of notice. Many are deceived as to what constitutes a little thing.
Little things have an important relation to the great whole. God
does not disregard the infinitely little things that have to do with the
welfare of the human family.
4
Importance of “Little Things.”
—Never underrate the impor-
tance of little things. Little things supply the actual discipline of life.
[130]
It is by them that the soul is trained that it may grow into the likeness
of Christ, or bear the likeness of evil. God help us to cultivate habits
of thought, word, look, and action that will testify to all about us
that we have been with Jesus and learned of Him!
5
Make Mistakes a Steppingstone
—Let the child and the youth
be taught that every mistake, every fault, every difficulty conquered
becomes a steppingstone to better and higher things. It is through
such experiences that all who have ever made life worth the living
have achieved success.
6
1
Testimonies For The Church 3:147, 148.
2
Testimonies For The Church 1:392, 393.
3
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 122, 123.
4
The Youth’s Instructor, September 7, 1893.
5
The Youth’s Instructor, March 9, 1893.
6
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 60.
Chapter 23—Self-Denial, Unselfishness, and[131]
Thoughtfulness
Lessons That Are Needed in Every Home
—In every home
there should be taught lessons of self-denial. Fathers and mothers,
teach your children to economize. Encourage them to save their
pennies for missionary work. Christ is our example. For our sakes
He became poor, that we through His poverty might be made rich.
He taught that all should come together in love and unity, to work as
He worked, to sacrifice as He sacrificed, to love as the children of
God.
1
Learn the lesson of self-denial, and teach it to your children. All
that can be saved by self-denial is needed now in the work to be
done. The suffering must be relieved, the naked clothed, the hungry
fed; the truth for this time must be told to those who know it not.
2
Sacrifice Should Become Habitual
—By precept and example,
teach self-denial, economy, largeheartedness, and self-reliance. Ev-
eryone who has a true character will be qualified to cope with dif-
ficulties and will be prompt in following a “Thus saith the Lord.”
Men are not prepared to understand their obligation to God until
they have learned in Christ’s school to wear His yoke of restraint and
obedience. Sacrifice is the very beginning of our work in advancing
the truth and in establishing institutions. It is an essential part of ed-
ucation. Sacrifice must become habitual in all our character building
in this life, if we would have a building not made with hands, eternal
in the heavens.
3
A Self-denial Box
—Children are to be educated to deny them-
[132]
selves. At one time, when I was speaking in Nashville, the Lord
gave me light on this matter. It flashed upon me with great force that
in every home there should be a self-denial box, and that into this
box the children should be taught to put their pennies they would
otherwise spend for candy and other unnecessary things....
100
Self-Denial, Unselfishness, and Thoughtfulness 101
You will find that as the children place their pennies in these
boxes, they will gain a great blessing.... Every member of the family,
from the oldest to the youngest, should practice self-denial.
4
Children Should Not Be the Center of Attraction
—Children
of two to four years of age should not be encouraged to think that
they must have everything that they ask for. Parents should teach
them lessons of self-denial and never treat them in such a way as to
make them think they are the center, and that everything revolves
about them.
Many children have inherited selfishness from their parents,
but parents should seek to uproot every fiber of this evil tendency
from their natures. Christ gave many reproofs to those who were
covetous and selfish. Parents should seek, on the first exhibition
of selfish traits of character, whether in their presence, or when in
association with other children, to restrain and uproot these traits
from the character of their children.
5
Some parents give much time and attention to amusing their
children, but children should be trained to amuse themselves, to
exercise their own ingenuity and skill. Thus they will learn to be
content with very simple pleasures. They should be taught to bear
bravely their little disappointments and trials. Instead of calling
[133]
attention to every trifling pain or hurt, divert their minds; teach them
to pass lightly over little annoyances or discomforts.
6
The Grace of Self-forgetfulness
—One of the characteristics
that should be especially cherished and cultivated in every child is
that self-forgetfulness which imparts to the life such an unconscious
grace. Of all excellences of character this is one of the most beauti-
ful, and for every true lifework it is one of the qualifications most
essential.
7
Study how to teach the children to be thoughtful of others. The
youth should be early accustomed to submission, self-denial, and
regard for others’ happiness. They should be taught to subdue the
hasty temper, to withhold the passionate word, to manifest unvarying
kindness, courtesy, and self-control.
8
How carefully should parents manage their children in order to
counteract every inclination to selfishness! They should continually
suggest ways by which their children may become thoughtful for
102 Child Guidance
others and learn to do things for their fathers and mothers, who are
doing everything for them.
9
1
Testimonies For The Church 9:130, 131.
2
Messages to Young People, 314.
3
Testimonies For The Church 6:214.
4
The Review and Herald, June 22, 1905.
5
The Signs of the Times, August 13, 1896.
6
The Ministry of Healing, 389.
7
Education, 237.
8
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 123, 124.
9
The Signs of the Times, August 13, 1896.
Chapter 24—Economy and Thrift [134]
Eliminate Extravagant Habits
—Teach your children that God
has a claim upon all they possess, and that nothing can ever cancel
this claim; all they have is theirs only in trust, to prove whether they
will be obedient. Money is a needed treasure; let it not be lavished
upon those who do not need it. Someone needs your willing gifts....
If you have extravagant habits, cut them away from the life as soon
as possible. Unless you do this, you will be bankrupt for eternity.
And habits of economy, industry, and sobriety are, even in this world,
a better portion for you and your children than a rich dowry.
1
Instruct the Children in Economy
—The light given me now
by the Lord is that we are to be careful not to spend our precious time
and money unwisely. Many things may suit our fancy, but we are to
guard against the expenditure of money for that which is not bread.
We shall need much means to advance the work decidedly in our
cities. Everyone is to have a part to act in the Lord’s work. Parents
are to instruct their children in lessons of economy, in order that the
younger members of the flock may learn to share the responsibility
of supporting the cause of God at this time.
2
Love Not Expressed by Extravagance
—Practice economy in
your homes. By many idols are cherished and worshiped. Put away
your idols. Give up your selfish pleasure. Do not, I beg of you,
absorb means in embellishing your houses; for it is God’s money,
and it will be required of you again. Parents, for Christ’s sake do not
use the Lord’s money to please the fancies of your children. Do not
[135]
teach them to seek after style and ostentation in order to obtain an
influence in the world....
Do not educate your children to think that your love for them
must be expressed by indulging their pride, their extravagance, their
love of display. There is no time now to invent ways of using money.
Your inventive faculties are to be put to the stretch, to see how you
can economize.
3
103
104 Child Guidance
Christ’s Lesson in Economy
—There is a lesson for us in the
feeding of the five thousand, a lesson that has a special application
to those times when we are placed in trying circumstances and are
compelled to practice close economy. Having worked the miracle
and satisfied the hunger of the multitude, Christ was careful that the
food that remained should not be wasted.
4
He said to the disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain,
that nothing be lost.” Though He had all the resources of heaven at
His command, He would not suffer even a morsel of bread to be
wasted.
5
Discard Nothing Useful
—Nothing that can be utilized should
be thrown away. This will require wisdom, and forethought, and
constant care. It has been presented to me that the inability to save,
in little things, is one reason why so many families suffer for lack of
the necessities of life.
6
They Never Learned to Economize
—There is much work to
be done for the Master, and men who might today be occupying high
positions in connection with the work of God have failed because
they never learned to economize. They did not limit their wants to
their incomes when they entered the work, and their spend-thrift
habits proved the ruin of their usefulness in the cause.
7
[136]
How to Teach the Right Use of Money
—Let every youth and
every child be taught, not merely to solve imaginary problems, but
to keep an accurate account of his own income and outgoes. Let him
learn the right use of money by using it. Whether supplied by their
parents or by their own earnings, let boys and girls learn to select
and purchase their own clothing, their books, and other necessities;
and by keeping an account of their expenses, they will learn, as they
could learn in no other way, the value and the use of money.
8
The Value of Keeping Accounts
—When very young, children
should be educated to read, to write, to understand figures, to keep
their own accounts. They may go forward, advancing step by step
in this knowledge.
9
Let children be taught to keep an account. This will enable them
to be accurate. The spendthrift boy will be the spendthrift man. The
vain, selfish, self-caring girl will be the same kind of woman. We
are to remember there are other youth for whom we are accountable.
Economy and Thrift 105
If we train our children to correct habits, through them we shall be
able to influence others.
10
1
Manuscript 139, 1898.
2
Letter 4, 1911.
3
Manuscript 139, 1898.
4
Manuscript 3, 1912.
5
Letter 20a, 1893.
6
Manuscript 3, 1912.
7
Letter 48, 1888.
8
Counsels on Stewardship, 294.
9
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 168, 169.
10
Letter 11, 1888.
106 Child Guidance
Section 7—Developing Christian Qualities [137]
Chapter 25—Simplicity[138]
[139]
Educate in Natural Simplicity
—The little ones should be edu-
cated in childlike simplicity. They should be trained to be content
with the small, helpful duties and the pleasures and experiences
natural to their years. Childhood answers to the blade in the parable,
and the blade has a beauty peculiarly its own. Children should not
be forced into a precocious maturity, but as long as possible should
retain the freshness and grace of their early years. The more quiet
and simple the life of the child—the more free from artificial excite-
ment and the more in harmony with nature—the more favorable it is
to physical and mental vigor and to spiritual strength.
1
Parents should by their example encourage the formation of
habits of simplicity, and draw their children away from an artificial
to a natural life.
2
Unaffected Children Are Most Attractive
—Those children
are most attractive who are natural and unaffected. It is not wise to
give children special notice.... Vanity should not be encouraged by
praising their looks, their words, or their actions. Nor should they be
dressed in an expensive and showy manner. This encourages pride in
them and awakens envy in the hearts of their companions. Teach the
children that the true adorning is not outward. “Whose adorning let
it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing
of gold, or of putting on of apparel; but let it be the hidden man of
the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a
meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.” 1
Peter 3:3, 4.
3
The Secret of True Charm
—Girls should be taught that the
[140]
true charm of womanliness is not alone in beauty of form or feature,
nor in the possession of accomplishments; but in a meek and quiet
spirit, in patience, generosity, kindness, and a willingness to do and
suffer for others. They should be taught to work, to study to some
purpose, to live for some object, to trust in God and fear Him, and to
respect their parents. Then as they advance in years, they will grow
108
Simplicity 109
more pure-minded, self-reliant, and beloved. It will be impossible
to degrade such a woman. She will escape the temptations and trials
that have been the ruin of so many.
4
Seeds of Vanity
—In many families the seeds of vanity and
selfishness are sown in the hearts of the children almost during
babyhood. Their cunning little sayings and doings are commented
upon and praised in their presence, and repeated with exaggerations
to others. The little ones take note of this and swell with self-
importance; they presume to interrupt conversations and become
forward and impudent. Flattery and indulgence foster their vanity
and willfulness, until the youngest not unfrequently rules the whole
family, father and mother included.
The disposition formed by this sort of training cannot be laid
aside as the child matures to riper judgment. It grows with his
growth, and what might have appeared cunning in the baby, becomes
contemptible and wicked in the man or woman. They seek to rule
over their associates; and if any refuse to yield to their wishes, they
consider themselves aggrieved and insulted. This is because they
have been indulged to their injury in youth, instead of being taught
the self-denial necessary to bear the hardships and toils of life.
5
Do Not Foster Love of Praise
—Children need appreciation,
[141]
sympathy, and encouragement; but care should be taken not to foster
in them a love of praise.... The parent or teacher who keeps in view
the true ideal of character and the possibilities of achievement cannot
cherish or encourage self-sufficiency. He will not encourage in the
youth the desire or effort to display their ability or proficiency. He
who looks higher than himself will be humble, yet he will possess
a dignity that is not abashed or disconcerted by outward display or
human greatness.
6
Encourage Simplicity in Diet and Dress
—Parents have a sa-
cred duty to perform in teaching their children to help bear the
burdens of the home, to be content with plain and simple food, and
neat and inexpensive dress.
7
Oh, that mothers and fathers would realize their responsibility
and accountability before God! What a change would take place in
society! Children would not be spoiled by being praised and petted,
or made vain by indulgence in dress.
8
110 Child Guidance
Teach Simplicity and Trust
—We should teach our children
lessons in simplicity and trust. We should teach them to love, and
fear, and obey their Creator. In all the plans and purposes of life His
glory should be held paramount; His love should be the mainspring
of every action.
9
Christ Our Example
—Jesus, our Redeemer, walked the earth
with the dignity of a king; yet He was meek and lowly of heart.
He was a light and blessing in every home because He carried
cheerfulness, hope, and courage with Him. Oh, that we could be
satisfied with less heart-longings, less striving for things difficult
to obtain wherewith to beautify our homes, while that which God
[142]
values above jewels, the meek and quiet spirit, is not cherished.
The grace of simplicity, meekness, and true affection would make
a paradise of the humblest home. It is better to endure cheerfully
every inconvenience than to part with peace and contentment.
10
1
Education, 107.
2
The Signs of the Times, October 2, 1884.
3
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 141, 142.
4
Health Reformer, December, 1877.
5
Testimonies For The Church 4:200, 201.
6
Education, 237.
7
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 158.
8
The Review and Herald, April 13, 1897.
9
The Review and Herald, June 13, 1882.
10
Testimonies For The Church 4:622.
Chapter 26—Courtesy and Reserve [143]
Courtesy Begins in the Home
[Note: See The Adventist Home,
421-429, chapter entitled “Courtesy and Kindness.”]—Parents, teach
your children ... how to conduct themselves in the home with true
politeness. Educate them to show kindness and tenderness to one
another. Allow no selfishness to live in the heart or find room in the
home.
1
The youth who grow up careless and rude in words and manners
reveal the character of their home training. The parents have not
realized the importance of their stewardship; and the harvest they
have sown, they have also reaped.
2
Principles of Heaven to Pervade
—The principles of heaven
are to be brought into the government of the home. Every child is
to be taught to be polite, compassionate, loving, pitiful, courteous,
tenderhearted.
3
When all are members of the royal family, there will be true
politeness in the home life. Each member of the family will seek to
make it pleasant for every other member.
4
Teach It by Precept and Example
—Children, as well as those
of older years, are exposed to temptations; and the older members
of the family should give them, by precept and example, lessons
in courtesy, cheerfulness, affection, and in the faithful discharge of
their daily duties.
5
Respect for Weary Feet Nearing Their Rest
—And God has
[144]
especially enjoined tender respect toward the aged. He says, “The
hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righ-
teousness.” Proverbs 16:31. It tells of battles fought and victories
gained, of burdens borne and temptations resisted. It tells of weary
feet nearing their rest, of places soon to be vacant. Help the chil-
dren to think of this, and they will smooth the path of the aged by
their courtesy and respect, and will bring grace and beauty into their
young lives as they heed the command to “rise up before the hoary
head, and honor the face of the old man.” Leviticus 19:32.
6
111
112 Child Guidance
Teach Reserve and Modesty
—Pride, self-esteem, and boldness
are marked characteristics of the children of this day; and they are
the curse of the age.... The most sacred lessons of modesty and
humility are to be taught to the children, both at home and in the
Sabbath school.
7
Will you to whom I now address these words take heed to the
instruction given you? Let the youth take warning; let them not be
forward in conversation, but be modest and retiring. Let them be
quick to hear things that will profit the soul, and be slow to speak,
unless it be to represent Jesus, and to witness to the truth. Show
humility of mind by modesty of demeanor.
8
A Guard to Virtue
—Cherish the precious, priceless gem of
modesty. This will guard virtue.... I feel impelled by the Spirit of the
Lord to urge my sisters who profess godliness to cherish modesty
of deportment and a becoming reserve.... I have inquired, When
will the youthful sisters act with propriety? I know there will be no
decided change for the better until parents feel the importance of
[145]
greater carefulness in educating their children correctly. Teach them
to act with reserve and modesty.
9
True Graces
—A child’s truest graces consist in modesty and
obedience—in attentive ears to hear the words of direction, in willing
feet and hands to walk and work in the path of duty. And a child’s
true goodness will bring its own reward, even in this life.
10
1
Manuscript 74, 1900.
2
Manuscript 117, 1899.
3
Manuscript 100, 1902.
4
Manuscript 60, 1903.
5
Manuscript 27, 1896.
6
Education, 244.
7
Counsels on Sabbath School Work, 46.
8
The Youth’s Instructor, July 11, 1895.
9
Testimonies For The Church 2:458, 459.
10
The Review and Herald, May 10, 1898.
Chapter 27—Cheerfulness and Thankfulness [146]
Let a Sweet Influence Pervade the Home
—Above all things
else, let parents surround their children with an atmosphere of cheer-
fulness, courtesy, and love. A home where love dwells, and where it
is expressed in looks, in words, and in acts, is a place where angels
delight to manifest their presence.
Parents, let the sunshine of love, cheerfulness, and happy con-
tentment enter your own hearts; and let its sweet, cheering influence
pervade your home. Manifest a kindly, forbearing spirit; and en-
courage the same in your children, cultivating all the graces that will
brighten the home life. The atmosphere thus created will be to the
children what air and sunshine are to the vegetable world, promoting
health and vigor of mind and body.
1
Let the Countenance Be Cheerful
—There is nothing gloomy
in the religion of Jesus. While all lightness, trifling, and jesting,
which the apostle says are not convenient, are to be studiously
avoided, there is a sweet rest and peace in Jesus that will be expressed
in the countenance. Christians will not be mournful, depressed, and
despairing. They will be sober-minded, yet they will show to the
world a cheerfulness which only grace can impart.
2
Children are attracted by a cheerful, sunny demeanor. Show
them kindness and courtesy, and they will manifest the same spirit
toward you and toward one another.
3
Educate the soul to cheerfulness, to thankfulness, and to the
[147]
expression of gratitude to God for the great love wherewith He hath
loved us.... Christian cheerfulness is the very beauty of holiness.
4
Speak Pleasant, Cheery Words
—Pleasant, cheery words cost
no more than unpleasant, moody words. Do you dislike to have harsh
words spoken to you? Remember that when you speak such words,
others feel the sharp sting.... Parents, bring practical godliness into
the home. Angels are not attracted to a home where discord reigns.
Educate your children to speak words that will bring sunshine and
joy.
5
113
114 Child Guidance
Encourage a Happy Frame of Mind
—If there is anyone who
should be continually grateful, it is the Christian. If there is anyone
who enjoys happiness, even in this life, it is the faithful follower of
Jesus Christ. It is the duty of God’s children to be cheerful. They
should encourage a happy frame of mind. God cannot be glorified by
His children living continually under a cloud and casting a shadow
wherever they go. The Christian should cast sunshine instead of a
shadow.... He will bear a cheerful countenance.
6
Children hate the gloom of clouds and sadness. Their hearts
respond to brightness, to cheerfulness, to love.
7
Smile, Parents, Smile
—Some parents—and some teachers as
well—seem to forget that they themselves were once children. They
are dignified, cold, and unsympathetic.... Their faces habitually wear
a solemn, reproving expression. Childish mirth or waywardness,
the restless activity of the young life, finds no excuse in their eyes.
Trifling misdemeanors are treated as grave sins. Such discipline is
not Christlike. Children thus trained fear their parents or teachers,
but do not love them; they do not confide to them their childish
[148]
experiences. Some of the most valuable qualities of mind and heart
are chilled to death, as a tender plant before the wintry blast.
Smile, parents; smile, teachers. If your heart is sad, let not your
face reveal the fact. Let the sunshine from a loving, grateful heart
light up the countenance. Unbend from your iron dignity, adapt
yourselves to the children’s needs, and make them love you. You
must win their affection if you would impress religious truth upon
their heart.
8
A Fitting Prayer
—Make your work pleasant with songs of
praise. If you would have a clean record in the books of heaven,
never fret or scold. Let your daily prayer be, “Lord, teach me to
do my best. Teach me how to do better work. Give me energy and
cheerfulness.” ... Bring Christ into all that you do. Then your lives
will be filled with brightness and thanksgiving.... Let us do our best,
moving forward cheerfully in the service of the Lord, with our hearts
filled with His joy.
9
Teach Children to Be Grateful
—“Thou shalt rejoice in every
good thing which the Lord thy God hath given thee.” Thanksgiving
and praise should be expressed to God for temporal blessings and
for whatever comforts He bestows upon us. God would have every
Cheerfulness and Thankfulness 115
family that He is preparing to inhabit the eternal mansions above
give glory to Him for the rich treasures of His grace. Were children,
in the home life, educated and trained to be grateful to the Giver of
all good things, we would see an element of heavenly grace manifest
in our families. Cheerfulness would be seen in the home life, and
coming from such homes, the youth would bring a spirit of respect
[149]
and reverence with them into the schoolroom and into the church.
There would be an attendance in the sanctuary where God meets
with His people, a reverence for all the ordinances of His worship,
and grateful praise and thanksgiving would be offered for all the
gifts of His providence.
If the word of the Lord were now as strictly carried out as it was
when enjoined upon ancient Israel, fathers and mothers would give
to their children an example which would be of the highest value....
Every temporal blessing would be received with gratitude, and every
spiritual blessing become doubly precious because the perception of
each member of the household had become sanctified by the Word of
truth. The Lord Jesus is very near to those who thus appreciate His
gracious gifts, tracing all their good things back to the benevolent,
loving, care-taking God, and recognizing Him as the great Fountain
of all comfort and consolation, the inexhaustible Source of grace.
10
1
The Ministry of Healing, 386, 387.
2
The Review and Herald, April 15, 1884.
3
Education, 240.
4
The Youth’s Instructor, July 11, 1895.
5
The Review and Herald, December 31, 1901.
6
The Review and Herald, April 28, 1859.
7
Counsels on Sabbath School Work, 98.
8
The Review and Herald, March 21, 1882.
9
Australasian Union Conference Record, November 15, 1903.
10
Manuscript 67, 1907.
Chapter 28—Truthfulness[150]
Let Parents Be Models of Truthfulness
—Parents and teachers,
be true to God. Let your life be free from deceitful practices. Let
no guile be found in your lips. However, disagreeable it may be to
you at the time, let your ways, your words, and your works show
uprightness in the sight of a holy God. Oh, the effect of the first
lesson in deceit is terrible! Shall any who claim to be sons and
daughters of God give themselves up to deceitful practices and
lying?
Never let your children have the semblance of an excuse for
saying, Mother does not tell the truth. Father does not tell the truth.
When you are tried in the heavenly courts, shall the record be made
against your name, A deceiver? Shall your offspring be perverted by
the example of those who ought to guide them in the way of truth?
Instead of this, shall not the converting power of God enter the hearts
of mothers and fathers? Shall not the Holy Spirit of God be allowed
to make its mark upon their children?
It cannot be expected that children will be altogether guileless.
But there is danger that through unwise management, parents will
destroy the frankness which should characterize child experience.
By word and action parents should do all in their power to preserve
artless simplicity. As children advance in years, parents should not
give the slightest occasion for the sowing of that seed which will
develop into deceit and falsehood, and mature into untrustworthy
habits.
1
Never Prevaricate
—Parents should be models of truthfulness,
[151]
for this is the daily lesson to be impressed upon the heart of the child.
Undeviating principle should govern parents in all the affairs of life,
especially in the education and training of their children. “Even a
child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether
it be right.”
2
A mother who lacks discernment, and who does not follow the
guidance of the Lord, may educate her children to be deceivers and
116
Truthfulness 117
hypocrites. The traits of character thus cherished may become so
persistent that to lie will be as natural as to breathe. Pretense will be
taken for sincerity and reality.
3
Parents, never prevaricate; never tell an untruth in precept or in
example. If you want your child to be truthful, be truthful yourself.
Be straight and undeviating. Even a slight prevarication should not
be allowed. Because mothers are accustomed to prevaricate and be
untruthful, the child follows her example.
4
Untruthfulness Is Encouraged by Harsh Words
—Do not be-
come impatient with your children when they err. When you correct
them, do not speak abruptly and harshly. This confuses them, mak-
ing them afraid to tell the truth.
5
1
The Review and Herald, April 13, 1897.
2
Good Health, January, 1880.
3
The Review and Herald, April 13, 1897.
4
Manuscript 126, 1897.
5
Manuscript 2, 1903.
Chapter 29—Honesty and Integrity[152]
Honesty to Be Practiced and Taught
—It is essential that hon-
esty be practiced in all the details of the mother’s life, and it is
important in the training of children to teach the youthful girls as
well as boys never to prevaricate or to deceive in the least.
1
The Standard God Requires—God wants men in His service,
under His banner, to be strictly honest, unimpeachable in character,
that their tongues shall not utter a semblance of untruth. The tongue
must be true, the eyes must be true, the actions wholly and entirely
such as God can commend. We are living in the sight of a holy God,
who solemnly declares, “I know thy works.” The divine eye is ever
upon us. We cannot cover one act of unjust deal from God. The
witness of God to our every action is a truth which but few realize.
2
Those who realize their dependence upon God will feel that they
must be honest with their fellow men, and, above all, they must be
honest with God, from whom come all the blessings of life. The
evasion of the positive commands of God concerning tithes and
offerings is registered in the books of heaven as robbery toward
Him.
3
Honest Weights and Measures
—An honest man, according to
Christ’s measurement, is one who will manifest unbending integrity.
Deceitful weights and false balances, with which many seek to
advance their interests in the world, are abomination in the sight
of God.... Firm integrity shines forth as gold amid the dross and
[153]
rubbish of the world. Deceit, falsehood, and unfaithfulness may be
glossed over and hidden from the eyes of man, but not from the eyes
of God. The angels of God, who watch the development of character
and weigh moral worth, record in the books of heaven these minor
transactions which reveal character.
4
Honest With Time and Money
—Men are wanted whose sense
of justice, even in the smallest matters, will not allow them to make
an entry of their time that is not minute and correct—men who will
realize that they are handling means that belong to God, and who
118
Honesty and Integrity 119
would not unjustly appropriate one cent to their own use; men who
will be just as faithful and exact, careful and diligent, in their labor,
in the absence of their employer as in his presence, proving by their
faithfulness that they are not merely men-pleasers, eyeservants, but
are conscientious, faithful, true workmen, doing right, not for human
praise, but because they love and choose the right from a high sense
of their obligation to God.
5
Just What He Wants Others to Think He Is
—In every busi-
ness transaction a Christian will be just what he wants his brethren to
think he is. His course of action is guided by underlying principles.
He does not scheme; therefore he has nothing to conceal, nothing to
gloss over. He may be criticized, he may be tested, but his unbend-
ing integrity will shine forth like pure gold. He is a blessing to all
connected with him, for his word is trustworthy. He is a man who
will not take advantage of his neighbor. He is a friend and benefactor
to all, and his fellow men put confidence in his counsel.... A truly
honest man will never take advantage of weakness and incompetency
in order to fill his own purse.
6
Allow No Deviation From Rigid Honesty
—In every business
[154]
transaction be rigidly honest. However tempted, never deceive or
prevaricate in the least matter. At times a natural impulse may bring
temptation to diverge from the straightforward path of honesty, but
do not vary one hairsbreadth. If in any matter you make a statement
as to what you will do, and afterward find that you have favored
others to your own loss, do not vary a hairsbreadth from principle.
Carry out your agreement. By seeking to change your plans you
would show that you could not be depended on. And should you
draw back in little transactions, you would draw back in larger ones.
Under such circumstances some are tempted to deceive, saying, I
was not understood. My words have been taken to mean more than
I intended. The fact is, they meant just what they said, but lost the
good impulse, and then wanted to draw back from their agreement,
lest it prove a loss to them. The Lord requires us to do justice, to
love mercy, and truth, and righteousness.
7
Maintain Strict Principles
—In all the details of life the strictest
principles of honesty are to be maintained.... Deviation from perfect
fairness in business deal may appear as a small thing in the estimation
of some, but our Saviour did not thus regard it. His words on this
120 Child Guidance
point are plain and explicit: “He that is faithful in that which is least
is faithful also in much.” A man who will overreach his neighbor
on a small scale will overreach in a larger scale if the temptation is
brought to bear upon him. A false representation in a small matter is
as much dishonesty in the sight of God as falsity in a larger matter.
8
Honesty should stamp every action of our lives. Heavenly angels
[155]
examine the work that is put into our hands; and where there has
been a departure from the principles of truth, “wanting” is written in
the records.
9
1
Letter 41, 1888.
2
Letter 41, 1888.
3
Counsels on Stewardship, 77.
4
Testimonies For The Church 4:310.
5
Testimonies For The Church 3:25.
6
Letter 3, 1878.
7
Letter 103, 1900.
8
Letter 3, 1878.
9
Counsels on Stewardship, 142.
Chapter 30—Self-reliance and Sense of Honor [156]
Train Every Child to Be Self-reliant
—So far as possible, every
child should be trained to self-reliance. By calling into exercise the
various faculties, he will learn where he is strongest, and in what
he is deficient. A wise instructor will give special attention to the
development of the weaker traits, that the child may form a well-
balanced, harmonious character.
1
Too Much Ease Will Develop Weaklings
—If parents, while
they live, would assist their children to help themselves, it would be
better than to leave them a large amount at death. Children who are
left to rely principally upon their own exertions make better men and
women and are better fitted for practical life than those children who
have depended upon their father’s estate. The children left to depend
upon their own resources generally prize their abilities, improve
their privileges, and cultivate and direct their faculties to accomplish
a purpose in life. They frequently develop characters of industry,
frugality, and moral worth, which lie at the foundation of success
in the Christian life. Those children for whom parents do the most,
frequently feel under the least obligation toward them.
2
Obstacles Develop Strength
—It is obstacles that make men
strong. It is not helps, but difficulties, conflicts, rebuffs, that make
men of moral sinew. Too much ease and avoiding responsibility have
made weaklings and dwarfs of those who ought to be responsible
[157]
men of moral power and strong spiritual muscle.
3
From the earliest years it is necessary to weave into the character
principles of stern integrity, that the youth may reach the highest
standard of manhood and womanhood. They should ever keep the
fact before their eyes that they have been bought with a price and
should glorify God in their bodies and spirits, which are His. The
youth should seriously consider what shall be their purpose and
lifework, and lay the foundation in such a way that their habits shall
be free from all taint of corruption. If they would stand in a position
where they shall influence others, they must be self-reliant.
4
121
122 Child Guidance
Prepare Children to Meet Problems Bravely
—Beyond the
discipline of the home and the school, all have to meet the stern
discipline of life. How to meet this wisely is a lesson that should
be made plain to every child and to every youth. It is true that God
loves us, that He is working for our happiness, and that, if His law
had always been obeyed, we should never have known suffering;
and it is no less true that, in this world, as the result of sin, suffering,
trouble, burdens, come to every life. We may do the children and
the youth a lifelong good by teaching them to meet bravely these
troubles and burdens. While we should give them sympathy, let it
never be such as to foster self-pity. What they need is that which
stimulates and strengthens rather than weakens.
They should be taught that this world is not a parade ground,
but a battlefield. All are called to endure hardness, as good soldiers.
They are to be strong and quit themselves like men. Let them be
taught that the true test of character is found in the willingness to
bear burdens, to take the hard place, to do the work that needs to be
[158]
done, though it bring no earthly recognition or reward.
5
Strengthen the Sense of Honor
—The wise educator, in dealing
with his pupils, will seek to encourage confidence and to strengthen
the sense of honor. Children and youth are benefited by being trusted.
Many, even of the little children, have a high sense of honor; all
desire to be treated with confidence and respect, and this is their
right. They should not be led to feel that they cannot go out or come
in without being watched. Suspicion demoralizes, producing the
very evils it seeks to prevent.... Lead the youth to feel that they are
trusted, and there are few who will not seek to prove themselves
worthy of the trust.
6
1
Fundamentals of Christian Education, 57.
2
Testimonies For The Church 3:122, 123.
3
Testimonies For The Church 3:495.
4
The Youth’s Instructor, January 5, 1893.
5
Education, 295.
6
Education, 289, 290.
Section 8—The Paramount [159]
Task—Character Development
Chapter 31—Importance of Character[160]
[161]
The Only Treasure Taken From This World
—A character
formed according to the divine likeness is the only treasure that
we can take from this world to the next. Those who are under the
instruction of Christ in this world will take every divine attainment
with them to the heavenly mansions. And in heaven we are con-
tinually to improve. How important, then, is the development of
character in this life.
1
True Character a Quality of the Soul
—Mental ability and
genius are not character, for these are often possessed by those
who have the very opposite of a good character. Reputation is not
character. True character is a quality of the soul, revealing itself in
the conduct.
2
A good character is a capital of more value than gold or silver.
It is unaffected by panics or failures, and in that day when earthly
possessions shall be swept away, it will bring rich returns. Integrity,
firmness, and perseverance are qualities that all should seek earnestly
to cultivate; for they clothe the possessor with a power which is
irresistible—a power which makes him strong to do good, strong to
resist evil, strong to bear adversity.
3
Its Two Essential Elements
—Strength of character consists of
two things—power of will and power of self-control. Many youth
mistake strong, uncontrolled passion for strength of character; but
the truth is that he who is mastered by his passions is a weak man.
The real greatness and nobility of the man is measured by his powers
to subdue his feelings, not by the power of his feelings to subdue
[162]
him. The strongest man is he who, while sensitive to abuse, will yet
restrain passion and forgive his enemies.
4
More Necessary Than Outward Show
—If it were considered
as important that the young possess a beautiful character and amiable
disposition as it is that they imitate the fashions of the world in dress
and deportment, we would see hundreds where there is one today
124
Importance of Character 125
coming upon the stage of active life prepared to exert an ennobling
influence upon society.
5
Its Development Is the Work of a Lifetime
—The formation
of character is the work of a lifetime, and it is for eternity. If all
could realize this, if they would awake to the thought that we are
individually deciding our own destiny for eternal life or eternal
ruin, what a change would take place! How differently would this
probationary time be occupied, and what different characters would
fill our world!
6
Development and Growth
—The germination of the seed repre-
sents the beginning of spiritual life, and the development of the plant
is a figure of the development of character. There can be no life with-
out growth. The plant must either grow or die. As its growth is silent
and imperceptible, but continuous, so is the growth of character. At
every stage of development our life may be perfect; yet if God’s
purpose for us is fulfilled, there will be constant advancement.
7
It Is the Harvest of Life
—The harvest of life is character, and
it is this that determines destiny, both for this life and for the life
to come. The harvest is a reproduction of the seed sown. Every
seed yields fruit after its kind. So it is with the traits of character
we cherish. Selfishness, self-love, self-esteem, self-indulgence,
[163]
reproduce themselves; and the end is wretchedness and ruin. “He
that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that
soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” Galatians
6:8. Love, sympathy, and kindness yield fruitage of blessing, a
harvest that is imperishable.
8
The Greatest Evidence of Christianity
—If Christian mothers
will present to society children with integrity of character, with
firm principles and sound morals, they will have performed the
most important of all missionary labors. Their children, thoroughly
educated to take their places in society, are the greatest evidence of
Christianity that can be given to the world.
9
The Influence of One Child Properly Trained
—No higher
work was ever committed to mortals than the shaping of character.
Children are not only to be educated, but trained as well; and who
can tell the future of a growing child, or youth? Let the greatest care
be bestowed upon the culture of your children. One child, properly
disciplined in the principles of truth, who has the love and fear of
126 Child Guidance
God woven through the character, will possess a power for good in
the world that cannot be estimated.
10
1
Christ’s Object Lessons, 332.
2
The Youth’s Instructor, November 3, 1886.
3
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 225, 226.
4
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 222.
5
Fundamentals of Christian Education, 69.
6
The Youth’s Instructor, February 19, 1903.
7
Education, 105, 106.
8
Education, 109.
9
Pacific Health Journal, June 1890.
10
The Signs of the Times, July 13, 1888.
Chapter 32—How Character Is Formed [164]
Attained by Persevering, Untiring Effort
—Character does not
come by chance. It is not determined by one outburst of temper,
one step in the wrong direction. It is the repetition of the act that
causes it to become habit, and molds the character either for good
or for evil. Right characters can be formed only by persevering,
untiring effort, by improving every entrusted talent and capability
to the glory of God. Instead of doing this, many allow themselves
to drift wherever impulse or circumstances may carry them. This is
not because they are lacking in good material, but because they do
not realize that in their youth God wants them to do their very best.
1
Our first duty to God and our fellow beings is in self-develop-
ment. Every faculty with which the Creator has endowed us should
be cultivated to the highest degree of perfection, that we may be
able to do the greatest amount of good of which we are capable. In
order to purify and refine our characters, we need the grace given us
of Christ that will enable us to see and correct our deficiencies and
improve that which is excellent in our characters.
2
By Cultivating God-given Powers
—To a great extent everyone
is the architect of his own character. Every day the structure more
nearly approaches completion. The Word of God warns us to take
heed how we build, to see that our building is founded upon the
Eternal Rock. The time is coming when our work will stand revealed
just as it is. Now is the time for all to cultivate the powers that God
[165]
has given them, that they may form characters for usefulness here
and for a higher life hereafter.
Faith in Christ as a personal Saviour will give strength and so-
lidity to the character. Those who have genuine faith in Christ will
be sober-minded, remembering that God’s eye is upon them, that
the Judge of all men is weighing moral worth, that heavenly in-
telligences are watching to see what manner of character is being
developed.
3
127
128 Child Guidance
It Is Influenced by Every Act
—Every act of life, however
unimportant, has its influence in forming the character. A good
character is more precious than worldly possessions, and the work
of forming it is the noblest in which men can engage.
Characters formed by circumstance are changeable and discor-
dant—a mass of contraries. Their possessors have no high aim or
purpose in life. They have no ennobling influence upon the charac-
ters of others. They are purposeless and powerless.
4
Perfected by Following God’s Pattern
—God expects us to
build characters in accordance with the pattern set before us. We are
to lay brick by brick, adding grace to grace, finding our weak points
and correcting them in accordance with the directions given. When
a crack is seen in the walls of a mansion, we know that something
about the building is wrong. In our character building, cracks are
often seen. Unless these defects are remedied, the house will fall
when the tempest of trial beats upon it.
5
God gives us strength, reasoning power, time, in order that we
may build characters on which He can place His stamp of approval.
[166]
He desires each child of His to build a noble character, by the doing
of pure, noble deeds, that in the end he may present a symmetrical
structure, a fair temple, honored by man and God.
In our character building we must build on Christ. He is the sure
foundation—a foundation which can never be moved. The tempest
of temptation and trial cannot move the building which is riveted to
the Eternal Rock.
He who would grow into a beautiful building for the Lord must
cultivate every power of the being. It is only by the right use of
the talents that the character can develop harmoniously. Thus we
bring to the foundation that which is represented in the Word as gold,
silver, precious stones—material that will stand the test of God’s
purifying fires. In our character building Christ is our example.
6
Temptation Must Be Resisted
—The life of Daniel is an in-
spired illustration of what constitutes a sanctified character. It
presents a lesson for all, and especially for the young. A strict
compliance with the requirements of God is beneficial to the health
of body and mind.
7
Daniel’s parents had trained him in his childhood to habits of
strict temperance. They had taught him that he must conform to
How Character Is Formed 129
nature’s laws in all his habits; that his eating and drinking had a
direct influence upon his physical, mental, and moral nature, and
that he was accountable to God for his capabilities; for he held them
all as a gift from God and must not, by any course of action, dwarf
or cripple them. As the result of this teaching, the law of God was
exalted in his mind and reverenced in his heart. During the early
years of his captivity Daniel was passing through an ordeal which
was to familiarize him with courtly grandeur, with hypocrisy, and
[167]
with paganism. A strange school indeed to fit him for a life of
sobriety, industry, and faithfulness! And yet he lived uncorrupted by
the atmosphere of evil with which he was surrounded.
Daniel and his companions enjoyed the benefits of correct train-
ing and education in early life, but these advantages alone would
not have made them what they were. The time came when they
must act for themselves—when their future depended upon their
own course. Then they decided to be true to the lessons given them
in childhood. The fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom,
was the foundation of their greatness. His Spirit strengthened every
true purpose, every noble resolution.
8
The Aim Must Be High
—If the youth today would stand as
Daniel stood, they must put to the stretch every spiritual nerve and
muscle. The Lord does not desire that they shall remain novices. He
wishes them to reach the highest round of the ladder, that they may
step from it into the kingdom of God.
9
If the youth rightly appreciate this important matter of character
building, they will see the necessity of doing their work so that it
will stand the test of investigation before God. The humblest and
weakest, by persevering effort in resisting temptation and seeking
wisdom from above, may reach heights that now seem impossible.
These attainments cannot come without a determined purpose to
be faithful in the fulfillment of little duties. It requires constant
watchfulness that crooked traits shall not be left to strengthen. The
young may have moral power, for Jesus came into the world that He
might be our example and give to all youth and those of every age
[168]
divine help.
10
Counsel and Reproof Must Be Heeded
—Those who are de-
fective in character, in conduct, in habits and practices, are to take
heed to counsel and reproof. This world is God’s workshop, and
130 Child Guidance
every stone that can be used in the heavenly temple must be hewed
and polished, until it is a tried and precious stone, fitted for its place
in the Lord’s building. But if we refuse to be trained and disciplined,
we shall be as stones that will not be hewed and polished, and that
are cast aside at last as useless.
11
It may be that much work needs to be done in your character
building, that you are a rough stone which must be squared and
polished before it can fill a place in God’s temple. You need not be
surprised if with hammer and chisel God cuts away the sharp corners
of your character, until you are prepared to fill the place He has for
you. No human being can accomplish this work. Only by God can
it be done. And be assured that He will not strike one useless blow.
His every blow is struck in love, for your eternal happiness. He
knows your infirmities, and works to restore, not to destroy.
12
1
The Youth’s Instructor, July 27, 1899.
2
Pacific Health Journal, April 1890.
3
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 222, 223.
4
Testimonies For The Church 4:657.
5
The Youth’s Instructor, October 25, 1900.
6
The Youth’s Instructor, May 16, 1901.
7
Fundamentals of Christian Education, 80.
8
Manuscript 132, 1901.
9
The Youth’s Instructor, July 27, 1899.
10
The Youth’s Instructor, November 3, 1886.
11
The Youth’s Instructor, August 31, 1893.
12
Testimonies For The Church 7:264.
Chapter 33—Parental Responsibility in Character [169]
Formation
A Divine Commission to Parents
—God has given parents their
work, to form the characters of their children after the divine Pattern.
By His grace they can accomplish the task; but it will require patient,
painstaking effort, no less than firmness and decision, to guide the
will and restrain the passions. A field left to itself produces only
thorns and briers. He who would secure a harvest for usefulness or
beauty must first prepare the soil and sow the seed, then dig about
the young shoots, removing the weeds and softening the earth, and
the precious plants will flourish and richly repay his care and labor.
1
Character building is the most important work ever entrusted to
human beings, and never before was its diligent study so important
as now. Never was any previous generation called to meet issues
so momentous; never before were young men and young women
confronted by perils so great as confront them today.
2
Here is your work, parents, to develop the characters of your
children in harmony with the precepts of the Word of God. This
work should come first, for eternal interests are here involved. The
character building of your children is of more importance than the
cultivation of your farms, more essential than the building of houses
to live in, or of prosecuting any manner of business or trade.
3
Home, the Best Place for Character Building
—Neither the
[170]
church school nor the college affords the opportunities for establish-
ing a child’s character building upon the right foundation that are
afforded in the home.
4
Crooked Characters Must Be Straightened
—Those who do
not make the crooked character straight in this life can have no part
in the future immortal life. Oh, how important it is for the youth
to keep straight. Parents act an important part in this matter. On
them rests the sacred responsibility of training their children for
God. To them has been given the work of helping their little ones
131
132 Child Guidance
form characters which will gain for them entrance into the courts
above.
5
Parents, Do Not Blunder Here
—Parents, for Christ’s sake do
not blunder in your most important work, that of molding the charac-
ters of your children for time and for eternity. An error on your part
in neglect of faithful instruction, or in the indulgence of that unwise
affection which blinds your eyes to their defects and prevents you
from giving them proper restraint, will prove their ruin. Your course
may give a wrong direction to all their future career. You determine
for them what they will be and what they will do for Christ, for men,
and for their own souls.
Deal honestly and faithfully with your children. Work bravely
and patiently. Fear no crosses, spare no time or labor, burden or
suffering. The future of your children will testify the character of
your work. Fidelity to Christ on your part can be better expressed
in the symmetrical character of your children than in any other way.
They are Christ’s property, bought with His own blood. If their
influence is wholly on the side of Christ, they are His colaborers,
[171]
helping others to find the path of life. If you neglect your God-given
work, your unwise course of discipline places them among the class
who scatter from Christ and strengthen the kingdom of darkness.
6
A Clean House, but Children Untrained
—I have seen a
mother whose critical eye could discern anything imperfect in the
matching of the woodwork of her house, and who was very particu-
lar to have her house cleaning thoroughly done at the precise time
she had set, and would carry it through frequently at the expense of
physical and spiritual health, while her children were left to run in
the street and obtain a street education. These children were growing
up coarse, selfish, rude, and disobedient. The mother, although she
had hired help, was so much engaged in household cares that she
could not afford time to properly train her children. She let them
come up with deformity of character, undisciplined, and untrained.
We could but feel that the fine taste of the mother was not exercised
in the right direction, or she would have seen the necessity of mold-
ing the minds and manners of her children and educating them to
have symmetrical characters and lovely tempers.
If the mother had let these things which she had allowed to claim
her first attention come in secondarily, she would have regarded the
Parental Responsibility in Character Formation 133
physical, mental, and moral training of her children of almost infinite
importance. Those who take upon themselves the responsibility of
mothers should feel under the most solemn obligation to God and
to their children to so educate them that they will have amiable and
affectionate dispositions, and that they will be pure in morals, refined
in taste, and lovely in character.
7
Only by God’s Spirit
—Shall we consider that we are capable
[172]
of fashioning our lives and characters to enter into the portals of
glory? We cannot do it. We are dependent every moment upon the
Spirit of God operating upon us and upon our children.
8
If parents would see a different state of things in their family, let
them consecrate themselves wholly to God, and the Lord will devise
ways and means whereby a transformation may take place in their
households.
9
God’s Part and Yours
—Christian parents, I entreat you to
awake.... If you neglect your duty and shirk your responsibility,
expecting the Lord to do your work, you will be disappointed. When
you have faithfully done all that you can do, bring your children
to Jesus; and with earnest, persevering faith, make intercession for
them. The Lord will be your helper; He will work with your efforts;
in His strength you will gain the victory....
When parents shall manifest such an interest for their children
as God would have them, He will hear their prayers and work with
their efforts; but God does not propose to do the work which He has
left for parents to do.
10
The Creator Will Help You
—Mothers, remember that in your
work the Creator of the universe will give you help. In His strength,
and through His name, you can lead your children to be overcomers.
Teach them to look to God for strength. Tell them that He hears their
prayers. Teach them to overcome evil with good. Teach them to
exert an influence that is elevating and ennobling. Lead them to unite
with God, and then they will have strength to resist the strongest
[173]
temptation. They will then receive the reward of the overcomer.
11
Your compassionate Redeemer is watching you in love and sym-
pathy, ready to hear your prayers and render you the assistance
which you need in your lifework. Love, joy, peace, long-suffering,
gentleness, faith, and charity are the elements of the Christian char-
134 Child Guidance
acter. These precious graces are the fruits of the Spirit. They are the
Christian’s crown and shield.
12
A Word of Encouragement to Those Who Have Erred
—
Those who have been training their children in an improper way
need not despair; let them become converted to God and seek for the
true spirit of obedience, and they will be enabled to make decided
reforms. In conforming your own customs to the saving principles
of God’s holy law, you will have an influence upon your children.
13
Some Children Will Refuse to Heed Parental Counsel
—Par-
ents may do everything in their power to give their children every
privilege and instruction, in order that they may give their hearts to
God; yet the children may refuse to walk in the light and, by their
evil course, cast unfavorable reflections upon their parents who love
them, and whose hearts yearn after their salvation.
It is Satan who tempts children to follow in a course of sin and
disobedience.... If they refuse to walk in the light, if they refuse to
submit their will and way to God, and persist in following a course
of sin in their impenitence, the light and privileges they have had
will rise up in judgment against them, because they did not walk in
the light, and knew not whither they went. Satan is leading them,
[174]
and they become a subject of remark in the world. People will say,
“Why, look at those children! Their parents are very religious, but
you see they are worse than my children, and I do not profess to be
a Christian.” In this way children who receive good instruction and
yet do not heed it cast a reproach upon their parents, dishonoring
them, and putting them to shame before an ungodly world. They
also bring a reproach upon the religion of Jesus Christ through their
wicked course of action.
14
Parents, This Is Your Work
—Parents, it is your work to de-
velop in your children patience, constancy, and genuine love. In
dealing aright with the children God has given you, you are helping
them lay the foundation for pure, well-balanced characters. You are
instilling into their minds principles which they will one day follow
in their own families. The effect of your well-directed efforts will
be seen as they conduct their households in the way of the Lord.
15
Parental Responsibility in Character Formation 135
1
The Signs of the Times, November 24, 1881.
2
Education, 225.
3
The Signs of the Times, September 10, 1894.
4
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 162.
5
Letter 78, 1901.
6
Testimonies for the Church 5:39, 40.
7
The Signs of the Times, August 5, 1875.
8
Manuscript 12, 1895.
9
Manuscript 151, 1897.
10
The Review and Herald, September 13, 1881.
11
The Review and Herald, July 9, 1901.
12
Pacific Health Journal, September, 1890.
13
The Signs of the Times, September 17, 1894.
14
The Youth’s Instructor, August 10, 1893.
15
The Review and Herald, June 6, 1899.
Chapter 34—Ways in Which Character Is Ruined[175]
Parents May Sow the Seed of Ruin
—Mistaken parents are
teaching their children lessons which will prove ruinous to them,
and are also planting thorns for their own feet.... To a great extent,
parents hold in their own hands the future happiness of their children.
Upon them rests the important work of forming the character of these
children. The instructions given in childhood will follow them all
through life. Parents sow the seed which will spring up and bear
fruit either for good or evil. They can fit their sons and daughters
for happiness or for misery.
1
By Indulgence or Iron Rule
—Children are often indulged from
their babyhood, and wrong habits become fixed. The parents have
been bending the sapling. By their course of training the character
develops, either into deformity or into symmetry and beauty. But
while many err upon the side of indulgence, others go to the opposite
extreme and rule their children with a rod of iron. Neither of these
follow out the Bible directions, but both are doing a fearful work.
They are molding the minds of their children and must render an
account in the day of God for the manner in which they have done
this. Eternity will reveal the results of the work done in this life.
2
By Failing to Train for God
—In failing to train their children
to keep the way of the Lord, to do those things which He has com-
[176]
manded, parents neglect a solemn duty.
3
Some [children] have been left to do as they pleased; others have
been found fault with and discouraged. But little pleasantness, and
cheerfulness, and words of approval have been given them.
4
Oh, if mothers would only work with wisdom, with calmness
and determination, to train and subdue the carnal tempers of their
children, what an amount of sin would be nipped in the bud, and
what a host of church trials would be saved! ... Many souls will be
eternally lost because of the neglect of parents to properly discipline
their children, and to teach them submission to authority in their
youth. Petting faults and soothing outbreaks is not laying the ax
136
Ways in Which Character Is Ruined 137
at the root of the evil, but proves the ruin of thousands of souls.
Oh, how will parents answer to God for this fearful neglect of their
duty!
5
By Negligence That Dallies With Sin
—Children need watchful
care and guidance as never before, for Satan is striving to gain the
control of their minds and hearts and to drive out the Spirit of God.
The fearful state of the youth of this age constitutes one of the
strongest signs that we are living in the last days, but the ruin of
many may be traced directly to the wrong management of the parents.
The spirit of murmuring against reproof has been taking root and
is bearing its fruit of insubordination. While the parents are not
pleased with the characters their children are developing, they fail
to see the errors that make them what they are....
God condemns the negligence that dallies with sin and crime,
and the insensibility that is slow to detect its baleful presence in the
families of professed Christians.
6
By Lack of Restraint
—Because they do not properly restrain
[177]
and direct their children, thousands are coming up with deformed
characters, with lax morals, and with little education in the practical
duties of life. They are left to do as they please with their impulses,
their time, and their mental powers. The loss to the cause of God
in these neglected talents lies at the door of fathers and mothers;
and what excuse will they render to Him whose stewards they are,
entrusted with the sacred duty of fitting the souls under their charge
to improve all their powers to the glory of their Creator?
7
The parents have thought they loved their children, but have
proved themselves their worst enemies. They have let evil go unre-
strained. They have allowed their children to cherish sin, which is
like cherishing and petting a viper, that will not only sting the victim
who cherishes it, but all with whom he is connected.
8
By Overlooking Glaring Wrongs
—Instead of uniting with
those who bear the burdens, to lift up the standard of morals, and
working with heart and soul in the fear of God to correct the wrongs
in their children, many parents soothe their own consciences by say-
ing, “My children are no worse than others.” They seek to conceal
the glaring wrongs which God hates, lest their children shall become
offended and take some desperate course. If the spirit of rebellion
is in their hearts, far better subdue it now than permit it to increase
138 Child Guidance
and strengthen by indulgence. If parents would do their duty, we
should see a different state of things. Many of these parents have
backslidden from God. They do not have wisdom from Him to
perceive the devices of Satan and to resist his snares.
9
By Petting and Indulging Children
—Parents frequently pet
[178]
and indulge their young children because it appears easier to manage
them in that way. It is smoother work to let them have their own
way than to check the unruly inclinations that rise so strongly in
their breasts. Yet this course is cowardly. It is a wicked thing thus
to shirk responsibility; for the time will come when these children,
whose unchecked inclinations have strengthened into absolute vices,
will bring reproach and disgrace upon themselves and their families.
They go out into busy life unprepared for its temptations, not strong
enough to endure perplexities and troubles; passionate, overbearing,
undisciplined, they seek to bend others to their will, and, failing in
this, consider themselves ill-used by the world, and turn against it.
10
By Sowing Seeds of Vanity
—Wherever we go, we see children
indulged, petted, and praised without discretion. This tends to make
them vain, bold, and conceited. The seeds of vanity are easily
sown in the human heart by injudicious parents and guardians, who
praise and indulge the young under their charge, with no thought
of the future. Self-will and pride are evils that turned angels into
demons and barred the gates of heaven against them. And yet parents,
unconsciously, are systematically training their children to be the
agents of Satan.
11
By Becoming Slaves to Teen-age Children
—How many toil-
worn, burdened parents have become slaves to their children, while,
in harmony with their education and training, the children live to
please, amuse, and glorify themselves. Parents sow the seed in the
hearts of their children which yields a harvest that they do not care
to reap. Under this training, at the age of ten, twelve, or sixteen,
[179]
children think themselves very wise, imagine that they are prodigies,
and regard themselves as altogether too knowing to be in subjection
to their parents, and too elevated to stoop to the duties of everyday
life. The love of pleasure controls their minds; and selfishness, pride,
and rebellion work out their bitter results in their lives. They accept
the insinuations of Satan and cultivate an unhallowed ambition to
make a great show in the world.
12
Ways in Which Character Is Ruined 139
By Misguided Love and Sympathy
—Parents may indulge
their affection for their children at the expense of obedience to God’s
holy law. Guided by this affection, they disobey God by allowing
their children to carry out wrong impulses, and withhold the instruc-
tion and discipline which God has commanded them to give. When
parents thus disregard the commands of God, they imperil their own
souls and the souls of their children.
13
Weakness in requiring obedience, and false love and sympathy—
the false notion that to indulge and not to restrain is wisdom—
constitute a system of training that grieves angels; but it delights
Satan, for it brings hundreds and thousands of children into his
ranks. This is why he blinds the eyes of parents, benumbs their
sensibilities, and confuses their minds. They see that their sons and
daughters are not pleasant, lovely, obedient, and care-taking; yet
children accumulate in their homes, to poison their lives, fill their
hearts with grief, and add to the number whom Satan is using to
allure souls to destruction.
14
By Failure to Require Obedience
—If ungrateful children are
fed and clothed and allowed to go uncorrected, they are emboldened
to continue in their course of evil. And inasmuch as their parents
[180]
or guardians thus favor them and do not require obedience, they are
partakers with them in their wicked deeds. Such children might just
as well be with the wicked, whose iniquitous course they choose to
follow, as to remain in Christian homes, to poison others. In this age
of wickedness every Christian must stand firm in condemnation of
the evil, Satanic actions of wayward children. Evil youth should not
be treated as kind and obedient, but as disturbers of the peace and
corrupters of their companions.
15
By Allowing the Children to Follow Their Own Minds
—The
prevailing influence in society is in favor of allowing the youth to
follow the natural turn of their own minds.
16
They [parents] think that by gratifying the wishes of their chil-
dren and letting them follow their own inclinations, they can gain
their love. What an error! Children thus indulged grow up unre-
strained in their desires, unyielding in their dispositions, selfish,
exacting, and overbearing, a curse to themselves and to all around
them.
17
140 Child Guidance
By Allowing Wrong Attitudes
—The lessons of childhood,
good or bad, are not learned in vain. Character is developed in
youth for good or evil. At home there may be praise and false flat-
tery; in the world each stands on his own merits. The pampered ones,
to whom all home authority has yielded, are there daily subjected to
mortification by being obliged to yield to others. Many are even then
taught their true place by these practical lessons of life. Through
rebuffs, disappointments, and plain language from their superiors,
they often find their true level and are humbled to understand and
accept their proper place. But this is a severe and unnecessary ordeal
[181]
for them to pass through and could have been prevented by proper
training in their youth.
The majority of these ill-disciplined ones go through life at cross-
purposes with the world, making a failure where they should have
succeeded. They grow to feel that the world owes them a grudge
because it does not flatter and caress them, and they take revenge by
holding a grudge against the world and bidding it defiance. Circum-
stances sometimes oblige them to affect a humility they do not feel;
but it does not fit them with a natural grace, and their true characters
are sure to be exposed sooner or later....
Why will parents educate their children in such a manner that
they will be at war with those who are brought in contact with
them?
18
By Training as Devotees of Society
—Children are not to be
trained to be the devotees of society. They are not to be sacrificed
to Molech, but they are to become members of the Lord’s family.
Parents are to be filled with the compassion of Christ, that they
may work for the salvation of the souls that are placed under their
influence. They are not to have their minds all engrossed in the
fashions and practices of the world. They are not to educate their
children to attend parties and concerts and dances, to have and attend
feasts, because after this manner the Gentiles walk.
19
By Permitting Selfish Seeking of Happiness
—There are many
youth who might have been a blessing to society and an honor to
the cause of God if they had been started in life with right ideas
as to what constituted success. But instead of being controlled by
reason and principle, they had been trained to yield to wayward
[182]
inclination, and sought only to gratify themselves by indulging in
Ways in Which Character Is Ruined 141
selfish pleasure, thinking thus to obtain happiness. But they failed
to attain their object, for seeking happiness in the path of selfishness
will bring but misery. They are useless in society, useless in the
cause of God. Their prospects both for this world and the next are of
a most discouraging order, for by selfish love of pleasure they lose
both this world and the next.
20
By a Lack of Piety at Home
—In professedly Christian homes,
where fathers and mothers would be supposed to be diligent students
of the Scriptures, in order that they might know every specification
and restriction in the Word of God, there is manifest neglect of
following the instruction of the Word and of bringing up the children
in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Professedly Christian
parents fail to practice piety at home. How can fathers and mothers
represent Christ’s character in the home life when they are content
to reach a cheap, low standard? The seal of the living God will be
placed upon those only who bear a likeness to Christ in character.
21
If Parents Were Obedient to God
—The Lord will not vindi-
cate the misrule of parents. Today hundreds of children swell the
ranks of the enemy, living and working apart from the purpose of
God. They are disobedient, unthankful, unholy; but the sin lies at
the door of their parents. Christian parents, thousands of children
are perishing in their sins because of the failure of their parents to
rule the home wisely. If parents were obedient to the unseen Leader
of the armies of Israel, whose glory was enshrouded in the pillar of
cloud, the unhappy state of affairs now existing in so many families
[183]
would not be seen.
22
1
Testimonies For The Church 1:393.
2
Testimonies For The Church 4:368, 369.
3
Manuscript 12, 1898.
4
Manuscript 34, 1893.
5
Testimonies For The Church 4:92.
6
Testimonies For The Church 4:199, 200.
7
Testimonies For The Church 5:326.
8
Fundamentals of Christian Education, 52, 53.
9
Testimonies For The Church 4:650, 651.
10
Testimonies For The Church 4:201.
11
Pacific Health Journal, January, 1890.
12
The Youth’s Instructor, July 20, 1893.
13
The Review and Herald, April 6, 1897.
142 Child Guidance
14
Testimonies For The Church 5:324.
15
Manuscript 119, 1901.
16
Messages to Young People, 373, 374.
17
Testimonies For The Church 1:393.
18
Testimonies For The Church 4:201, 202.
19
The Review and Herald, March 13, 1894.
20
The Youth’s Instructor, July 20, 1893.
21
The Review and Herald, May 21, 1895.
22
The Review and Herald, June 6, 1899.
Chapter 35—How Parents May Build Strong [184]
Characters
Devote Best Time and Thought to It
—The parents receive the
child a helpless burden in their arms; he knows nothing, and he
is to be taught to love God, is to be brought up in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord. He is to be fashioned after the divine model.
When parents see the importance of their work in training their
children, when they see that it involves eternal interest, they will feel
that they must devote their best time and thought to this work.
1
Gain an Understanding of Principles Involved
—The lessons
learned, the habits formed, during the years of infancy and childhood
have more to do with the formation of the character and the direction
of the life than have all the instruction and training of after years.
Parents need to consider this. They should understand the prin-
ciples that underlie the care and training of children. They should
be capable of rearing them in physical, mental, and moral health.
2
Shun Superficiality
—We are living in an age when almost ev-
erything is superficial. There is but little stability and firmness of
character, because the training and education of children from their
cradle is superficial. Their character is built upon sliding sand. Self-
denial and self-control have not been molded into their characters.
They have been petted and indulged until they are spoiled for prac-
tical life. The love of pleasure controls minds, and children are
[185]
flattered and indulged to their ruin.
3
Fortify Children Through Prayer and Faith
—You have
brought children into the world who have had no voice in regard to
their existence. You have made yourselves responsible in a great
measure for their future happiness, their eternal well-being. The bur-
den is upon you, whether you are sensible of it or not, to train these
children for God—to watch with jealous care the first approach of
the wily foe, and be prepared to raise a standard against him. Build
a fortification of prayer and faith about your children, and exercise
diligent watching thereunto. You are not secure a moment against
143
144 Child Guidance
the attacks of Satan. You have no time to rest from watchful, earnest
labor. You should not sleep a moment at your post. This is a most
important warfare. Eternal consequences are involved. It is life or
death with you and your family.
4
Take a Firm, Decided Stand
—Parents generally put too much
confidence in their children; for often when the parents are confiding
in them, they are in concealed iniquity. Parents, watch your children
with a jealous care. Exhort, reprove, counsel them when you rise up,
and when you sit down; when you go out, and when you come in;
“line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, and there a little.”
Subdue your children when they are young. With many parents this
is sadly neglected. They do not take as firm and decided a stand as
they should in regard to their children.
5
Patiently Sow Precious Seed
—“Whatsoever a man soweth, that
shall he also reap.” Parents, your work is to win the confidence of
your children, and in love patiently sow the precious seed. Do your
[186]
work with contentment, never complaining of the hardship, care,
and toil. If by patient, kindly, Christlike efforts you may present
one soul perfect in Christ Jesus, your life will not have been in vain.
Keep your own soul hopeful and patient. Let no discouragement
be traced in your features or attitude. You have in your hands the
making of a character, through the help of God, that may work in the
Master’s vineyard and win many souls to Jesus. Ever encourage your
children to reach a high standard in all their habits and tendencies.
Be patient with their imperfections, as God is patient with you in
your imperfections, bearing with you, watching over you, that you
may bring forth fruit unto His glory. Encourage your children to
strive to add to their attainments the virtues they lack.
6
Teach Submission to Law
—Fathers and mothers, be sensible.
Teach your children that they must be subordinate to law.
7
It is not mercy or kindness to permit a child to have its own
way, to submit to its rule, and to neglect to correct it on the ground
that you love it too well to punish it. What kind of love is it that
permits your child to develop traits of character that will make him
and everyone else miserable? Away with such love! True love will
look out for the present and eternal good of the soul.
8
What right have parents to bring children into the world to ne-
glect and to let them grow up without culture and Christian training?
How Parents May Build Strong Characters 145
Parents should be responsible. Teach them control; teach them that
they are to be managed, and not to manage.
9
Co-ordinate the Physical, Mental, and Spiritual
—The phys-
ical, mental, and spiritual capabilities should be developed in order
[187]
to form a properly balanced character. Children should be watched,
guarded, and disciplined in order to successfully accomplish this.
10
The physical constitution of Jesus, as well as His spiritual devel-
opment, is brought before us in these words,“the child grew,” and
“increased in stature.” In childhood and youth attention should be
given to physical development. Parents should so train their children
in good habits of eating and drinking, dressing, and exercise, that a
good foundation will be laid for sound health in afterlife. The physi-
cal organism should have special care, that the powers of the body
may not be dwarfed, but developed to their full extent. This places
the children and youth in a favorable position, so that, with proper
religious training, they may, like Christ, wax strong in spirit.
11
Health Is Related to Intellect and Morals
—In order to arouse
the moral sensibilities of your children to the claims that God has
upon them, you should imprint upon their minds and hearts how to
obey the laws of God in their physical frames; for health has a great
deal to do with their intellect and morals. If they have health and
purity of heart, they are then better prepared to live and be a blessing
to the world. To balance their minds in the right direction and at the
right time is a most important work, for very much depends on the
decision made at the critical moment.
How important, then, that the minds of parents should be as free
as possible from perplexing, wearing care in needless things, that
they may think and act with calm consideration, wisdom, and love,
making the physical and moral health of their children the first and
highest consideration.
12
Parents wonder that children are so much more difficult to con-
[188]
trol than they used to be, when in most cases their own criminal
management has made them so. The quality of food they bring upon
their tables and encourage their children to eat is constantly excit-
ing their animal passions and weakening the moral and intellectual
faculties.
13
Pure Food for the Mind Is Essential
—Educate the faculties
and tastes of your dear ones; seek to preoccupy their minds, so that
146 Child Guidance
there shall be no place for low, debasing thoughts or indulgences.
The grace of Christ is the only antidote or preventive of evil. You
may choose, if you will, whether the minds of your children shall
be occupied with pure, uncorrupted thoughts or with the evils that
are existing everywhere—pride and forgetfulness of their Redeemer.
The mind, like the body, must have pure food in order to have
health and strength. Give your children something to think of that
is out of and above themselves. The mind that lives in a pure, holy
atmosphere will not become trifling, frivolous, vain, and selfish.
14
We are living in a time when everything that is false and super-
ficial is exalted above the real, the natural, and the enduring. The
mind must be kept free from everything that would lead it in a wrong
direction. It should not be encumbered with trashy stories, which do
not add strength to the mental powers. The thoughts will be of the
same character as the food we provide for the mind.
15
A Brilliant Intellect Is Not Sufficient
—You may be pleased
with the brilliant intellect of your child; but unless it is under the
control of a sanctified heart, it will work at cross-purposes with God.
Nothing but a high sense of the claims of God upon us can give
[189]
us the proper stability of character, penetration of mind, and depth
of understanding essential to success, both in this world and in the
world to come.
16
Aim at High Points in Character Development
—If we teach
our children to be industrious, half the danger is over, for idleness
leads into all manner of temptation to sin. Let us educate our children
to be simple in manner without being bold, to be benevolent and
self-sacrificing without being extravagant, to be economical without
becoming avaricious. And above all, let us teach them the claims
which God has upon them, that it is their duty to carry religion into
every department of life, that they should love God supremely, and
love their neighbor, not neglecting the little courtesies of life which
are essential to happiness.
17
Pray for Heavenly Wisdom
—Parents should reflect and pray
earnestly to God for wisdom and divine aid to properly train their
children, that they may develop characters that God will approve.
Their anxiety should not be how they can educate their children that
they may be praised and honored of the world, but how they can
educate them to form beautiful characters that God can approve.
How Parents May Build Strong Characters 147
Much prayer and study are needed for heavenly wisdom to know
how to deal with young minds, for very much is depending upon the
direction parents give to the minds and wills of their children.
18
Moral and Spiritual Guidance Must Be Given
—Parents need
to be impressed with their obligation to give to the world children
having well-developed character—children who will have moral
power to resist temptation, and whose life will be an honor to God
and a blessing to their fellowmen. Those who enter upon active life
[190]
with firm principles will be prepared to stand unsullied amid the
moral pollutions of this corrupt age.
19
Teach Children to Choose for Themselves
—Let the youth and
the little children be taught to choose for themselves that royal
robe woven in heaven’s loom—the “fine linen, clean and white”
(Revelation 19:8), which all the holy ones of earth will wear. This
robe, Christ’s own spotless character, is freely offered to every
human being. But all who receive it will receive and wear it here.
Let the children be taught that as they open their minds to pure,
loving thoughts and do loving and helpful deeds, they are clothing
themselves with His beautiful garment of character. This apparel
will make them beautiful and beloved here, and will hereafter be
their title of admission to the palace of the King.
20
1
The Signs of the Times, March 16, 1891.
2
The Ministry of Healing, 380.
3
Health Reformer, December, 1872.
4
Testimonies For The Church 2:397, 398.
5
Testimonies For The Church 1:156.
6
Manuscript 136, 1898.
7
Manuscript 49, 1901.
8
The Review and Herald, July 16, 1895.
9
Manuscript 9, 1893.
10
Testimonies For The Church 4:197, 198.
11
The Youth’s Instructor, July 27, 1893.
12
Health Reformer, December, 1872.
13
Pacific Health Journal, October, 1897.
14
Letter 27, 1890.
15
Testimonies For The Church 5:544.
16
The Review and Herald, April 23, 1889.
17
Pacific Health Journal, May, 1890.
18
Health Reformer, December, 1872.
19
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 75.
Section 9—Fundamental Elements of [191]
Character Building
Chapter 36—Advantage of the Early Years[192]
[193]
Early Childhood Is the Most Important Period
—Too much
importance cannot be placed on the early training of children. The
lessons that the child learns during the first seven years of life have
more to do with forming his character than all that it learns in future
years.
1
From babyhood the character of the child is to be molded and
fashioned in accordance with the divine plan. Virtues are to be
instilled into his opening mind.
2
The parents’ work must begin with the child in its infancy, that it
may receive the right impress of character ere the world shall place
its stamp on mind and heart.
3
The Most Susceptible Age
—It is during the first years of a
child’s life that his mind is most susceptible to impressions either
good or evil. During these years decided progress is made in either
a right direction or a wrong one. On one hand, much worthless
information may be gained; on the other, much solid, valuable
knowledge. The strength of intellect, the substantial knowledge, are
possessions which the gold of Ophir could not buy. Their price is
above gold or silver.
4
First Impressions Are Seldom Forgotten
—Neither infants,
children, or youth should hear an impatient word from father, mother,
or any member of the household; for they receive impressions very
early in life, and what parents make them today, they will be tomor-
row, and the next day, and the next. The first lessons impressed upon
the child are seldom forgotten....
The impressions made on the heart early in life are seen in after
[194]
years. They may be buried, but they will seldom be obliterated.
5
The Foundation Is Laid in the First Three Years
—Mothers,
be sure that you properly discipline your children during the first
three years of their lives. Do not allow them to form their wishes
and desires. The mother must be mind for her child. The first three
years is the time in which to bend the tiny twig. Mothers should
150
Advantage of the Early Years 151
understand the importance attaching to this period. It is then that the
foundation is laid.
If these first lessons have been defective, as they very often are,
for Christ’s sake, for the sake of your children’s future and eternal
good, seek to repair the wrong you have done. If you have waited
until your children were three years old to begin to teach them self-
control and obedience, seek to do it now, even though it will be much
harder.
6
Not So Difficult as Generally Supposed
—Much parental anx-
iety and grief might be saved if children were taught from their
cradles that their wills were not to be made law, and their whims
continually indulged. It is not so difficult as is generally supposed
to teach the little child to stifle its outburst of temper and subdue its
fits of passion.
7
Do Not Postpone This Work
—Many neglect their duty during
the first years of their children’s lives, thinking that when they get
older, they will then be very careful to repress wrong and educate
them in the right. But the very time for them to do this work is when
the children are babes in their arms. It is not right for parents to pet
and humor their children; neither is it right for them to abuse them.
[195]
A firm, decided, straightforward course of action will be productive
of the best results.
8
When I have called attention of parents to the wrong habits
which they were encouraging in their very young children, some
parents have appeared entirely indifferent; others have said with a
smile, “Little darlings! I cannot bear to cross them in any way. They
will do better when they get older. They will then be ashamed of
these passionate outbursts. It is not best to be too particular and
strict with the little ones. They will outgrow these habits of telling
lies and deceiving and being indolent and selfish.” A very easy way
indeed for mothers to dispose of the matter, but this does not meet
the will of God.
9
Thwart Satan’s Effort to Claim Infant Children
—Parents,
you fail generally to begin your work early enough. You let Satan
preoccupy the soil of the heart by putting in the first crop of seed.
10
You have a work to do that Satan shall not gain the control of
your children and take them away from you before they are out of
your arms. Mothers, you should see to it that the powers of darkness
152 Child Guidance
do not control your little ones. You should set your will that the
enemy shall not raise his banner of darkness in your home.
11
In Preparing Also for Practical Life
—There are but very few
who take time to carefully consider what an amount of knowledge
both of temporal and eternal things may be gained by the child during
its first twelve or fifteen years. Not only should children in these
first years of life be obtaining book knowledge, but they should be
learning the arts essential for practical life; the latter should not be
neglected for the former.
12
Napoleon’s Heritage
—The character of Napoleon Bonaparte
[196]
was greatly influenced by his training in childhood. Unwise instruc-
tors inspired him with a love for conquest, forming mimic armies
and placing him at their head as commander. Here was laid the
foundation for his career of strife and bloodshed. Had the same care
and effort been directed to making him a good man, imbuing his
young heart with the spirit of the Gospel, how widely different might
have been his history.
13
Hume and Voltaire
—It is said that Hume, the skeptic, was
in early life a conscientious believer in the Word of God. Being
connected with a debating society, he was appointed to present the
arguments in favor of infidelity. He studied with earnestness and
perseverance, and his keen and active mind became imbued with
the sophistry of skepticism. Erelong he came to believe its delusive
teachings, and his whole afterlife bore the dark impress of infidelity.
When Voltaire was five years old, he committed to memory an
infidel poem, and the pernicious influence was never effaced from
his mind. He became one of Satan’s most successful agents to lead
men away from God. Thousands will rise up in the judgment and
charge the ruin of their souls upon the infidel Voltaire.
By the thoughts and feelings cherished in early years every
youth is determining his own life history. Correct, virtuous, manly
habits formed in youth will become a part of the character and will
usually mark the course of the individual through life. The youth
may become vicious or virtuous, as they choose. They may as well
be distinguished for true and noble deeds as for great crime and
wickedness.
14
Hannah’s Reward
—Opportunities of inestimable worth, inter-
[197]
ests infinitely precious, are committed to every mother. During the
Advantage of the Early Years 153
first three years of the life of Samuel the prophet, his mother care-
fully taught him to distinguish between good and evil. By every
familiar object surrounding him she sought to lead his thoughts up
to the Creator. In fulfillment of her vow to give her son to the Lord,
with great self-denial she placed him under the care of Eli the high
priest, to be trained for service in the house of God.... His early
training led him to choose to maintain his Christian integrity. What
a reward was Hannah’s! And what an encouragement to faithfulness
is her example!
15
How Joseph’s Mind Was Garrisoned
—The lessons given
Joseph in his youth by Jacob in expressing his firm trust in God
and relating to him again and again the precious evidences of His
loving-kindness and unceasing care were the very lessons he needed
in his exile among an idolatrous people. In the testing time he put
these lessons to a practical use. When under the severest trial, he
looked to his heavenly Father, whom he had learned to trust. Had
the precepts and example of the father of Joseph been of an opposite
character, the pen of inspiration would never have traced upon the
pages of sacred history the story of integrity and virtue that shines
forth in the character of Joseph. The early impressions made upon
his mind garrisoned his heart in the hour of fierce temptation and
led him to exclaim, “How can I do this great wickedness, and sin
against God?”
16
The Fruitage of Wise Training
—It is a sad fact that any weak-
ness and indecision on the part of the mother is quickly seen by the
children, and the tempter then works upon their minds, leading them
[198]
to persist in following their inclination. If parents would cultivate
the qualities necessary for them to use in the proper training of their
children, if they would plainly lay before the children the rules they
must follow, and not suffer these rules to be broken, the Lord would
co-operate with and bless both parents and children.
17
At a very early age children become susceptible to demoralizing
influences, but parents who profess to be Christians do not seem to
discern the evil of their own course of management. Oh, that they
might realize that the bias which is given to a child in its earliest
years gives a tendency to character and shapes the destiny either for
eternal life or eternal death! Children are susceptible to moral and
154 Child Guidance
spiritual impressions, and those who are wisely trained in childhood
may be erring at times, but they will not go far astray.
18
1
Manuscript 2, 1903.
2
The Signs of the Times, September 25, 1901.
3
The Review and Herald, August 30, 1881.
4
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 132.
5
Manuscript 57, 1897.
6
Manuscript 64, 1899.
7
Pacific Health Journal, April 1890.
8
Testimonies For The Church 4:313.
9
Manuscript 43, 1900.
10
The Review and Herald, April 14, 1885.
11
The Signs of the Times, July 22, 1889.
12
Manuscript 43, 1900.
13
The Signs of the Times, October 11, 1910.
14
Ibid.
15
The Review and Herald, September 8, 1904.
16
Good Health, January, 1880.
17
Manuscript 133, 1898.
18
The Signs of the Times, April 16, 1896.
Chapter 37—The Power of Habit [199]
How Habits Are Established
—Any one act, either good or
evil, does not form the character; but thoughts and feelings indulged
prepare the way for acts and deeds of the same kind.
1
It is ... by a repetition of acts that habits are established and
character confirmed.
2
The Time to Establish Good Habits
—The character is formed,
to a great extent, in early years. The habits then established have
more influence than any natural endowment, in making men either
giants or dwarfs in intellect; for the very best talents may, through
wrong habits, become warped and enfeebled. The earlier in life one
contracts hurtful habits, the more firmly will they hold their victim
in slavery, and the more certainly will they lower his standard of
spirituality. On the other hand, if correct and virtuous habits are
formed in youth, they will generally mark the course of the possessor
through life. In most cases, it will be found that those who in later
life reverence God and honor the right learned that lesson before
there was time for the world to stamp its images of sin upon the soul.
Those of mature age are generally as insensible to new impressions
as is the hardened rock, but youth is impressible.
3
Habits May Be Modified, but Seldom Changed
—What the
child sees and hears is drawing deep lines upon the tender mind,
which no after circumstances in life can entirely efface. The intel-
lect is now taking shape, and the affections receiving direction and
strength. Repeated acts in a given course become habits. These may
[200]
be modified by severe training, in afterlife, but are seldom changed.
4
Once formed, habits become more and more firmly impressed
upon the character. The intellect is continually receiving its mold
from opportunities and advantages, ill or well improved. Day by
day we form characters which place the students as well-disciplined
soldiers under the banner of Prince Emmanuel, or rebels under the
banner of the prince of darkness. Which shall it be?
5
155
156 Child Guidance
Persevering Effort Is Necessary
—What we venture to do once,
we are more apt to do again. Habits of sobriety, of self-control, of
economy, of close application, of sound, sensible conversation, of
patience and true courtesy, are not gained without diligent, close
watching over self. It is much easier to become demoralized and
depraved than to conquer defects, keeping self in control and cherish-
ing true virtues. Persevering efforts will be required if the Christian
graces are ever perfected in our lives.
6
Corrupt Children Endanger Others
—God-fearing parents
will deliberate and plan as to how to train their children to right
habits. They will choose companions for their children, rather than
leave them in their inexperience to choose for themselves.
7
If, in their early childhood, children are not perseveringly and
patiently trained in the right way, they will form wrong habits. These
habits will develop in their future life and will corrupt others. Those
whose minds have received a low cast, who have been cheapened by
wrong home influences, by deceptive practices, carry their wrong
habits with them through life. If they make a profession of religion,
[201]
these habits will be revealed in their religious life.
8
King Saul, a Sad Example
—The history of Israel’s first king
presents a sad example of the power of early wrong habits. In his
youth Saul did not love and fear God; and that impetuous spirit, not
early trained to submission, was ever ready to rebel against divine
authority. Those who in their youth cherish a sacred regard for the
will of God, and who faithfully perform the duties of their position,
will be prepared for higher service in afterlife. But men cannot
for years pervert the powers that God has given them, and then,
when they choose to change, find these powers fresh and free for an
entirely opposite course.
9
A child may receive sound religious instruction; but if parents,
teachers, or guardians permit his character to be biased by a wrong
habit, that habit, if not overcome, will become a predominant power,
and the child is lost.
10
Small Actions Are Important
—Every course of action has a
twofold character and importance. It is virtuous or vicious, right or
wrong, according to the motive which prompts it. A wrong action,
by frequent repetition, leaves a permanent impression upon the mind
of the actor, and also on the minds of those who are connected with
Power of Habit 157
him in any relation, either spiritual or temporal. The parents or
teachers who give no attention to the small actions that are not right
establish those habits in the youth.
11
Parents should deal faithfully with the souls committed to their
trust. They should not encourage in their children pride, extrav-
agance, or love of show. They should not teach them, or suffer
them to learn, little pranks which appear cunning in small children,
[202]
but which they will have to unlearn, and for which they must be
corrected when they are older.
12
Little pranks and errors may seem to be amusing when the child
is a baby, and they may be permitted and encouraged; but as the
child grows older, they become disgusting and offensive.
13
Bad Habits Are More Easily Formed Than Good
—All the
learning they may acquire will never undo the evil resulting from lax
discipline in childhood. One neglect, often repeated, forms habit.
One wrong act prepares the way for another. Bad habits are more
easily formed than good ones and are given up with more difficulty.
14
Young children, if left to themselves, learn the bad more readily
than the good. Bad habits agree best with the natural heart, and
things which they see and hear in infancy and childhood are deeply
imprinted upon their minds.
15
Early Habits Decide Future Victory or Defeat
—We shall be
individually, for time and eternity, what our habits make us. The lives
of those who form right habits, and are faithful in the performance
of every duty, will be as shining lights, shedding bright beams upon
the pathway of others; but if habits of unfaithfulness are indulged,
if lax, indolent, neglectful habits are allowed to strengthen, a cloud
darker than midnight will settle on the prospects in this life, and
forever debar the individual from the future life.
16
In childhood and youth the character is most impressible. The
power of self-control should then be acquired. By the fireside and
at the family board, influences are exerted whose results are as
enduring as eternity. More than any natural endowment, the habits
[203]
established in early years decide whether a man will be victorious
or vanquished in the battle of life.
17
158 Child Guidance
1
The Youth’s Instructor, December 15, 1886.
2
The Signs of the Times, August 6, 1912.
3
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 45.
4
Good Health, January, 1880.
5
Manuscript 69, 1897.
6
Testimonies For The Church 4:452.
7
The Review and Herald, June 24, 1890.
8
The Review and Herald, March 30, 1897.
9
Patriarchs and Prophets, 622.
10
Testimonies For The Church 5:53.
11
The Review and Herald, May 17, 1898.
12
Testimonies For The Church 1:396.
13
Letter 1, 1877.
14
The Review and Herald, December 5, 1899.
15
Pacific Health Journal, September, 1897.
16
Testimonies For The Church 4:452.
17
The Desire of Ages, 101.
Chapter 38—Study Age, Disposition, and [204]
Temperament
Do Not Hurry Children Out of Childhood
—Parents should
never hurry their children out of their childhood. Let the lessons
given them be of that character which will inspire their hearts with
noble purposes; but let them be children and grow up with that
simple trust, candor, and truthfulness which will prepare them to
enter the kingdom of heaven.
1
There Is a Beauty Appropriate to Each Period
—Parents and
teachers should aim so to cultivate the tendencies of the youth that
at each stage of life they may represent the beauty appropriate to
that period, unfolding naturally, as do the plants in the garden.
2
One of Christ’s most beautiful and impressive parables is that
of the sower and the seed.... The truths which this parable teaches
were made a living reality in Christ’s own life. In both His physical
and His spiritual nature He followed the divine order of growth,
illustrated by the plant, as He wishes all youth to do. Although He
was the Majesty of heaven, the King of glory, He became a babe
in Bethlehem, and for a time represented the helpless infant in its
mother’s care.
In childhood Jesus did the works of an obedient child. He spoke
and acted with the wisdom of a child, and not of a man, honoring
His parents and carrying out their wishes in helpful ways, according
to the ability of a child. But at each stage of His development He
was perfect, with the simple, natural grace of a sinless life. The
[205]
Sacred Record says of His childhood, “The child grew, and waxed
strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon
him.” And of His youth it is recorded, “Jesus increased in wisdom
and stature, and in favour with God and man.” Luke 2:40, 52.
3
Diversity of Disposition in Family Members
—Marked diver-
sities of disposition and character frequently exist in the same family,
for it is in the order of God that persons of varied temperament should
associate together. When this is the case, each member of the house-
159
160 Child Guidance
hold should sacredly regard the feelings and respect the right of the
others. By this means mutual consideration and forbearance will be
cultivated, prejudices will be softened, and rough points of character
smoothed. Harmony may be secured, and the blending of the varied
temperaments may be a benefit to each.
4
Study Individual Minds and Characters
—Every child
brought into the world increases the responsibility of the parents....
Their dispositions, their tendencies, their traits of character are to
be studied. Very carefully should the discriminating powers of the
parents be educated, that they may be enabled to repress the wrong
tendencies and encourage right impressions and correct principles.
Violence or harshness is not required in this work. Self-control
must be cultivated and leave its impression on the mind and heart of
the child.
5
It is a very nice work to deal with human minds. All children
cannot be treated in the same way, for that restraint which must be
kept upon one would crush out the life of another.
6
Stimulate Weak Traits; Repress Wrong Ones
—There are few
[206]
well-balanced minds, because parents are wickedly negligent of their
duty to stimulate weak traits and repress wrong ones. They do not
remember that they are under the most solemn obligation to watch
the tendencies of each child, that it is their duty to train their children
to right habits and right ways of thinking.
7
Learn the Disposition of Each Child
—Children must have
constant care, but you need not let them see that you are ever guard-
ing them. Learn the disposition of each as revealed in their asso-
ciation with one another, and then seek to correct their faults by
encouraging opposite traits. Children should be taught that the de-
velopment of both the mental and the physical powers rests with
themselves; it is the result of effort. They should early learn that
happiness is not found in selfish gratification; it follows only in the
wake of duty. At the same time the mother should seek to make her
children happy.
8
Mental Needs Are as Important as Physical
—Some parents
attend carefully to the temporal wants of their children; they kindly
and faithfully nurse them in sickness, and then think their duty done.
Here they mistake. Their work has but just begun. The wants of
Study Age, Disposition, and Temperament 161
the mind should be cared for. It requires skill to apply the proper
remedies to cure a wounded mind.
Children have trials just as hard to bear, just as grievous in
character, as those of older persons. Parents themselves do not feel
the same at all times. Their minds are often perplexed. They labor
under mistaken views, and feelings. Satan buffets them, and they
yield to his temptations. They speak irritably and in a manner to
excite wrath in their children, and are sometimes exacting and fretful.
[207]
The poor children partake of the same spirit, and the parents are
not prepared to help them, for they were the cause of the trouble.
Sometimes everything seems to go wrong. There is fretfulness all
around, and all have a miserable, unhappy time. The parents lay
the blame upon their poor children and think them very disobedient
and unruly, the worst children in the world, when the cause of the
disturbance is in themselves.
9
Encourage Amiability
—The ill-balanced mind, the hasty tem-
per, the fretfulness, envy, or jealousy, bear witness to parental ne-
glect. These evil traits of character bring great unhappiness to their
possessors. How many fail to receive from companions and friends
the love which they might have, if they were more amiable. How
many create trouble wherever they go, and in whatever they are
engaged!
10
Varied Temperaments Need Varied Discipline
—Children
have varied temperaments, and parents cannot always give the same
manner of discipline to each. There are different qualities of mind,
and they should be made a prayerful study that they may be molded
so as to accomplish the purpose God designed.
11
Mothers, ... take time to get acquainted with your children. Study
their dispositions and temperaments, that you may know how to deal
with them. Some children need more attention than others.
12
Dealing With Unpromising Children
—There are some chil-
dren who need more patient discipline and kindly training than
others. They have received as a legacy unpromising traits of charac-
ter, and because of this they need the more of sympathy and love. By
persevering labor these wayward ones may be prepared for a place
[208]
in the work of the Master. They may possess undeveloped powers
which, when aroused, will enable them to fill places far in advance
of those from whom more has been expected.
162 Child Guidance
If you have children with peculiar temperaments, do not, because
of this, let the blight of discouragement rest upon their lives.... Help
them by the manifestation of forbearance and sympathy. Strengthen
them by loving words and kindly deeds to overcome their defects of
character.
13
You Can Train More Than You Think
—Just as soon as the
mother loves Jesus, she wants to train her children for Him. You can
train the disposition of children much more than you think you can
from their earliest years. That precious name of Jesus should be a
household word.
14
1
Good Health, March, 1880 par. 2.
2
Education, 107.
3
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 140, 141.
4
The Signs of the Times, September 9, 1886.
5
Manuscript 12, 1898.
6
Manuscript 32, 1899.
7
The Signs of the Times, January 31, 1884.
8
The Signs of the Times, February 9, 1882.
9
Testimonies For The Church 1:384.
10
Fundamentals of Christian Education, 67.
11
Good Health, July, 1880, par. 1.
12
The Review and Herald, July 9, 1901.
13
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 115, 116.
14
Manuscript 17, 1893.
Chapter 39—The Will a Factor in Success [209]
Every Child Should Understand the Power of the Will
—The
will is the governing power in the nature of man, bringing all the
other faculties under its sway. The will is not the taste or the incli-
nation, but it is the deciding power, which works in the children of
men unto obedience to God, or unto disobedience.
1
Every child should understand the true force of the will. He
should be led to see how great is the responsibility involved in this
gift. The will is ... the power of decision, or choice.
2
Success Comes When the Will Is Yielded to God
—Every hu-
man being possessed of reason has power to choose the right. In
every experience of life God’s word to us is, “Choose you this day
whom ye will serve.” Joshua 24:15. Everyone may place his will on
the side of the will of God, may choose to obey Him, and by thus
linking himself with divine agencies, he may stand where nothing
can force him to do evil. In every youth, every child, lies the power,
by the help of God, to form a character of integrity and to live a life
of usefulness.
The parent or teacher who by such instruction trains the child
to self-control will be the most useful and permanently successful.
To the superficial observer his work may not appear to the best
advantage; it may not be valued so highly as that of the one who
holds the mind and will of the child under absolute authority; but
after years will show the result of the better method of training.
3
Do Not Weaken, but Direct the Child’s Will
—Save all the
[210]
strength of the will, for the human being needs it all; but give it
proper direction. Treat it wisely and tenderly, as a sacred treasure.
Do not hammer it in pieces, but by precept and true example wisely
fashion and mold it until the child comes to years of responsibility.
4
Children should early be trained to submit their will and inclina-
tion to the will and authority of their parents. When parents teach
their children this lesson, they are educating them to submit to God’s
163
164 Child Guidance
will and obey His requirements, and fitting them to be members of
Christ’s family.
5
To Be Guided, Not Crushed
—To direct the child’s develop-
ment without hindering it by undue control should be the study of
both parent and teacher. Too much management is as bad as too
little. The effort to “break the will” of a child is a terrible mistake.
Minds are constituted differently; while force may secure outward
submission, the result with many children is a more determined
rebellion of the heart. Even should the parent or teacher succeed in
gaining the control he seeks, the outcome may be no less harmful to
the child....
Since the surrender of the will is so much more difficult for some
pupils than for others, the teacher should make obedience to his
requirements as easy as possible. The will should be guided and
molded, but not ignored or crushed.
6
Lead; Never Drive
—Allow the children under your care to have
an individuality, as well as yourselves. Ever try to lead them, but
never drive them.
7
Exercise of Will Expands and Strengthens Mind
—A child
may be so trained as to have ... no will of his own. Even his individ-
[211]
uality may be merged in the one who superintends his training; his
will, to all intents and purposes, is subject to the will of the teacher.
Children who are thus educated will ever be deficient in moral en-
ergy and individual responsibility. They have not been taught to
move from reason and principle; their wills have been controlled by
another, and the mind has not been called out, that it might expand
and strengthen by exercise. They have not been directed and disci-
plined with respect to their peculiar constitutions and capabilities of
mind, to put forth their strongest powers when required.
8
When There Is a Clash of Wills
—If the child has a stubborn
will, the mother, if she understands her responsibility, will realize
that this stubborn will is part of the inheritance she has given him.
She will not look upon his will as something that must be broken.
There are times when the determination of the mother meets the
determination of the child, when the firm, matured will of the mother
meets the unreasoning will of the child, and when either the mother
rules because of her advantage of age and experience, or there is
a ruling of the older will by the younger, undisciplined will of the
Will a Factor in Success 165
child. At such times there is need of great wisdom; for by unwise
management, by stern compulsion, the child may be spoiled for this
life and the next. By a lack of wisdom everything may be lost.
This is a crisis that should seldom be permitted to come, for both
mother and child will have a hard struggle. Great care should be
shown to avoid such an issue. But once such an issue is entered into,
the child must be led to yield to the superior wisdom of the parent.
The mother is to keep her words under perfect control. There are
[212]
to be no loud-voiced commands. Nothing is to be done that will
develop a defiant spirit in the child. The mother must study how to
deal with him in such a way that he will be drawn to Jesus. She must
pray in faith that Satan shall not be victor over the child’s will. The
heavenly angels are watching the scene.
The mother must realize that God is her helper, that love is her
success, her power. If she is a wise Christian, she will not attempt
to force the child into submission. She will pray; and as she prays,
she will be conscious of a renewal of spiritual life within herself.
And she will see that at the same time the power that is working in
her is working also in the child. And the child, in the place of being
compelled, is led and grows gentler; and the battle is gained. Each
kindly thought, each patient action, each word of wise restraint, is
like apples of gold in pictures of silver. The mother has gained a
victory more precious than language can express. She has renewed
light and increased experience. The “true Light, which lighteth every
man that cometh into the world,” has subdued her will. There is
peace after the storm, like the shining of the sun after rain.
9
Parents Should Retain Youthful Feelings
—Too few realize
the importance of retaining, as far as possible, their own youthful
feelings, and not becoming harsh and unsympathizing in their nature.
God would be pleased to have parents mingle the graceful simplicity
of a child with the strength, wisdom, and maturity of manhood and
womanhood. Some never had a genuine childhood. They never
enjoyed the freedom, simplicity, and freshness of budding life. They
were scolded and snubbed, reproved and beaten, until the innocence
and trustful frankness of the child was exchanged for fear, envy,
[213]
jealousy, and deceitfulness. Such seldom have the characteristics
that will make the childhood of their own dear ones happy.
10
166 Child Guidance
A Great Mistake
—A great mistake is made when the lines of
control are placed in the child’s hands, and he is allowed to bear
sway and control in the home. This is giving undue direction to that
wonderful thing, the will power. But this has been done and will
continue to be done because fathers and mothers are blind in their
discernment and calculation.
11
A Mother Who Yielded to Her Crying Child
—Your child ...
needs the hand of wisdom to guide him aright. He has been allowed
to cry for what he wanted, until he has formed the habit of doing
this. He has been allowed to cry for his father. Again and again, in
his hearing, others have been told how he cries for his father, until
he makes it a point of doing this. Had I your child, in three weeks he
would be transformed. I would let him understand that my word was
law, and kindly but firmly I would carry out my purposes. I would
not submit my will to the child’s will. You have a work to do here,
and you have lost much by not taking hold of it before.
12
Unhappy Life of the Spoiled Child
—Every child that is not
carefully and prayerfully disciplined will be unhappy in this pro-
bationary time and will form such unlovely traits of character that
the Lord cannot unite them with His family in heaven. There is
a very great burden to be carried all through the life of a spoiled
child. In trial, in disappointment, in temptation, he will follow his
undisciplined, misdirected will.
13
Children who are allowed to have their own way are not happy.
[214]
The unsubdued heart has not within itself the elements of rest and
contentment. The mind and heart must be disciplined and brought
under proper restraint, in order for the character to harmonize with
the wise laws that govern our being. Restlessness and discontent are
the fruits of indulgence and selfishness.
14
The Background of Many Trials
—The sad trials, which prove
so dangerous to the prosperity of a church, and which cause the
unbelieving to stumble and turn away with doubt and dissatisfaction,
usually arise from an unsubdued and rebellious spirit, the offspring
of parental indulgence in early youth. How many lives are wrecked,
how many crimes are committed, under the influence of a quick-
rising passion that might have been checked in childhood, when
the mind was impressible, when the heart was easily influenced
for right and was subject to a fond mother’s will. Inefficient train-
Will a Factor in Success 167
ing of children lies at the foundation of a vast amount of moral
wretchedness.
15
1
Testimonies For The Church 5:513.
2
Education, 289.
3
Ibid.
4
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 116.
5
Manuscript 119, 1899.
6
Education, 288, 189.
7
Testimonies For The Church 5:653.
8
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 74.
9
Letter 55, 1902.
10
Good Health, March, 1880.
11
Manuscript 126, 1897.
12
Letter 5, 1884.
13
Manuscript 126, 1897.
14
Testimonies For The Church 4:202.
15
Ibid.
Chapter 40—Exemplify Christian Principles[215]
Children Will Imitate Parents
—Fathers and mothers, you are
teachers; your children are the pupils. Your tones of voice, your
deportment, your spirit, are copied by your little ones.
1
Children imitate their parents; hence great care should be taken
to give them correct models. Parents who are kind and polite at
home, while at the same time they are firm and decided, will see the
same traits manifested in their children. If they are upright, honest,
and honorable, their children will be quite likely to resemble them in
these particulars. If they reverence and worship God, their children,
trained in the same way, will not forget to serve Him also.
2
In the family, fathers and mothers should ever present before their
children the example they wish to be imitated. They should manifest
one to the other a tender respect in word, and look, and action. They
should make it manifest that the Holy Spirit is controlling them,
by representing to their children the character of Jesus Christ. The
powers of imitation are strong; and in childhood and youth, when
this faculty is most active, a perfect pattern should be set before the
young. Children should have confidence in their parents, and thus
take in the lessons they would inculcate.
3
Teach by Precept and Example
—The mother, in the education
of her children, is in a continual school. While teaching her children,
she is herself learning daily. The lessons which she gives her children
in self-control must be practiced by herself. In dealing with the
[216]
varied minds and moods of her children, she needs keen perceptive
powers or she will be in danger of misjudging and of dealing partially
with her children. The law of kindness she should practice in her
home life if she would have her children courteous and kind. Thus
they have lessons repeated, by precept and example daily.
4
The teachers in the school will do something toward educating
your children, but your example will do more than can be accom-
plished by any other means. Your conversation, the way in which
you manage your business matters, the likes and dislikes to which
168
Exemplify Christian Principles 169
you give expression, all help in molding the character. The kindly
disposition, the self-control, the self-possession, the courtesy your
child sees in you, will be daily lessons to him. Like time, this ed-
ucation is ever going on, and the tendency of this everyday school
should be to make your child what he ought to be.
5
Be careful that you are not rude to your children.... Require
obedience, and do not allow yourself to speak carelessly to your
children, because your manners and your words are their lesson
book. Help them gently, tenderly over this period of their life. Let
the sunshine of your presence make sunshine in their hearts. These
growing boys and girls feel very sensitive, and by roughness you
may mar their whole life. Be careful, mothers; never scold, for that
never helps.
6
Parents to Be Patterns of Self-control
—Children should be
kept as free from excitement as possible; therefore the mother must
be calm and unhurried, free from all excitement and nervous haste.
This is a school of discipline to herself as well as to the child. While
teaching the little ones the lesson of self-denial, she is educating
[217]
herself to be a pattern to her children. While with tender interest she
is working the soil of their hearts, that she may subdue the natural
sinful inclinations, she is cultivating in her own words and in her
own deportment the graces of the Spirit.
7
One victory gained over yourself will be of great value and
encouragement to your children. You may stand on vantage ground,
saying, I am God’s husbandry; I am God’s building. I place myself
under His hand to be fashioned after the divine similitude, that I may
be a coworker with God in fashioning the minds and characters of
my children so that it will be easier for them to walk in the way of
the Lord.... Fathers and mothers, when you can control yourselves,
you will gain great victories in controlling your children.
8
The Fruits of Self-control
—Parents, every time you lose self-
control and speak and act impatiently, you sin against God. The
recording angel writes every impatient, unguarded word spoken
before them, carelessly or in jest; every word that is not chaste and
elevated, he marks as a spot against your Christian character. Speak
kindly to your children. Remember how sensitive you are, how little
you can bear to be blamed, and do not lay upon them that which
you cannot bear; for they are weaker than you and cannot endure as
170 Child Guidance
much. The fruits of self-control, thoughtfulness, and painstaking on
your part will be a hundredfold.
Let your pleasant, cheerful words ever be like sunbeams in your
family.
9
If parents desire their children to be right and do right, they must
be right themselves in theory and in practice.
10
Children Are Influenced by Deportment of Professing[218]
Christians
—There are children of Sabbathkeepers who have been
taught from their youth to observe the Sabbath. Some of these are
very good children, faithful to duty as far as temporal matters are
concerned; but they feel no deep conviction of sin and no need of
repentance from sin. Such are in a dangerous condition. They are
watching the deportment and efforts of professed Christians. They
see some who make high professions, but who are not conscientious
Christians, and they compare their own views and actions with these
stumbling blocks; and as there are no outbreaking sins in their own
lives, they flatter themselves that they are about right.
11
It is because so many parents and teachers profess to believe the
Word of God while their lives deny its power, that the teaching of
Scripture has no greater effect upon the youth. At times the youth
are brought to feel the power of the Word. They see the preciousness
of the love of Christ. They see the beauty of His character, the
possibilities of a life given to His service. But in contrast they see
the life of those who profess to revere God’s precepts.
12
Parents Must Say “No” to Temptation
—Mothers, by not fol-
lowing the practices of the world, you may set before your children
an example of faithfulness to God, and so teach them to say no.
Teach your children the meaning of the precept, “If sinners entice
thee, consent thou not.” But if you would have your children able to
say no to temptation, you yourself must be able to say no. It is as
needful for the man to say no, as for the child.
13
Exemplify Gentleness
—Parents, be kind and gentle with your
children, and they will learn gentleness. Let us demonstrate in our
[219]
homes that we are Christians. I value as worthless that profession
that is not carried out in the home life in kindness and forbearance
and love.
14
Watch Tone of Voice As Well as the Words
—Let not one word
of fretfulness, harshness, or passion escape your lips. The grace of
Exemplify Christian Principles 171
Christ awaits your demand. His Spirit will take control of your heart
and conscience, presiding over your words and deeds. Never forfeit
your self-respect by hasty, thoughtless words. See that your words
are pure, your conversation holy. Give your children an example
of that which you wish them to be.... Let there be peace, pleasant
words, and cheerful countenances.
15
Parents cannot with safety be in any way overbearing. They
must not show a masterly, criticizing, faultfinding spirit. The words
they speak, the tone in which they speak, are lessons, either for good
or ill, to their children. Fathers and mothers, if cross words fall from
your lips, you are teaching your children to speak in the same way,
and the refining influence of the Holy Spirit is made of none effect.
Patient continuance in well-doing is essential if you would do your
duty to your children.
16
Parents Are God’s Agents in Molding Character
—The intel-
lects of your children are taking shape, the affections and characters
are being molded, but after what pattern? Let the parents remember
that they are agents in these transactions. And when they may be
sleeping in the grave, their work left behind is enduring, and will
bear testimony of them whether it is good or bad.
17
Stamping the Image of the Divine
—You must instruct, warn,
and counsel, ever remembering that your looks, words, and actions
[220]
have a direct bearing upon the future course of your dear ones. Your
work is not done to paint a form of beauty upon canvas or to chisel
it from marble, but to impress upon a human soul the image of the
Divine.
18
1
The Signs of the Times, March 11, 1886.
2
Testimonies For The Church 5:319, 320.
3
The Review and Herald, March 13, 1894.
4
Pacific Health Journal, June, 1890.
5
The Review and Herald, June 27, 1899.
6
Manuscript 127, 1898.
7
Manuscript 43, 1900.
8
Letter 75, 1898.
9
The Signs of the Times, April 10, 1884.
10
Good Health, January 1880.
11
Testimonies For The Church 4:40.
12
Education, 259.
13
The Review and Herald, March 31, 1891.
Section 10—Discipline and its [221]
Administration
Chapter 41—Objectives of Discipline[222]
[223]
Self-government the Paramount Objective
—The object of
discipline is the training of the child for self-government. He should
be taught self-reliance and self-control. Therefore as soon as he is
capable of understanding, his reason should be enlisted on the side
of obedience. Let all dealing with him be such as to show obedi-
ence to be just and reasonable. Help him to see that all things are
under law, and that disobedience leads, in the end, to disaster and
suffering. When God says, “Thou shalt not,” He in love warns us of
the consequence of disobedience, in order to save us from harm and
loss.
1
Enlisting the Power of the Will
—The true object of reproof is
gained only when the wrongdoer himself is led to see his fault and
his will is enlisted for its correction. When this is accomplished,
point him to the source of pardon and power.
2
Those who train their pupils to feel that the power lies in them-
selves to become men and women of honor and usefulness will be
the most permanently successful.
3
Correct Habits, Inclinations, Evil Tendencies
—It is the work
of the parents to restrain and guide and control. They cannot commit
a worse evil than to permit their children to gratify all their childish
wishes and fancies, and leave them to follow their own inclinations;
they cannot do them a greater wrong than to leave upon their minds
the impression that they are to live to please and amuse themselves,
to choose their own ways and find their own pleasure and society....
The youth need parents who will educate and discipline them, cor-
[224]
rect their wrong habits and inclinations, and prune away their evil
tendencies.
4
Break Down Satan’s Stronghold
—Mothers, the destiny of
your children rests to a great extent in your hands. If you fail in duty,
you may place them in Satan’s ranks and make them his agents to
ruin other souls. Or your faithful discipline and godly example may
174
Objectives of Discipline 175
lead them to Christ, and they in turn will influence others, and thus
many souls may be saved through your instrumentality.
5
Let us look carefully and begin to catch up our dropped stitches.
Let us break down the strongholds of the enemy. Let us mercifully
correct our loved ones and keep them from the power of the enemy.
Do not be discouraged.
6
Teach Respect to Parental and Divine Authority
—Children
... should be trained, educated, and disciplined until they become
obedient to their parents, giving respect to their authority. In this
way respect for divine authority will be implanted in their hearts, and
the family training will be like a preparatory training for the family
in heaven. The training of childhood and youth should be of such
a character that children will be prepared to take up their religious
duties, and thus become fitted to enter into the courts above.
7
He who is the fountain of all knowledge has stated the condition
of our fitness to enter the heaven of bliss, in the words, “Blessed are
they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree
of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” Obedience
to God’s commandments is the price of heaven, and obedience to
their parents in the Lord is the all-important lesson for children to
learn.
8
Obedience From Principle, Not Compulsion
—Tell your chil-
[225]
dren exactly what you require of them. Then let them understand
that your word is law and must be obeyed. Thus you are training
them to respect the commandments of God, which plainly declare,
“Thou shalt,” and “Thou shalt not.” It is far better for your boy to
obey from principle than from compulsion.
9
A Lesson in Implicit Confidence
—Isaac is bound by the trem-
bling, loving hands of his pitying father, because God has said it.
The son submits to the sacrifice, because he believes in the integrity
of his father....
This act of faith in Abraham is recorded for our benefit. It
teaches us the great lesson of confidence in the requirements of
God, however close and cutting they may be; and it teaches children
perfect submission to their parents and to God. By Abraham’s
obedience we are taught that nothing is too precious for us to give
to God.
10
176 Child Guidance
Youth Will Respond to Trust
—The youth must be impressed
with the idea that they are trusted. They have a sense of honor, and
they want to be respected, and it is their right. If pupils receive the
impression that they cannot go out or come in, sit at the table, or be
anywhere, even in their rooms, except they are watched, a critical
eye is upon them to criticize and report, it will have the influence to
demoralize, and pastime will have no pleasure in it. This knowledge
of a continual oversight is more than a parental guardianship, and far
worse; for wise parents can, through tact, often discern beneath the
surface and see the working of the restless mind under the longings
of youth, or under the forces of temptations, and set their plans to
work to counteract evils. But this constant watchfulness is not natu-
ral, and produces evils that it is seeking to avoid. The healthfulness
[226]
of youth requires exercise, cheerfulness, and a happy, pleasant at-
mosphere surrounding them, for the development of physical health
and symmetrical character.
11
Self-government Versus Absolute Authority
—There are
many families of children who appear to be well trained, while
under the training discipline; but when the system which has held
them to set rules is broken up, they seem to be incapable of thinking,
acting, or deciding for themselves. These children have been so long
under iron rule, not allowed to think and act for themselves in those
things in which it was highly proper that they should, that they have
no confidence in themselves to move out upon their own judgment,
having an opinion of their own. And when they go out from their
parents to act for themselves, they are easily led by others’ judgment
in the wrong direction. They have not stability of character. They
have not been thrown upon their own judgment as fast and as far
as practicable, and therefore their minds have not been properly
developed and strengthened. They have so long been absolutely
controlled by their parents that they rely wholly upon them; their
parents are mind and judgment for them.
On the other hand, the young should not be left to think and
act independently of the judgment of their parents and teachers.
Children should be taught to respect experienced judgment and to be
guided by their parents and teachers.... They should be so educated
that their minds will be united with the minds of their parents and
teachers, and so instructed that they can see the propriety of heeding
Objectives of Discipline 177
their counsel. Then when they go forth from the guiding hand of
their parents and teachers, their characters will not be like the reed
[227]
trembling in the wind.
The severe training of youth—without properly directing them
to think and act for themselves as their own capacity and turn of
mind will allow, that by this means they may have growth of thought,
feelings of self-respect, and confidence in their own ability to per-
form—will ever produce a class who are weak in mental and moral
power. And when they stand in the world to act for themselves, they
will reveal the fact that they were trained, like the animals, and not
educated. Their wills, instead of being guided, were forced into
subjection by the harsh discipline of parents and teachers.
12
Evil Results When One Mind Dominates Another
—Those
parents and teachers who boast of having complete control of the
minds and wills of the children under their care would cease their
boastings could they trace out the future lives of the children who
are thus brought into subjection by force or through fear. These are
almost wholly unprepared to share in the stern responsibilities of life.
When these youth are no longer under their parents and teachers,
and are compelled to think and act for themselves, they are almost
sure to take a wrong course and yield to the power of temptation.
They do not make this life a success, and the same deficiencies are
seen in their religious life. Could the instructors of children and
youth have the future result of their mistaken discipline mapped out
before them, they would change their plan of education. That class
of teachers who are gratified that they have almost complete control
of the wills of their scholars are not the most successful teachers,
although the appearance for the time being may be flattering.
God never designed that one human mind should be under the
[228]
complete control of another. And those who make efforts to have
the individuality of their pupils merged in themselves, and to be
mind, will, and conscience for them, assume fearful responsibilities.
These scholars may, upon certain occasions, appear like well-drilled
soldiers. But when the restraint is removed, there will be seen a
want of independent action from firm principle existing in them.
13
Through Skill and Patient Effort
—It requires skill and patient
effort to mold the young in the right manner. Especially do children
who have come into the world burdened with a heritage of evil, the
178 Child Guidance
direct results of the sins of their parents, need the most careful culture
to develop and strengthen their moral and intellectual faculties. And
the responsibility of the parents is heavy indeed. Evil tendencies are
to be carefully restrained and tenderly rebuked; the mind is to be
stimulated in favor of the right. The child should be encouraged in
attempting to govern himself. And all this is to be done judiciously,
or the purpose desired will be frustrated.
14
1
Education, 287.
2
Education, 291.
3
Fundamentals of Christian Education, 58.
4
Manuscript 12, 1898.
5
The Signs of the Times, February 9, 1882.
6
The Review and Herald, July 16, 1895.
7
The Review and Herald, March 13, 1894.
8
Manuscript 12a, 1896.
9
The Review and Herald, September 15, 1904.
10
Testimonies For The Church 3:368.
11
Fundamentals of Christian Education, 114.
12
Testimonies For The Church 3:132, 133.
13
Testimonies For The Church 3:133, 134.
14
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 138.
Chapter 42—The Time to Begin Discipline [229]
Disobedient Children a Sign of the Last Days
—One of the
signs of the “last days” is the disobedience of children to their
parents. And do parents realize their responsibility? Many seem to
lose sight of the watch care they should ever have over their children,
and suffer them to indulge in evil passions and to disobey them.
1
Children are the heritage of the Lord, and unless parents give
them such a training as will enable them to keep the way of the
Lord, they neglect solemn duty. It is not the will or purpose of God
that children shall become coarse, rough, uncourteous, disobedient,
unthankful, unholy, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more
than lovers of God. The Scriptures state that this condition of society
shall be a sign of the last days.
2
Indulgent Parents Disqualify for Heaven’s Order
—There is
perfect order in heaven, perfect concord and agreement. If parents
so neglect to bring their children under proper authority here, how
can they hope that they will be considered fit companions for the
holy angels in a world of peace and harmony?
3
Those who have had no respect for order or discipline in this life
would have no respect for the order which is observed in heaven.
They can never be admitted into heaven, for all worthy of an entrance
there will love order and respect discipline. The characters formed in
this life will determine the future destiny. When Christ shall come,
He will not change the character of any individual.... Parents should
neglect no duty on their part to benefit their children. They should
so train them that they may be a blessing to society here and may
[230]
reap the reward of eternal life hereafter.
4
When Discipline Should Begin
—The moment that the child
begins to choose his own will and way, that moment his education in
discipline is to begin. This may be called an unconscious education.
It is then that a work, conscious and powerful, is to begin. The
greatest burden of this work necessarily rests on the mother. She
has the first care of the child, and she is to lay the foundation of an
179
180 Child Guidance
education that will help the child to develop a strong, symmetrical
character....
Frequently mere babies show a most determined will. If this will
is not brought into subjection to a wiser authority than the child’s
untrained desires, Satan takes control of the mind and fashions the
disposition in harmony with his will.
5
Neglecting the work of disciplining and training until a perverse
disposition has become strengthened is doing the children a most
serious wrong; for they grow up selfish, exacting, and unlovable.
They cannot enjoy their own company any better than can others;
therefore they will ever be filled with discontent. The work of the
mother must commence at an early age, giving Satan no chance to
control the minds and dispositions of their little ones.
6
Repress First Appearance of Evil
—Parents, you should com-
mence your first lesson of discipline when your children are babes in
your arms. Teach them to yield their will to yours. This can be done
by bearing an even hand and manifesting firmness. Parents should
have perfect control over their own spirits and, with mildness and
yet firmness, bend the will of the child until it shall expect nothing
else but to yield to their wishes.
Parents do not commence in season. The first manifestation
[231]
of temper is not subdued, and the children grow stubborn, which
increases with their growth and strengthens with their strength.
7
“Too Young to Punish?”
—Eli did not manage his household
according to God’s rules for family government. He followed his
own judgment. The fond father overlooked the faults and sins of
his sons in their childhood, flattering himself that after a time they
would outgrow their evil tendencies. Many are now making a sim-
ilar mistake. They think they know a better way of training their
children than that which God has given in His Word. They foster
wrong tendencies in them, urging as an excuse, “They are too young
to be punished. Wait till they become older and can be reasoned
with.” Thus wrong habits are left to strengthen until they become
second nature. The children grow up without restraint, with traits
of character that are a lifelong curse to them and are liable to be
reproduced in others.
There is no greater curse upon households than to allow the
youth to have their own way. When parents regard every wish of
Time to Begin Discipline 181
their children and indulge them in what they know is not for their
good, the children soon lose all respect for their parents, all regard
for the authority of God or man, and are led captive at the will of
Satan.
8
Put Home Training Ahead of Other Pursuits
—Many point to
the children of ministers, teachers, and other men of high repute for
learning and piety, and urge that if these men, with their superior
advantages, fail in family government, those who are less favorably
situated need not hope to succeed. The question to be settled is, Have
[232]
these men given to their children that which is their right—a good
example, faithful instruction, and proper restraint? It is by a neglect
of these essentials that such parents give to society children who are
unbalanced in mind, impatient of restraint, and ignorant of the duties
of practical life. In this they are doing the world an injury which
outweighs all the good that their labors accomplish. Those children
transmit their own perversity of character as an inheritance to their
offspring, and at the same time their evil example and influence
corrupt society and make havoc in the church. We cannot think that
any man, however great his ability and usefulness, is best serving
God or the world while his time is given to other pursuits, to the
neglect of his own children.
9
Heavenly Co-operation Is Promised
—God will bless a just
and correct discipline. But “without me,” says Christ, “ye can do
nothing.” The heavenly intelligences cannot co-operate with fathers
and mothers who are neglecting to train their children, who are
allowing Satan to handle that little piece of infant machinery, that
youthful mind, as an instrument through whom he can work to
counteract the working of the Holy Spirit.
10
1
The Review and Herald, September 19, 1854.
2
The Signs of the Times, September 17, 1894.
3
Testimonies For The Church 4:199.
4
Testimonies For The Church 4:429.
5
Letter 9, 1904.
6
Manuscript 43, 1900.
7
Testimonies For The Church 1:218.
8
Patriarchs and Prophets, 578, 579.
9
The Signs of the Times, February 9, 1882.
10
Manuscript 126, 1897.
Chapter 43—Discipline in the Home[233]
Well-ordered, Well-disciplined Families
—It is the duty of
those who claim to be Christians to present to the world well-or-
dered, well-disciplined families—families that will show the power
of true Christianity.
1
It is no easy matter to train and educate children wisely. As
parents try to keep judgment and the fear of the Lord before them,
difficulties will arise. The children will reveal the perversity bound
up in their hearts. They show love of folly, of independence, a
hatred of restraint and discipline. They practice deception and utter
falsehoods. Too many parents, instead of punishing the children
for these faults, make themselves blind in order that they shall not
see beneath the surface or discern the true meaning of these things.
Therefore the children continue in their deceptive practices, forming
characters that God cannot approve.
The standard raised in God’s Word is set aside by parents who
dislike, as some have termed it, to use the strait jacket in the ed-
ucation of their children. Many parents have a settled dislike for
the holy principles of the Word of God, because these principles
place too much responsibility on them. But the after sight, which all
parents are obliged to have, shows that God’s ways are the best, and
that the only path of safety and happiness is found in obedience to
His will.
2
Restraint of Children Is No Easy Task
—In the present state of
things in society, it is no easy task for parents to restrain their children
and instruct them according to the Bible rule of right. When they
would train their children in harmony with the precepts of the Word
[234]
of God and, like Abraham of old, command their households after
them, the children think their parents overcareful and unnecessarily
exacting.
3
False Ideas Regarding Restraint
—If you want the blessing of
God, parents, do as did Abraham. Repress the evil, and encourage
182
Discipline in the Home 183
the good. Some commanding may be necessary in the place of
consulting the inclination and pleasure of the children.
4
To allow a child to follow his natural impulses is to allow him
to deteriorate and to become proficient in evil. Wise parents will
not say to their children, “Follow your own choice; go where you
will, and do what you will”; but, “Listen to the instruction of the
Lord.” Wise rules and regulations must be made and enforced, that
the beauty of the home life may not be spoiled.
5
Why Achan’s Family Perished
—Have you considered why it
was that all who were connected with Achan were also subjects of
the punishment of God? It was because they had not been trained
and educated according to the directions given them in the great
standard of the law of God. Achan’s parents had educated their son
in such a way that he felt free to disobey the word of the Lord. The
principles inculcated in his life led him to deal with his children
in such a way that they also were corrupted. Mind acts and reacts
upon mind, and the punishment, which included the relations of
Achan with himself, reveals the fact that all were involved in the
transgression.
6
Blind Parental Affection the Greatest Obstacle in Training
—
The sin of parental neglect is almost universal. Blind affection for
those who are connected with us by the ties of nature too often exists.
[235]
This affection is carried to great lengths; it is not balanced by the
wisdom or the fear of God. Blind parental affection is the greatest
obstacle in the way of the proper training of children. It prevents
the discipline and training which are required by the Lord. At times,
because of this affection, parents seemed to be bereft of their reason.
It is like the tender mercies of the wicked—cruelty disguised in the
garb of so-called love. It is the dangerous undercurrent which carries
children to ruin.
7
Parents are in constant danger of indulging natural affections at
the expense of obedience to God’s law. Many parents, to please their
children, allow what God forbids.
8
Parents Responsible for What Children Might Have Been
—
If as teachers in the home the father and mother allow children to take
the lines of control into their own hands and to become wayward,
they are held responsible for what their children might otherwise
have been.
9
184 Child Guidance
Those who follow their own inclination, in blind affection for
their children, indulging them in the gratification of their selfish
desires, and do not bring to bear the authority of God to rebuke sin
and correct evil, make it manifest that they are honoring their wicked
children more than they honor God. They are more anxious to shield
their reputation than to glorify God, more desirous to please their
children than to please the Lord....
Those who have too little courage to reprove wrong, or who
through indolence or lack of interest make no earnest effort to purify
the family or the church of God, are held accountable for the evil
that may result from their neglect of duty. We are just as responsible
[236]
for evils that we might have checked in others by exercise of parental
or pastoral authority, as if the acts had been our own.
10
No Place for Partiality
—It is very natural for parents to be
partial to their own children. Especially if these parents feel that they
themselves possess superior ability, they will regard their children
as superior to other children. Hence much that would be severely
censured in others is passed over in their own children as smart and
witty. While this partiality is natural, it is unjust and unchristian. A
great wrong is done our children when we permit their faults to go
uncorrected.
11
Make No Compromise With Evil
—It should be made plain
that the government of God knows no compromise with evil. Neither
in the home nor in the school should disobedience be tolerated. No
parent or teacher who has at heart the well-being of those under his
care will compromise with the stubborn self-will that defies authority
or resorts to subterfuge or evasion in order to escape obedience. It
is not love but sentimentalism that palters with wrongdoing, seeks
by coaxing or bribes to secure compliance, and finally accepts some
substitute in place of the thing required.
12
In too many families today there is too much self-indulgence
and disobedience passed by without being corrected, or else there
is manifested an overbearing, masterful spirit that creates the worst
evils in the dispositions of children. Parents correct them at times in
such an inconsiderate way that their lives are made miserable, and
they lose all respect for father, mother, brothers, and sisters.
13
Parents Fail to Understand Correct Principles
—It is heart-
[237]
saddening to see the imbecility of parents in the exercise of their
Discipline in the Home 185
God-given authority. Men who in everything else are consistent and
intelligent fail to understand the principles that should be brought
into the training of their little ones. They fail to give them right
instruction at the very time when right instruction, a godly example,
and firm decision are most needed to lead in right lines the inex-
perienced minds that are ignorant of the deceptive and dangerous
influences that they must meet with everywhere.
14
The greatest suffering has come upon the human family be-
cause parents have departed from the divine plan to follow their
own imaginings and imperfectly developed ideas. Many parents
follow impulse. They forget that the present and future good of their
children requires intelligent discipline.
15
God Accepts No Excuse for Mismanagement
—Rebellion is
too frequently established in the hearts of children through the wrong
discipline of the parents, when if a proper course had been taken,
the children would have formed good and harmonious characters.
16
While parents have the power to discipline, educate, and train
their children, let them exert that power for God. He requires from
them pure, faultless, undeviating obedience. He will tolerate nothing
else. He will make no excuse for the mismanagement of children.
17
Overcome Natural Spirit of Obstinacy
—Some children are
naturally more obstinate than others and will not yield to discipline,
and in consequence they make themselves very unattractive and
disagreeable. If the mother has not wisdom to deal with this phase
of character, a most unhappy state of affairs will follow; for such
[238]
children will have their own way to their destruction. But how terri-
ble for a child to cherish a spirit of obstinacy not only in childhood,
but in more mature years, and because of a lack of agreement in
childhood, nourish bitterness and unkindness in manhood and wom-
anhood toward the mother who failed to bring her children under
restraint.
18
Never Tell Child, “I Cannot Do Anything With You.”
—
Never let your child hear you say, “I cannot do anything with you.”
As long as we may have access to the throne of God, we as parents
should be ashamed to utter any such word. Cry unto Jesus, and He
will help you to bring your little ones to Him.
19
Family Government to Be Diligently Studied
—I have heard
mothers say that they had not the ability to govern which others
186 Child Guidance
have, that it is a peculiar talent which they do not possess. Those
who realize their deficiency in this respect should make the sub-
ject of family government their most diligent study. And yet the
most valuable suggestions of others should not be adopted without
thought and discrimination. They may not be equally adapted to
the circumstances of every mother, or to the peculiar disposition
and temperament of each child in the family. Let the mother study
with care the experience of others, note the difference between their
methods and her own, and carefully test those that may appear to be
of real value. If one mode of discipline does not produce the desired
results, let another plan be tried, and the effects carefully noted.
Mothers, above all others, should accustom themselves to
thought and investigation. If they will persevere in this course, they
[239]
will find that they are acquiring the faculty in which they thought
themselves deficient, that they are learning to form aright the char-
acters of their children. The result of the labor and thought given
to this work will be seen in their obedience, their simplicity, their
modesty and purity; and it will richly repay all the effort made.
20
Parents to Be United in Discipline
—The mother should ever
have the co-operation of the father in her efforts to lay the foundation
of a good Christian character in her children. A doting father should
not close his eyes to the faults of his children because it is not
pleasant to administer correction.
21
Right principles must be established in the mind of the child.
If the parents are united in this work of discipline, the child will
understand what is required of him. But if the father, by word or
look, shows that he does not approve of the discipline the mother
gives, if he feels that she is too strict, and thinks that he must make
up for the harshness by petting and indulgence, the child will be
ruined. Deception will be practiced by the sympathizing parents,
and the child will soon learn that he can do as he pleases. Parents
who are committing this sin against their children are accountable
for the ruin of their souls.
22
Combined Influence of Affection and Authority
—Let the
light of heavenly grace irradiate your character, that there may be
sunlight in the home. Let there be peace, pleasant words, and cheer-
ful countenances. This is not blind affection, not that tenderness
which encourages sin by unwise indulgence, and which is the ver-
Discipline in the Home 187
iest cruelty, not that false love which allows the children to rule
and makes the parents slaves to their caprices. There should be
no parental partiality, no oppression; the combined influence of
[240]
affection and authority will place the right mold upon the family.
23
Represent God’s Character in Discipline
—Be firm, be de-
cided in carrying out Bible instruction, but be free from all passion.
Bear in mind that when you become harsh and unreasonable before
your little ones, you teach them to be the same. God requires you
to educate your children, bringing into your discipline all the gen-
eralship of a wise teacher who is under the control of God. If the
converting power of God is exercised in your home, you yourselves
will be constant learners. You will represent the character of Christ,
and your efforts in this direction will please God. Never neglect the
work that should be done for the younger members of the Lord’s
family. You are, parents, the light of your home. Then let your light
shine forth in pleasant words, in soothing tones of the voice. Take all
the sting out of them by prayer to God for self-control. And angels
will be in your home, for they will observe your light. The discipline
you give your children will go forth in strong, clear currents from
your correctly managed home to the world.
24
No Deviation From Right Principles
—Anciently, parental au-
thority was regarded; children were then in subjection to their parents
and feared and reverenced them; but in these last days the order is
reversed. Some parents are in subjection to their children. They fear
to cross the will of their children, and therefore yield to them. But
just as long as children are under the roof of the parents, dependent
upon them, they should be subject to their control. Parents should
move with decision, requiring that their views of right be followed
out.
25
Take Extreme Steps if Willful Disobedience Is Unchecked
—
[241]
Some indulgent, ease-loving parents fear to exercise wholesome
authority over their unruly sons, lest they run away from home. It
would be better for some to do this than to remain at home to live
upon the bounties provided by the parents, and at the same time
trample upon all authority, both human and divine. It might be a
most profitable experience for such children to have to the full that
independence which they think so desirable, to learn that it costs
exertion to live. Let the parents say to the boy who threatens to run
188 Child Guidance
away from home, “My son, if you are determined to leave home
rather than comply with just and proper rules, we will not hinder
you. If you think to find the world more friendly than the parents
who have cared for you from infancy, you must learn your mistake
for yourself. When you wish to come to your father’s house, to
be subject to his authority, you will be welcome. Obligations are
mutual. While you have food and clothing and parental care, you are
in return under obligation to submit to home rules and wholesome
discipline. My house cannot be polluted with the stench of tobacco,
with profanity or drunkenness. I desire that angels of God shall
come into my home. If you are fully determined to serve Satan, you
will be as well off with those whose society you love as you will be
at home.”
Such a course would check the downward career of thousands.
But too often children know that they may do their worst, and yet
an unwise mother will plead for them and conceal their transgres-
sions. Many a rebellious son exults because his parents have not
the courage to restrain him.... They do not enforce obedience. Such
parents are encouraging their children in dissipation and are dishon-
[242]
oring God by their unwise indulgence. It is these rebellious, corrupt
youth that form the most difficult element to control in schools and
colleges.
26
Be Not Weary in Well-doing
—The work of parents is con-
tinuous. It should not be laid hold of vigorously for one day and
neglected the next. Many are ready to begin the work, but are not
willing to persevere in it. They are eager to do some great thing, to
make some great sacrifice; but they shrink from the unceasing care
and effort in the little things of everyday life, the hourly pruning and
training of the wayward tendencies, the work of giving instruction,
reproof, or encouragement, little by little, as it is needed. They wish
to see children correct their faults and form right characters at once,
reaching the mountaintop at a bound, and not by successive steps;
and because their hopes are not immediately realized, they become
disheartened. Let all such persons take courage as they remember
the words of the apostle, “Let us not be weary in well doing: for in
due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
27
Sabbathkeeping children may become impatient of restraint and
think their parents too strict; hard feelings may even arise in their
Discipline in the Home 189
hearts and discontented, unhappy thoughts may be cherished by
them against those who are working for their present and their future
and eternal good. But if life shall be spared a few years, they will
bless their parents for that strict care and faithful watchfulness over
them in their years of inexperience.
28
Read Admonitions From God’s Word
—When children err,
parents should take time to read to them tenderly from the Word of
God such admonitions as are particularly applicable to their case.
When they are tried, tempted, or discouraged, cite them to its pre-
[243]
cious words of comfort, and gently lead them to put their trust in
Jesus. Thus the young mind may be directed to that which is pure
and ennobling. And as the great problems of life, and the dealings
of God with the human race, are unfolded to the understanding, the
reasoning powers are exercised, the judgment enlisted, while lessons
of divine truth are impressed upon the heart. Thus parents may be
daily molding the characters of their children, that they may have a
fitness for the future life.
29
1
The Review and Herald, April 13, 1897.
2
The Review and Herald, March 30, 1897.
3
The Signs of the Times, April 17, 1884.
4
Letter 53, 1887.
5
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 112.
6
Manuscript 67, 1894.
7
The Review and Herald, April 6, 1897.
8
The Review and Herald, January 29, 1901.
9
The Review and Herald, September 15, 1904.
10
Patriarchs and Prophets, 578.
11
The Signs of the Times, November 24, 1881.
12
Education, 290.
13
Letter 75, 1898.
14
Manuscript 119, 1899.
15
Manuscript 49, 1901.
16
Testimonies For The Church 3:532, 533.
17
The Review and Herald, April 13, 1897.
18
Manuscript 18, 1891.
19
The Review and Herald, July 16, 1895.
20
The Signs of the Times, March 11, 1886.
21
Testimonies For The Church 1:547.
22
Manuscript 58, 1899.
23
The Review and Herald, September 15, 1891.
24
Manuscript 142, 1898.
Chapter 44—Administration of Corrective [244]
Discipline
Ask the Lord to Come In and Rule
—Exact obedience in your
family; but while you do this, seek the Lord with your children,
and ask Him to come in and rule. Your children may have done
something that demands punishment; but if you deal with them in
the spirit of Christ, their arms will be thrown about your neck; they
will humble themselves before the Lord and will acknowledge their
wrong. That is enough. They do not then need punishment. Let us
thank the Lord that He has opened the way by which we may reach
every soul.
1
If your children are disobedient, they should be corrected....
Before correcting them, go by yourself, and ask the Lord to soften
and subdue the hearts of your children and to give you wisdom in
dealing with them. Never in a single instance have I known this
method to fail. You cannot make a child understand spiritual things
when the heart is stirred with passion.
2
Instruct Children Patiently
—The Lord wants the hearts of
these children from their very babyhood to be given to His service.
While they are too young to reason with, divert their minds as best
you can; and as they become older, teach them by precept and
example that you cannot indulge their wrong desires.
Instruct them patiently. Sometimes they will have to be punished,
but never do it in such a way that they will feel that they have been
punished in anger. By such a course you only work a greater evil.
Many unhappy differences in the family circle might be avoided if
[245]
parents would obey the counsel of the Lord in the training of their
children.
3
Parents to Be Under Discipline to God
—Mothers, however
provoking your children may be in their ignorance, do not give way
to impatience. Teach them patiently and lovingly. Be firm with
them. Do not let Satan control them. Discipline them only when
you are under the discipline of God. Christ will be victor in the lives
191
192 Child Guidance
of your children if you will learn of Him who is meek and lowly,
pure and undefiled.
4
But if you attempt to govern without exercising self-control,
without system, thought, and prayer, you will most assuredly reap
the bitter consequences.
5
Never Correct in Anger
—You should correct your children in
love. Do not let them have their own way until you get angry, and
then punish them. Such correction only helps on the evil, instead of
remedying it.
6
To manifest passion toward an erring child is to increase the evil.
It arouses the worst passions of the child and leads him to feel that
you do not care for him. He reasons with himself that you could not
treat him so if you cared.
And think you that God takes no cognizance of the way in which
these children are corrected? He knows, and He knows also what
might be the blessed results if the work of correction were done in a
way to win rather than to repel....
Do not, I beg of you, correct your children in anger. That is the
time of all times when you should act with humility and patience
and prayer. Then is the time to kneel down with the children and ask
[246]
the Lord for pardon. Seek to win them to Christ by the manifestation
of kindness and love, and you will see that a higher power than that
of earth is co-operating with your efforts.
7
When you are obliged to correct a child, do not raise the voice to
a high key.... Do not lose your self-control. The parent who, when
correcting a child, gives way to anger is more at fault than the child.
8
Scolding and Fretting Never Help
—Harsh, angry words are
not of heavenly origin. Scolding and fretting never help. Instead,
they stir up the worst feelings of the human heart. When your
children do wrong and are filled with rebellion, and you are tempted
to speak and act harshly, wait before you correct them. Give them
an opportunity to think, and allow your temper to cool.
As you deal kindly and tenderly with your children, they and
you will receive the blessing of the Lord. And think you that in the
day of God’s judgment anyone will regret that he has been patient
and kind with his children?
9
Nervousness Is No Excuse for Impatience
—Parents some-
times excuse their own wrong course because they do not feel well.
Administration of Corrective Discipline 193
They are nervous and think they cannot be patient and calm and
speak pleasantly. In this they deceive themselves and please Satan,
who exults that the grace of God is not regarded by them as sufficient
to overcome natural infirmities. They can and should at all times
control themselves. God requires it of them.
10
Sometimes when fatigued by labor or oppressed with care, par-
ents do not maintain a calm spirit, but manifest a lack of forbearance
that displeases God and brings a cloud over the family. Parents,
when you feel fretful, you should not commit so great a sin as to
[247]
poison the whole family with this dangerous irritability. At such
times set a double watch over yourselves and resolve that none but
pleasant, cheerful words shall escape your lips. By thus exercising
self-control, you will grow stronger. Your nervous system will not
be so sensitive.... Jesus knows our infirmities and has Himself shared
our experience in all things but in sin; therefore He has prepared for
us a path suited to our strength and capacity.
Sometimes everything seems to go wrong in the family circle.
There is fretfulness all around, and all seem very miserable and
unhappy. The parents lay the blame upon their poor children and
think them very disobedient and unruly, the worst children in the
world, when the cause of the disturbance is in themselves. God
requires them to exercise self-control. They should realize that when
they yield to impatience and fretfulness, they cause others to suffer.
Those around them are affected by the spirit they manifest, and if
they in their turn act out the same spirit, the evil is increased.
11
There Is Sometimes Power in Silence
—Those who desire to
control others must first control themselves.... When a parent or
teacher becomes impatient and is in danger of speaking unwisely,
let him remain silent. There is wonderful power in silence.
12
Give Few Commands; Then Require Obedience
—Let moth-
ers be careful not to make unnecessary requirements to exhibit their
own authority before others. Give few commands, but see that these
are obeyed.
13
Do not ... in your discipline of children release them from that
which you have required them to do. Do not let your mind become
so absorbed in other things as to cause you to grow careless. And
[248]
do not become wearied in your guardianship because your children
forget and do that which you have forbidden them to do.
14
194 Child Guidance
In all your commands aim to secure the highest good of your
children, and then see that these commands are obeyed. Your energy
and decision must be unwavering, yet ever in subjection to the Spirit
of Christ.
15
Dealing With a Negligent Child
—When you ask your child
to do a certain thing, and he answers, “Yes, I will do it,” and then
neglects to fulfill his word, you must not leave the matter thus.
You must call your child to account for this neglect. If you pass
it by without notice, you educate your child to habits of neglect
and unfaithfulness. God has given to every child a stewardship.
Children are to obey their parents. They are to help bear the burdens
and responsibilities of the home; and when they neglect to do their
appointed work, they should be called to account and required to
perform it.
16
Results of Hasty, Spasmodic Discipline
—When children have
done wrong, they themselves are convicted of their sin and feel
humiliated and distressed. To scold them for their faults will often
result in making them stubborn and secretive. Like unruly colts,
they seem determined to make trouble, and scolding will do them
no good. Parents should seek to divert their minds into some other
channel.
But the trouble is, parents are not uniform in their management,
but move more from impulse than from principle. They fly into a
passion and do not set an example before their children that Christian
parents should. One day they pass over the wrongdoings of their
children, and the next day they manifest no patience or self-control.
[249]
They do not keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment.
They are often more guilty than are their children.
Some children will soon forget a wrong that is done to them by
father and mother; but other children who are differently constituted
cannot forget severe, unreasonable punishment which they did not
deserve. Thus their souls are injured, and their minds bewildered.
The mother loses her opportunities to instill right principles into
the mind of the child, because she did not maintain self-control and
manifest a well-balanced mind in her deportment and words.
17
Be so calm, so free from anger, that they will be convinced that
you love them, even though you punish them.
18
Administration of Corrective Discipline 195
Inducements Are Sometimes Better Than Punishment
—I
have felt such a deep interest in this line of work that I have adopted
children in order that they might be trained in right lines. Instead of
punishing them when they did wrong, I would hold out inducements
to them to do right. One was in the habit of throwing herself on the
floor if she could not have her own way. I said to her, “If you will
not lose your temper once today, your uncle White and I will take
you in the carriage, and we will have a happy day in the country.
But if you throw yourself on the floor once, you will forfeit your
right to the pleasure.” I worked in this way for these children, and
now I feel thankful that I had the privilege of doing this work.
19
Deal With Wrong Promptly, Wisely, Firmly
—Disobedience
must be punished. Wrongdoing must be corrected. The iniquity
that is bound up in the heart of a child must be met and overcome
[250]
by parents and teachers. Wrong must be dealt with promptly and
wisely, with firmness and decision. Hatred of restraint, love of self-
indulgence, indifference to things of eternity, must be carefully dealt
with. Unless evil is eradicated, the soul will be lost. And more
than this: he who gives himself up to follow in Satan’s lead seeks
constantly to entice others. From our children’s earliest years we
should seek to subdue in them the spirit of the world.
20
The Rod Is Sometimes Necessary
—The mother may ask,
“Shall I never punish my child?”
Whipping may be necessary when other resorts fail, yet she
should not use the rod if it is possible to avoid doing so. But if
milder measures prove insufficient, punishment that will bring the
child to its senses should in love be administered. Frequently one
such correction will be enough for a lifetime, to show the child that
he does not hold the lines of control.
And when this step becomes necessary, the child should be
seriously impressed with the thought that this is not done for the
gratification of the parent, or to indulge arbitrary authority, but
for the child’s own good. He should be taught that every fault
uncorrected will bring unhappiness to himself and will displease
God. Under such discipline children will find their greatest happiness
in submitting their wills to the will of the heavenly Father.
21
As the Last Resort
—Many times you will find that if you will
reason with them kindly, they will not need to be whipped. And
196 Child Guidance
such method of dealing will lead them to have confidence in you.
They will make you their confidant. They will come to you and say,
I did wrong today at such a time, and I want you to forgive me and
[251]
to ask God to forgive me. I have gone through scenes like this, and
therefore I know.... I am thankful that I had courage, when they did
wrong, to deal with them firmly, to pray with them, and to keep the
standards of God’s Word before them. I am glad that I presented to
them the promises made to the overcomer, and the rewards offered
to those who are faithful.
22
Never Strike a Passionate Blow
—Never give your child a pas-
sionate blow, unless you want him to learn to fight and quarrel. As
parents you stand in the place of God to your children, and you are
to be on guard.
23
You may have to punish with the rod; this is sometimes essential,
but defer any settlement of the difficulty until you have settled the
case with yourselves. Ask yourself, Have I submitted my way and
will to God? Have I placed myself where God can manage me, so
that I may have wisdom, patience, kindness, and love in dealing with
the refractory elements in the home?
24
Caution to a Quick-tempered Father
—Bro. L., have you con-
sidered what a child is, and whither it is going? Your children are
the younger members of the Lord’s family—brothers and sisters
entrusted to your care by your heavenly Father for you to train and
educate for heaven. When you are handling them so roughly as
you have frequently done, do you consider that God will call you
to account for this dealing? You should not use your children thus
roughly. A child is not a horse or a dog to be ordered about according
to your imperious will, or to be controlled under all circumstances by
a stick or whip, or by blows with the hand. Some children are so vi-
cious in their tempers that the infliction of pain is necessary, but very
[252]
many cases are made much worse by this manner of discipline....
Never raise your hand to give them a blow unless you can with
a clear conscience bow before God and ask His blessing upon the
correction you are about to give. Encourage love in the hearts of
your children. Present before them high and correct motives for
self-restraint. Do not give them the impression that they must submit
to control because it is your arbitrary will, because they are weak,
and you are strong, because you are the father, they the children. If
Administration of Corrective Discipline 197
you wish to ruin your family, continue to govern by brute force, and
you will surely succeed.
25
Never Shake an Offending Child
—Parents have not given their
children the right education. Frequently they manifest the same
imperfections which are seen in the children. They eat improperly,
and this calls their nervous energies to the stomach, and they have no
vitality to expand in other directions. They cannot properly control
their children because of their own impatience; neither can they
teach them the right way. Perhaps they take hold of them roughly
and give them an impatient blow. I have said that to shake a child
would shake two evil spirits in, while it would shake one out. If a
child is wrong, to shake it only makes it worse. It will not subdue
it.
26
First Use Reason and Prayer
—First reason with your children,
clearly point out their wrongs, and impress upon them that they have
not only sinned against you, but against God. With your heart full
of pity and sorrow for your erring children, pray with them before
correcting them. Then they will see that you do not punish them
[253]
because they have put you to inconvenience, or because you wish to
vent your displeasure upon them, but from a sense of duty, for their
good; and they will love and respect you.
27
That prayer may make such an impression on their minds that
they will see that you are not unreasonable. And if the children see
that you are not unreasonable, you have gained a great victory. This
is the work that is to be carried on in our family circles in these last
days.
28
The Effectiveness of Prayer in a Disciplinary Crisis
—Do not
threaten them with the wrath of God if they do wrong, but bring
them in your prayers to Christ.
29
Before you cause your child physical pain, you will, if you are a
Christian father or mother, reveal the love you have for your erring
one. As you bow before God with your child, you will present
before the sympathizing Redeemer His own words, “Suffer the little
children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the
kingdom of God.” Mark 10:14. That prayer will bring angels to your
side. Your child will not forget these experiences, and the blessing
of God will rest upon such instruction, leading him to Christ. When
198 Child Guidance
children realize that their parents are trying to help them, they will
bend their energies in the right direction.
30
Personal Experiences in Discipline
—I never allowed my chil-
dren to think that they could plague me in their childhood. I also
brought up in my family others from other families, but I never
allowed those children to think that they could plague their mother.
Never did I allow myself to say a harsh word or to become impatient
or fretful over the children. They never got the better of me once—[254]
not once, to provoke me to anger. When my spirit was stirred, or
when I felt anything like being provoked, I would say, “Children,
we shall let this rest now; we shall not say anything more about it
now. Before we retire, we shall talk it over.” Having all this time
to reflect, by evening they had cooled off, and I could handle them
very nicely....
There is a right way, and there is a wrong way. I never lifted a
hand to my children, before I talked with them; and if they broke
down, and if they saw their mistake (and they always did when I
brought it before them and prayed with them), and if they were
subdued (and they always were when I did this), then I had them
under my control. I never found them otherwise. When I prayed
with them, they would break all to pieces, and they would throw
their arms around my neck and cry....
I never allowed, in correcting my children, even my voice to be
changed in any way. When I saw something wrong, I waited until
the “heat” was over, and then I would take them after they had had a
chance for reflection and were ashamed. They would get ashamed,
if I gave them an hour or two to think of these things. I always went
away and prayed. I would not speak to them then.
After they had been left to themselves for a while, they would
come to me about it. “Well,” I would say, “we will wait until
evening.” At that time we would have a season of prayer, and then I
would tell them that they hurt their own souls and grieved the Spirit
of God by their wrong course of action.
31
Take Time for Prayer
—When I have felt roiled and was
tempted to speak words that I would be ashamed of, I would keep
[255]
silent and pass right out of the room and ask God to give me patience
to teach these children. Then I could go back and talk with them,
and tell them they must not do this wrong again. We can take such
Administration of Corrective Discipline 199
a position in this matter that we shall not provoke the children to
wrath. We should speak kindly and patiently, remembering all the
time how wayward we are and how we want to be treated by our
heavenly Father.
Now these are the lessons that parents must learn, and when you
have learned these, you will be the very best students in the school
of Christ, and your children will be the very best children. In this
way you can teach them to have respect for God and to keep His law,
because you will have excellent government over them, and in doing
this you are bringing up into society children who will be a blessing
to all around them. You are fitting them to be laborers together with
God.
32
Joy May Follow the Pain of Discipline
—The true way of deal-
ing with trial is not by seeking to escape it, but by transforming it.
This applies to all discipline, the earlier as well as the later. The
neglect of the child’s earliest training, and the consequent strength-
ening of wrong tendencies, makes his after education more difficult
and causes discipline to be too often a painful process. Painful it
must be to the lower nature, crossing, as it does, the natural desires
and inclinations; but the pain may be lost sight of in a higher joy.
Let the child and the youth be taught that every mistake, every
fault, every difficulty, conquered, becomes a steppingstone to better
and higher things. It is through such experiences that all who have
ever made life worth the living have achieved success.
33
Follow the Divine Guidebook
—Parents who would properly
[256]
rear their children need wisdom from heaven in order to act judi-
ciously in all matters pertaining to home discipline.
34
The Bible is a guide in the management of children. Here, if
parents desire, they may find a course marked out for the education
and training of their children, that they may make no blunders....
When this Guidebook is followed, parents, instead of giving unlim-
ited indulgence to their children, will use more often the chastening
rod; instead of being blind to their faults, their perverse tempers, and
alive only to their virtues, they will have clear discernment and will
look upon these things in the light of the Bible. They will know that
they must command their children in the right way.
35
God cannot take rebels into His kingdom; therefore He makes
obedience to His commands a special requirement. Parents should
200 Child Guidance
diligently teach their children what saith the Lord. Then God will
show to angels and to men that He will build a safeguard round about
His people.
36
Your Part and God’s Part
—Parents, when you have faithfully
done your duty, to the extent of your ability, you may then in faith
ask the Lord to do that for your children which you cannot do.
37
After you have done your duty faithfully to your children, then
carry them to God and ask Him to help you. Tell Him that you have
done your part, and then in faith ask God to do His part, that which
you cannot do. Ask Him to temper their dispositions, to make them
mild and gentle by His Holy Spirit. He will hear you pray. He will
love to answer your prayers. Through His Word He has enjoined
it upon you to correct your children, to “spare not for their crying,”
[257]
and His Word is to be heeded in these things.
38
1
Manuscript 21, 1909.
2
Manuscript 27, 1911.
3
Manuscript 93, 1909.
4
Letter 272, 1903.
5
The Signs of the Times, February 9, 1882.
6
The Review and Herald, September 19, 1854.
7
Manuscript 53, 1912.
8
The Signs of the Times, February 17, 1904.
9
Manuscript 114, 1903.
10
Testimonies For The Church 1:385.
11
The Signs of the Times, April 17, 1884.
12
Education, 292.
13
The Signs of the Times, February 9, 1882.
14
Manuscript 32, 1899.
15
The Signs of the Times, September 13, 1910.
16
Manuscript 127, 1899.
17
Manuscript 38, 1895.
18
Manuscript 2, 1903.
19
Manuscript 95, 1909.
20
Letter 166, 1901.
21
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 116, 117.
22
Manuscript 27, 1911.
23
Manuscript 32, 1899.
24
Manuscript 79, 1901.
25
Testimonies For The Church 2:259, 260.
26
Testimonies For The Church 2:365.
27
The Signs of the Times, April 10, 1884.
28
Manuscript 73, 1909.
Administration of Corrective Discipline 201
29
Manuscript 27, 1893.
30
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 117, 118.
31
Manuscript 82, 1901.
32
Manuscript 19, 1887.
33
Education, 295, 296.
34
Pacific Health Journal, January, 1890.
35
Manuscript 57, 1897.
36
Manuscript 64, 1899.
37
The Signs of the Times, February 9, 1882.
38
The Review and Herald, September 19, 1854.
Chapter 45—With Love and Firmness[258]
Two Ways and Their End
—There are two ways to deal with
children—ways that differ widely in principle and results. Faithful-
ness and love, united with wisdom and firmness, in accordance with
the teachings of God’s Word, will bring happiness in this life and in
the next. Neglect of duty, injudicious indulgence, failure to restrain
or correct the follies of youth, will result in unhappiness and final
ruin to the children and disappointment and anguish to the parents.
1
Love has a twin sister, which is duty. Love and duty stand side
by side. Love exercised while duty is neglected will make children
headstrong, willful, perverse, selfish, and disobedient. If stern duty
is left to stand alone without love to soften and win, it will have a
similar result. Duty and love must be blended in order that children
may be properly disciplined.
2
Uncorrected Faults Bring Unhappiness
—Wherever it seems
necessary to deny the wishes or oppose the will of a child, he should
be seriously impressed with the thought that this is not done for the
gratification of the parents, or to indulge arbitrary authority, but for
his own good. He should be taught that every fault uncorrected will
bring unhappiness to himself and will displease God. Under such
discipline children will find their greatest happiness in submitting
their own will to the will of their heavenly Father.
3
Youth who follow their own impulse and inclination can have
[259]
no real happiness in this life, and in the end will lose eternal life.
4
Kindness to Be the Law of the Home
—God’s method of gov-
ernment is an example of how children are to be trained. There is no
oppression in the Lord’s service, and there is to be no oppression in
the home or in the school. Yet neither parents nor teachers should
allow disregard of their word to pass unnoticed. Should they neglect
to correct the children for doing wrong, God would hold them ac-
countable for their neglect. But let them be sparing of censure. Let
kindness be the law of the home and of the school. Let the children
202
With Love and Firmness 203
be taught to keep the law of the Lord, and let a firm, loving influence
restrain them from evil.
5
Have Consideration for Childish Ignorance
—Fathers and
mothers, in the home you are to represent God’s disposition. You are
to require obedience, not with a storm of words, but in a kind, loving
manner. You are to be so full of compassion that your children will
be drawn to you.
6
Be pleasant in the home. Restrain every word that would arouse
unholy temper. “Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath,” is a
divine injunction. Remember that your children are young in years
and experience. In controlling and disciplining them, be firm, but
kind.
7
Children do not always discern right from wrong, and when they
do wrong, they are often treated harshly, instead of being kindly
instructed.
8
No license is given in God’s Word for parental severity or op-
pression or for filial disobedience. The law of God, in the home
life and in the government of nations, flows from a heart of infinite
love.
9
Sympathy for the Unpromising Child
—I see the necessity of
[260]
parents dealing in the wisdom of Christ with their erring children....
It is the unpromising ones who need the greatest patience and kind-
ness, the most tender sympathy. But many parents reveal a cold,
unpitying spirit, which will never lead the erring to repentance. Let
the hearts of parents be softened by the grace of Christ, and His love
will find a way to the heart.
10
The Saviour’s rule—“As ye would that men should do to you,
do ye also to them likewise” (Luke 6:31)—should be the rule of
all who undertake the training of children and youth. They are the
younger members of the Lord’s family, heirs with us of the grace of
life. Christ’s rule should be sacredly observed toward the dullest,
the youngest, the most blundering, and even toward the erring and
rebellious.
11
Help Children to Overcome
—God has a tender regard for the
children. He wants them to gain victories every day. Let us all
endeavor to help the children to be overcomers. Do not let offenses
come to them from the very members of their own family. Do
not permit your actions and your words to be of a nature that your
204 Child Guidance
children will be provoked to wrath. Yet they must be faithfully
disciplined and corrected when they do wrong.
12
Give Praise Whenever Possible
—Praise the children when
they do well, for judicious commendation is as great a help to them
as it is to those older in years and understanding. Never be cross-
grained in the sanctuary of the home. Be kind and tenderhearted,
showing Christian politeness, thanking and commending your chil-
dren for the help they give you.
13
Be pleasant. Never speak loud, passionate words. In restraining
[261]
and disciplining your children, be firm, but kind. Encourage them to
do their duty as members of the family firm. Express your apprecia-
tion of the efforts they put forth to restrain their inclinations to do
wrong.
14
Be just what you wish your children to be when they shall have
charge of families of their own. Speak as you would have them
speak.
15
Guard Tones of the Voice
—Speak always in a calm, earnest
voice, in which no trace of passion is expressed. Passion is not
necessary to secure prompt obedience.
16
Fathers and mothers, you are responsible for your children. Be
careful under what influences you place them. Do not, by scolding
or fretting, lose your own influence over them for good. You are
to guide them, not to stir up the passions of their mind. Whatever
provocation you may have, be sure that the tone of your voice betrays
no irritation. Do not let them see in you a manifestation of the spirit
of Satan. This will not help you to fit and train your children for the
future, immortal life.
17
Justice to Be Blended With Mercy
—God is our lawgiver and
king, and parents are to place themselves under His rule. This
rule forbids all oppression from parents and all disobedience from
children. The Lord is full of loving-kindness, mercy, and truth. His
law is holy, just, and good, and must be obeyed by parents and
children. The rules which should regulate the lives of parents and
children flow from a heart of infinite love, and God’s rich blessings
will rest upon those parents who administer His law in their homes,
and upon the children who obey this law. The combined influence
of mercy and justice is to be felt. “Mercy and truth are met together;
righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” Households under
[262]
With Love and Firmness 205
this discipline will walk in the way of the Lord, to do justice and
judgment.
18
The parent who permits his rule to become a despotism is making
a terrible mistake. He wrongs not only his children but himself,
quenching in their young hearts the love that would flow out in acts
and words of affection. Kindness, forbearance, and love, manifested
to children, will be reflected back upon the parents. That which they
sow, they will also reap....
While you seek to administer justice, remember that she has a
twin sister, which is mercy. The two stand side by side and should
not be separated.
19
Severity Arouses Combative Spirit. Counsel to Stern Par-
ents
—Severity and justice, unmingled with love, will not lead your
children to do right. Notice how quickly the combative spirit is
aroused in them. Now there is a better way to manage them than by
mere compulsion. Justice has a twin sister, which is love. Let love
and justice clasp hands in all your management, and you will surely
have the help of God to co-operate with your efforts. The Lord, your
gracious Redeemer, wants to bless you, and give you His mind, and
His grace, and His salvation, that you may have a character which
God can approve.
20
The authority of the parents should be absolute, yet this power
is not to be abused. In the control of his children the father should
not be governed by caprice, but by the Bible standard. When he
permits his own harsh traits of character to bear sway, he becomes a
despot.
21
Reprove, but With Affectionate Tenderness
—No doubt you
will see faults and waywardness on the part of your children. Some
parents will tell you that they talk to and punish their children, but
[263]
they cannot see that it does them any real good. Let such parents
try new methods. Let them mingle kindness and affection and love
with their family government, and yet let them be as firm as a rock
to right principles.
22
None who deal with the young should be ironhearted, but affec-
tionate, tender, pitiful, courteous, winning, and companionable; yet
they should know that reproofs must be given, and that even rebuke
may have to be spoken to cut off some evil-doing.
23
206 Child Guidance
I am instructed to say to parents, Raise the standard of behavior
in your own homes. Teach your children to obey. Rule them by the
combined influence of affection and Christlike authority. Let your
lives be such that of you may be spoken the words of commendation
spoken of Cornelius, of whom it is said that he “feared God with all
his house.”
24
Exercise Neither Severity nor Excessive Indulgence
—We
have no sympathy with that discipline which would discourage chil-
dren by hard censure, or irritate them by passionate correction, and
then, as the impulse changes, smother them with kisses, or harm
them by injurious gratification. Excessive indulgence and undue
severity are alike to be avoided. While vigilance and firmness are
indispensable, so also are sympathy and tenderness. Parents, remem-
ber that you deal with children who are struggling with temptation,
and that to them these evil promptings are as hard to resist as are
those that assail persons of mature years. Children who really desire
to do right may fail again and again, and as often need encourage-
ment to energy and perseverance. Watch the working of these young
minds with prayerful solicitude. Strengthen every good impulse;
[264]
encourage every noble action.
25
Maintain Uniform Firmness, Unimpassioned Control
—
Children have sensitive, loving natures. They are easily pleased
and easily made unhappy. By gentle discipline in loving words and
acts, mothers may bind their children to their hearts. Uniform firm-
ness and unimpassioned control are necessary to the discipline of
every family. Say what you mean calmly, move with consideration,
and carry out what you say without deviation.
It will pay to manifest affection in your association with your
children. Do not repel them by lack of sympathy in their childish
sports, joys, and griefs. Never let a frown gather upon your brow, or
a harsh word escape your lips.
26
Even kindness must have its limits. Authority must be sustained
by a firm severity, or it will be received by many with mockery and
contempt. The so-called tenderness, the coaxing and the indulgence
used toward youth, by parents and guardians, is the worst evil which
can come upon them. Firmness, decision, positive requirements, are
essential in every family.
27
With Love and Firmness 207
Remember Your Own Mistakes
—Let father and mother re-
member that they themselves are but grown-up children. Though
great light has shone upon their pathway and they have had long
experience, yet how easily are they stirred to envy, jealousy, and evil
surmisings. Because of their own mistakes and errors they should
learn to deal gently with their erring children.
28
You may feel annoyed sometimes because your children go
contrary to what you have told them. But have you ever thought that
[265]
many times you go contrary to what the Lord has commanded you
to do?
29
How to Win Love and Confidence
—There is danger that both
parents and teachers will command and dictate too much, while
they fail to come sufficiently into social relation with their children
or scholars. They often hold themselves too much reserved and
exercise their authority in a cold, unsympathizing manner, which
cannot win the hearts of their children and pupils. If they would
gather the children close to them, and show that they love them,
and would manifest an interest in all their efforts, and even in their
sports, sometimes even being a child among them, they would make
the children very happy and would gain their love and win their
confidence. And the children would more quickly learn to respect
and love the authority of their parents and teachers.
30
Seek to Imitate Christ
—He [Christ] identified Himself with
the lowly, the needy, and the afflicted. He took little children in His
arms and descended to the level of the young. His large heart of love
could comprehend their trials and necessities, and He enjoyed their
happiness. His spirit, wearied with the bustle and confusion of the
crowded city, tired of association with crafty and hypocritical men,
found rest and peace in the society of innocent children. His presence
never repulsed them. The Majesty of heaven condescended to answer
their questions, and simplified His important lessons to meet their
childish understanding. He planted in their young, expanding minds
the seeds of truth that would spring up and produce a plentiful harvest
in their riper years.
31
An Errant Youth Who Needed Sympathy
—Your letters I have
[266]
read with interest and sympathy. I would say your son now needs a
father as he has never needed one before. He has erred; you know
it, and he knows that you know it; and words that you would have
208 Child Guidance
spoken to him in his innocency with safety, and which would not
have produced any bad results, would now seem like unkindness
and be sharp as a knife.... I know that parents feel the shame of
the wrongdoing of a child that has dishonored them very keenly,
but does the erring one wound and bruise the heart of the earthly
parent any more than we as the children of God bruise our heavenly
Parent, who has given us and is still giving us His love, inviting us
to return and repent of our sins and iniquities and He will pardon
our transgression?
Do not withdraw your love now. That love and sympathy is
needed now as never before. When others look with coldness and
put the worst construction upon the misdeeds of your boy, should
not the father and mother in pitying tenderness seek to guide his
footsteps into safe paths? I do not know the character of your son’s
sins, but I am safe in saying, whatever they may be, Let no comments
from human lips, no pressure from human actions, of those who
think they are doing justice, lead you to pursue a course which can
be interpreted by your son that you feel too much mortified and
dishonored to ever take him back into confidence and to forget his
transgressions. Let nothing cause you to lose hope, nothing to cut
off your love and tenderness for the erring one. Just because he is
erring, he needs you, and he wants a father and a mother to help him
to recover himself from the snare of Satan. Hold him fast by faith
and love, and cling to the all-pitying Redeemer, remembering that
he has One who has an interest in him, even above your own....[267]
Do not talk discouragement and hopelessness. Talk courage.
Tell him he can redeem himself, that you, his father and mother, will
help him to take hold from above to plant his feet on the solid Rock,
Christ Jesus, to find a sure support and unfailing strength in Jesus.
If his fault be ever so grievous, it will not cure your son to press this
constantly upon him. A right course of action is needed to save a
soul from death and keep a soul from committing a multitude of
sins.
32
Seek Divine Help to Overcome Hasty Temper
—I wish to say
to every father and mother, If you have a hasty temper, seek God
for help to overcome it. When you are provoked to impatience, go
to your chamber, and kneel down and ask God to help you that you
may have a right influence over your children.
33
With Love and Firmness 209
Mothers, when you yield to impatience and deal harshly with
your children, you are not learning of Christ, but of another master.
Jesus says, “Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek
and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my
yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” When you find your work
hard, when you complain of difficulties and trials, when you say
that you have no strength to withstand temptation, that you cannot
overcome impatience, and that the Christian life is uphill work, be
sure that you are not bearing the yoke of Christ; you are bearing the
yoke of another master.
34
Reflecting the Divine Image
—The church needs men of a meek
and quiet spirit, who are long-suffering and patient. Let them learn
these attributes in dealing with their families. Let parents think a
[268]
great deal more of their children’s eternal interests than they do of
their present comfort. Let them look upon their children as younger
members of the Lord’s family, and train and discipline them in such
a way as will lead them to reflect the divine image.
35
1
The Review and Herald, August 30, 1881.
2
Testimonies For The Church 3:195.
3
Fundamentals of Christian Education, 68.
4
The Review and Herald, June 27, 1899.
5
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 155.
6
Manuscript 79, 1901.
7
The Review and Herald, April 21, 1904.
8
Manuscript 12, 1898.
9
Letter 8a, 1896.
10
Manuscript 22, 1890.
11
Education, 292, 293.
12
Manuscript 47, 1908.
13
Manuscript 14, 1905.
14
Manuscript 22, 1904.
15
Manuscript 42, 1903.
16
Letter 69, 1896.
17
Manuscript 47, 1908.
18
The Signs of the Times, August 23, 1899.
19
The Review and Herald, August 30, 1881.
20
Letter 19a, 1891.
21
The Review and Herald, August 30, 1881.
22
Manuscript 38, 1895.
23
Manuscript 68, 1897.
24
The Review and Herald, April 21, 1904.
210 Child Guidance
25
The Signs of the Times, November 24, 1881.
26
Testimonies For The Church 3:532.
27
Testimonies For The Church 5:45.
28
Manuscript 89, 1894.
29
Manuscript 45, 1911.
30
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 76, 77.
31
Testimonies For The Church 4:141.
32
Letter 18e, 1890.
33
Manuscript 33, 1909.
34
The Signs of the Times, July 22, 1889.
35
The Review and Herald, July 16, 1895.
Section 11—Faulty Discipline [269]
Chapter 46—Evils of Indulgence[270]
[271]
True Love Is Not Indulgent
—Love is the key to a child’s heart,
but the love that leads parents to indulge their children in unlawful
desires is not a love that will work for their good. The earnest
affection which springs from love to Jesus will enable parents to
exercise judicious authority and to require prompt obedience. The
hearts of parents and children need to be welded together, so that
as a family they may be a channel through which wisdom, virtue,
forbearance, kindness, and love may flow.
1
Too Much Freedom Makes Prodigal Sons
—The reason that
children do not become godly is because they are allowed too much
freedom. Their will and inclination is indulged.... Many prodigal
sons become such because of indulgence in the home, because their
parents have not been doers of the Word. The mind and purpose
are to be sustained by firm, undeviating, sanctified principles. Con-
sistency and affection are to be enforced by a lovely and consistent
example.
2
The More Indulgence, the Harder the Management
—Par-
ents, make home happy for your children. By this I do not mean that
you are to indulge them. The more they are indulged, the harder they
will be to manage, and the more difficult it will be for them to live
true, noble lives when they go out into the world. If you allow them
to do as they please, their purity and loveliness of character will
quickly fade. Teach them to obey. Let them see that your authority
must be respected. This may seem to bring them a little unhappiness
[272]
now, but it will save them from much unhappiness in the future.
3
To indulge a child when young and erring is a sin. A child should
be kept under control.
4
If children are allowed to have their own way, they receive the
idea that they must be waited upon, cared for, indulged, and amused.
They think that their wishes and their will must be gratified.
5
Should she [the mother] not let her child have his own way now
and then, let him do just as he wishes, permit him to be disobedient?
212
Evils of Indulgence 213
Certainly not, for just so sure as she does, she lets Satan plant his
hellish banner in her house. She must fight the battle of that child
which he cannot fight himself. That is her work, to rebuke the devil,
to seek God earnestly, and never to let Satan take her child right out
of her arms and place him in his arms.
6
Indulgence Causes Restlessness and Discontent
—In some
families the wishes of the child are law. Everything he desires
is given him. Everything he dislikes he is encouraged to dislike.
These indulgences are supposed to make the child happy, but it is
these very things that make him restless, discontented, and satisfied
with nothing. Indulgence has spoiled his appetite for plain, healthful
food, for the plain, healthful use of his time; gratification has done
the work of unsettling that character for time and for eternity.
7
Elisha’s Effective Rebuke for Disrespect
—The idea that we
must submit to ways of perverse children is a mistake. Elisha, at the
very commencement of his work, was mocked and derided by the
youth of Bethel. He was a man of great mildness, but the Spirit of
God impelled him to pronounce a curse upon those railers. They
[273]
had heard of Elijah’s ascension, and they made this solemn event
the subject of jeers. Elisha evinced that he was not to be trifled with,
by old or young, in his sacred calling. When they told him he had
better go up, as Elijah had done before him, he cursed them in the
name of the Lord. The awful judgment that came upon them was of
God.
After this, Elisha had no further trouble in his mission. For fifty
years he passed in and out of the gate of Bethel, and went to and fro
from city to city, passing through crowds of the worst and rudest of
idle, dissolute youth; but no one ever mocked him or made light of
his qualifications as the prophet of the Most High.
8
Do Not Yield to Coaxing
—Parents will have much to answer
for in the day of accounts because of their wicked indulgence of
their children. Many gratify every unreasonable wish, because it is
easier to be rid of their importunity in this way than in any other.
A child should be so trained that a refusal would be received in the
right spirit and accepted as final.
9
Do Not Take Child’s Word Before That of Others
—Parents
should not pass lightly over the sins of their children. When these
sins are pointed out by some faithful friend, the parent should not feel
214 Child Guidance
that his rights are invaded, that he has received a personal offense.
The habits of every youth and every child affect the welfare of
society. The wrong course of one youth may lead many others in an
evil way.
10
Do not allow your children to see that you take their word before
the statements of older Christians. You cannot do them a greater
injury. By saying, I believe my children before I believe those whom
[274]
I have evidence are children of God, you encourage in them the
habit of falsifying.
11
The Heritage of a Spoiled Child
—It is impossible to depict
the evil that results from leaving a child to its own will. Some who
go astray because of neglect in childhood will later, through the
inculcation of practical lessons, come to their senses; but many are
lost forever because in childhood and youth they received only a
partial, one-sided culture. The child who is spoiled has a heavy
burden to carry throughout his life. In trial, in disappointment,
in temptation, he will follow his undisciplined, misdirected will.
Children who have never learned to obey will have weak, impulsive
characters. They seek to rule, but have not learned to submit. They
are without moral strength to restrain their wayward tempers, to
correct their wrong habits, or to subdue their uncontrolled wills.
The blunders of untrained, undisciplined childhood become the
inheritance of manhood and womanhood. The perverted intellect
can scarcely discern between the true and the false.
12
1
The Review and Herald, June 24, 1890.
2
Letter 117, 1898.
3
Manuscript 2, 1903.
4
Letter 144, 1906.
5
Manuscript 27, 1896.
6
Manuscript 13, 1888.
7
Manuscript 126, 1897.
8
Testimonies For The Church 5:44.
9
Pacific Health Journal, May, 1890.
10
The Review and Herald, June 13, 1882.
11
The Review and Herald, April 13, 1897.
12
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 112, 113.
Chapter 47—Lax Discipline and Its Fruitage [275]
Faulty Training Affects Entire Religious Life
—A woe rests
upon parents who have not trained their children to be God-fear-
ing, but have allowed them to grow to manhood and womanhood
undisciplined and uncontrolled. During their own childhood they
were allowed to manifest passion and willfulness and to act from
impulse, and they bring this same spirit into their own homes. They
are defective in temper, and passionate in government. Even in their
acceptance of Christ they have not overcome the passions that were
allowed to rule in their childish hearts. They carry the results of their
early training through their entire religious life. It is a most difficult
thing to remove the impress thus made upon the plant of the Lord;
for as the twig is bent, the tree is inclined. If such parents accept the
truth, they have a hard battle to fight. They may be transformed in
character, but the whole of their religious experience is affected by
the lax discipline exercised over them in their early lives. And their
children have to suffer because of their defective training; for they
stamp their faults upon them to the third and fourth generation.
1
The Eli’s of Today
—When parents sanction and thus perpetuate
the wrongs in their children as did Eli, God will surely bring them
to the place where they will see that they have not only ruined their
own influence, but also the influence of the youth whom they should
have restrained.... They will have bitter lessons to learn.
2
Oh, that the Eli’s of today, who are everywhere to be found plead-
[276]
ing excuses for the waywardness of their children, would promptly
assert their own God-given authority to restrain and correct them.
Let parents and guardians, who overlook and excuse sin in those
under their care, remember that they thus become accessory to these
wrongs. If, instead of unlimited indulgence, the chastening rod were
oftener used, not in passion, but with love and prayer, we would see
happier families and a better state of society.
3
The neglect of Eli is brought plainly before every father and
mother in the land. As the result of his unsanctified affection or
215
216 Child Guidance
his unwillingness to do a disagreeable duty, he reaped a harvest of
iniquity in his perverse sons. Both the parent who permitted the
wickedness and the children who practiced it were guilty before God,
and He would accept no sacrifice or offering for their transgression.
4
Society Cursed by Defective Characters
—Oh! when will par-
ents be wise? When will they see and realize the character of their
work in neglecting to require obedience and respect according to the
instructions of God’s Word? The results of this lax training are seen
in the children as they go out into the world and take their place at
the head of families of their own. They perpetuate the mistakes of
their parents. Their defective traits have full scope; and they transmit
to others the wrong tastes, habits, and tempers that were permitted
to develop in their own characters. Thus they became a curse instead
of a blessing to society.
5
The wickedness which exists in the world today may be traced
to the neglect of parents to discipline themselves and their children.
[277]
Thousands upon thousands of Satan’s victims are what they are
because of the injudicious way in which they were managed during
their childhood. The stern rebuke of God is upon this mismanage-
ment.
6
Slackening the Reins of Discipline
—Children who are mis-
ruled, who are not educated to obey and respect, link themselves
with the world and take their parents in hand, putting a bridle on
them, and leading them where they choose. Too often, at the very
time when the children should show unquestioning respect and obe-
dience to the counsel of their parents, the parents slacken the reins
of discipline. Parents who have hitherto been bright examples of
consistent piety are now led by their children. Their firmness is gone.
Fathers who have borne the cross of Christ, and kept the marks of
the Lord Jesus on them in singleness of purpose, are led by their
children in questionable and uncertain paths.
7
Indulging the Older Children
—Fathers and mothers who
should understand the responsibility which rests upon them relax
their discipline to meet the inclinations of their growing sons and
daughters. The will of the child is the law recognized. Mothers
who have been firm, consistent, and unbending in their adherence to
principle, maintaining simplicity and fidelity, become indulgent as
their children merge into manhood and womanhood. In their love of
Lax Discipline and Its Fruitage 217
display they give their children to Satan with their own hands, like
the apostate Jews making them pass through the fire to Molech.
8
Dishonoring God to Gain Child’s Favor
—Fathers and moth-
ers are giving way to the inclination of godless children, and assisting
them with money and facilities to make an appearance in the world.
Oh, what an account such parents will have to render to God!
[278]
They dishonor God and show all honor to their wayward children,
opening their doors to amusements which they have in the past con-
demned from principle. They have allowed card playing, dancing
parties, and balls to win their children to the world. At the time
when their influence over their children should be strongest, bearing
a testimony of what true Christianity means, like Eli they bring them-
selves under the curse of God by dishonoring Him and disregarding
His requirements, in order to gain the favor of their children. But
a fashionable piety will not be of much value in the hour of death.
Although some ministers of the gospel may approve this kind of
religion, parents will find that they are leaving the crown of glory to
obtain laurels that are of no value. God help fathers and mothers to
arouse to their duty!
9
Be What You Wish Your Children to Be
—Be what you wish
your children to be. Parents have perpetuated by precept and ex-
ample their own stamp of character to their posterity. The fitful,
coarse, uncourteous tempers and words are impressed upon children,
and children’s children, and thus the defects in the management of
parents testify against them from generation to generation.
10
1
The Review and Herald, October 9, 1900.
2
Manuscript 33, 1903.
3
The Signs of the Times, November 24, 1881.
4
The Review and Herald, May 4, 1886.
5
Testimonies For The Church 5:324, 325.
6
Manuscript 49, 1901.
7
The Review and Herald, April 13, 1897.
8
Manuscript 119, 1899.
9
The Review and Herald, April 13, 1897.
10
The Signs of the Times, September 17, 1894.
Chapter 48—The Child’s Reaction[279]
To Provocation
—Children are exhorted to obey their parents in
the Lord, but parents are also enjoined, “Provoke not your children
to wrath, lest they be discouraged.”
1
Often we do more to provoke than to win. I have seen a mother
snatch from the hand of her child something that was giving it special
pleasure. The child did not know the reason for this, and naturally
felt abused. Then followed a quarrel between parent and child, and
a sharp chastisement ended the scene as far as outward appearance
was concerned; but that battle left an impression on the tender mind
that would not be easily effaced. This mother acted unwisely. She
did not reason from cause to effect. Her harsh, injudicious action
stirred the worst passions in the heart of her child, and on every
similar occasion these passions would be aroused and strengthened.
2
To Faultfinding
—You have no right to bring a gloomy cloud
over the happiness of your children by faultfinding or severe censure
for trifling mistakes. Actual wrong should be made to appear just
as sinful as it is, and a firm, decided course should be pursued to
prevent its recurrence; yet children should not be left in a hopeless
state of mind, but with a degree of courage that they can improve
and gain your confidence and approval. Children may wish to do
right, they may purpose in their hearts to be obedient; but they need
help and encouragement.
3
To Too Harsh Discipline
—Oh, how God is dishonored in a
family where there is no true understanding as to what constitutes
[280]
family discipline, and children are confused as to what is discipline
and government. It is true that too harsh discipline, too much criti-
cism, unrequired laws and regulations, lead to disrespect of authority
and to the disregarding finally of those regulations that Christ would
have fulfilled.
4
When parents show a rough, severe, masterly spirit, a spirit of
obstinacy and stubbornness is aroused in the children. Thus the
218
Child’s Reaction 219
parents fail to exert over their children the softening influence that
they might.
Parents, can you not see that harsh words provoke resistance?
What would you do if treated as inconsiderately as you treat your
little ones? It is your duty to study from cause to effect. When
you scolded your children, when with angry blows you struck those
who were too small to defend themselves, did you ask yourself what
effect such treatment would have upon you? Have you thought
how sensitive you are in regard to words of censure or blame? how
quickly you feel hurt if you think that someone fails to recognize
your capabilities? You are but grown-up children. Then think how
your children must feel when you speak harsh, cutting words to
them, severely punishing them for faults that are not half so grievous
in the sight of God as is your treatment of them.
5
Many parents professing to be Christians are not converted.
Christ does not abide in their hearts by faith! Their harshness, their
imprudence, their unsubdued tempers, disgust their children and
make them averse to all their religious instruction.
6
To Continual Censure
—In our efforts to correct evil, we should
guard against a tendency to faultfinding or censure. Continual cen-
[281]
sure bewilders, but does not reform. With many minds, and often
those of the finest susceptibility, an atmosphere of unsympathetic
criticism is fatal to effort. Flowers do not unfold under the breath of
a blighting wind.
A child frequently censured for some special fault comes to
regard that fault as his peculiarity, something against which it is vain
to strive. Thus are created discouragement and hopelessness, often
concealed under an appearance of indifference or bravado.
7
To Ordering and Scolding
—Some parents raise many a storm
by their lack of self-control. Instead of kindly asking the children to
do this or that, they order them in a scolding tone, and at the same
time a censure or reproof is on their lips which the children have not
merited. Parents, this course pursued toward your children destroys
their cheerfulness and ambition. They do your bidding, not from
love, but because they dare not do otherwise. Their heart is not in
the matter. It is a drudgery instead of a pleasure, and this often leads
them to forget to follow out all your directions, which increases your
irritation and makes it still worse for the children. The faultfinding
220 Child Guidance
is repeated, their bad conduct arrayed before them in glowing colors,
until discouragement comes over them, and they are not particular
whether they please or not. A spirit of “I don’t care” seizes them,
and they seek that pleasure and enjoyment away from home, away
from their parents, which they do not find at home. They mingle
with street company and are soon as corrupt as the worst.
8
To an Arbitrary Course of Action
—The will of the parents
must be under the discipline of Christ. Molded and controlled by
[282]
God’s pure Holy Spirit, they may establish unquestioned dominion
over the children. But if the parents are severe and exacting in their
discipline, they do a work which they themselves can never undo.
By their arbitrary course of action, they stir up a sense of injustice.
9
To Injustice
—Children are sensitive to the least injustice, and
some become discouraged under it and will neither heed the loud,
angry voice of command, nor care for threatenings of punishment.
Rebellion is too frequently established in the hearts of children
through the wrong discipline of the parents, when if a proper course
had been taken, the children would have formed good and harmo-
nious characters. A mother who does not have perfect control of
herself is unfit to have the management of children.
10
To a Jerk or Blow
—When the mother gives her child a jerk or
blow, do you think it enables him to see the beauty of the Christian
character? No indeed; it only tends to raise evil feelings in the heart,
and the child is not corrected at all.
11
To Harsh, Unsympathetic Words
—Christ is ready to teach the
father and the mother to be true educators. Those who learn in His
school ... will never speak in a harsh, unsympathetic tone; for words
spoken in this manner grate upon the ear, wear upon the nerves,
cause mental suffering, and create a state of mind that makes it
impossible to curb the temper of the child to whom such words are
spoken. This is often the reason why children speak disrespectfully
to parents.
12
To Ridicule and Taunting
—They [parents] are not authorized
to fret and scold and ridicule. They should never taunt their chil-
[283]
dren with perverse traits of character, which they themselves have
transmitted to them. This mode of discipline will never cure the
evil. Parents, bring the precepts of God’s Word to admonish and
reprove your wayward children. Show them a “Thus saith the Lord”
Child’s Reaction 221
for your requirements. A reproof which comes as the word of God
is far more effective than one falling in harsh, angry tones from the
lips of parents.
13
To Impatience
—Impatience in the parents excites impatience
in the children. Passion manifested by the parents creates passion
in the children and stirs up the evils of their nature.... Every time
they lose self-control and speak and act impatiently, they sin against
God.
14
To Alternate Scolding and Coaxing
—I have frequently seen
children who were denied something that they wanted throw them-
selves upon the floor in a pet, kicking and screaming, while the
injudicious mother alternately coaxed and scolded in the hope of
restoring her child to good nature. This treatment only fosters the
child’s passion. The next time it goes over the same ground with
increased willfulness, confident of gaining the day as before. Thus
the rod is spared and the child is spoiled.
The mother should not allow her child to gain an advantage over
her in a single instance. And, in order to maintain this authority, it is
not necessary to resort to harsh measures; a firm, steady hand and a
kindness which convinces the child of your love will accomplish the
purpose.
15
To Lack of Firmness and Decision
—Great harm is done by a
lack of firmness and decision. I have known parents to say, You
[284]
cannot have this or that, and then relent, thinking they may be too
strict, and give the child the very thing they at first refused. A
lifelong injury is thus inflicted. It is an important law of the mind—
one which should not be overlooked—that when a desired object
is so firmly denied as to remove all hope, the mind will soon cease
to long for it, and will be occupied in other pursuits. But as long
as there is any hope of gaining the desired object, an effort will be
made to obtain it....
When it is necessary for parents to give a direct command, the
penalty of disobedience should be as unvarying as are the laws of
nature. Children who are under this firm, decisive rule know that
when a thing is forbidden or denied, no teasing or artifice will secure
their object. Hence they soon learn to submit and are much happier
in so doing. The children of undecided and overindulgent parents
have a constant hope that coaxing, crying, or sullenness may gain
222 Child Guidance
their object, or that they may venture to disobey without suffering the
penalty. Thus they are kept in a state of desire, hope, and uncertainty,
which makes them restless, irritable, and insubordinate. God holds
such parents guilty of wrecking the happiness of their children. This
wicked mismanagement is the key to the impenitence and irreligion
of thousands. It has proved the ruin of many who have professed the
Christian name.
16
To Unnecessary Restrictions
—When parents become old and
have young children to bring up, the father is likely to feel that the
children must follow in the sturdy, rugged path in which he himself
is traveling. It is difficult for him to realize that his children are
in need of having life made pleasant and happy for them by their
parents.
Many parents deny the children an indulgence in that which is
[285]
safe and innocent, and are so afraid of encouraging them in culti-
vating desires for unlawful things that they will not even allow their
children to have the enjoyment that children should have. Through
fear of evil results, they refuse permission to indulge in some simple
pleasure that would have saved the very evil they seek to avoid; and
thus the children think there is no use in expecting any favors, and
therefore will not ask for them. They steal away to the pleasures they
think will be forbidden. Confidence between parents and children is
thus destroyed.
17
To the Denial of Reasonable Privileges
—If fathers and moth-
ers have not themselves had a happy childhood, why should they
shadow the lives of their children because of their own great loss
in this respect? The father may think that this is the only course
that will be safe to pursue; but let him remember that all minds are
not constituted alike, and the greater the efforts made to restrict,
the more uncontrollable will be the desire to obtain that which is
denied, and the result will be disobedience to parental authority. The
father will be grieved by what he considers the wayward course of
his son, and his heart will feel sore over his rebellion. But would
it not be well for him to consider the fact that the first cause of his
son’s disobedience was his own unwillingness to indulge him in that
in which there was no sin? The parent thinks that sufficient reason
is given for his son’s abstaining from his indulgence since he has
denied it to him. But parents should remember that their children are
Child’s Reaction 223
intelligent beings, and they should deal with them as they themselves
would like to be dealt with.
18
To Severity
—Parents who exercise a spirit of dominion [domi-
[286]
nation] and authority, transmitted to them from their own parents,
which leads them to be exacting in their discipline and instruction,
will not train their children aright. By their severity in dealing with
their errors, they stir up the worst passions of the human heart and
leave their children with a sense of injustice and wrong. They meet
in their children the very disposition that they themselves have im-
parted to them.
Such parents drive their children away from God, by talking
to them on religious subjects; for the Christian religion is made
unattractive and even repulsive by this misrepresentation of truth.
Children will say, “Well, if that is religion, I do not want anything of
it.” It is thus that enmity is often created in the heart against religion;
and because of an arbitrary enforcement of authority, children are
led to despise the law and the government of heaven. Parents have
fixed the eternal destiny of their children by their own misrule.
19
To Quiet, Kind Manner
—If parents desire their children to be
pleasant, they should never speak to them in a scolding manner. The
mother often allows herself to become irritable and nervous. Often
she snatches at the child and speaks in a harsh manner. If a child is
treated in a quiet, kind manner, it will do much to preserve in him a
pleasant temper.
20
To Loving Entreaty
—The father, as priest of the household,
should deal gently and patiently with his children. He should be
careful not to arouse in them a combative disposition. He must
not allow transgression to go uncorrected, and yet there is a way to
correct without stirring up the worst passions in the human heart.
[287]
Let him in love talk with his children, telling them how grieved the
Saviour is over their course; and then let him kneel with them before
the mercy seat and present them to Christ, praying that He will have
compassion on them and lead them to repent and ask forgiveness.
Such disciplining will nearly always break the most stubborn heart.
God desires us to deal with our children in simplicity. We are
liable to forget that children have not had the advantage of the long
years of training that older people have had. If the little ones do
not act in accordance with our ideas in every respect, we sometimes
224 Child Guidance
think that they deserve a scolding. But this will not mend matters.
Take them to the Saviour, and tell Him all about it; then believe that
His blessing will rest upon them.
21
1
Manuscript 38, 1895.
2
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 117.
3
The Signs of the Times, April 10, 1884.
4
The Review and Herald, March 13, 1894.
5
Manuscript 42, 1903.
6
Letter 18b, 1891.
7
Education, 291.
8
Testimonies For The Church 1:384, 385.
9
Manuscript 7, 1899.
10
Testimonies For The Church 3:532, 533.
11
Manuscript 45, 1911.
12
Letter 47a, 1902.
13
Fundamentals of Christian Education, 67, 68.
14
Testimonies For The Church 1:398.
15
Pacific Health Journal, April, 1890.
16
The Signs of the Times, February 9, 1882.
17
The Signs of the Times, August 27, 1912.
18
The Signs of the Times, August 27, 1912.
19
The Review and Herald, March 13, 1894.
20
The Review and Herald, May 17, 1898.
21
Manuscript 70, 1903.
Chapter 49—Attitude of Relatives [288]
Indulgent Relatives Are a Problem
—Be careful how you re-
linquish the government of your children to others. No one can
properly relieve you of your God-given responsibility. Many chil-
dren have been utterly ruined by the interference of relatives or
friends in their home government. Mothers should never allow their
sisters or mothers to interfere with the wise management of their
children. Though the mother may have received the very best train-
ing at the hands of her mother, yet, in nine cases out of ten, as a
grandmother she would spoil her daughter’s children, by indulgence
and injudicious praise. All the patient effort of the mother may be
undone by this course of treatment. It is proverbial that grandparents,
as a rule, are unfit to bring up their grandchildren. Men and women
should pay all the respect and deference due to their parents; but
in the matter of the management of their own children, they should
allow no interference, but hold the reins of government in their own
hands.
1
When They Laugh at Disrespect and Passion
—Wherever I
go, I am pained by the neglect of proper home discipline and re-
straint. Little children are allowed to answer back, to manifest
disrespect and impertinence, using language that no child should
ever be permitted to address to its superiors. Parents who permit
the use of unbecoming language are more worthy of blame than
their children. Impertinence should not be tolerated in a child even
once. But fathers and mothers, uncles and aunts and grandparents
laugh at the exhibition of passion in the little creature of a year old.
[289]
Its imperfect utterance of disrespect, its childish stubbornness, are
thought cunning. Thus wrong habits are confirmed, and the child
grows up to be an object of dislike to all around him.
2
When They Discourage Proper Correction
—I tremble espe-
cially for mothers, as I see them so blind, and feeling so little the
responsibilities that devolve upon a mother. They see Satan working
in the self-willed child of even but a few months of age. Filled with
225
226 Child Guidance
spiteful passion, Satan seems to be taking full possession. But there
may be in the house perhaps a grandmother, an aunt, or some other
relative or friend, who will seek to make that parent believe that it
would be cruelty to correct that child; whereas just the opposite is
true; and it is the greatest cruelty to let Satan have the possession
of that tender, helpless child. Satan must be rebuked. His hold on
the child must be broken. If correction is needed, be faithful, be
true. The love of God, true pity for the child, will lead to the faithful
discharge of duty.
3
Perplexities of a Family Community
—It is not the best policy
for children of one, two, or three families that are connected by
marriage to settle within a few miles of one another. The influence
is not good on the parties. The business of one is the business of all.
The perplexities and troubles which every family must experience
more or less, and which, as far as possible, should be confined within
the limits of the family circle, are extended to family connections
and have a bearing upon the religious meetings. There are matters
which should not be known to a third person, however friendly and
closely connected he may be. Individuals and families should bear
them. But the close relationship of several families, brought into
[290]
constant intercourse, has a tendency to break down the dignity which
should be maintained in every family. In performing the delicate
duty of reproving and admonishing, there will be danger of injuring
feelings, unless it be done with the greatest tenderness and care. The
best models of character are liable to errors and mistakes, and great
care should be exercised that too much is not made of little things.
Such family and church relationship ... is very pleasant to the
natural feelings; but it is not the best, all things considered, for
the development of symmetrical Christian characters.... All parties
would be much happier to be separated and to visit occasionally, and
their influence upon one another would be tenfold greater.
United as these families are by marriage, and mingling as they do
in one another’s society, each is awake to the faults and errors of the
others, and feels in duty bound to correct them; and because these
relatives are really dear to one another, they are grieved over little
things that they would not notice in those not so closely connected.
Keen sufferings of mind are endured, because feelings will arise with
some that they have not been treated impartially, and with all that
Attitude of Relatives 227
consideration which they deserved. Petty jealousies sometimes arise,
and molehills become mountains. These little misunderstandings
and petty variances cause more severe suffering of mind than do
trials that come from other sources.
4
1
Pacific Health Journal, January, 1890.
2
The Signs of the Times, February 9, 1882.
3
The Review and Herald, April 14, 1885.
4
Testimonies For The Church 3:55, 56.
228 Child Guidance
Section 12—Development of the Mental [291]
Powers
Chapter 50—What Comprises True Education?[292]
[293]
The Breadth of True Education
—True education means more
than taking a certain course of study. It is broad. It includes the
harmonious development of all the physical powers and the mental
faculties. It teaches the love and fear of God and is a preparation for
the faithful discharge of life’s duties.
1
Proper education includes not only mental discipline, but that
training which will secure sound morals and correct deportment.
2
The first great lesson in all education is to know and understand
the will of God. We should bring into every day of life the effort to
gain this knowledge. To learn science through human interpretation
alone is to obtain a false education, but to learn of God and Christ is
to learn the science of heaven. The confusion in education has come
because the wisdom and knowledge of God have not been exalted.
3
Influence Counter to Selfish Rivalry and Greed
—At such a
time as this, what is the trend of the education given? To what motive
is appeal most often made? To self-seeking. Much of the education
given is a perversion of the name. In true education the selfish
ambition, the greed for power, the disregard for the rights and needs
of humanity, that are the curse of our world, find a counterinfluence.
God’s plan of life has a place for every human being. Each is to
improve his talents to the utmost; and faithfulness in doing this, be
[294]
the gifts few or many, entitles one to honor.
In God’s plan there is no place for selfish rivalry. Those who
measure themselves by themselves, and compare themselves among
themselves, are not wise. (2 Corinthians 10:12.) Whatever we do
is to be done “as of the ability which God giveth.” 1 Peter 4:11. It
is to be done “heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing
that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for
ye serve the Lord Christ.” Colossians 3:23, 24. Precious the service
done and the education gained in carrying out these principles. But
how widely different is much of the education now given! From
230
What Comprises True Education? 231
the child’s earliest years it is an appeal to emulation and rivalry; it
fosters selfishness, the root of all evil.
4
The Model Was Given in Eden
—The system of education in-
stituted at the beginning of the world was to be a model for man
throughout all aftertime. As an illustration of its principles a model
school was established in Eden, the home of our first parents. The
Garden of Eden was the schoolroom, nature was the lesson book,
the Creator Himself was the instructor.
5
Exemplified in the Master Teacher
—In the training of His
disciples the Saviour followed the system of education established
at the beginning. The Twelve first chosen, with a few others who
through ministry to their needs were from time to time connected
with them, formed the family of Jesus. They were with Him in the
house, at the table, in the closet, in the field. They accompanied Him
on His journeys, shared His trials and hardships, and, as much as in
them was, entered into His work.
Sometimes He taught them as they sat together on the moun-
[295]
tainside, sometimes beside the sea, or from the fisherman’s boat,
sometimes as they walked by the way. Whenever He spoke to the
multitude, the disciples formed the inner circle. They pressed close
beside Him, that they might lose nothing of His instruction. They
were attentive listeners, eager to understand the truths they were to
teach in all lands and to all ages.
6
True Education Is Both Practical and Literary
—In child-
hood and youth practical and literary training should be combined,
and the mind stored with knowledge....
Children should be taught to have a part in domestic duties.
They should be instructed how to help father and mother in the little
things that they can do. Their minds should be trained to think,
their memories taxed to remember their appointed work; and in the
training to habits of usefulness in the home, they are being educated
in doing practical duties appropriate to their age.
7
It Is Not the Natural Choice of Youth
—The kind of education
that fits the youth for practical life, they naturally do not choose.
They urge their desires, their likes and dislikes, their preferences
and inclinations; but if parents have correct views of God, of the
truth, and of the influences and associations that should surround
232 Child Guidance
their children, they will feel that upon them rests the God-given
responsibility of carefully guiding the inexperienced youth.
8
It Is Not a Method of Escape From Life’s Burdens
—Let the
youth be impressed with the thought that education is not to teach
them how to escape life’s disagreeable tasks and heavy burdens;
that its purpose is to lighten the work by teaching better methods
[296]
and higher aims. Teach them that life’s true aim is not to secure the
greatest possible gain for themselves, but to honor their Maker in
doing their part of the world’s work, and lending a helpful hand to
those weaker or more ignorant.
9
Education Should Awaken the Spirit of Service
—Above any
other agency, service for Christ’s sake in the little things of everyday
experience has power to mold the character and to direct the life
into lines of unselfish ministry. To awaken this spirit, to encourage
and rightly to direct it, is the parents’ and the teacher’s work. No
more important work could be committed to them. The spirit of
ministry is the spirit of heaven, and with every effort to develop and
encourage it angels will co-operate.
Such an education must be based upon the Word of God. Here
only are its principles given in their fullness. The Bible should
be made the foundation of study and of teaching. The essential
knowledge is a knowledge of God and of Him whom He has sent.
10
It Places Moral Training Above Intellectual Culture
—Chil-
dren are in great need of proper education in order that they may
be of use in the world. But any effort that exalts intellectual culture
above moral training is misdirected. Instructing, cultivating, polish-
ing, and refining the youth and children should be the main burden
of both parents and teachers.
11
Its Goal Is Character Building
—The highest class of educa-
tion is that which will give such knowledge and discipline as will
lead to the best development of character, and will fit the soul for that
life which measures with the life of God. Eternity is not to be lost
out of our reckoning. The highest education is that which will teach
our children and youth the science of Christianity, which will give
[297]
them an experimental knowledge of God’s ways, and will impart
to them the lessons that Christ gave to His disciples of the paternal
character of God.
12
What Comprises True Education? 233
It Is a Training That Directs and Develops
—There is a time
for training children and a time for educating youth, and it is es-
sential that in school both of these be combined in a great degree.
Children may be trained for the service of sin or for the service of
righteousness. The early education of youth shapes their characters
both in their secular and in their religious life. Solomon says, “Train
up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will
not depart from it.” This language is positive. The training which
Solomon enjoins is to direct, educate, and develop.
In order for parents and teachers to do this work, they must them-
selves understand “the way” the child should go. This embraces
more than merely having a knowledge of books. It takes in every-
thing that is good, virtuous, righteous, and holy. It comprehends
the practice of temperance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love
to God and to one another. In order to attain this object, the phys-
ical, mental, moral, and religious education of children must have
attention.
13
It Prepares Workers for God
—Upon fathers and mothers de-
volves the responsibility of giving a Christian education to the chil-
dren entrusted to them. In no case are they to let any line of business
so absorb mind and time and talents that their children are allowed
to drift until they are separated far from God. They are not to allow
their children to slip out of their grasp into the hands of unbelievers.
They are to do all in their power to keep them from imbibing
[298]
the spirit of the world. They are to train them to become work-
ers together with God. They are to be God’s human hand, fitting
themselves and their children for an endless life.
14
It Teaches the Love and Fear of God
—Christian parents, will
you not for Christ’s sake examine your desires, your aims for your
children, and see if they will bear the test of God’s law? The most
essential education is that which will teach them the love and the
fear of God.
15
It Is Regarded by Many as Old-fashioned
—The education
that is lasting as eternity is almost wholly neglected as old-fashioned
and undesirable. The educating of the children to take hold of the
work of character building in reference to their present good, their
present peace and happiness, and to guide their feet in the path
cast up for the ransomed of the Lord to walk in, is considered not
234 Child Guidance
fashionable and, therefore, not essential. In order to have your
children enter the gates of the City of God as conquerors, they must
be educated to fear God and keep His commandments in the present
life.
16
It Is Ever Progressing, Never Completed
—Our lifework here
is a preparation for the life eternal. The education begun here will
not be completed in this life; it will be going forward through all
eternity—ever progressing, never completed. More and more fully
will be revealed the wisdom and love of God in the plan of redemp-
tion. The Saviour, as He leads His children to the fountains of living
waters, will impart rich stores of knowledge. And day by day the
wonderful works of God, the evidences of His power in creating and
[299]
sustaining the universe, will open before the mind in new beauty.
In the light that shines from the throne, mysteries will disappear,
and the soul will be filled with astonishment at the simplicity of the
things that were never before comprehended.
17
1
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 64.
2
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 331.
3
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 447.
4
Education, 225, 226.
5
Education, 20.
6
Education, 84, 85.
7
Fundamentals of Christian Education, 368, 369.
8
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 132.
9
Education, 221, 222.
10
The Ministry of Healing, 401.
11
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 84, 85.
12
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 45, 46.
13
Testimonies For The Church 3:131, 132.
14
Fundamentals of Christian Education, 545.
15
The Review and Herald, June 24, 1890.
16
Fundamentals of Christian Education, 111.
17
The Ministry of Healing, 466.
Chapter 51—Preparing for School [300]
The First Eight or Ten Years
—Children should not be long
confined within doors, nor should they be required to apply them-
selves closely to study until a good foundation has been laid for
physical development. For the first eight or ten years of a child’s life
the field or garden is the best schoolroom, the mother the best teacher,
nature the best lesson book. Even when the child is old enough to
attend school, his health should be regarded as of greater impor-
tance than a knowledge of books. He should be surrounded with the
conditions most favorable to both physical and mental growth.
1
It is customary to send very young children to school. They are
required to study from books things that tax their young minds....
This course is not wise. A nervous child should not be overtaxed in
any direction.
2
The Child’s Program During Infancy
—During the first six or
seven years of a child’s life, special attention should be given to its
physical training, rather than the intellect. After this period, if the
physical constitution is good, the education of both should receive
attention. Infancy extends to the age of six or seven years. Up to
this period children should be left, like little lambs, to roam around
the house and in the yards, in the buoyancy of their spirits, skipping
and jumping, free from care and trouble.
Parents, especially mothers, should be the only teachers of such
infant minds. They should not educate from books. The children
generally will be inquisitive to learn the things of nature. They
will ask questions in regard to things they see and hear, and parents
[301]
should improve the opportunity to instruct and patiently answer
those little inquiries. They can in this manner get the advantage of
the enemy and fortify the minds of their children by sowing good
seed in their hearts, leaving no room for the bad to take root. The
mother’s loving instruction at a tender age is what is needed by
children in the formation of character.
3
235
236 Child Guidance
Lessons During the Transition Period
—The mother should
be the teacher, and home the school where every child receives his
first lessons; and these lessons should include habits of industry.
Mothers, let the little ones play in the open air; let them listen to
the songs of the birds and learn the love of God as expressed in His
beautiful works. Teach them simple lessons from the book of nature
and the things about them; and as their minds expand, lessons from
books may be added and firmly fixed in the memory. But let them
also learn, even in their earliest years, to be useful. Train them to
think that, as members of the household, they are to act an interested,
helpful part in sharing the domestic burdens, and to seek healthful
exercise in the performance of necessary home duties.
4
It Need Not Be a Painful Process
—Such a training is of untold
value to a child, and this training need not be a painful process. It
can be so given that the child will find pleasure in learning to be
helpful. Mothers can amuse their children while teaching them to
perform little offices of love, little home duties. This is the mother’s
work—patiently to instruct her children, line upon line, precept upon
precept, here a little, and there a little. And in doing this work, the
[302]
mother herself will gain an invaluable training and discipline.
5
Morals Imperiled by School Associates
—Do not send your
little ones to school too early. The mother should be careful how she
trusts the molding of the infant mind to other hands.
6
Many mothers feel that they have not time to instruct their chil-
dren, and in order to get them out of the way, and get rid of their
noise and trouble, they send them to school....
Not only has the physical and mental health of children been
endangered by being sent to school at too early a period, but they
have been the losers in a moral point of view. They have had oppor-
tunities to become acquainted with children who were uncultivated
in their manners. They were thrown into the society of the coarse
and rough, who lie, swear, steal and deceive, and who delight to
impart their knowledge of vice to those younger than themselves.
Young children, if left to themselves, learn the bad more readily
than the good. Bad habits agree best with the natural heart, and the
things which they see and hear in infancy and childhood are deeply
imprinted upon their minds; and the bad seed sown in their young
Preparing for School 237
hearts will take root and will become sharp thorns to wound the
hearts of their parents.
7
1
Education, 208.
2
Fundamentals of Christian Education, 416.
3
Pacific Health Journal, September, 1897.
4
Fundamentals of Christian Education, 416, 417.
5
Letter 55, 1902.
6
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 67.
7
A Solemn Appeal, 130, 132.
Chapter 52—Choosing the School[303]
We Sustain Terrible Losses
—At times I find myself wishing
that God would speak to parents with an audible voice as He spoke
to the wife of Manoah, telling them what they must do in training
their children. We are sustaining terrible losses in every branch
of the work through the neglect of home training. It was this that
impressed upon our minds the need of schools where a religious
influence should predominate. If anything can be done to counteract
the great evil, in the strength of Jesus we will do it.
1
Facing a Momentous Issue
—Parents, guardians, place your
children in training schools where the influences are similar to those
of a rightly conducted home school; schools in which the teachers
will carry them forward from point to point, and in which the spiritual
atmosphere is a savor of life unto life.... Whether or not our youth
who have received wise instruction and training from godly parents
will continue to be sanctified through the truth depends largely upon
the influence that, after leaving their homes, they meet among those
to whom they look for Christian instruction.
2
Which Class of Educators?
—There are two classes of educa-
tors in the world. One class is those whom God makes channels of
light, and the other class is those whom Satan uses as his agents,
who are wise to do evil. One class contemplates the character of God
and increases in the knowledge of Jesus, whom God hath sent into
the world. This class becomes wholly given up to those things which
[304]
bring heavenly enlightenment, heavenly wisdom, to the uplifting of
the soul. Every capability of their nature is submitted to God, and
their thoughts are brought into captivity to Christ. The other class is
in league with the prince of darkness, who is ever on the alert that
he may find an opportunity to teach others the knowledge of evil.
3
Choose the School Where God Is the Foundation
—In plan-
ning for the education of their children outside the home, parents
should realize that it is no longer safe to send them to the public
school, and should endeavor to send them to schools where they
238
Choosing the School 239
will obtain an education based on a Scriptural foundation. Upon
every Christian parent there rests the solemn obligation of giving to
his children an education that will lead them to gain a knowledge
of the Lord and to become partakers of the divine nature through
obedience to God’s will and way.
4
Consider God’s Counsel to Israel
—While the judgments of
God were falling upon the land of Egypt, the Lord directed the
Israelites not only to keep their children within their houses, but to
bring in even their cattle from the fields....
As the Israelites kept their children within their houses during
the time when the judgments of God were in the land of Egypt, so
in this time of peril we are to keep our children separate and distinct
from the world. We are to teach them that the commandments of
God mean much more than we realize. Those who keep them will
not imitate the practices of the transgressors of God’s law.
Parents must regard God’s Word with respect, obeying its teach-
ings. To the parents in this day, as well as to the Israelites, God
[305]
declares: “These words ... shall be in thine heart; and thou shalt
teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when
thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and
when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt
bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets
between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy
house, and on thy gates.”
Notwithstanding this plain instruction, some of God’s people
permit their children to attend the public schools, where they mingle
with those who are corrupt in morals. In these schools their children
can neither study the Bible nor learn its principles. Christian parents,
you must make provision for your children to be educated in Bible
principles.
5
Bible Truth Neutralized; the Child Confused
—Do our chil-
dren receive from the teachers in the public schools ideas that are
in harmony with the Word of God? Is sin presented as an offense
against God? Is obedience to all the commandments of God taught
as the beginning of all wisdom? We send our children to the Sabbath
school that they may be instructed in regard to the truth, and then
as they go to the day school, lessons containing falsehood are given
them to learn. These things confuse the mind, and should not be;
240 Child Guidance
for if the young receive ideas that pervert the truth, how will the
influence of this education be counteracted?
Can we wonder that under such circumstances some of the youth
among us do not appreciate religious advantages? Can we wonder
that they drift into temptation? Can we wonder that, neglected as
they have been, their energies are devoted to amusements which
[306]
do them no good, that their religious aspirations are weakened, and
their spiritual life darkened? The mind will be of the same character
as that upon which it feeds, the harvest of the same nature as the
seed sown. Do not these facts sufficiently show the necessity of
guarding from the earliest years the education of the youth? Would
it not be better for the youth to grow up in a degree of ignorance as
to what is commonly accepted as education than for them to become
careless in regard to the truth of God?
6
Schools in All Our Churches
—In all our churches there should
be schools, and teachers in these schools who are missionaries. It is
essential that teachers be trained to act well their part in the important
work of educating the children of Sabbathkeepers, not only in the
sciences, but in the Scriptures. These schools, established in different
localities and conducted by God-fearing men or women, as the case
demands, should be built on the same principles as were the schools
of the prophets.
7
Church Schools in the Cities
—It is of the greatest importance
that church schools shall be established, to which the children may
be sent and still be under the watch care of their mothers and have
opportunity to practice the lessons of helpfulness that it is God’s
design they shall learn in the home....
Much more can be done to save and educate the children of those
who at present cannot get away from the cities. This is a matter
worthy of our best efforts. Church schools are to be established
for the children in the cities, and in connection with these schools
provision is to be made for the teaching of higher studies, where
these are called for.
8
Provide Schools for Small Churches
—Many families, who,
[307]
for the purpose of educating their children, move to places where
our large schools are established, would do better service for the
Master by remaining where they are. They should encourage the
church of which they are members to establish a church school where
Choosing the School 241
the children within their borders could receive an all-round, practical
Christian education. It would be vastly better for their children, for
themselves, and for the cause of God, if they would remain in the
smaller churches, where their help is needed, instead of going to
the larger churches, where, because they are not needed, there is a
constant temptation to fall into spiritual inactivity.
Wherever there are a few Sabbathkeepers, the parents should
unite in providing a place for a day school where their children and
youth can be instructed. They should employ a Christian teacher,
who, as a consecrated missionary, shall educate the children in
such a way as to lead them to become missionaries. Let teachers
be employed who will give a thorough education in the common
branches, the Bible being made the foundation and the life of all
study.
9
In localities where believers are few, let two or three churches
unite in erecting a humble building for a church school.
10
If parents will realize the importance of these small educating
centers, co-operating to do the work that the Lord desires to be
done at this time, the plans of the enemy for our children will be
frustrated.
11
Home Church Schools
—As far as possible, all our children
should have the privilege of a Christian education. To provide this
[308]
we must sometimes establish home church schools. It would be
well if several families in a neighborhood would unite to employ a
humble, God-fearing teacher to give to the parents that help that is
needed in educating their children. This will be a great blessing to
many isolated groups of Sabbathkeepers, and a plan more pleasing
to the Lord than that which has been sometimes followed, of sending
young children away from their homes to attend one of our larger
schools.
Our small companies of Sabbathkeepers are needed to hold up
the light before their neighbors; and the children are needed in their
homes, where they may be a help to their parents when the hours
of study are ended. The well-ordered Christian home, where young
children can have parental discipline that is after the Lord’s order, is
the best place for them.
12
A Problem for Isolated Members
—Some families of Sabbath-
keepers live alone or far separated from others of like faith. These
242 Child Guidance
have sometimes sent their children to our boarding schools, where
they have received help and have returned to be a blessing in their
own home. But some cannot send their children away from home
to be educated. In such cases parents should endeavor to employ an
exemplary religious teacher, who will feel it a pleasure to work for
the Master in any capacity and be willing to cultivate any part of the
Lord’s vineyard. Fathers and mothers should co-operate with the
teacher, laboring earnestly for the conversion of their children.
13
Work as for Life to Save Children
—In some countries parents
are compelled by law to send their children to school. In these
countries, in localities where there is a church, schools should be
established, if there are no more than six children to attend. Work
[309]
as if you were working for your life to save the children from being
drowned in the polluting, corrupting influences of the world.
We are far behind our duty in this important matter. In many
places schools should have been in operation years ago. Many
localities would thus have had representatives of the truth who would
have given character to the work of the Lord. Instead of centering
so many large buildings in a few places, schools should have been
established in many localities.
Let these schools now be started under wise direction, that the
children and youth may be educated in their own churches. It is a
grievous offense to God that there has been so great neglect in this
line, when Providence has so abundantly supplied us with facilities
with which to work.
14
An Established School Not to Be Abandoned
—The school-
work in a place where a church school has been established should
never be given up unless God plainly directs that this should be done.
Adverse influences may seem to conspire against the school, but
with God’s help the teacher can do a grand, saving work in changing
the order of things.
15
To Uplift Disobedient, Unruly Children
—Sometimes there is
in the school a disorderly element that makes the work very hard.
Children who have not received a right education make much trouble,
and by their perversity make the heart of the teacher sad. But let
him not become discouraged. Test and trial bring experience. If the
children are disobedient and unruly, there is all the more need of
strenuous effort. The fact that there are children with such characters
[310]
Choosing the School 243
is one of the reasons why church schools should be established. The
children whom parents have neglected to educate and discipline
must be saved if possible.
16
To Convert Worldly Youth
—Years ago school buildings should
have been erected in other places besides -----, not large buildings,
but buildings suitable for church schools, in which the children and
youth could receive a true education. The lesson books used should
be of a character to bring the law of God to the attention. The Bible
should be made the foundation of education. In this work the light
and strength and power of the truth will be magnified. Youth from the
world, whose minds have not been depraved by habits of sensuality,
will connect with these schools and will there be converted.... This
kind of missionary work, I am instructed, will have a most telling
influence in extending the light and knowledge of truth.
17
To Maintain the Highest Standards
—The character of the
work done in our church schools should be of the very highest
order. Jesus Christ, the Restorer, is the only remedy for a wrong
education; and the lessons taught in His Word should ever be kept
before the youth in the most attractive form. The school discipline
should supplement the home training, and both at home and at school
simplicity and godliness should be maintained.
18
To Prepare for the Higher Grade Above
—To parents He
sends the warning cry, Gather your children into your own houses;
gather them away from those who are disregarding the command-
ments of God, who are teaching and practicing evil. Get out of the
large cities as fast as possible. Establish church schools. Give your
[311]
children the Word of God as the foundation of all their education.
This is full of beautiful lessons, and if pupils make it their study in
the primary grade below, they will be prepared for the higher grade
above.
19
God Has Made Provision
—Our schools are the Lord’s special
instrumentality to fit the children and youth for missionary work.
Parents should understand their responsibility and help their children
to appreciate the great privileges and blessings that God has provided
for them in educational advantages.
20
244 Child Guidance
1
Manuscript 119, 1899.
2
Testimonies For The Church 8:225, 226.
3
Fundamentals of Christian Education, 174.
4
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 205.
5
Manuscript 100, 1902.
6
Testimonies For The Church 6:193, 194.
7
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 168.
8
The Review and Herald, December 17, 1903.
9
Testimonies For The Church 6:198.
10
Testimonies For The Church 6:109.
11
Manuscript 33, 1908.
12
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 158.
13
Testimonies For The Church 6:198, 199.
14
Testimonies For The Church 6:199, 200.
15
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 157.
16
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 153.
17
Manuscript 150, 1899.
18
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 174.
19
Testimonies For The Church 6:195.
20
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 149.
Chapter 53—The Church’s Responsibility [312]
The Church as a Watchman
—The Lord would use the church
school as an aid to the parents in educating and preparing their
children for this time before us. Then let the church take hold of the
schoolwork in earnest and make it what the Lord desires it to be.
1
God has appointed the church as a watchman, to have a jealous
care over the youth and children, and as a sentinel to see the approach
of the enemy and give warning of danger. But the church does not
realize the situation. She is sleeping on guard. In this time of peril
fathers and mothers must arouse and work as for life, or many of the
youth will be forever lost.
2
God’s Law Must Be Upheld
—The church has a special work
to do in educating and training its children that they may not, in
attending school, or in any other association, be influenced by those
of corrupt habits. The world is full of iniquity and disregard of the
requirements of God....
The Protestant churches have accepted the spurious Sabbath, the
child of the Papacy, and have exalted it above God’s holy, sanctified
day. It is our work to make plain to our children that the first day of
the week is not the true Sabbath, and that its observance, after light
has come to us as to what is the true Sabbath, is a plain contradiction
of the law of God.
3
Skilled Workers Must Be Trained for Christ
—As a church,
as individuals, if we would stand clear in the judgment, we must
make more liberal efforts for the training of our young people, that
[313]
they may be better fitted for the various branches of the great work
committed to our hands. We should lay wise plans, in order that
the ingenious minds of those who have talent may be strengthened
and disciplined and polished after the highest order, that the work of
Christ may not be hindered for lack of skillful laborers, who will do
their work with earnestness and fidelity.
4
All to Share the Expense
—Let all share the expense. Let the
church see that those who ought to receive its benefits are attend-
245
246 Child Guidance
ing the school. Poor families should be assisted. We cannot call
ourselves true missionaries if we neglect those at our very doors,
who are at the most critical age, and who need our aid to secure
knowledge and experience that will fit them for the service of God.
The Lord would have painstaking efforts made in the education of
our children.
5
Lift Financial Load of Training Worthy Youth
—The
churches in different localities should feel that a solemn respon-
sibility rests upon them to train youth and educate talent to engage
in missionary work. When they see those in the church who give
promise of making useful workers, but who are not able to support
themselves in the school, they should assume the responsibility of
sending them to one of our training schools. There is excellent
ability in the churches that needs to be brought into service. There
are persons who would do good service in the Lord’s vineyard, but
many are too poor to obtain without assistance the education that
they require. The churches should feel it a privilege to take a part in
defraying the expenses of such.
Those who have the truth in their hearts are always openhearted,
[314]
helping where it is necessary. They lead out, and others imitate their
example. If there are some who should have the benefit of the school,
but who cannot pay full price for their tuition, let the churches show
their liberality by helping them.
6
A School Fund for Advanced Education
—Let a fund be cre-
ated by generous contributions for the establishment of schools for
the advancement of educational work. We need men well trained,
well educated, to work in the interests of the churches. They should
present the fact that we cannot trust our youth to go to seminar-
ies and colleges established by other denominations, that we must
gather them into schools where their religious training shall not be
neglected.
7
Give to Missions, but Do Not Neglect Youth at Home
—Shall
the members of the church give means to advance the cause of Christ
among others and leave their own children to carry on the work and
service of Satan?
8
While we should put forth earnest efforts for the masses of the
people around us, and push the work into foreign fields, no amount
of labor in this line can excuse us for neglecting the education of our
Church’s Responsibility 247
children and youth. They are to be trained to become workers for
God. Both parents and teachers, by precept and example, are so to
instill the principles of truth and honesty into the minds and hearts
of the young, that they will become men and women who are as true
as steel to God and His cause.
9
Pray in Faith; God Will Open Ways
—Some may ask, “How
are such schools to be established?” We are not a rich people, but
if we pray in faith and let the Lord work in our behalf, He will
open ways before us to establish small schools in retired places for
[315]
the education of our youth, not only in the Scriptures and in book
learning, but in many lines of manual labor.
10
“Let Us Arise and Build.”
[Note: This is a portion of an ad-
dress given July 14, 1902, urging the building of a church school
near her own home.]—We should establish the work in right lines
here at Crystal Springs [Sanitarium, California]. Here are our chil-
dren. Shall we allow them to be contaminated by the world—by its
iniquity, its disregard of God’s commandments? I ask those who are
planning to send their children to the public schools, where they are
liable to be contaminated, How can you take such a risk?
We desire to erect a church school building for our children.
Because of the many calls for means, it seems a difficult matter to
secure sufficient money or to arouse an interest great enough to build
a small, convenient schoolhouse. I have told the school committee
that I would lease to them some land for as long a time as they care
to use it for school purposes. I hope that interest enough will be
aroused to enable us to erect a building where our children can be
taught the Word of God, which is the lifeblood and the flesh of the
Son of God.... Will you not take an interest in the erection of this
school building in which the Word of God is to be taught? One man,
when asked how much he was willing to give to the school in labor,
said that if we would give him three dollars a day and his board and
lodging, he would help us. But we do not want offers of this kind.
Help will come to us. We expect to have a school building, in which
the Bible can be taught, in which prayers can be offered to God,
and in which the children can be instructed in Bible principles. We
[316]
expect that everyone who can take hold with us will want to have
a share in erecting this building. We expect to train a little army of
workers on this hillside.
11
248 Child Guidance
Help With Labor As Well As Finances
—We know that all are
interested in the success of this enterprise. Let those who have
spare time give a few days in helping to build this schoolhouse.
Not enough money has been subscribed yet to pay merely for the
necessary material. We are glad for what has been given, but we now
ask everyone to take hold of this matter interestedly, so that we shall
soon have a place where our children can study the Bible, which is
the foundation of all true education. The fear of the Lord—the very
first lesson to be taught—is the beginning of wisdom.
There is no reason why this matter should drag. Let everyone
take hold to help, persevering with unflagging interest until the
building is completed. Let everyone do something. Some may
have to get up as early as four o’clock in the morning in order to
help. Usually I begin my work before that time. As soon as it is
daylight, some could begin work on the building, putting in an hour
or two before breakfast. Others could not do this, perhaps, but all
can do something to show their interest in making it possible for the
children to be educated in a school where they can be disciplined
and trained for God’s service. His blessing will surely rest upon
every such effort....
Brethren and sisters, what will you do to help build a church
school? We believe that everyone will regard it as a privilege and a
blessing to have this school building. Let us catch the spirit of the
work, saying, We will arise and build. If all will take hold of the
[317]
work unitedly, we shall soon have a schoolhouse in which from day
to day our children will be taught the way of the Lord. As we do our
best, the blessing of God will rest upon us. Shall we not arise and
build?
12
1
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 167.
2
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 165.
3
Testimonies For The Church 6:193.
4
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 43.
5
Testimonies For The Church 6:217.
6
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 69.
7
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 44, 45.
8
Testimonies For The Church 6:217.
9
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 165.
10
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 204.
11
Manuscript 100, 1902.
Chapter 54—Teachers and Parents in Partnership[318]
Need for a Sympathetic Understanding
—The teachers in the
home and the teachers in the school should have a sympathetic
understanding of one another’s work. They should labor together
harmoniously, imbued with the same missionary spirit, striving to-
gether to benefit the children physically, mentally, and spiritually,
and to develop characters that will stand the test of temptation.
1
Parents should remember that much more will be accomplished
by the work of the church school if they themselves realize the ad-
vantage that their children will obtain in such a school, and unite
wholeheartedly with the teacher. By prayer, by patience, by forbear-
ance, parents can undo much of the wrong caused by impatience
and unwise indulgence. Let parents and teacher take hold of the
work together, the parents remembering that they themselves will be
helped by the presence in the community of an earnest, God-fearing
teacher.
2
Disunion May Nullify Good Influence
—A spirit of disunion
cherished in the hearts of a few will communicate itself to others
and undo the influence for good that would be exerted by the school.
Unless parents are ready and anxious to co-operate with the teacher
for the salvation of their children, they are not prepared to have a
school established among them.
3
Teamwork Begins in the Home
—The work of co-operation
[319]
should begin with the father and mother themselves, in the home life.
In the training of their children they have a joint responsibility, and
it should be their constant endeavor to act together. Let them yield
themselves to God, seeking help from Him to sustain each other. Let
them teach their children to be true to God, true to principle, and
thus true to themselves and to all with whom they are connected.
With such training, children when sent to school will not be a cause
of disturbance or anxiety. They will be a support to their teachers
and an example and encouragement to their fellow pupils.
4
250
Teachers and Parents in Partnership 251
The children will carry with them into the schoolroom the in-
fluence of your training. As godly parents and godly teachers work
in harmony, the hearts of the children are prepared to take a deep
interest in the work of God in the church. The graces cultivated in
the home are carried into the church, and God is glorified.
5
If parents are so engrossed in the business and pleasures of this
life that they neglect the proper discipline of their children, the
work of the teacher is not only made very hard and trying, but often
rendered wholly fruitless.
6
The Teacher’s Work Is Supplemental
—In the formation of
character no other influences count so much as the influence of the
home. The teacher’s work should supplement that of the parents,
but is not to take its place. In all that concerns the well-being of the
child, it should be the effort of parents and teachers to co-operate.
7
The instruction given the child in the home is to be such as will
help the teacher. In the home the child is to be taught the importance
[320]
of neatness, order, and thoroughness; and these lessons are to be
repeated in the school.
8
When the child is old enough to be sent to school, the teacher
should co-operate with the parents, and manual training should be
continued as part of the school studies. There are many students
who object to this kind of work in the schools. They think useful
employment, like learning a trade, degrading; but such have an
incorrect idea of what constitutes true dignity.
9
The Home May Be Blessed Through the School
—If he [the
teacher] labors patiently, earnestly, perseveringly, in Christ’s lines,
the reformatory work done in the school may extend to the homes of
the children, bringing into them a purer, more heavenly atmosphere.
This is indeed missionary work of the highest order.
10
The watchful teacher will find many opportunities for directing
pupils to acts of helpfulness. By little children especially the teacher
is regarded with almost unbounded confidence and respect. What-
ever he may suggest as to ways of helping in the home, faithfulness
in the daily tasks, ministry to the sick or the poor, can hardly fail of
bringing forth fruit. And thus again a double gain will be secured.
The kindly suggestion will react upon its author. Gratitude and co-
operation on the part of the parents will lighten the teacher’s burden
and brighten his path.
11
252 Child Guidance
Parents May Lighten the Teacher’s Work
—If parents faith-
fully act their part, the work of the teacher will be greatly lightened.
His hope and courage will be increased. Parents whose hearts are
filled with the love of Christ will refrain from finding fault and will
do all in their power to encourage and help the one whom they have
chosen as teacher for their children. They will be willing to believe
[321]
that he is just as conscientious in his work as they are in theirs.
12
When parents realize their responsibilities, there will be far less
left for the teachers to do.
13
Parents May Be Counselors to the Teacher
—We are to talk
the love of God in our homes; we are to teach it in our schools. The
principles of the Word of God are to be brought into the home and
school life. If parents fully understood their duty of submission to
the Lord’s revealed will, they would be wise counselors in our school
and in educational matters; for their experience in home training
would teach them how to guard against the temptations that come
to children and youth. Teachers and parents would thus become
laborers together with God in the work of educating the youth for
heaven.
14
The parents’ intimate knowledge both of the character of the
children and of their physical peculiarities or infirmities, if imparted
to the teacher, would be an assistance to him. It is to be regretted
that so many fail of realizing this. By most parents little interest is
shown either to inform themselves as to the teacher’s qualification,
or to co-operate with him in his work.
15
They [parents] must feel it their duty to co-operate with the
teacher, to encourage wise discipline, and to pray much for the one
who is teaching their children.
16
Teachers May Be Advisers to Parents
—Since parents so
rarely acquaint themselves with the teacher, it is the more important
that the teacher seek the acquaintance of parents. He should visit
the homes of his pupils and gain a knowledge of the influences and
surroundings among which they live. By coming personally in touch
with their homes and lives, he may strengthen the ties that bind him
[322]
to his pupils, and may learn how to deal more successfully with their
different dispositions and temperaments.
As he interests himself in the home education, the teacher imparts
a double benefit. Many parents, absorbed in work and care, lose
Teachers and Parents in Partnership 253
sight of their opportunities to influence for good the lives of their
children. The teacher can do much to arouse these parents to their
possibilities and privileges. He will find others to whom the sense
of their responsibility is a heavy burden, so anxious are they that
their children shall become good and useful men and women. Often
the teacher can assist these parents in bearing their burden; and, by
counseling together, both teacher and parents will be encouraged
and strengthened.
17
1
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 157.
2
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 155, 156.
3
Testimonies For The Church 6:202.
4
Education, 283.
5
Letter 29, 1902.
6
The Review and Herald, June 13, 1882.
7
Education, 283.
8
Manuscript 45, 1912.
9
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 146.
10
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 157.
11
Education, 213.
12
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 157.
13
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 148.
14
Letter 356, 1907.
15
Education, 284.
16
Fundamentals of Christian Education, 270.
17
Education, 284, 285.
Chapter 55—Unity in Discipline[323]
The Teacher Needs Tact in Management
—Among the youth
will be found great diversity of character and education. Some have
lived in an element of arbitrary restraint and harshness, which has
developed in them a spirit of obstinacy and defiance. Others have
been household pets, allowed by overfond parents to follow their
own inclinations. Every defect has been excused, until their character
is deformed. To deal successfully with these different minds, the
teacher needs to exercise great tact and delicacy in management, as
well as firmness in government.
Dislike and even contempt for proper regulations will often be
manifested. Some will exercise all their ingenuity in evading penal-
ties, while others will display a reckless indifference to the conse-
quences of transgression. All this will call for more patience and
greater exertion on the part of those who are entrusted with their
education.
1
Let Rules Be Few and Well Considered
—In the school as well
as in the home there should be wise discipline. The teacher must
make rules to guide the conduct of his pupils. These rules should be
few and well considered, and once made they should be enforced.
Every principle involved in them should be so placed before the
student that he will be convinced of its justice.
2
The Teacher Must Enforce Obedience
—In the school, as well
as in the home, the question of discipline should be understood. We
should hope that in the schoolroom there would never be occasion
to use the rod. But if in a school there are those who stubbornly
[324]
resist all counsel and entreaty, all prayers and burden of soul in their
behalf, then it is necessary to make them understand that they must
obey.
Some teachers do not think it best to enforce obedience. They
think that their duty is merely to educate. True, they should educate.
But what does the education of children amount to if, when they
254
Unity in Discipline 255
disregard the principles placed before them, the teacher does not
feel that he has a right to exercise authority.
3
He Needs the Co-operation of Parents
—The teacher should
not be left to carry the burden of his work alone. He needs the sym-
pathy, the kindness, the co-operation, and the love of every church
member. The parents should encourage the teacher by showing that
they appreciate his efforts. Never should they say or do anything
that will encourage insubordination in their children.
But I know that many parents do not co-operate with the teacher.
They do not foster in the home the good influence exerted in the
school. Instead of carrying out in the home the good influence
exerted in the school, they allow their children to do as they please,
to go hither and thither without restraint. And if the teacher exercises
authority in requiring obedience, the children carry to their parents
an exaggerated, distorted account of the way in which they have
been dealt with. The teacher may have done only that which it
was his painful duty to do; but the parents sympathize with their
children, even though they are in the wrong. And often those parents
who themselves rule in anger are the most unreasonable when their
children are restrained and disciplined in school.
4
When parents justify the complaints of their children against the
[325]
authority and discipline of the school, they do not see that they are
increasing the demoralizing power which now prevails to such a
fearful extent. Every influence surrounding the youth needs to be on
the right side, for youthful depravity is increasing.
5
Let Them Sustain the Faithful Teachers
—Parents who have
never felt the care which they should feel for the souls of their chil-
dren, and who have never given them proper restraint and instruction,
are the very ones who manifest the most bitter opposition when their
children are restrained, reproved, or corrected at school. Some of
these children are a disgrace to the church and a disgrace to the name
of Adventists.
6
Let them [parents] teach their children to be true to God, true to
principle, and thus true to themselves and to all with whom they are
connected....
Parents who give this training are not the ones likely to be found
criticizing the teacher. They feel that both the interest of their chil-
256 Child Guidance
dren and justice to the school demand that, so far as possible, they
sustain and honor the one who shares their responsibility.
7
Never Criticize the Teacher Before Children
—Parents, when
the church school teacher tries to train and discipline your children
that they may gain eternal life, do not in their presence criticize his
actions, even though you may think him too severe. If you desire
them to give their hearts to the Saviour, co-operate with the teacher’s
efforts for their salvation. How much better it is for children, instead
of hearing criticism, to hear from the lips of their mother words
of commendation regarding the work of the teacher. Such words
make lasting impressions and influence the children to respect the
[326]
teacher.
8
If criticism or suggestion in regard to the teacher’s work be-
comes necessary, it should be made to him in private. If this proves
ineffective, let the matter be referred to those who are responsi-
ble for the management of the school. Nothing should be said or
done to weaken the children’s respect for the one upon whom their
well-being in so great degree depends.
9
If parents would place themselves in the position of the teachers,
and see how difficult it must necessarily be to manage and discipline
a school of hundreds of students of every grade and class of minds,
they might, upon reflection, see things differently.
10
Insubordination Often Begins in the Home
—In allowing chil-
dren to do as they please, parents may think themselves affectionate,
but they are practicing the veriest cruelty. Children are able to reason,
and their souls are hurt by inconsiderate kindness, however proper
this kindness may be in the eyes of the parents. As the children
grow older, their insubordination grows. Their teachers may try to
correct them, but too often the parents side with the children, and
the evil continues to grow, clothed, if possible, with a still darker
covering of deception than before. Other children are led astray by
the wrong course of these children, and yet the parents cannot see
the wrong. The words of their children are listened to before the
words of teachers, who mourn over the wrong.
11
Teacher’s Work Doubled by Noncooperative Parents
—The
neglect of parents to train their children makes the work of the
teacher doubly hard. The children bear the stamp of the unruly,
[327]
unamiable traits revealed by their parents. Neglected at home, they
Unity in Discipline 257
regard the discipline of the school as oppressive and severe. Such
children, if not carefully guarded, will leaven other children by
their undisciplined, deformed characters.... The good that children
might receive in school to counteract their defective home training
is undermined by the sympathy which their parents show for them
in their wrongdoing.
Shall parents who believe the Word of God continue their
crooked management and confirm in their children their evil propen-
sities? Fathers and mothers professing the truth for this time might
better come to their senses and no longer be partakers in this evil,
no longer carry out Satan’s devices by accepting the false testimony
of their unconverted children. It is enough for teachers to have the
children’s influence to contend with, without having the parents’
influence also.
12
1
Testimonies For The Church 5:88, 89.
2
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 153.
3
The Review and Herald, September 15, 1904.
4
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 153, 154.
5
Testimonies For The Church 5:112.
6
Testimonies For The Church 5:51.
7
Education, 283.
8
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 154, 155.
9
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 161, 162.
10
Testimonies For The Church 4:429.
11
The Review and Herald, January 29, 1901.
12
The Review and Herald, October 9, 1900.
Chapter 56—Academy and College Training[328]
Many Losing the Way in Worldly Institutions
—It is a terrible
fact, and one that should make the hearts of parents tremble, that
in so many schools and colleges to which the youth are sent for
mental culture and discipline, influences prevail which misshape
the character, divert the mind from life’s true aims, and debase the
morals. Through contact with the irreligious, the pleasure loving,
and the corrupt, many, many youth lose the simplicity and purity,
the faith in God, and the spirit of self-sacrifice that Christian fathers
and mothers have cherished and guarded by careful instruction and
earnest prayer.
Many who enter school with the purpose of fitting themselves for
some line of unselfish ministry become absorbed in secular studies.
An ambition is aroused to win distinction in scholarship and to gain
position and honor in the world. The purpose for which they entered
school is lost sight of, and the life is given up to selfish and worldly
pursuits. And often habits are formed that ruin the life both for this
world and for the world to come.
1
Religious Home Influences Are Effaced
—You pray, “Lead us
not into temptation.” Then do not consent for your children to be
placed where they will meet unnecessary temptation. Do not send
them away to schools where they will be associated with influences
that will be as tares sown in the field of their heart.
In the home school, during their early years, train and discipline
your children in the fear of God. And then be careful lest you place
[329]
them where the religious impressions they have received will be
effaced, and the love of God taken out of their hearts. Let no induce-
ment of high wages or of apparently great educational advantages
lead you to send your children away from your influence, to places
where they will be exposed to great temptations. “What shall it profit
a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or
what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Mark 8:36, 37.
2
258
Academy and College Training 259
Our Colleges Are Ordained of God
—When I was shown by
the angel of God that an institution should be established for the
education of our youth, I saw that it would be one of the greatest
means ordained of God for the salvation of souls.... If the influence
in our college is what it should be, the youth who are educated there
will be enabled to discern God and glorify Him in all His works;
and while engaged in cultivating the faculties which God has given
them, they will be preparing to render Him more efficient service.
3
The youth are to be encouraged to attend our schools, which
should become more and more like the schools of the prophets. Our
schools have been established by the Lord.
4
Advantages of Experience in School Home
—To a great extent
children who are to receive an education in our schools will make
far more permanent advancement if separated from the family circle
where they have received an erroneous education. It may be neces-
sary for some families to locate where they can board their children
and save expense, but in many cases it would prove a hindrance
rather than a blessing to their children.
5
School Home for Wayward Daughter
—The enemy has had
[330]
his way with your daughter until his toils have bound her about like
bands of steel, and it will require a strong, persevering effort to
save her soul. If you have success in this case, there must be no
halfway work. The habits of years cannot easily be broken. She
should be placed where a steady, firm, abiding influence is constantly
exercised. I would advise you to put her in the college at -----; let
her have the discipline of the boardinghouse. It is where she ought
to have been years ago.
The boardinghouse is conducted upon a plan that makes it a good
home. This home may not suit the inclinations of some, but it is
because they have been educated to false theories, to self-indulgence
and self-gratification; and all their habits and customs have been in a
wrong channel. But, my dear sister, we are nearing the end of time;
and we want now, not to meet the world’s tastes and practices, but to
meet the mind of God, to see what saith the Scriptures, and then to
walk according to the light which God has given us. Our inclinations,
our customs and practices, are not to have the preference. God’s
Word is our standard.
6
260 Child Guidance
Resident Students
—It seems that some teachers think that none
of the children and young people whose parents live in the vicinity
of a school should have school privileges unless they live with their
teachers in the school home. This is to me a new and strange idea.
There are young people whose home influences have been such
that it would be greatly to their advantage to live for a time in a
well-regulated school home. And for those who live where they
must of necessity leave their own homes in order to enjoy school
privileges, the school homes are a great blessing. But the parental
[331]
home where God is feared and obeyed is, and ever should be, the
best place for young children, where under the proper training of
their parents they may enjoy the care and discipline of a religious
family, administered by their own parents....
Regarding the youth that are of suitable age to attend a boarding
school, let us avoid making unnecessary and arbitrary rules that
would separate from their parents those who live in the vicinity of
our schools....
Unless the parents are convinced that it would be for the best
interests of their children to place them under the school home
discipline, they should be permitted to keep them under their own
control as far as possible. In some places parents living near the
school may see that their children would be benefited by living at
the school home, where they can receive certain lines of instruction
that they could not receive so well in their own homes. But let it
not be urged that children must in all cases be separated from their
parents in order to get the advantages of any one of our schools....
Parents are the natural guardians of their children, and they have
a solemn responsibility to oversee their education and training.
Can we not understand that the parents, who have watched for
years the development of their children, should know best the kind
of training and management they should have in order to bring out
and cultivate the best traits of character in them? I should advise that
children from homes within two or three miles of a school should
be allowed to attend the school while living at home and having the
benefits of parental influence. Wherever possible, let the family be
held together.
7
All Children to Have Educational Privileges
—The church is
[332]
asleep and does not realize the magnitude of this matter of educating
Academy and College Training 261
the children and youth. “Why,” says one, “what is the need of being
so particular to educate our youth thoroughly? It seems to me that if
you take a few who have decided to follow a literary calling or some
other calling that requires a certain discipline, and give due attention
to them, that is all that is necessary. It is not required that the whole
mass of our youth be so well trained. Will not this answer every
essential requirement?” I answer, No, most decidedly not.... All our
youth should be permitted to have the blessings and privileges of
an education at our schools, that they may be inspired to become
laborers together with God. They all need an education, that they
may be fitted for usefulness, qualified for places of responsibility in
both private and public life.
8
A Balanced School Program
—The faculties of the mind need
cultivation, that they may be exercised to the glory of God. Careful
attention should be given to the culture of the intellect, that the vari-
ous organs of the mind may have equal strength, by being brought
into exercise, each in its distinctive office. If parents allow their
children to follow the bent of their own minds, their own inclination
and pleasure, to the neglect of duty, their characters will be formed
after this pattern, and they will not be competent for any responsible
position in life. The desires and inclinations of the young should
be restrained, their weak points of character strengthened, and their
overstrong tendencies repressed.
If one faculty is suffered to remain dormant, or is turned out of its
proper course, the purpose of God is not carried out. All the faculties
[333]
should be well developed. Care should be given to each, for each has
a bearing upon the others, and all must be exercised in order that the
mind may be properly balanced. If one or two organs are cultivated
and kept in continual use because it is the choice of your children to
put the strength of the mind in one direction to the neglect of other
mental powers, they will come to maturity with unbalanced minds
and inharmonious characters. They will be apt and strong in one
direction, but greatly deficient in other directions just as important.
They will not be competent men and women. Their deficiencies will
be marked and will mar the entire character.
9
Evils of Constant, Year-round Study
—Many parents keep
their children at school nearly the year round. These children go
through the routine of study mechanically, but do not retain that
262 Child Guidance
which they learn. Many of these constant students seem almost des-
titute of intellectual life. The monotony of continual study wearies
the mind, and they take but little interest in their lessons; and to many
the application to books becomes painful. They have not an inward
love of thought and an ambition to acquire knowledge. They do not
encourage in themselves habits of reflection and investigation....
Close reasoners and logical thinkers are few, for the reason
that false influences have checked the development of the intellect.
The supposition of parents and teachers that continued study would
strengthen the intellect has proved erroneous, for in many cases it
has had the opposite effect.
10
Censure Often Justly Belongs to Parents
—The teacher should
not be expected to do the parents’ work. There has been, with many
[334]
parents, a fearful neglect of duty. Like Eli, they fail to exercise
proper restraint; and then they send their undisciplined children to
college, to receive the training which the parents should have given
them at home.
The teachers have a task which few appreciate. If they succeed
in reforming these wayward youth, they receive but little credit. If
the youth choose the society of the evil-disposed and go on from bad
to worse, then the teachers are censured and the school is denounced.
In many cases the censure justly belongs to the parents. They had
the first and most favorable opportunity to control and train their
children, when the spirit was teachable, and the mind and heart were
easily impressed. But through the slothfulness of the parents, the
children are permitted to follow their own will, until they become
hardened in an evil course.
11
Parents to Sustain Teacher’s Authority
—One of the greatest
difficulties with which teachers have had to contend is the failure on
the part of parents to co-operate in administering the discipline of the
college. If the parents would stand pledged to sustain the authority
of the teacher, much insubordination, vice, and profligacy would
be prevented. Parents should require their children to respect and
obey rightful authority. They should labor with unremitting care and
diligence to instruct, guide, and restrain their children, until right
habits are firmly established. With such training the youth would be
in subjection to the institutions of society and the general restraints
of moral obligation.
12
Academy and College Training 263
It is not to be left to children to judge whether the discipline
of the college is reasonable or unreasonable. If the parents have
[335]
confidence enough in the teachers and in the system of education
adopted by the school to send their children to it, let them show
good sense and moral stamina and support the teacher in enforcing
discipline....
Parents who are wise will feel very grateful that there are schools
where lawlessness of any kind will not be tolerated, and where
children will be trained to obedience rather than indulgence, and
where good influences will be brought to bear upon them.
There are some parents who purpose sending their demoralized
children to school because they are incorrigible at home. Will these
parents support the teachers in their work of discipline, or will they
stand ready to believe every false report?
13
They Should Support School Discipline
—Some parents who
have sent their children to ----- have told them that if anything unrea-
sonable were required of them not to submit, whoever might require
it. What a lesson is this to give to children! In their inexperience
how can they judge between what is reasonable and unreasonable?
They may wish to be away at night, no one knows where, and if
required by teachers or guardians to give an account of themselves,
will call this unreasonable and an infringement on their rights. Their
independence must not be interfered with. What power can rules or
authority have upon these youth, while they consider any discipline
an unreasonable restriction of their liberty?
In many cases these youth have remained in school but a short
period, returning home with an unfinished education, that they may
have liberty to follow the bent of their untrained, undisciplined wills
which they could not have at school. The lessons of indulgence
[336]
taught them by an unwise father or mother have done their work for
time and for eternity, and the loss of these souls will be set to their
account.
14
An Education Outside the College Curriculum
—Children
and youth should cultivate habits of thoroughness in the matter
of education. The college course does not embrace all the education
which they are to receive. They may be constantly learning lessons
from the things they see and hear. They may study from cause to
effect, from the surroundings and the circumstances of life. They
264 Child Guidance
may learn every day something they must avoid, and something they
may practice that will elevate and ennoble them, giving solidity to
the character and strengthening in them those principles which are
the foundation of noble manhood and womanhood.
If they enter upon their education with careless purposes, well
content to pass along without any particular effort on their part, then
they will not reach the standard God would have them attain.
15
1
The Ministry of Healing, 403.
2
Manuscript 30, 1904.
3
Testimonies For The Church 4:419-422.
4
Fundamentals of Christian Education, 489.
5
Fundamentals of Christian Education, 313.
6
Testimonies For The Church 5:506.
7
Letter 60, 1910.
8
The Review and Herald, February 13, 1913.
9
Testimonies For The Church 3:26.
10
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 84, 85.
11
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 91.
12
Testimonies For The Church 5:89.
13
Manuscript 119, 1899.
14
Manuscript 119, 1899.
15
The Youth’s Instructor, April 21, 1886.
Section 13—Primary Importance of [337]
Physical Development
Chapter 57—Exercise and Health[338]
[339]
[Note: See The Adventist Home, 493-530, Section XVII,
“Relaxation and Recreation.”]
Well-regulated Employment and Amusement
—In order for
children and youth to have health, cheerfulness, vivacity, and well-
developed muscles and brains, they should be much in the open air
and have well-regulated employment and amusement.
1
Children should have occupation for their time. Proper mental
labor and physical outdoor exercise will not break the constitution
of your boys. Useful labor and an acquaintance with the mysteries
of housework will be beneficial to your girls, and some outdoor
employment is positively necessary to their constitution and health.
2
Exercise and Fresh Air
—Those who do not use their limbs
every day will realize a weakness when they do attempt to exercise.
The veins and muscles are not in a condition to perform their work
and keep all the living machinery in healthful action, each organ
in the system doing its part. The limbs will strengthen with use.
Moderate exercise every day will impart strength to the muscles,
which without exercise become flabby and enfeebled. By active
exercise in the open air every day, the liver, kidneys, and lungs also
will be strengthened to perform their work.
Bring to your aid the power of the will, which will resist cold
and will give energy to the nervous system. In a short time you will
so realize the benefit of exercise and pure air that you would not live
[340]
without these blessings. Your lungs, deprived of air, will be like a
hungry person deprived of food. Indeed, we can live longer without
food than without air, which is the food that God has provided for
the lungs.
3
Students Especially Need Physical Activity
—Inactivity weak-
ens the system. God made men and women to be active and useful.
Nothing can increase the strength of the young like proper exercise
of all the muscles in useful labor.
4
266
Exercise and Health 267
All Faculties Are Strengthened by Exercise
—Children and
youth who are kept at school and confined to books cannot have
sound physical constitutions. The exercise of the brain in study,
without corresponding physical exercise, has a tendency to attract
the blood to the brain, and the circulation of the blood through the
system becomes unbalanced. The brain has too much blood, and the
extremities too little. There should be rules regulating the studies
of children and youth to certain hours, and then a portion of their
time should be spent in physical labor. And if their habits of eating,
dressing, and sleeping are in accordance with physical law, they can
obtain an education without sacrificing physical and mental health.
5
Let children be taught, when quite young, to bear the smaller re-
sponsibilities of life, and the faculties thus employed will strengthen
by exercise. Thus the youth may become efficient helpers in the
greater work which the Lord shall afterward call them to do....
Few have been trained to habits of industry, thoughtfulness, and
caretaking. Indolence, inaction, is the greatest curse to children
of this age. Wholesome, useful labor will be a great blessing, by
[341]
promoting the formation of good habits and a noble character.
6
Plan for Variety and Change in Work
—The active mind and
hands of youth must have employment, and if they are not directed
to tasks that are useful, that will develop them and bless others, they
will find employment in that which will work injury to them in both
body and mind.
The youth should cheerfully share the burdens of life with their
parents, and by so doing preserve a clear conscience, which is pos-
itively necessary to physical and moral health. In doing this, they
should be guarded from being taxed in the same direction for any
great length of time. If the youth are kept steadily at one kind of
employment, until the task becomes irksome, less will be accom-
plished than might have been through a change of work or a season
of relaxation. If the mind is too severely taxed, it will cease to be-
come strong and will degenerate. By a change in the work, health
and vigor may be retained. There will be no need to cast aside the
useful for the useless, for selfish amusements are dangerous to the
morals.
7
Weariness, Normal Result of Labor
—Mothers, there is noth-
ing that leads to such evils as to lift the burdens from your daughters
268 Child Guidance
and give them nothing special to do, and let them choose their own
employment, perhaps a little crochet or some other fancywork to
busy themselves. Let them have exercise of the limbs and muscles.
If it wearies them, what then? Are you not wearied in your work?
Will weariness hurt your children, unless overworked, more than it
hurts you? No, indeed.
8
They may be weary, but how sweet is rest after a proper amount
[342]
of labor. Sleep, nature’s sweet restorer, invigorates the tired body
and prepares it for the next day’s duties.
9
Why Poverty Is Often a Blessing
—Riches and idleness are
thought by some to be blessings indeed; but those who are always
busy, and who cheerfully go about their daily tasks, are the most
happy and enjoy the best health.... The sentence that man must toil
for his daily bread, and the promise of future happiness and glory,
both came from the same throne, and both are blessings.
10
Poverty, in many cases, is a blessing; for it prevents youth and
children from being ruined by inaction. The physical as well as the
mental powers should be cultivated and properly developed. The
first and constant care of parents should be to see that their children
have firm constitutions, that they may be sound men and women. It
is impossible to attain this object without physical exercise.
For their own physical health and moral good, children should
be taught to work, even if there is no necessity so far as want is
concerned. If they would have pure and virtuous characters, they
must have the discipline of well-regulated labor, which will bring
into exercise all the muscles. The satisfaction that children will have
in being useful, and in denying themselves to help others, will be
the most healthful pleasure they ever enjoyed.
11
Mental and Physical Activities Equalized
—Students should
not be permitted to take so many studies that they will have no
time for physical training. The health cannot be preserved unless
some portion of each day is given to muscular exertion in the open
air. Stated hours should be devoted to manual labor of some kind,
[343]
anything that will call into action all parts of the body. Equalize
the taxation of the mental and the physical powers, and the mind
of the student will be refreshed. If he is diseased, physical exercise
will often help the system to recover its normal condition. When
students leave college, they should have better health and a better
Exercise and Health 269
understanding of the laws of life than when they enter it. The health
should be as sacredly guarded as the character.
12
Youthful Energy—How Rashly Squandered
—The youth in
the freshness and vigor of life little realize the value of their abound-
ing energy. A treasure more precious than gold, more essential to
advancement than learning or rank or riches—how lightly is it held!
how rashly squandered!...
In the study of physiology, pupils should be led to see the value of
physical energy and how it can be so preserved and developed as to
contribute in the highest degree to success in life’s great struggle.
13
Activity Not to Be Repressed but Guided
—Our children
stand, as it were, at the parting of the ways. On every hand the
world’s enticements to self-seeking and self-indulgence call them
away from the path cast up for the ransomed of the Lord. Whether
their lives shall be a blessing or a curse depends upon the choice
they make. Overflowing with energy, eager to test their untried ca-
pabilities, they must find some outlet for their superabounding life.
Active they will be for good or for evil.
God’s Word does not repress activity, but guides it aright. God
does not bid the youth to be less aspiring. The elements of character
[344]
that make a man truly successful and honored among men—the
irrepressible desire for some greater good, the indomitable will,
the strenuous application, the untiring perseverance—are not to be
discouraged. By the grace of God they are to be directed to the
attainment of objects as much higher than mere selfish and worldly
interests as the heavens are higher than the earth.
14
1
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 83.
2
Testimonies For The Church 4:97.
3
Testimonies For The Church 2:533.
4
The Signs of the Times, August 19, 1875.
5
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 83.
6
The Review and Herald, August 13, 1881.
7
The Youth’s Instructor, July 27, 1893.
8
Testimonies For The Church 2:371.
9
The Signs of the Times, April 10, 1884.
10
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 97.
11
Testimonies For The Church 3:151.
12
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 82, 83.
13
Education, 195, 196.
Chapter 58—Training for Practical Life [345]
Why God Appointed Labor for Adam and Eve
—The Lord
made Adam and Eve and placed them in the Garden of Eden to dress
the garden and keep it for the Lord. It was for their happiness to
have some employment, or else the Lord would not have appointed
them their work.
1
When in counsel with the Father before the world was, it was
designed that the Lord God should plant a garden for Adam and
Eve in Eden and give them the task of caring for the fruit trees and
cultivating and training the vegetation. Useful labor was to be their
safeguard, and it was to be perpetuated through all generations to
the close of earth’s history.
2
Example of Jesus as the Perfect Workman
—In His earth-life,
Christ was ... obedient and helpful in the home. He learned the
carpenter’s trade and worked with His own hands in the little shop at
Nazareth.... The Bible says of Jesus, “And the child grew, and waxed
strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon
him.” As He worked in childhood and youth, mind and body were
developed. He did not use His physical powers recklessly, but gave
them such exercise as would keep them in health, that He might do
the best work in every line. He was not willing to be defective, even
in the handling of tools. He was perfect as a workman, as He was
perfect in character.
3
Every article He made was well made, the different parts fitting
exactly, the whole able to bear test.
4
He Toiled Daily With Patient Hands
—Jesus made the lowly
[346]
paths of human life sacred by His example.... His life was one of
diligent industry. He, the Majesty of heaven, walked the streets, clad
in the simple garb of the common laborer. He toiled up and down
the mountain steeps, going to and from His humble work. Angels
were not sent to bear Him on their pinions up the tiresome ascent,
or to lend their strength in performing His lowly task. Yet when He
went forth to contribute to the support of the family by His daily toil,
271
272 Child Guidance
He possessed the same power as when He wrought the miracle of
feeding the five thousand hungry souls on the shore of Galilee.
But He did not employ His divine power to lessen His burdens
or lighten His toil. He had taken upon Himself the form of humanity
with all its attendant ills, and He flinched not from its severest trials.
He lived in a peasant’s home, He was clothed in coarse garments,
He mingled with the lowly, He toiled daily with patient hands. His
example shows us that it is man’s duty to be industrious, that labor
is honorable.
5
For a long time Jesus dwelt at Nazareth, unhonored or unknown,
that He might teach men how to live near God while discharging
the humble duties of life. It was a mystery to angels that Christ,
the Majesty of heaven, should condescend, not only to take upon
Himself humanity, but to assume its heaviest burdens and most
humiliating offices. This He did in order to become like one of us,
that He might be acquainted with the toil, the sorrows, and fatigue
of the children of men.
6
Awaken Ambition for Useful Accomplishments
—In the chil-
dren and youth an ambition should be awakened to take their exercise
in doing something that will be beneficial to themselves and helpful
[347]
to others. The exercise that develops mind and character, that teaches
the hands to be useful, that trains the youth to bear their share of
life’s burdens, is that which gives physical strength and quickens
every faculty. And there is a reward in virtuous industry, in the
cultivation of the habit of living to do good.
7
The youth need to be taught that life means earnest work, re-
sponsibility, caretaking. They need a training that will make them
practical—men and women who can cope with emergencies. They
should be taught that the discipline of systematic, well-regulated
labor is essential, not only as a safeguard against the vicissitudes of
life, but as an aid to all-round development.
8
Physical Labor Is Not Degrading
—It is a popular error with
a large class to regard work as degrading; therefore young men
are very anxious to educate themselves to become teachers, clerks,
merchants, lawyers, and to occupy almost any position that does not
require physical labor. Young women regard housework as belittling.
And although the physical exercise required to perform household
labor, if not too severe, is calculated to promote health, yet they seek
Training for Practical Life 273
for an education that will fit them to become teachers or clerks, or
they learn some trade that will confine them indoors, to sedentary
employment.
9
The world is full of young men and women who pride them-
selves upon their ignorance of any useful labor; and they are, almost
invariably, frivolous, vain, fond of display, unhappy, unsatisfied, and
too often dissipated and unprincipled. Such characters are a blot
upon society and a disgrace to their parents.
10
None of us should be ashamed of work, however small and
[348]
servile it may appear. Labor is ennobling. All who toil with head
or hands are working men or working women. And all are doing
their duty and honoring their religion as much while working at the
washtub or washing dishes as they are in going to meeting. While
the hands are engaged in the most common labor, the mind may be
elevated and ennobled by pure and holy thoughts.
11
Youth to Be Masters, Not Slaves of Labor
—The youth should
be led to see the true dignity of labor.
12
One great reason why physical toil is looked down on is the
slipshod, unthinking way in which it is so often performed. It is
done from necessity, not from choice. The worker puts no heart
into it, and he neither preserves self-respect nor wins the respect of
others. Manual training should correct this error. It should develop
habits of accuracy and thoroughness. Pupils should learn tact and
system; they should learn to economize time and to make every
move count. They should not only be taught the best methods, but
be inspired with ambition constantly to improve. Let it be their aim
to make their work as nearly perfect as human brains and hands can
make it.
Such training will make the youth masters and not slaves of labor.
It will lighten the lot of the hard toiler and will ennoble even the
humblest occupation. He who regards work as mere drudgery and
settles down to it with self-complacent ignorance, making no effort
to improve, will find it indeed a burden. But those who recognize
science in the humblest work will see in it nobility and beauty and
will take pleasure in performing it with faithfulness and efficiency.
13
Wealth Not to Excuse From Practical Training
—In many
[349]
cases parents who are wealthy do not feel the importance of giving
their children an education in the practical duties of life as well
274 Child Guidance
as in the sciences. They do not see the necessity, for the good of
their children’s minds and morals, and for their future usefulness, of
giving them a thorough understanding of useful labor. This is due
their children, that, should misfortune come, they could stand forth
in noble independence, knowing how to use their hands. If they have
a capital of strength, they cannot be poor, even if they have not a
dollar.
Many who in youth were in affluent circumstances may be
robbed of all their riches, and be left with parents and brothers and
sisters dependent upon them for sustenance. Then how important
that every youth be educated to labor, that they may be prepared for
any emergency! Riches are indeed a curse when their possessors
let them stand in the way of their sons and daughters obtaining a
knowledge of useful labor, that they may be qualified for practical
life.
14
Children to Share Domestic Duties
—The faithful mother will
not, cannot, be a devotee to fashion, neither will she be a domestic
slave, to humor the whims of her children and excuse them from
labor. She will teach them to share with her domestic duties, that
they may have a knowledge of practical life. If the children share the
labor with their mother, they will learn to regard useful employment
as essential to happiness, ennobling rather than degrading. But if the
mother educates her daughters to be indolent, while she bears the
heavy burdens of domestic life, she is teaching them to look down
upon her as their servant, to wait on them and do the things they
should do. The mother should ever retain her dignity.
15
[350]
Some mothers are at fault in releasing their daughters from toil
and care. By so doing they encourage them in indolence. The excuse
these mothers sometimes plead is, “My daughters are not strong.”
But they take the sure course to make them weak and inefficient.
Well-directed labor is just what they require to make them strong,
vigorous, cheerful, happy, and courageous to meet the various trials
with which this life is beset.
16
Assign Useful Tasks to Children
—The carelessness of parents
in neglecting to furnish employment to their children has resulted in
untold evil, imperiling the lives of many youth and sadly crippling
their usefulness.
Training for Practical Life 275
God desires both parents and teachers to train children in the
practical duties of everyday life. Encourage industry. Girls—and
even boys who do not have outdoor work—should learn how to help
the mother. From childhood, boys and girls should be taught to bear
heavier and still heavier burdens, intelligently helping in the work of
the family firm. Mothers, patiently show your children how to use
their hands. Let them understand that their hands are to be used as
skillfully as are yours in the household work.
17
Each child in the family should have a part of the home burden
to bear and should be taught to perform his task faithfully and cheer-
fully. If the work is portioned out in this way, and the children grow
up accustomed to bearing suitable responsibilities, no member of
the household will be overburdened, and everything will move off
pleasantly and smoothly in the home. A proper economy will be
maintained, for each one will be acquainted with, and interested in,
the details of the home.
18
Cooking and Sewing, Basic Lessons
—Mothers should take
[351]
their daughters with them into the kitchen and give them a thorough
education in the cooking department. They should also instruct
them in the art of substantial sewing. They should teach them how
to cut garments economically and put them together neatly. Some
mothers, rather than to take this trouble to patiently instruct their
inexperienced daughters, prefer to do it all themselves. But in so
doing, they leave the essential branches of education neglected and
commit a great wrong against their children; for in afterlife they feel
embarrassment because of their lack of knowledge in these things.
19
Give Training to Both Boys and Girls
—Since both men and
women have a part in homemaking, boys as well as girls should gain
a knowledge of household duties. To make a bed and put a room
in order, to wash dishes, to prepare a meal, to wash and repair his
own clothing, is a training that need not make any boy less manly; it
will make him happier and more useful. And if girls, in turn, could
learn to harness and drive a horse, [Note: This was written in 1903.
The principles are fully applicable today.] and to use the saw and
the hammer, as well as the rake and the hoe, they would be better
fitted to meet the emergencies of life.
20
It is as essential for our daughters to learn the proper use of
time as it is for our sons, and they are equally accountable to God
276 Child Guidance
for the manner in which they occupy it. Life is given us for wise
improvement of the talents we possess.
21
See Privileges in Conserving Mother’s Strength
—Every day
[352]
there is housework to be done—cooking, washing dishes, sweeping,
and dusting. Mothers, have you taught your daughters to do these
daily duties? ... Their muscles need exercise. In the place of getting
exercise by jumping and playing ball or croquet, let their exercise
be to some purpose.
22
Teach the children to bear their share of the burdens of the house-
hold. Keep them occupied at some useful employment. Show them
how to do their work easily and well. Help them to realize that
by lightening the burdens of their mother, they are preserving her
strength and prolonging her life. Many a weary mother has been laid
away in an untimely grave for no other reason than that her children
were not taught to share her burdens. By encouraging a spirit of
unselfish service in the home, parents are drawing their children
closer to Christ, who is the embodiment of unselfishness.
23
An Experiment in Happiness
—Children, seat your mother in
the easy chair, and tell her to show you what she would have done
first. What a surprise this would be to many weary, overtaxed
mothers! Never will children and youth feel the peace of contentment
until by the faithful performance of home duties they relieve the
tired hands and weary heart and brain of the mother. These are steps
on the ladder of progress that will carry them forward to receive the
higher education.
It is the faithful performance of everyday duties that brings the
satisfaction and peace that come to the true home worker. Those
who neglect to bear part of the responsibilities of the home are the
ones who are troubled with loneliness and discontent; for they have
not learned the truth that those who are happy are happy because
[353]
they share the daily routine of work which rests upon the mother
or other members of the family. Many are leaving unlearned the
most useful lessons, which it is essential for their future good to
understand.
24
The Rewards of Faithfulness in Home Duties
—A faithful ful-
fillment of home duties, filling the position you can occupy to the
best advantage, be it ever so simple and humble, is truly elevating.
This divine influence is needed. In this there is peace and sacred joy.
Training for Practical Life 277
It possesses healing power. It will secretly and insensibly soothe the
wounds of the soul and even the sufferings of the body. Peace of
mind, which comes from pure and holy motives and actions, will
give free and vigorous spring to all the organs of the body. Inward
peace and a conscience void of offense toward God will quicken and
invigorate the intellect, like dew distilled upon the tender plants. The
will is then rightly directed and controlled and is more decided and
yet free from perverseness. The meditations are pleasing because
they are sanctified. The serenity of mind which you may possess will
bless all with whom you associate. This peace and calmness will,
in time, become natural and will reflect its precious rays upon all
around you, to be again reflected upon you. The more you taste this
heavenly peace and quietude of mind, the more it will increase. It is
an animated, living pleasure which does not throw all the moral en-
ergies into a stupor, but awakens them to increased activity. Perfect
peace is an attribute of Heaven which angels possess.
25
There Will Be Activity in Heaven
—The angels are workers;
they are ministers of God to the children of men. Those slothful
servants who look forward to a heaven of inaction have false ideas
[354]
of what constitutes heaven. The Creator has prepared no place for
the gratification of sinful indolence. Heaven is a place of interested
activity; yet to the weary and heavy laden, to those who have fought
the good fight of faith, it will be a glorious rest; for the youth and
vigor of immortality will be theirs, and against sin and Satan they
will no longer have to contend. To these energetic workers a state of
eternal indolence would be irksome. It would be no heaven to them.
The path of toil appointed to the Christian on earth may be hard and
wearisome, but it is honored by the footprints of the Redeemer, and
he is safe who follows in that sacred way.
26
1
Manuscript 24b, 1894.
2
The Signs of the Times, August 13, 1896.
3
Fundamentals of Christian Education, 417, 418.
4
Evangelism, 378.
5
Health Reformer, October 1, 1876 par. 6.
6
Ibid.
7
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 147.
8
Education, 215.
9
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 291.
278 Child Guidance
10
Health Reformer, December, 1877.
11
Testimonies For The Church 4:590.
12
Education, 214.
13
Education, 222.
14
Testimonies For The Church 3:150.
15
Pacific Health Journal, June, 1890.
16
The Signs of the Times, August 19, 1875.
17
The Review and Herald, September 8, 1904.
18
The Signs of the Times, August 23, 1877.
19
An Appeal to Mothers, 15.
20
Education, 216, 217.
21
Health Reformer, December 1, 1877.
22
Manuscript 129, 1898.
23
Manuscript 70, 1903.
24
Manuscript 129, 1898.
25
Testimonies For The Church 2:326, 327.
26
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 99.
Chapter 59—Teaching Useful Trades [355]
Every Child Should Learn Some Trade
—The carelessness
of parents in failing to furnish employment to the children that
they have taken the responsibility of bringing into the world has
resulted in untold evil, imperiling the lives of many youth and greatly
crippling their usefulness. It is a great mistake to permit young men
to grow up without learning some trade.
1
From the pillar of cloud Jesus gave directions through Moses to
the Hebrews that they should educate their children to work, that
they should teach them trades, and that none should be idle.
2
You should help your children to acquire a knowledge, that, if
necessary, they could live by their own labor. You should teach them
to be decided in following the calls of duty.
3
Teach Use of Tools
—When children reach a suitable age, they
should be provided with tools. If their work is made interesting, they
will be found apt pupils in the use of tools. If the father is a carpenter,
he should give his boys lessons in house building, ever bringing into
his instruction lessons from the Bible, the words of Scripture in
which the Lord compares human beings to His building.
4
Train Sons in Agriculture
—Fathers should train their sons to
engage with them in their trades and employments. Farmers should
not think that agriculture is a business that is not elevated enough for
their sons. Agriculture should be advanced by scientific knowledge.
Farming has been pronounced unprofitable. People say that the
[356]
soil does not pay for the labor expended upon it, and they bemoan the
hard fate of those who till the soil.... But should persons of proper
ability take hold of this line of employment, and make a study of the
soil, and learn how to plant, to cultivate, and to gather in the harvest,
more encouraging results might be seen. Many say, “We have tried
agriculture and know what its results are,” and yet these very ones
need to know how to cultivate the soil and to bring science into their
work. Their plowshares should cut deeper, broader furrows, and they
need to learn that in tilling the soil they need not become common
279
280 Child Guidance
and coarse in their natures.... Let them learn to put in the seed in its
season, to give attention to vegetation, and to follow the plan that
God has devised.
5
Training of Outstanding Value
—No line of manual training is
of more value than agriculture. A greater effort should be made to
create and to encourage an interest in agricultural pursuits. Let the
teacher call attention to what the Bible says about agriculture; that it
was God’s plan for man to till the earth; that the first man, the ruler
of the whole world, was given a garden to cultivate; and that many
of the world’s greatest men, its real nobility, have been tillers of the
soil. Show the opportunities in such a life....
He who earns his livelihood by agriculture escapes many temp-
tations and enjoys unnumbered privileges and blessings denied to
those whose work lies in the great cities. And in these days of mam-
moth trusts and business competition, there are few who enjoy so
real an independence and so great certainty of fair return for their
labor as does the tiller of the soil.
6
Fresh Produce Is of Special Value
—Families and institutions
[357]
should learn to do more in the cultivation and improvement of land.
If people only knew the value of the products of the ground, which
the earth brings forth in their season, more diligent efforts would be
made to cultivate the soil. All should be acquainted with the special
value of fruits and vegetables fresh from the orchard and garden.
7
Schools to Give Instruction in Useful Trades
—Manual train-
ing is deserving of far more attention than it has received. Schools
should be established that, in addition to the highest mental and
moral culture, shall provide the best possible facilities for physical
development and industrial training. Instruction should be given
in agriculture, manufactures—covering as many as possible of the
most useful trades—also in household economy, healthful cookery,
sewing, hygienic dressmaking, the treatment of the sick, and kindred
lines. Gardens, workshops, and treatment rooms should be provided,
and the work in every line should be under the direction of skilled
instructors.
The work should have a definite aim and should be thorough.
While every person needs some knowledge of different handicrafts,
it is indispensable that he become proficient in at least one. Every
Teaching Useful Trades 281
youth, on leaving school, should have acquired a knowledge of some
trade or occupation by which, if need be, he may earn a livelihood.
8
A Training of Double Value
—There should have been con-
nected with the schools establishments for carrying on various
branches of labor, that the students might have employment and the
necessary exercise out of school hours.... Then a practical knowledge
[358]
of business could have been obtained while their literary education
was being gained.
9
Industrial Knowledge Is of More Value Than Scientific
—
There should have been experienced teachers to give lessons to
young ladies in the cooking department. Young girls should have
been instructed to cut, make, and mend garments, and thus become
educated for the practical duties of life.
For young men, there should be establishments where they could
learn different trades, which would bring into exercise their muscles
as well as their mental powers. If the youth can have but a one-
sided education, which is of the greater consequence—a knowledge
of the sciences, with all the disadvantages to health and life, or a
knowledge of labor for practical life? We unhesitatingly answer,
The latter. If one must be neglected, let it be the study of books.
10
There may be those who have had wrong training and those
who have wrong ideas in regard to the training of children. These
children and youth want the very best training, and you must bring
the physical labor right in with the mental—the two should go to-
gether.
11
Jesus Was an Example of Contented Industry
—It requires
much more grace and stern discipline of character to work for God
in the capacity of mechanic, merchant, lawyer, or farmer, carrying
the precepts of Christianity into the ordinary business of life, than to
labor as an acknowledged missionary in the open field, where one’s
position is understood and half its difficulties obviated by that very
fact. It requires strong spiritual nerve and muscle to carry religion
into the workshop and business office, sanctifying the details of
[359]
everyday life, and ordering every worldly transaction to the standard
of a Bible Christian.
Jesus, in His thirty years of seclusion at Nazareth, toiled and
rested, ate and slept, from week to week and from year to year,
the same as His humble contemporaries. He called no attention to
282 Child Guidance
Himself as a marked personage; yet He was the world’s Redeemer,
the adored of angels, doing, all the time, His Father’s work, living
out a lesson that should remain for humanity to copy to the end of
time.
This essential lesson of contented industry in the necessary duties
of life, however humble, is yet to be learned by the greater portion
of Christ’s followers. If there is no human eye to criticize our work,
nor voice to praise or blame, it should be done just as well as if the
Infinite One Himself were personally to inspect it. We should be
as faithful in the minor details of our business as we would in the
larger affairs of life.
12
1
Manuscript 121, 1901.
2
Manuscript 24b, 1894.
3
The Signs of the Times, August 19, 1875.
4
Manuscript 45, 1912.
5
The Signs of the Times, August 13, 1896.
6
Education, 219.
7
Counsels on Diet and Foods, 312.
8
Education, 218.
9
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 83, 84.
10
Testimonies For The Church 3:156.
11
Manuscript 19, 1887.
12
Health Reformer, October 1, 1876.
Chapter 60—Knowledge of and Obedience to the [360]
Laws of Life
Wonders of the Human Body
—We are God’s workmanship,
and His Word declares that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.”
He has prepared this living habitation for the mind; it is “curiously
wrought,” a temple which the Lord Himself has fitted up for the
indwelling of His Holy Spirit. The mind controls the whole man.
All our actions, good or bad, have their source in the mind. It is the
mind that worships God and allies us to heavenly beings. Yet many
spend all their lives without becoming intelligent in regard to the
casket [the human body] that contains this treasure.
All the physical organs are the servants of the mind, and the
nerves are the messengers that transmit its orders to every part of
the body, guiding the motions of the living machinery.
1
As the mechanism of the body is studied, attention should be
directed to its wonderful adaptation of means to ends, the harmo-
nious action and dependence of the various organs. As the interest of
the student is thus awakened, and he is led to see the importance of
physical culture, much can be done by the teacher to secure proper
development and right habits.
2
The Health to Be Guarded
—Since the mind and the soul find
expression through the body, both mental and spiritual vigor are in
great degree dependent upon physical strength and activity; whatever
promotes physical health, promotes the development of a strong
[361]
mind and a well-balanced character. Without health, no one can
as distinctly understand or as completely fulfill his obligations to
himself, to his fellow beings, or to his Creator. Therefore the health
should be as faithfully guarded as the character. A knowledge of
physiology and hygiene should be the basis of all educational effort.
3
Many Unwilling to Study the Laws of Health
—Many are un-
willing to put forth the needed effort to obtain a knowledge of the
laws of life and the simple means to be employed for the restoration
of health. They do not place themselves in right relation to life.
283
284 Child Guidance
When sickness is the result of their transgression of natural law, they
do not seek to correct their errors, and then ask the blessing of God.
4
We should educate ourselves, not only to live in harmony with
the laws of health, but to teach others the better way. Many, even
of those who profess to believe the special truths for this time, are
lamentably ignorant with regard to health and temperance. They
need to be educated, line upon line, precept upon precept. The
subject must be kept fresh before them. This matter must not be
passed over as nonessential, for nearly every family needs to be
stirred up on the question. The conscience must be aroused to the
duty of practicing the principles of true reform.
5
The principles of hygiene as applied to diet, exercise, the care of
children, the treatment of the sick, and many like matters should be
given much more attention than they ordinarily receive.
6
To Study Preventive Measures
—Far too little thought is given
to the causes underlying the mortality, the disease and degeneracy,
[362]
that exist today even in the most civilized and favored lands. The
human race is deteriorating.... Most of the evils that are bringing
misery and ruin to the race might be prevented, and the power to
deal with them rests to a great degree with parents.
7
Teach Children to Reason From Cause to Effect
—Teach your
children to reason from cause to effect. Show them that if they
violate the laws of their being, they must pay the penalty in suffering.
If you cannot see as rapid improvement as you desire, do not be
discouraged, but instruct them patiently, and press on until victory
is gained.
8
Those who study and practice the principles of right living will
be greatly blessed, both physically and spiritually. An understanding
of the philosophy of health is a safeguard against many of the evils
that are continually increasing.
9
Let the Instruction Be Progressive
—Children should be early
taught, in simple, easy lessons, the rudiments of physiology and
hygiene. The work should be begun by the mother in the home and
should be faithfully carried forward in the school. As the pupils
advance in years, instruction in this line should be continued until
they are qualified to care for the house they live in. They should
understand the importance of guarding against disease by preserving
Knowledge of and Obedience to the Laws of Life 285
the vigor of every organ and should also be taught how to deal with
common diseases and accidents.
10
Factual Knowledge Is Not Sufficient
—The student of physi-
ology should be taught that the object of his study is not merely to
gain a knowledge of facts and principles. This alone will prove of
[363]
little benefit. He may understand the importance of ventilation, his
room may be supplied with pure air; but unless he fills his lungs
properly he will suffer the results of imperfect respiration. So the
necessity of cleanliness may be understood, and needful facilities
may be supplied; but all will be without avail unless put to use. The
great requisite in teaching these principles is to impress the pupil
with their importance, so that he will conscientiously put them in
practice.
11
Knowledge of Nature’s Laws Is Necessary
—There are mat-
ters not usually included in the study of physiology that should be
considered—matters of far greater value to the student than are many
of the technicalities commonly taught under this head. As the foun-
dation principle of all education in these lines, the youth should be
taught that the laws of nature are the laws of God—as truly divine as
are the precepts of the Decalogue. The laws that govern our physical
organism, God has written upon every nerve, muscle, and fiber of
the body. Every careless and willful violation of these laws is a sin
against our Creator. How necessary, then, that a thorough knowledge
of these laws should be imparted!
12
Regularity in Eating and Sleeping
—The importance of regu-
larity in the time for eating and sleeping should not be overlooked.
Since the work of building up the body takes place during the hours
of rest, it is essential, especially in youth, that sleep should be regular
and abundant.
13
In regulating the hours for sleep, there should be no haphazard
work. Students should not form the habit of burning the midnight
oil and taking the hours of the day for sleep. If they have been
[364]
accustomed to doing this at home, they should correct the habit,
going to bed at a seasonable hour. They will then rise in the morning
refreshed for the duties of the day.
14
Insist on Right Health Habits
—Right habits of eating and
drinking and dressing must be insisted upon. Wrong habits ren-
der the youth less susceptible to Bible instruction. The children
286 Child Guidance
are to be guarded against the indulgence of appetite, and especially
against the use of stimulants and narcotics. The tables of Christian
parents should not be loaded down with food containing condiments
and spices.
15
We are not to indulge in any habit that will weaken physical or
mental strength, or abuse our powers in any way. We are to do all
in our power to keep ourselves in health, in order that we may have
sweetness of disposition, a clear mind, and be able to distinguish
between the sacred and the common, and honor God in our bodies
and in our spirits, which are His.
16
Importance of Correct Posture
—Among the first things to be
aimed at should be a correct position, both in sitting and in standing.
God made man upright, and He desires him to possess not only the
physical but the mental and moral benefit, the grace and dignity and
self-possession, the courage and self-reliance, which an erect bearing
so greatly tends to promote. Let the teacher give instruction on this
point by example and by precept. Show what a correct position is,
and insist that it shall be maintained.
17
Respiration and Vocal Culture
—Next in importance to right
position are respiration and vocal culture. The one who sits and
stands erect is more likely than others to breathe properly. But
[365]
the teacher should impress upon his pupils the importance of deep
breathing. Show how the healthy action of the respiratory organs,
assisting the circulation of the blood, invigorates the whole system,
excites the appetite, promotes digestion, and induces sound, sweet
sleep, thus not only refreshing the body, but soothing and tranquiliz-
ing the mind. And while the importance of deep breathing is shown,
the practice should be insisted upon. Let exercises be given which
will promote this, and see that the habit becomes established....
The training of the voice has an important place in physical
culture, since it tends to expand and strengthen the lungs, and thus to
ward off disease. To ensure correct delivery in reading and speaking,
see that the abdominal muscles have full play in breathing, and
that the respiratory organs are unrestricted. Let the strain come
on the muscles of the abdomen rather than on those of the throat.
Great weariness and serious disease of the throat and lungs may
thus be prevented. Careful attention should be given to securing
distinct articulation, smooth, well-modulated tones, and a not-too-
Knowledge of and Obedience to the Laws of Life 287
rapid delivery. This will not only promote health, but will add greatly
to the agreeableness and efficiency of the student’s work.
18
Three Essentials for Family Happiness
—In the study of hy-
giene the earnest teacher will improve every opportunity to show
the necessity of perfect cleanliness both in personal habits and in all
one’s surroundings. The value of the daily bath in promoting health
and in stimulating mental action should be emphasized. Attention
should be given also to sunlight and ventilation, the hygiene of the
[366]
sleeping room and the kitchen. Teach the pupils that a healthful
sleeping room, a thoroughly clean kitchen, and a tastefully arranged,
wholesomely supplied table will go farther toward securing the hap-
piness of the family and the regard of every sensible visitor than
any amount of expensive furnishing in the drawing room. That “the
life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment” (Luke
12:23) is a lesson no less needed now than when given by the divine
Teacher eighteen hundred years ago.
19
Seek to Understand Nature’s Remedies
—Pure air, sunlight,
abstemiousness, rest, exercise, proper diet, the use of water, trust
in divine power—these are the true remedies. Every person should
have a knowledge of nature’s remedial agencies and how to apply
them. It is essential both to understand the principles involved in the
treatment of the sick and to have a practical training that will enable
one rightly to use this knowledge.
The use of natural remedies requires an amount of care and
effort that many are not willing to give. Nature’s process of healing
and upbuilding is gradual, and to the impatient it seems slow. The
surrender of hurtful indulgences requires sacrifice. But in the end it
will be found that nature, untrammeled, does her work wisely and
well. Those who persevere in obedience to her laws will reap the
reward in health of body and health of mind.
20
A Comprehensive Code
—In regard to that which we can do
for ourselves, there is a point that requires careful, thoughtful con-
sideration. I must become acquainted with myself. I must be a
learner always as to how to take care of this building, the body God
has given me, that I may preserve it in the very best condition of
[367]
health. I must eat those things which will be for my very best good
physically, and I must take special care to have my clothing such
as will conduce to a healthful circulation of the blood. I must not
288 Child Guidance
deprive myself of exercise and air. I must get all the sunlight that
it is possible for me to obtain. I must have wisdom to be a faithful
guardian of my body.
I should do a very unwise thing to enter a cool room when in
a perspiration; I should show myself an unwise steward to allow
myself to sit in a draft, and thus expose myself so as to take cold.
I should be unwise to sit with cold feet and limbs and thus drive
back the blood from the extremities to the brain or internal organs.
I should always protect my feet in damp weather. I should eat
regularly of the most healthful food which will make the best quality
of blood, and I should not work intemperately if it is in my power to
avoid doing so. And when I violate the laws God has established in
my being, I am to repent and reform, and place myself in the most
favorable condition under the doctors God has provided—pure air,
pure water, and the healing, precious sunlight.
21
We Are Individually Responsible to God
—Our bodies are
Christ’s purchased possession, and we are not at liberty to do with
them as we please. All who understand the laws of health should
realize their obligation to obey these laws, which God has estab-
lished in their being. Obedience to the laws of health is to be made
a matter of personal duty. We ourselves must suffer the results of
violated law. We must individually answer to God for our habits and
practices. Therefore the question with us is not, “What is the world’s
[368]
practice?” but, “How shall I as an individual treat the habitation that
God has given me?”
22
1
Fundamentals of Christian Education, 425, 426.
2
Education, 198.
3
Education, 195.
4
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 112, 113.
5
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 117.
6
Education, 197.
7
The Ministry of Healing, 380.
8
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 126.
9
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 138.
10
Education, 196.
11
Education, 200.
12
Education, 196, 197.
13
Education, 205.
14
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 297.
290 Child Guidance
Section 14—Maintaining Physical Fitness [369]
Chapter 61—The Homemaker in the Kitchen
*
[370]
[371]
The High Calling of the Homemaker
—There can be no em-
ployment more important than that of housework. To cook well, to
present healthful food upon the table in an inviting manner, requires
intelligence and experience. The one who prepares the food that is
to be placed in our stomachs, to be converted into blood to nourish
the system, occupies a most important and elevated position.
1
It is essential for every youth to have a thorough acquaintance
with everyday duties. If need be, a young woman can dispense with
a knowledge of French and algebra, or even of the piano; but it is
indispensable that she learn to make good bread, to fashion neatly
fitting garments, and to perform efficiently the many duties that
pertain to homemaking.
To the health and happiness of the whole family nothing is more
vital than skill and intelligence on the part of the cook. By ill-
prepared, unwholesome food she may hinder and even ruin both
the adult’s usefulness and the child’s development. Or by providing
food adapted to the needs of the body, and at the same time inviting
and palatable, she can accomplish as much in the right as otherwise
she accomplished in the wrong direction. So, in many ways, life’s
happiness is bound up with faithfulness in common duties.
2
The Science of Cooking Is an Essential Art
—The science of
[372]
cooking is not a small matter.... This art should be regarded as
the most valuable of all the arts, because it is so closely connected
with life. It should receive more attention; for in order to make
good blood, the system requires good food. The foundation of that
which keeps people in health is the medical missionary work of good
cooking.
Often health reform is made health deform by the unpalatable
preparation of food. The lack of knowledge regarding healthful
cookery must be remedied before health reform is a success.
292
Homemaker in the Kitchen 293
Good cooks are few. Many, many mothers need to take lessons
in cooking, that they may set before the family well-prepared, neatly
served food.
3
Seek to Become Mistress of the Art
—Our sisters often do not
know how to cook. To such I would say, I would go to the very
best cook that could be found in the country, and remain there if
necessary for weeks, until I had become mistress of the art—an
intelligent, skillful cook. I would pursue this course if I were forty
years old. It is your duty to know how to cook, and it is your duty to
teach your daughters to cook.
4
Study and Practice
—Food can be prepared simply and health-
fully, but it requires skill to make it both palatable and nourishing. In
order to learn how to cook, women should study and then patiently
reduce what they learn to practice. People are suffering because they
will not take the trouble to do this. I say to such, It is time for you to
rouse your dormant energies and inform yourselves. Do not think
the time wasted which is devoted to obtaining a thorough knowledge
[373]
and experience in the preparation of healthful, palatable food. No
matter how long an experience you have had in cooking, if you still
have the responsibilities of a family, it is your duty to learn how to
care for them properly.
5
Both Variety and Simplicity Are Essential
—The meals
should be varied. The same dishes, prepared in the same way,
should not appear on the table meal after meal and day after day.
The meals are eaten with greater relish, and the system is better
nourished, when the food is varied.
6
Our bodies are constructed from what we eat; and in order to
make tissues of good quality, we must have the right kind of food,
and it must be prepared with such skill as will best adapt it to the
wants of the system. It is a religious duty for those who cook to
learn how to prepare healthful food in a variety of ways, so that it
may be both palatable and healthful.
7
Even in the table arrangements, fashion and show exert their
baleful influence. The healthful preparation of food becomes a
secondary matter. The serving of a great variety of dishes absorbs
time, money, and taxing labor, without accomplishing any good.
It may be fashionable to have half a dozen courses at a meal, but
the custom is ruinous to health. It is a fashion that sensible men
294 Child Guidance
and women should condemn, by both precept and example.... How
much better it would be for the health of the household if the table
preparations were more simple.
8
Results of Poor Cooking
—Poor cookery is wearing away the
life energies of thousands. More souls are lost from this cause
than many realize. It deranges the system and produces disease.
[374]
In the condition thus induced, heavenly things cannot be readily
discerned.
9
Scanty, ill-cooked food depraves the blood by weakening the
bloodmaking organs. It deranges the system and brings on disease,
with its accompaniment of irritable nerves and bad tempers. The
victims of poor cookery are numbered by thousands and tens of
thousands. Over many graves might be written: “Died because of
poor cooking,” “Died of an abused stomach.”
10
Teach Your Children How to Cook
—Do not neglect to teach
your children how to cook. In so doing, you impart to them principles
which they must have in their religious education. In giving your
children lessons in physiology, and teaching them how to cook with
simplicity and yet with skill, you are laying the foundation for the
most useful branches of education. Skill is required to make good
light bread. There is religion in good cooking, and I question the
religion of that class who are too ignorant and too careless to learn
to cook.
11
Instruct Them Patiently and Cheerfully
—Mothers should
take their daughters into the kitchen with them when very young,
and teach them the art of cooking. The mother cannot expect her
daughters to understand the mysteries of housekeeping without ed-
ucation. She should instruct them patiently, lovingly, and make
the work as agreeable as she can by her cheerful countenance and
encouraging words of approval.
12
If they fail once, twice, or thrice, censure not. Already discour-
agement is doing its work and tempting them to say, “It is of no use;
I can’t do it.” This is not the time for censure. The will is becom-
ing weakened. It needs the spur of encouraging, cheerful, hopeful
words, as, “Never mind the mistakes you have made. You are but
[375]
a learner, and must expect to make blunders. Try again. Put your
mind on what you are doing. Be very careful, and you will certainly
succeed.”
13
Homemaker in the Kitchen 295
How Interest and Ardor May Be Cooled
—Many mothers do
not realize the importance of this branch of knowledge, and rather
than have the trouble and care of instructing their children and
bearing with their failings and errors while learning, they prefer to
do all themselves. And when their daughters make a failure in their
efforts, they send them away with, “It is no use; you can’t do this or
that. You perplex and trouble me more than you help me.”
Thus the first efforts of the learners are repulsed, and the first
failure so cools their interest and ardor to learn, that they dread
another trial, and will propose to sew, knit, clean house, anything
but cook. Here the mother was greatly at fault. She should have
patiently instructed them, that they might, by practice, obtain an
experience which would remove the awkwardness and remedy the
unskillful movements of the inexperienced worker.
14
The Most Necessary Preparation Young Women Can Make
for Practical Life
—Young ladies should be thoroughly instructed
in cooking. Whatever may be their circumstances in life, here is
knowledge which may be put to a practical use. It is a branch of
education which has the most direct influence upon human life,
especially the lives of those held most dear.
15
I prize my seamstress; I value my copyist; but my cook, who
knows well how to prepare the food to sustain life and nourish brain,
bone, and muscle, fills the most important place among the helpers
in my family.
16
Young women think that it is menial to cook and do other kinds
[376]
of housework; and, for this reason, many girls who marry and have
the care of families have little idea of the duties devolving upon a
wife and mother.
17
Thus Build a Barrier Against Folly and Vice
—When you are
teaching them [your daughters] the art of cookery, you are building
around them a barrier that will preserve them from the folly and vice
which they may otherwise be tempted to engage in.
18
Men As Well As Women Should Learn to Cook
—Men, as
well as women, need to understand the simple, healthful preparation
of food. Their business often calls them where they cannot obtain
wholesome food; then, if they have a knowledge of cookery, they
can use it to good purpose.
19
296 Child Guidance
Both young men and young women should be taught how to
cook economically and to dispense with everything in the line of
flesh food.
20
Study Economy; Avoid Waste
—In every line of cooking the
question that should be considered is, “How shall the food be pre-
pared in the most natural and inexpensive manner?” And there should
be careful study that the fragments of food left over from the table
be not wasted. Study how, that in some way these fragments of
food shall not be lost. This skill, economy, and tact is a fortune. In
the warmer parts of the season, prepare less food. Use more dry
substance. There are many poor families, who, although they have
scarcely enough to eat, can often be enlightened as to why they are
poor; there are so many jots and tittles wasted.
21
Serious Questions for Reflection
—“Whether therefore ye eat,
or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” Do you
[377]
do this when you prepare food for your tables and call your family
to partake of it? Are you placing before your children only the food
that you know will make the very best blood? Is it that food that
will preserve their systems in the least feverish condition? Is it that
which will place them in the very best relation to life and health? Is
this the food that you are studying to place before your children? Or
do you, regardless of their future good, provide for them unhealthful,
stimulating, irritating food?
22
*
Note: Counsels on Diet and Foods presents detailed counsels on the whole food
question.
1
Testimonies For The Church 3:158.
2
Education, 216.
3
Counsels on Diet and Foods, 263.
4
Testimonies For The Church 2:370.
5
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 49.
6
The Ministry of Healing, 300.
7
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 48, 49.
8
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 73.
9
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 49.
10
The Ministry of Healing, 302.
11
Testimonies For The Church 2:537.
12
Testimonies For The Church 1:684.
13
Testimonies For The Church 1:684, 685.
14
Testimonies For The Church 1:685.
15
Testimonies For The Church 1:683, 684.
Chapter 62—Eating to Live[378]
God Appointed the Inclinations and Appetites
—Our natural
inclinations and appetites ... were divinely appointed, and when
given to man, were pure and holy. It was God’s design that reason
should rule the appetites, and that they should minister to our hap-
piness. And when they are regulated and controlled by a sanctified
reason, they are holiness unto the Lord.
1
A Subject of Divine Solicitude
—The education of the Israelites
included all their habits of life. Everything that concerned their
well-being was the subject of divine solicitude and came within the
province of divine law. Even in providing their food, God sought
their highest good. The manna with which He fed them in the
wilderness was of a nature to promote physical, mental, and moral
strength.... Notwithstanding the hardships of their wilderness life,
there was not a feeble one in all their tribes.
2
Built From the Food We Eat
—Our bodies are built up from
the food we eat. There is a constant breaking down of the tissues of
the body; every movement of every organ involves waste, and this
waste is repaired from our food. Each organ of the body requires its
share of nutrition. The brain must be supplied with its portion; the
bones, muscles, and nerves demand theirs. It is a wonderful process
that transforms the food into blood and uses this blood to build up
the varied parts of the body; but this process is going on continually,
supplying with life and strength each nerve, muscle, and tissue.
3
Begin With Correct Infant Feeding
—The importance of train-
[379]
ing children to right dietetic habits can hardly be overestimated. The
little ones need to learn that they eat to live, not live to eat. The
training should begin with the infant in its mother’s arms. The child
should be given food only at regular intervals, and less frequently
as it grows older. It should not be given sweets, or the food of older
persons, which it is unable to digest. Care and regularity in the
feeding of infants will not only promote health, and thus tend to
298
Eating to Live 299
make them quiet and sweet-tempered, but will lay the foundation of
habits that will be a blessing to them in after years.
4
Educate Tastes and Appetite
—As children emerge from baby-
hood, great care should still be taken in educating their tastes and
appetite. Often they are permitted to eat what they choose and when
they choose, without reference to health. The pains and money so
often lavished upon unwholesome dainties lead the young to think
that the highest object in life, and that which yields the greatest
amount of happiness, is to be able to indulge the appetite. The result
of this training is gluttony, then comes sickness....
Parents should train the appetites of their children and should
not permit the use of unwholesome foods.
5
Spiritual, Mental, and Physical Powers Influenced by Diet
—
Mothers who gratify the desires of their children at the expense of
health and happy tempers are sowing seeds of evil that will spring
up and bear fruit. Self-indulgence grows with the growth of the little
ones, and both mental and physical vigor are sacrificed. Mothers
who do this work reap with bitterness the seed they have sown. They
see their children grow up unfitted in mind and character to act a
[380]
noble and useful part in society or in the home. The spiritual as
well as the mental and physical powers suffer under the influence
of unhealthful food. The conscience becomes stupefied, and the
susceptibility to good impressions is impaired.
6
Choose the Best Foods
—In order to know what are the best
foods, we must study God’s original plan for man’s diet. He who
created man and who understands his needs appointed Adam his
food.... Grains, fruits, nuts, and vegetables constitute the diet chosen
for us by our Creator.
7
Prepare Them in a Simple, Appetizing Way
—God has fur-
nished man with abundant means for the gratification of an un-
perverted appetite. He has spread before him the products of the
earth—a bountiful variety of food that is palatable to the taste and
nutritious to the system. Of these our benevolent heavenly Father
says we may freely eat. Fruits, grains, and vegetables, prepared in a
simple way, free from spice and grease of all kinds, make, with milk
or cream, the most healthful diet. They impart nourishment to the
body and give a power of endurance and a vigor of intellect that are
not produced by a stimulating diet.
8
300 Child Guidance
Appetite Not a Safe Guide
—Those foods should be chosen
that best supply the elements needed for building up the body. In
this choice appetite is not a safe guide. Through wrong habits of
eating, the appetite has become perverted. Often it demands food
that impairs health and causes weakness instead of strength.... The
disease and suffering that everywhere prevail are largely due to
popular errors in regard to diet.
9
Children Who Followed an Untrained Appetite
—While
[381]
upon the cars, I heard parents remark that the appetites of their
children were delicate, and unless they had meat and cake, they
could not eat. When the noon meal was taken, I observed the quality
of food given to these children. It was fine wheaten bread, sliced
ham coated with black pepper, spiced pickles, cake, and preserves.
The pale, sallow complexion of these children plainly indicated the
abuses the stomach was suffering. Two of these children observed
another family of children eating cheese with their food, and they
lost their appetite for what was before them until their indulgent
mother begged a piece of the cheese to give to her children, fearing
the dear children would fail to make out their meal. The mother
remarked, “My children love this or that so much, and I let them
have what they want; for the appetite craves the kinds of food the
system requires.”
This might be correct if the appetite had never been perverted.
There is a natural and a depraved appetite. Parents who have taught
their children to eat unhealthful, stimulating food all their lives—
until the taste is perverted, and they crave clay, slate pencils, burned
coffee, tea grounds, cinnamon, cloves, and spices—cannot claim
that the appetite demands what the system requires. The appetite
has been falsely educated, until it is depraved. The fine organs of the
stomach have been stimulated and burned, until they have lost their
delicate sensitiveness. Simple, healthful food seems to them insipid.
The abused stomach will not perform the work given it, unless urged
to it by the most stimulating substances. If these children had been
trained from their infancy to take only healthful food, prepared in
the most simple manner, preserving its natural properties as much
as possible, and avoiding flesh meats, grease, and all spices, the
[382]
taste and appetite would be unimpaired. In its natural state, it might
Eating to Live 301
indicate, in a great degree, the food best adapted to the wants of the
system.”
10
What About Flesh Foods?
—We do not mark out any precise
line to be followed in diet; but we do say that in countries where
there are fruits, grains, and nuts in abundance, flesh food is not the
right food for God’s people. I have been instructed that flesh food
has a tendency to animalize the nature, to rob men and women of
that love and sympathy which they should feel for everyone, and to
give the lower passions control over the higher powers of the being.
If meat eating was ever healthful, it is not safe now.
11
Reasons for Discarding Flesh Foods
—Those who eat flesh are
but eating grains and vegetables at second hand, for the animal
receives from these things the nutrition that produces growth. The
life that was in the grains and vegetables passes into the eater. We
receive it by eating the flesh of the animal. How much better to get
it direct, by eating the food that God provided for our use!
Flesh was never the best food; but its use is now doubly objec-
tionable, since disease in animals is so rapidly increasing. Those
who use flesh foods little know what they are eating. Often if they
could see the animals when living and know the quality of the meat
they eat, they would turn from it with loathing. People are continu-
ally eating flesh that is filled with tuberculous and cancerous germs.
Tuberculosis, cancer, and other fatal diseases are thus communi-
cated.
12
Effects Not Immediately Realized
—The effects of a flesh diet
may not be immediately realized, but this is no evidence that it is not
[383]
harmful. Few can be made to believe that it is the meat they have
eaten which has poisoned their blood and caused their suffering.
Many die of diseases wholly due to meat eating, while the real cause
is not suspected by themselves or by others.
13
Return to the Original Wholesome Diet
—Is it not time that
all should aim to dispense with flesh foods? How can those who are
seeking to become pure, refined, and holy, that they may have the
companionship of heavenly angels, continue to use as food anything
that has so harmful an effect on soul and body? How can they take
the life of God’s creatures that they may consume the flesh as a
luxury? Let them, rather, return to the wholesome and delicious
food given to man in the beginning.
14
302 Child Guidance
The Course of Those Awaiting Christ’s Coming
—Among
those who are waiting for the coming of the Lord, meat eating
will eventually be done away; flesh will cease to form a part of their
diet. We should ever keep this end in view and endeavor to work
steadily toward it. I cannot think that in the practice of flesh eating
we are in harmony with the light which God has been pleased to
give us.
15
Back to God’s Design
—Again and again I have been shown
that God is bringing His people back to His original design, that is,
not to subsist on the flesh of dead animals. He would have us teach
people a better way.... If meat is discarded, if the taste is not educated
in that direction, if a liking for fruits and grains is encouraged, it
will soon be as God in the beginning designed it should be. No meat
will be used by His people.
16
Instruction Concerning a Change in Diet
—It is a mistake to
[384]
suppose that muscular strength depends on the use of animal food.
The needs of the system can be better supplied, and more vigorous
health can be enjoyed without its use. The grains, with fruits, nuts,
and vegetables, contain all the nutritive properties necessary to make
good blood. These elements are not so well or so fully supplied by a
flesh diet. Had the use of flesh been essential to health and strength,
animal food would have been included in the diet appointed man in
the beginning.
When the use of flesh food is discontinued, there is often a sense
of weakness, a lack of vigor. Many urge this as evidence that flesh
food is essential; but it is because foods of this class are stimulating,
because they fever the blood and excite the nerves, that they are so
missed. Some will find it as difficult to leave off flesh eating as it is
for the drunkard to give up his dram, but they will be the better for
the change.
When flesh food is discarded, its place should be supplied with
a variety of grains, nuts, vegetables, and fruits, that will be both
nourishing and appetizing. This is especially necessary in the case
of those who are weak, or who are taxed with continuous labor.
17
Well-prepared Substitutes Are Helpful
—Especially where
meat is not made a principal article of food is good cooking an
essential requirement. Something must be prepared to take the place
Eating to Live 303
of meat, and these substitutes for meat must be well prepared, so
that meat will not be desired.
18
I am acquainted with families who have changed from a meat
diet to one that is impoverished. Their food is so poorly prepared
[385]
that the stomach loathes it, and such have told me that the health
reform did not agree with them; that they were decreasing in physical
strength. Here is one reason why some have not been successful
in their efforts to simplify their food. They have a poverty-stricken
diet. Food is prepared without painstaking, and there is a continual
sameness.
There should not be many kinds at any one meal, but all meals
should not be composed of the same kinds of foods without variation.
Food should be prepared with simplicity, yet with a nicety which
will invite the appetite.
19
Overcoming the Unnatural Appetite
—Persons who have ac-
customed themselves to a rich, highly stimulating diet have an un-
natural taste, and they cannot at once relish food that is plain and
simple. It will take time for the taste to become natural and for the
stomach to recover from the abuse it has suffered. But those who
persevere in the use of wholesome food will, after a time, find it
palatable. Its delicate and delicious flavors will be appreciated, and
it will be eaten with greater enjoyment than can be derived from
unwholesome dainties. And the stomach, in a healthy condition,
neither fevered nor overtaxed, can readily perform its task.
20
Healthful Eating Is Not a Sacrifice
—While the children
should be taught to control the appetite, and to eat with reference to
health, let it be made plain that they are denying themselves only
that which would do them harm. They give up hurtful things for
something better. Let the table be made inviting and attractive as
it is supplied with the good things which God has so bountifully
bestowed.
21
Consider the Season, Climate, Occupation
—Not all foods
[386]
wholesome in themselves are equally suited to our needs under
all circumstances. Care should be taken in the selection of food.
Our diet should be suited to the season, to the climate in which we
live, and to the occupation we follow. Some foods that are adapted
for use at one season or in one climate are not suited to another. So
there are different foods best suited for persons in different occupa-
304 Child Guidance
tions. Often food that can be used with benefit by those engaged in
hard physical labor is unsuitable for persons of sedentary pursuits
or intense mental application. God has given us an ample variety of
healthful foods, and each person should choose from it the things
that experience and sound judgment prove to be best suited to his
own necessities.
22
Prepare Food With Intelligence and Skill
—It is wrong to eat
merely to gratify the appetite, but no indifference should be mani-
fested regarding the quality of the food or the manner of its prepara-
tion. If the food eaten is not relished, the body will not be so well
nourished. The food should be carefully chosen and prepared with
intelligence and skill.
23
“We Can Pick Up Anything.”
—In many families great prepa-
rations are made for visitors. A variety of food is prepared for the
table. This food is tempting to those unaccustomed to such a variety
of rich food....
I have a knowledge of the course pursued by some who make
these extra preparations for visitors. In their own families they
observe no regularity. The meals are prepared to suit the convenience
of the wife and mother. The happiness of the husband and children
is not studied. Though such a parade is made for visitors, anything
is thought to be good enough for “only us.” A table against the wall,
[387]
a cold meal placed on it, with no effort to make it inviting, is too
often seen. “Only for us,” they say. “We can pick up anything.”
24
Make the Mealtime a Pleasant Social Occasion
—Mealtime
should be a season for social intercourse and refreshment. Every-
thing that can burden or irritate should be banished. Let trust and
kindliness and gratitude to the Giver of all good be cherished, and
the conversation will be cheerful, a pleasant flow of thought that will
uplift without wearying.
25
The table is not a place where rebellion should be cultivated in
the children by some unreasonable course pursued by the parents.
The whole family should eat with gladness, with gratitude, remem-
bering that those who love and obey God will partake of the marriage
supper of the Lamb in the kingdom of God, and Jesus Himself will
serve them.
26
Eating to Live 305
Regularity in Eating
—Irregularities in eating destroy the
healthful tone of the digestive organs, to the detriment of health
and cheerfulness.
27
In no case should the meals be irregular. If dinner is eaten an
hour or two before the usual time, the stomach is unprepared for
the new burden; for it has not yet disposed of the food eaten at the
previous meal and has not vital force for the new work. Thus the
system is overtaxed.
Neither should the meals be delayed one or two hours, to suit
circumstances, or in order that a certain amount of work may be
accomplished. The stomach calls for food at the time it is accus-
tomed to receive it. If that time is delayed, the vitality of the system
decreases and finally reaches so low an ebb that the appetite is en-
tirely gone. If food is then taken, the stomach is unable to properly
[388]
care for it. The food cannot be converted into good blood. If all
would eat at regular periods, not tasting anything between meals,
they would be ready for their meals and would find a pleasure in
eating that would repay them for their effort.
28
Teach Children When, How, and What to Eat
—Children are
generally untaught in regard to the importance of when, how, and
what they should eat. They are permitted to indulge their tastes freely,
to eat at all hours, to help themselves to fruit when it tempts their
eyes; and this, with the pie, cake, bread and butter, and sweetmeats
eaten almost constantly, makes them gourmands and dyspeptics.
The digestive organs, like a mill which is continually kept running,
become enfeebled, vital force is called from the brain to aid the
stomach in its overwork, and thus the mental powers are weakened.
The unnatural stimulation and wear of the vital forces make them
nervous, impatient of restraint, self-willed, and irritable. They can
scarcely be trusted out of their parents’ sight. In many cases the
moral powers seem deadened, and it is difficult to arouse them to a
sense of the shame and grievous nature of sin; they slip easily into
habits of prevarication, deceit, and often open lying.
Parents deplore these things in their children, but do not realize
that it is their own bad management which has brought about the
evil. They have not seen the necessity of restraining the appetites
and passions of their children, and they have grown and strengthened
with their years. Mothers prepare with their own hands and place
306 Child Guidance
before their children food which has a tendency to injure them
physically and mentally.
29
Never Eat Between Meals
—The stomach must have careful
[389]
attention. It must not be kept in continual operation. Give this
misused and much-abused organ some peace and quiet and rest....
After the regular meal is eaten, the stomach should be allowed
to rest for five hours. Not a particle of food should be introduced
into the stomach till the next meal. In this interval the stomach will
perform its work and will then be in a condition to receive more
food.
30
Mothers make a great mistake in permitting them [their children]
to eat between meals. The stomach becomes deranged by this prac-
tice, and the foundation is laid for future suffering. Their fretfulness
may have been caused by unwholesome food, still undigested; but
the mother feels that she cannot spend time to reason upon the mat-
ter and correct her injurious management. Neither can she stop to
soothe their impatient worrying. She gives the little sufferers a piece
of cake or some other dainty to quiet them, but this only increases
the evil....
Mothers often complain of the delicate health of their children,
and consult the physician; when, if they would but exercise a little
common sense, they would see that the trouble is caused by errors
in diet.
31
Late “Snacks” a Pernicious Habit
—Another pernicious habit
is that of eating just before bedtime. The regular meals may have
been taken; but because there is a sense of faintness, more food
is taken. By indulgence this wrong practice becomes a habit and
often so firmly fixed that it is thought impossible to sleep without
food. As a result of eating late suppers, the digestive process is
continued through the sleeping hours. But though the stomach works
constantly, its work is not properly accomplished. The sleep is often
[390]
disturbed with unpleasant dreams, and in the morning the person
awakes unrefreshed and with little relish for breakfast. When we lie
down to rest, the stomach should have its work all done, that it, as
well as the other organs of the body, may enjoy rest. For persons of
sedentary habits late suppers are particularly harmful. With them
the disturbance created is often the beginning of disease that ends in
death.
32
Eating to Live 307
A Mother Counseled That Breakfast Is Important
—Your
child has a nervous temperament, and her diet should be carefully
guarded. She should not be allowed to choose that food which will
gratify the taste without affording proper nourishment.... Never let
her go from home to school without her breakfast. Do not venture
to give full scope to your inclinations in this matter. Place yourself
entirely under the control of God, and He will help you to bring all
your desires into harmony with His requirements.
33
It is the custom and order of society to take a slight breakfast.
But this is not the best way to treat the stomach. At breakfast
time the stomach is in a better condition to take care of more food
than at the second or third meal of the day. The habit of eating a
sparing breakfast and a large dinner is wrong. Make your breakfast
correspond more nearly to the heartiest meal of the day.
34
Provide an Abundance of the Best Foods
—Children and
youth should not be underfed in the least degree; they should have
an abundance of healthful food, but this does not mean that it is
proper to place before them rich cakes and pastries. They should
have the best of exercise and the best of food, for these have an
important bearing upon the condition of the mental and moral pow-
[391]
ers. A proper, wholesome diet will be one of the means whereby
healthful digestion may be preserved.
35
Partake of This in Moderation
—Parents often make a mistake
by giving their children too much food. Children treated in this way
will grow up dyspeptics. Moderation in the use of even good food
is essential. Parents, place before your children the amount they
should eat. Leave it not with them to eat just as much as they may
feel inclined.... Parents, unless this point is guarded, your children
will have dull perceptions. They may attend school, but they will
be unable to learn as they ought; for the strength which should go
to the brain is used in taking care of the extra food that burdens the
stomach. Parents need to be educated to see that too much food
given to children makes them feeble instead of robust.
36
Parents, Not Children, to Dictate Here
—Teach them to deny
appetite, to be grateful for the plain, simple diet God gives them. It
is not for you to allow them to dictate to you what they should eat,
but you should dictate what is best for them. It is a sin for you to
308 Child Guidance
allow your children to murmur and complain about good wholesome
food, just because it does not suit their depraved appetites.
37
Do not let the child receive the impression that, because he is
your child, he must therefore be deferred to and permitted to choose
and direct his own way. He should not be permitted to choose articles
of food that are not good for him, simply because he likes them. The
experience of parents should have a controlling power in the life of
the child.
38
Respect Child’s Preference, if Reasonable
—It rests with us
[392]
individually to decide whether our lives shall be controlled by the
mind or by the body. The youth must, each for himself, make the
choice that shapes his life; and no pains should be spared that he may
understand the forces with which he has to deal, and the influences
which mold character and destiny.
39
In the education of children and youth they should be taught
that the habits of eating, drinking, and dressing which have been
formed after the world’s standard are not in accordance with the
laws of health and life, and must be held in control by reason and
intellect. The power of appetite and strength of habit should not be
permitted to overpower the dictates of reason. In order to secure
this object, the youth must have higher aims and motives than mere
animal gratification in eating and drinking.
40
Far-reaching Effects of Perverted Appetite
—Some are not
impressed with the necessity of eating and drinking to the glory of
God. The indulgence of appetite affects them in all the relations of
life. It is seen in the family, in the church, in the prayer meeting,
and in the conduct of their children. It is the curse of their lives. It
prevents them from understanding the truths for these last days.
41
Healthful Living, a Personal Obligation
—What we eat and
drink has an important bearing upon our lives and characters, and
Christians should bring their habits of eating and drinking into con-
formity to the laws of nature. We must sense our obligations to God
in these matters. Obedience to the laws of health should be made a
matter of earnest study, for willing ignorance on this subject is sin.
[393]
Each one should feel a personal obligation to carry out the laws of
healthful living.
42
Eating to Live 309
1
Temperance, 12.
2
Education, 38.
3
The Ministry of Healing, 295.
4
The Ministry of Healing, 383.
5
The Ministry of Healing, 384.
6
Counsels on Diet and Foods, 230.
7
The Ministry of Healing, 295, 296.
8
Counsels on Diet and Foods, 230.
9
The Ministry of Healing, 295, 296.
10
Counsels on Diet and Foods, 239.
11
Testimonies For The Church 9:159.
12
The Ministry of Healing, 313.
13
The Ministry of Healing, 315.
14
The Ministry of Healing, 317.
15
Counsels on Diet and Foods, 380, 381.
16
Counsels on Diet and Foods, 82.
17
The Ministry of Healing, 316.
18
Letter 60a, 1896.
19
Testimonies For The Church 2:63.
20
The Ministry of Healing, 298, 299.
21
The Ministry of Healing, 385.
22
The Ministry of Healing, 296, 297.
23
The Ministry of Healing, 300.
24
Manuscript 1, 1876.
25
Education, 206.
26
Letter 19, 1892.
27
The Ministry of Healing, 384.
28
Counsels on Diet and Foods, 179.
29
Pacific Health Journal, May, 1890.
30
Counsels on Diet and Foods, 173, 179.
31
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 61.
32
The Ministry of Healing, 303, 304.
33
Letter 69, 1896.
34
Counsels on Diet and Foods, 173.
35
Letter 19, 1892.
36
Manuscript 155, 1899.
37
Letter 23, 1888.
38
The Signs of the Times, August 13, 1896.
39
Education, 202.
40
Good Health, July, 1880, par. 7.
41
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 151.
42
Manuscript 47, 1896.
Chapter 63—Temperance in All Things[394]
Intemperance Causes Most of Life’s Ills—Intemperance is at
the foundation of the larger share of the ills of life. It annually de-
stroys tens of thousands. We do not speak of intemperance as limited
only to the use of intoxicating liquors, but give it a broader meaning,
including the hurtful indulgence of any appetite or passion.
1
Through intemperance some sacrifice one half, and others two
thirds of their physical, mental, and moral powers and become play-
things for the enemy.
2
Excessive Indulgence Is Sin
—Excessive indulgence in eating,
drinking, sleeping, or seeing is sin. The harmonious healthy action
of all the powers of body and mind results in happiness; and the
more elevated and refined the powers, the more pure and unalloyed
the happiness.
3
Temperance Is a Principle of the Religious Life
—Temper-
ance in all things of this life is to be taught and practiced. Temper-
ance in eating, drinking, sleeping, and dressing is one of the grand
principles of the religious life. Truth brought into the sanctuary
of the soul will guide in the treatment of the body. Nothing that
concerns the health of the human agent is to be regarded with indif-
ference. Our eternal welfare depends upon the use we make during
this life of our time, strength, and influence.
4
Only one lease of life is granted us here; and the inquiry with
everyone should be, How can I invest my life that it may yield the
greatest profit?
5
Our first duty toward God and our fellow beings is that of self-
[395]
development. Every faculty with which the Creator has endowed us
should be cultivated to the highest degree of perfection, that we may
be able to do the greatest amount of good of which we are capable.
Hence that time is spent to good account which is directed to the
establishment and preservation of sound physical and mental health.
We cannot afford to dwarf or cripple a single function of mind or
310
Temperance in All Things 311
body by overwork or by abuse of any part of the living machinery.
As surely as we do this, we must suffer the consequences.
6
It Has a Wonderful Power
—The observance of temperance
and regularity in all things has a wonderful power. It will do more
than circumstances or natural endowments in promoting that sweet-
ness and serenity of disposition which count so much in smoothing
life’s pathway. At the same time the power of self-control thus ac-
quired will be found one of the most valuable of equipments for
grappling successfully with the stern duties and realities that await
every human being.
7
An Aid to Clear Thinking
—Every day men in positions of
trust have decisions to make upon which depend results of great
importance. Often they have to think rapidly, and this can be done
successfully by those only who practice strict temperance. The mind
strengthens under the correct treatment of the physical and mental
powers. If the strain is not too great, new vigor comes with every
taxation.
8
Temperate Habits Yield Rich Rewards
—The rising genera-
tion are surrounded with allurements calculated to tempt the appetite.
Especially in our large cities, every form of indulgence is made easy
and inviting. Those who, like Daniel, refuse to defile themselves
[396]
will reap the reward of their temperate habits. With their greater
physical stamina and increased power of endurance, they have a
bank of deposit upon which to draw in case of emergency.
Right physical habits promote mental superiority. Intellectual
power, physical strength, and longevity depend upon immutable
laws. There is no happen-so, no chance, about this matter. Nature’s
God will not interfere to preserve men from the consequences of
violating nature’s laws.
9
For Perfect Health Be Temperate in All Things
—In order
to preserve health, temperance in all things is necessary.... Our
heavenly Father sent the light of health reform to guard against the
evils resulting from a debased appetite, that those who love purity
and holiness may know how to use with discretion the good things
He has provided for them, and that by exercising temperance in daily
life, they may be sanctified through the truth.
10
Temperance Precedes Sanctification
—God’s people are to
learn the meaning of temperance in all things.... All self-indul-
312 Child Guidance
gence is to be cut away from their lives. Before they can really
understand the meaning of true sanctification and of conformity to
the will of Christ, they must, by co-operating with God, obtain the
mastery over wrong habits and practices.
11
In Study
—Intemperance in study is a species of intoxication;
and those who indulge in it, like the drunkard, wander from safe
paths and stumble and fall in the darkness. The Lord would have
every student bear in mind that the eye must be kept single to the
glory of God. He is not to exhaust and waste his physical and mental
[397]
powers in seeking to acquire all possible knowledge of the sciences,
but is to preserve the freshness and vigor of all his powers to engage
in the work which the Lord has appointed him in helping souls to
find the path of righteousness.
12
In Work
—We should practice temperance in our labor. It is not
our duty to place ourselves where we shall be overworked. Some
may at times be placed where this is necessary, but it should be the
exception, not the rule. We are to practice temperance in all things.
If we honor the Lord by acting our part, He will on His part preserve
our health. We should have a sensible control of all our organs. By
practicing temperance in eating, in drinking, in dressing, in labor,
and in all things, we can do for ourselves what no physician can do
for us.
13
As a rule, the labor of the day should not be prolonged into the
evening.... I have been shown that those who do this often lose much
more than they gain, for their energies are exhausted, and they labor
on nervous excitement. They may not realize any immediate injury,
but they are surely undermining their constitution.
14
Those who make great exertions to accomplish just so much
work in a given time, and continue to labor when their judgment
tells them they should rest, are never gainers. They are living on
borrowed capital. They are expending the vital force which they will
need at a future time. And when the energy they have so recklessly
used is demanded, they fail for want of it. The physical strength is
gone, the mental powers fail. They realize that they have met with
a loss, but do not know what it is. Their time of need has come,
but their physical resources are exhausted. Everyone who violates
the laws of health must sometime be a sufferer to a greater or less
[398]
degree. God has provided us with constitutional force, which will be
Temperance in All Things 313
needed at different periods of our lives. If we recklessly exhaust this
force by continual overtaxation, we shall sometime be the losers.
15
In Dressing
—In all respects the dress should be healthful.
“Above all things,” God desires us to “be in health”—health of
body and of soul. And we are to be workers together with Him for
the health of both soul and body. Both are promoted by healthful
dress.
It should have the grace, the beauty, the appropriateness of natu-
ral simplicity. Christ has warned us against the pride of life, but not
against its grace and natural beauty.
16
In Eating
—True temperance teaches us to dispense entirely with
everything hurtful, and to use judiciously that which is healthful.
There are few who realize as they should how much their habits of
diet have to do with their health, their character, their usefulness in
this world, and their eternal destiny. The appetite should ever be in
subjection to the moral and intellectual powers. The body should be
servant to the mind, and not the mind to the body.
17
Those who eat and work intemperately and irrationally, talk
and act irrationally. It is not necessary to drink alcoholic liquors
in order to be intemperate. The sin of intemperate eating—eating
too frequently, too much, and of rich, unwholesome food—destroys
the healthy action of the digestive organs, affects the brain, and
perverts the judgment, preventing rational, calm, healthy thinking
and acting.
18
Special Care Not to Overeat
—In nine cases out of ten there is
[399]
more danger of eating too much than too little.... There are many
sick who suffer from no disease. The cause of their sickness is
indulgence of appetite. They think that if the food is healthful, they
may eat as much as they please. This is a great mistake. Persons
whose powers are debilitated should eat a moderate and even limited
amount of food. The system will then be enabled to do its work
easily and well, and a great deal of suffering will be saved.
19
Do Not Deny God by One Act of Intemperance
—We have
been bought with a price; therefore we are to glorify God in our
body and in our spirit, which are His. We are not to deny Him by
one act of intemperance, because the only-begotten Son of God has
purchased us at an infinite cost, even the sacrifice of His life. He did
not die for us in order that we might become slaves to evil habits,
314 Child Guidance
but that we might become the sons and daughters of God, serving
Him with every power of the being.
20
Those who have a constant realization that they stand in this
relation to God will not place in the stomach food which pleases the
appetite, but which injures the digestive organs. They will not spoil
the property of God by indulging improper habits of eating, drinking,
or dressing. They will take great care of the human machinery,
realizing that they must do this in order to work in copartnership
with God. He wills that they shall be healthy, happy, and useful. But
in order for them to be this, they must place their wills on the side
of His will.
21
Carry Temperance Into All Details of Home Life
—We urge
that the principles of temperance be carried into all the details of
[400]
home life; that the example of parents should be a lesson of temper-
ance; that self-denial and self-control should be taught to the children
and enforced upon them, so far as consistent, from babyhood.
22
In the family circle and in the church we should place Christian
temperance on an elevated platform. It should be a living, working
element, reforming habits, dispositions, and characters.
23
1
Pacific Health Journal, April, 1890.
2
Messages to Young People, 236.
3
Counsels on Diet and Foods, 44.
4
Testimonies For The Church 6:375.
5
Pacific Health Journal, April, 1890.
6
The Signs of the Times, November 17, 1890.
7
Education, 206.
8
The Ministry of Healing, 309.
9
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 28.
10
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 52.
11
Medical Ministry, 275.
12
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 405, 406.
13
Temperance, 139.
14
Counsels on Health, 99.
15
Fundamentals of Christian Education, 153, 154.
16
The Ministry of Healing, 288, 289.
17
Temperance, 138.
18
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 155.
19
Manuscript 1, 1876.
20
Letter 166, 1903.
21
Temperance, 214.
Chapter 64—The Home and the Temperance[401]
Crusade
Intemperance Is on the Rampage
—Intemperance still contin-
ues its ravages. Iniquity in every form stands like a mighty barrier to
prevent the progress of truth and righteousness. Social wrongs, born
of ignorance and vice, are still causing untold misery and casting
their baleful shadow upon both the church and the world. Depravity
among the youth is increasing instead of decreasing. Nothing but
earnest, continual effort will avail to remove this desolating curse.
The conflict with interest and appetite, with evil habits and unholy
passions, will be fierce and deadly; only those who shall move from
principle can gain the victory in this warfare.
1
Intemperance is on the increase, in spite of the efforts made to
control it. We cannot be too earnest in seeking to hinder its progress,
to raise the fallen and shield the weak from temptation. With our
feeble human hands we can do but little, but we have an unfailing
Helper. We must not forget that the arm of Christ can reach to the
very depths of human woe and degradation. He can give us help to
conquer even this terrible demon of intemperance.
2
Total Abstinence Is the Answer
—The only way in which any
can be secure against the power of intemperance is to abstain wholly
from wine, beer, and strong drinks. We must teach our children that
in order to be manly they must let these things alone. God has shown
us what constitutes true manliness. It is he that overcometh who will
[402]
be honored, and whose name will not be blotted out of the book of
life.
3
Parents may, by earnest, persevering effort, unbiased by the cus-
toms of fashionable life, build a moral bulwark about their children
that will defend them from the miseries and crimes caused by intem-
perance. Children should not be left to come up as they will, unduly
developing traits that should be nipped in the bud; but they should
be disciplined carefully, and educated to take their position upon the
side of right, of reform and abstinence. In every crisis they will then
316
Home and the Temperance Crusade 317
have moral independence to breast the storm of opposition sure to
assail those who take their stand in favor of true reform.
4
Intemperance Is Often a Result of Home Indulgence
—Great
efforts are made in our country to put down intemperance, but it is
found a hard matter to overpower and chain the full-grown lion. If
half these efforts were directed toward enlightening parents as to
their responsibility in forming the habits and characters of their chil-
dren, a thousandfold more good might result than from the present
course. We bid all workers in the cause of temperance Godspeed;
but we invite them to look deeper into the cause of the evil they war
against, and go more thoroughly and consistently into reform.
5
In order to reach the root of intemperance we must go deeper
than the use of alcohol or tobacco. Idleness, lack of aim, or evil
associations may be the predisposing cause. Often it is found at the
home table, in families that account themselves strictly temperate.
Anything that disorders digestion, that creates undue mental excite-
ment or in any way enfeebles the system, disturbing the balance of
the mental and the physical powers, weakens the control of the mind
[403]
over the body, and thus tends toward intemperance. The downfall
of many a promising youth might be traced to unnatural appetites
created by an unwholesome diet.
6
The tables of our American people are generally prepared in a
manner to make drunkards. Appetite is the ruling principle with a
large class. Whoever will indulge appetite in eating too often, and
food not of a healthful quality, is weakening his power to resist the
clamors of appetite and passion in other respects in proportion as he
has strengthened the propensity to incorrect habits of eating.
7
Tea and Coffee Are Contributing Factors
—Through the in-
temperance begun at home, the digestive organs first become weak-
ened, and soon ordinary food does not satisfy the appetite. Unhealthy
conditions are established, and there is a craving for more stimu-
lating food. Tea and coffee produce an immediate effect. Under
the influence of these poisons the nervous system is excited; and in
some cases, for the time being, the intellect seems to be invigorated,
the imagination more vivid. Because these stimulants produce such
agreeable results, many conclude that they really need them; but
there is always a reaction. The nervous system has borrowed power
from its future resources for present use, and all this temporary invig-
318 Child Guidance
oration is followed by a corresponding depression. The suddenness
of the relief obtained from tea and coffee is an evidence that what
seems to be strength is only nervous excitement, and consequently
must be an injury to the system.
8
Tobacco, a Subtle Poison
—Tobacco using is a habit which
frequently affects the nervous system in a more powerful manner
[404]
than does the use of alcohol. It binds the victim in stronger bands
of slavery than does the intoxicating cup; the habit is more difficult
to overcome. Body and mind are, in many cases, more thoroughly
intoxicated with the use of tobacco than with spirituous liquors; for
it is a more subtle poison.
9
Tobacco ... affects the brain and benumbs the sensibilities, so
that the mind cannot clearly discern spiritual things, especially those
truths which would have a tendency to correct this filthy indulgence.
Those who use tobacco in any form are not clear before God. In
such a filthy practice it is impossible for them to glorify God in their
bodies and spirits, which are His.
10
Tobacco weakens the brain and paralyzes its fine sensibilities.
Its use excites a thirst for strong drink, and in very many cases lays
the foundation for the liquor habit.
11
Effects of Stimulants and Narcotics
—The effect of stimulants
and narcotics is to lessen physical strength, and whatever affects
the body will affect the mind. A stimulant may for a time arouse
the energies and produce mental and physical activity; but when
the exhilarating influence is gone, both mind and body will be in a
worse condition than before. Intoxicating liquors and tobacco have
proved a terrible curse to our race, not only weakening the body
and confusing the mind, but debasing the morals. As the control of
reason is set aside, the animal passions will bear sway. The more
freely these poisons are used, the more brutish will become the
nature.
12
Teach Children to Abhor Stimulants
—Teach your children to
abhor stimulants. How many are ignorantly fostering in them an
appetite for these things!
13
God calls upon parents to guard their children against the indul-
[405]
gence of appetite, and especially against the use of stimulants and
narcotics. The tables of Christian parents should never be loaded
Home and the Temperance Crusade 319
with food containing condiments and spices. They are to study to
preserve the stomach from any abuse.
14
In this fast age the less exciting the food the better. Temperance
in all things and firm denial of appetite is the only path of safety.
15
A Challenge to Parents
—Parents may have transmitted to their
children tendencies to appetite and passion, which will make more
difficult the work of educating and training these children to be
strictly temperate and to have pure and virtuous habits. If the ap-
petite for unhealthy food and for stimulants and narcotics has been
transmitted to them as a legacy from their parents, what a fearfully
solemn responsibility rests upon the parents to counteract the evil
tendencies which they have given to their children! How earnestly
and diligently should the parents work to do their duty, in faith and
hope, to their unfortunate offspring!
16
Tastes and Appetites Must Be Educated
—Parents should
make it their first business to understand the laws of life and health,
that nothing shall be done by them in the preparation of food, or
through any other habits, which will develop wrong tendencies in
their children. How carefully should mothers study to prepare their
tables with the most simple, healthful food, that the digestive organs
may not be weakened, the nervous forces unbalanced, and the in-
struction which they should give their children counteracted, by the
food placed before them. This food either weakens or strengthens
the organs of the stomach and has much to do in controlling the phys-
[406]
ical and moral health of the children, who are God’s blood-bought
property.
17
What a sacred trust is committed to parents, to guard the physical
and moral constitutions of their children, so that the nervous system
may be well balanced, and the soul not be endangered!
18
Our sisters can do much in the great work for the salvation of
others by spreading their tables with only healthful, nourishing food.
They may employ their precious time in educating the tastes and
appetites of their children, in forming habits of temperance in all
things, and in encouraging self-denial and benevolence for the good
of others.
19
Negligent Parents Are Responsible
—Many parents, to avoid
the task of patiently educating their children to habits of self-denial,
indulge them in eating and drinking whenever they please. The
320 Child Guidance
desire to satisfy the taste and to gratify inclination does not lessen
with the increase of years; and these indulged youth, as they grow
up, are governed by impulse, slaves to appetite. When they take their
place in society and begin life for themselves, they are powerless
to resist temptation. In the glutton, the tobacco devotee, ... and the
inebriate, we see the evil results of erroneous education....
When we hear the sad lamentation of Christian men and women
over the terrible evils of intemperance, the questions at once arise:
Who have educated the youth? Who have fostered in them these
unruly appetites? Who have neglected the solemn responsibility of
forming their character for usefulness in this life and for the society
of heavenly angels in the next?
20
The Real Work Begins at Home
—It is in the home that the real
[407]
work must begin. The greatest burden rests upon those who have
the responsibility of educating the youth, of forming their character.
Here is a work for mothers, in helping their children to form correct
habits and pure tastes, to develop moral stamina, true moral worth.
Teach them that they are not to be swayed by others, that they are
not to yield to wrong influences, but to influence others for good, to
ennoble and elevate those with whom they associate. Teach them
that if they connect themselves with God, they will have strength
from Him to resist the fiercest temptations.
21
Temperance Is Not a Matter for Jesting
—Many make the
subject of temperance a matter of jest. They claim that the Lord
does not concern Himself with such minor matters as our eating
and drinking. But if the Lord had no care for these things, He
would not have revealed Himself to the wife of Manoah, giving her
definite instructions and twice enjoining upon her to beware lest she
disregard them. Is not this sufficient evidence that He does care for
these things?
22
Reform Begins With the Mother
—The carefulness with which
the mother should guard her habits of life is taught in the Scrip-
tures.
23
The reform should begin with the mother before the birth of her
children; and if God’s instructions were faithfully obeyed, intemper-
ance would not exist.
24
Not only the habits of the mother, but the training of the child
were included in the angel’s instruction to the Hebrew parents. It
Home and the Temperance Crusade 321
was not enough that Samson, the child who was to deliver Israel,
should have a good legacy at his birth. This was to be followed by
careful training. From infancy he was to be trained to habits of strict
[408]
temperance....
The directions given concerning the Hebrew children teach us
that nothing which affects the child’s physical well-being is to be
neglected. Nothing is unimportant. Every influence that affects the
health of the body has its bearing upon mind and character.
25
Temperance and self-control should be taught from the cradle.
Upon the mother largely rests the burden of this work, and, aided by
the father, she may carry it forward successfully.
26
Continue the Lessons at Fireside and at School
—It is a most
difficult matter to unlearn the habits which have been indulged
through life and have educated the appetite. The demon of intem-
perance is not easily conquered. It is of giant strength and hard to
overcome. But let parents begin a crusade against intemperance
at their own firesides, in their own families, in the principles they
teach their children to follow from their very infancy, and they may
hope for success. It will pay you, mothers, to use the precious hours
which are given you of God in forming, developing, and training the
characters of your children, and in teaching them to strictly adhere
to the principles of temperance in eating and drinking.
27
Instruction in this line should be given in every school and in
every home. The youth and children should understand the effect of
alcohol, tobacco, and other like poisons in breaking down the body,
beclouding the mind, and sensualizing the soul. It should be made
plain that no one who uses these things can long possess the full
strength of his physical, mental, or moral faculties.
28
Make Plain the Effect of Small Deviations
—It is the begin-
[409]
nings of evil that should be guarded against. In the instruction of
the youth the effect of apparently small deviations from the right
should be made very plain.... Let the youth be impressed with the
thought that they are to be masters, and not slaves. Of the kingdom
within them God has made them rulers, and they are to exercise
their Heaven-appointed kingship. When such instruction is faith-
fully given, the results will extend far beyond the youth themselves.
Influences will reach out that will save thousands of men and women
who are on the very brink of ruin.
29
322 Child Guidance
Build Moral Stamina to Resist Temptation
—Individual effort
on the right side is needed to subdue the growing evil of intemper-
ance. Oh, that we could find words that would melt and burn their
way into the heart of every parent in the land!
30
Parents may lay for their children the foundation for a healthy,
happy life. They may send them forth from their homes with moral
stamina to resist temptation, and courage and strength to wrestle
successfully with life’s problems. They may inspire in them the
purpose and develop the power to make their lives an honor to God
and a blessing to the world. They may make straight paths for their
feet, through sunshine and shadow, to the glorious heights above.
31
God calls upon us to stand upon the broad platform of temper-
ance in eating, drinking, and dressing. Parents, will you not awaken
to your God-given responsibilities? Study the principles of health
reform and teach your children that the path of self-denial is the only
path of safety.
32
1
Temperance, 234.
2
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 21.
3
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 37.
4
The Health Reformer, May 1, 1877.
5
The Review and Herald, September 23, 1884.
6
Education, 202, 203.
7
Testimonies For The Church 3:563.
8
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 31.
9
Testimonies For The Church 3:562.
10
Counsels on Health, 81.
11
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 17.
12
The Signs of the Times, September 13, 1910.
13
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 17.
14
The Review and Herald, June 27, 1899.
15
Testimonies For The Church 3:561.
16
Testimonies For The Church 3:567, 568.
17
Testimonies For The Church 3:568.
18
Ibid.
19
Testimonies For The Church 3:489.
20
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 76.
21
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 21, 22.
22
Temperance, 233, 234.
23
The Ministry of Healing, 372.
24
The Signs of the Times, September 13, 1910.
25
The Ministry of Healing, 379, 380.
324 Child Guidance
Section 15—Fitting Attire [410]
[411]
Chapter 65—The Blessings of Proper Dress[412]
[413]
Appropriate and Becoming
—In dress, as in all things else, it
is our privilege to honor our Creator. He desires our clothing to be
not only neat and healthful, but appropriate and becoming.
1
We should seek to make the best of our appearance. In the taber-
nacle service God specified every detail concerning the garments of
those who ministered before Him. Thus we are taught that He has
a preference in regard to the dress of those who serve Him. Very
specific were the directions given in regard to Aaron’s robes, for his
dress was symbolic. So the dress of Christ’s followers should be
symbolic. In all things we are to be representatives of Him. Our
appearance in every respect should be characterized by neatness,
modesty, and purity.
2
Illustrated by the Things of Nature
—By the things of nature
[the flowers, the lily] Christ illustrates the beauty that Heaven values,
the modest grace, the simplicity, the purity, the appropriateness, that
would make our attire pleasing to Him.
3
Character May Be Judged by Style of Dress
—The dress and
its arrangement upon the person is generally found to be the index
of the man or the woman.
4
We judge of a person’s character by the style of dress worn. A
modest, godly woman will dress modestly. A refined taste, a culti-
vated mind, will be revealed in the choice of a simple, appropriate
attire.... The one who is simple and unpretending in her dress and
in her manners shows that she understands that a true woman is
[414]
characterized by moral worth. How charming, how interesting, is
simplicity in dress, which in comeliness can be compared with the
flowers of the field.
5
Guiding Principles Enunciated
—I beg of our people to walk
carefully and circumspectly before God. Follow the customs in
dress so far as they conform to health principles. Let our sisters
dress plainly, as many do, having the dress of good, durable mate-
rial, appropriate for this age, and let not the dress question fill the
326
Blessings of Proper Dress 327
mind. Our sisters should dress with simplicity. They should clothe
themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety.
Give to the world a living illustration of the inward adorning of the
grace of God.
6
Follow Prevailing Customs if Modest, Healthful, and Con-
venient
—Christians should not take pains to make themselves a
gazingstock by dressing differently from the world. But if, when fol-
lowing out their convictions of duty in respect to dressing modestly
and healthfully, they find themselves out of fashion, they should
not change their dress in order to be like the world; but they should
manifest a noble independence and moral courage to be right, if all
the world differ from them.
If the world introduce a modest, convenient, and healthful mode
of dress, which is in accordance with the Bible, it will not change
our relation to God or to the world to adopt such a style of dress.
Christians should follow Christ and make their dress conform to
God’s Word. They should shun extremes. They should humbly pur-
sue a straightforward course, irrespective of applause or of censure,
and should cling to the right because of its own merits.
7
Avoid Extremes
—Do not occupy your time by endeavoring to
[415]
follow all the foolish fashions in dress. Dress neatly and becomingly,
but do not make yourself the subject of remarks either by being
overdressed or by dressing in a lax, untidy manner. Act as though
you knew that the eye of heaven is upon you, and that you are living
under the approbation or disapprobation of God.
8
Care in Dress Not to Be Confused With Pride
—There is a
class who are continually harping upon pride and dress, who are
careless of their own apparel, and who think it a virtue to be dirty,
and dress without order and taste; and their clothing often looks as
if it flew and lit upon their persons. Their garments are filthy, and
yet such ones will ever be talking against pride. They class decency
and neatness with pride.
9
Those who are careless and untidy in dress are seldom elevated
in their conversation and possess but little refinement of feeling.
They sometimes consider oddity and coarseness humility.
10
Christ Sounded a Caution
—Christ noticed the devotion to
dress, and He cautioned, yea, He commanded, His followers not to
bestow too much thought upon it. “Why take ye thought for raiment?
328 Child Guidance
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither
do they spin; yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory
was not arrayed like one of these.” ... Pride and extravagance in dress
are sins to which woman is especially prone; hence these injunctions
relate directly to her. Of how little value are gold or pearls or costly
array, when compared with the meekness and loveliness of Christ!
11
Bible Instruction for God’s People
—I was directed to the fol-
[416]
lowing scriptures. Said the angel, “They are to instruct God’s peo-
ple.” 1 Timothy 2:9, 10: “In like manner also that women adorn
themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety;
not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; but (which
becometh women professing godliness) with good works.” 1 Peter
3:3-5: “Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plait-
ing of the hair and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; but
let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible,
even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight
of God of great price. For after this manner in the old time the holy
women also, ... adorned themselves.”
12
Many look upon these injunctions as too old-fashioned to be
worthy of notice; but He who gave them to His disciples understood
the dangers from the love of dress in our time, and sent to us the
note of warning. Will we heed the warning and be wise?
13
Those who are truly seeking to follow Christ will have consci-
entious scruples in regard to the dress they wear; they will strive to
meet the requirements of this injunction [1 Peter 3:3-5] so plainly
given by the Lord.
14
Dangers in the Love of Dress
—The love of dress endangers
the morals and makes woman the opposite of the Christian lady,
characterized by modesty and sobriety. Showy, extravagant dress
too often encourages lust in the heart of the wearer and awakens
base passions in the heart of the beholder. God sees that the ruin of
the character is frequently preceded by the indulgence of pride and
vanity in dress. He sees that the costly apparel stifles the desire to
do good.
15
The Witness of Simplicity in Dress
—Simple, plain, unpretend-
[417]
ing dress will be a recommendation to my youthful sisters. In no
better way can you let your light shine to others than in your simplic-
ity of dress and deportment. You may show to all that, in comparison
Blessings of Proper Dress 329
with eternal things, you place a proper estimate upon the things of
this life.
16
Modesty Will Shield From a Thousand Perils
—My sisters,
avoid even the appearance of evil. In this fast age, reeking with
corruption, you are not safe unless you stand guarded. Virtue and
modesty are rare. I appeal to you as followers of Christ, making an
exalted profession, to cherish the precious, priceless gem of modesty.
This will guard virtue.
17
Chaste simplicity in dress, when united with modesty of de-
meanor, will go far toward surrounding a young woman with that
atmosphere of sacred reserve which will be to her a shield from a
thousand perils.
18
An Old-fashioned Idea
—To train children to walk in the nar-
row path of purity and holiness is thought an altogether odd and
old-fashioned idea. This is prevalent even among parents who pro-
fess to worship God, but their works testify that they are worshipers
of mammon. They are ambitious to compete with their neighbors and
to compare favorably, in the dress of themselves and their children,
with the members of the church to which they belong.
19
The Only Dress Admitted Into Heaven
—There is a dress
which every child and youth may innocently seek to obtain. It
is the righteousness of the saints. If they will only be as willing and
persevering in obtaining this as they are in fashioning their garments
after the standard of worldly society, they will very soon be clothed
[418]
with the righteousness of Christ, and their names will not be blotted
out of the book of life. Mothers, as well as youth and children, need
to pray, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit
within me.” [Psalm 51:10.] This purity of heart and loveliness of
spirit are more precious than gold, both for time and for eternity.
Only the pure in heart shall see God.
Then, mothers, teach your children, line upon line and precept
upon precept, that the righteousness of Christ is the only dress in
which they can be admitted into heaven, and that robed in this apparel
they will be constantly doing duties in this life which will glorify
God.
20
330 Child Guidance
1
Education, 248.
2
Testimonies For The Church 6:96.
3
The Ministry of Healing, 289.
4
The Review and Herald, January 30, 1900.
5
The Review and Herald, November 17, 1904.
6
Manuscript 167, 1897.
7
Testimonies For The Church 1:458, 459.
8
Manuscript 53, 1912.
9
The Review and Herald, January 23, 1900.
10
The Review and Herald, January 30, 1900.
11
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 93, 94.
12
Testimonies For The Church 1:189.
13
Testimonies For The Church 4:630.
14
Messages to Young People, 345, 346.
15
Testimonies For The Church 4:645.
16
Testimonies For The Church 3:376.
17
Testimonies For The Church 2:458.
18
Education, 248.
19
The Signs of the Times, September 10, 1894.
20
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 95.
Chapter 66—Teaching the Fundamental Principles [419]
of Dress
A Necessary Part of Education
—No education can be com-
plete that does not teach right principles in regard to dress. Without
such teaching, the work of education is too often retarded and per-
verted. Love of dress and devotion to fashion are among the teacher’s
most formidable rivals and most effective hindrances.
1
No Precise Style Given
—No one precise style has been given
me as the exact rule to guide all in their dress.
2
Neat, Attractive, Clean
—The young should be encouraged to
form correct habits in dress, that their appearance may be neat and
attractive; they should be taught to keep their garments clean and
neatly mended. All their habits should be such as to make them a
help and comfort to others.
3
Let the attire be appropriate and becoming. Though only a ten-
cent calico, it should be kept neat and clean.
4
Order and Correct Taste
—In their dress they [Christians]
avoid superfluity and display; but their clothing will be neat, not
gaudy, modest, and arranged upon the person with order and taste.
5
Correct taste is not to be despised or condemned. Our faith, if
carried out, will lead us to be so plain in dress and zealous of good
works that we shall be marked as peculiar. But when we lose taste
for order and neatness in dress, we virtually leave the truth; for the
[420]
truth never degrades but elevates.
6
My sisters, your dress is telling either in favor of Christ and the
sacred truth or in favor of the world. Which is it?
7
Good Taste in Colors and Figures
—Taste should be mani-
fested as to colors. Uniformity in this respect is desirable as far
as convenient. Complexion, however, may be taken into account.
Modest colors should be sought for. When figured material is used,
figures that are large and fiery, showing vanity and shallow pride in
those who choose them, should be avoided. And a fantastic taste in
putting on different colors is bad.
8
331
332 Child Guidance
Consider Durability and Service
—Our clothing, while modest
and simple, should be of good quality, of becoming colors, and suited
for service. It should be chosen for durability rather than display.
It should provide warmth and proper protection. The wise woman
described in the Proverbs “is not afraid of the snow for her household:
for all her household are clothed with double garments.” [Proverbs
31:21, margin.]
9
The Purchase of Good Material Is Economy
—It is right to
buy good material and have it carefully made. This is economy. But
rich trimmings are not needed, and to indulge in them is to spend
for self-gratification money that should be put into God’s cause.
10
Remember the Needs of the Lord’s Vineyard
—We should
dress neatly and tastefully; but, my sisters, when you are buying and
making your own and your children’s clothing, think of the work in
the Lord’s vineyard that is still waiting to be done.
11
Worldlings spend much on dress. But the Lord has charged His
[421]
people to come out from the world and be separate. Gay or expensive
apparel is not becoming to those who profess to believe that we are
living in the last days....
Practice economy in your outlay of means for dress. Remember
that what you wear is constantly exerting an influence upon those
with whom you come in contact. Do not lavish upon yourselves
means that is greatly needed elsewhere. Do not spend the Lord’s
money to gratify a taste for expensive clothing.
12
Simplicity in Dress Recommends the Wearer’s Religion
—
Simplicity of dress will make a sensible woman appear to the best
advantage.
13
Dress as Christians should dress—simply, plainly adorn your-
selves as becometh women professing godliness, with good works.
14
Many, in order to keep pace with absurd fashion, lose their taste
for natural simplicity and are charmed with the artificial. They
sacrifice time and money, the vigor of intellect, and true elevation of
soul, and devote their entire being to the claims of fashionable life.
15
Dear youth, a disposition in you to dress according to the fash-
ion, and to wear lace, and gold, and artificials for display, will not
recommend to others your religion or the truth that you profess.
People of discernment will look upon your attempts to beautify the
external as proof of weak minds and proud hearts.
16
Teaching the Fundamental Principles of Dress 333
There Should Be No Inappropriate Display
—I would remind
the youth who ornament their persons and wear feathers upon their
hats that, because of their sins, our Saviour’s head wore the shameful
crown of thorns. When you devote precious time to trimming your
apparel, remember that the King of glory wore a plain, seamless
[422]
coat. You who weary yourselves in decorating your persons please
bear in mind that Jesus was often weary from incessant toil and
self-denial and self-sacrifice to bless the suffering and the needy....
It was on our account that He poured out His prayers to His Father
with strong cries and tears. It was to save us from the very pride
and love of vanity and pleasure which we now indulge, and which
crowds out the love of Jesus, that those tears were shed, and that
our Saviour’s visage was marred with sorrow and anguish more than
any of the sons of men.
17
Unnecessary Trimmings
—Do without the unnecessary trim-
mings, and lay aside for the advancement of the cause of God the
means thus saved. Learn the lesson of self-denial, and teach it to
your children.
18
A Point Clarified
—The question has often been asked me if I
believe it wrong to wear plain linen collars. [Note: See Testimonies
for the Church 1:135, 136.] My answer has always been No. Some
have taken the extreme meaning of what I have written about collars,
and have maintained that it is wrong to wear one of any descrip-
tion. I was shown expensively wrought collars, and expensive and
unnecessary ribbons and laces, which some Sabbathkeepers have
worn, and still wear for the sake of show and fashion. In mentioning
collars, I did not design to be understood that nothing like a collar
should be worn, or in mentioning ribbons, that no ribbons at all
should be worn.
19
Extravagant or Extreme Trimmings
—Our ministers and their
wives should be an example in plainness of dress; they should dress
neatly, comfortably, wearing good material, but avoiding anything
[423]
like extravagance and trimmings, even if not expensive; for these
things tell to our disadvantage. We should educate the youth to
simplicity of dress, plainness with neatness. Let the extra trimmings
be left out, even though the cost be but a trifle.
20
Not for Display
—True refinement does not find satisfaction in
the adorning of the body for display.
21
334 Child Guidance
The Bible teaches modesty in dress. “In like manner also, that
women adorn themselves in modest apparel.” 1 Timothy 2:9. This
forbids display in dress, gaudy colors, profuse ornamentation. Any
device designed to attract attention to the wearer or to excite ad-
miration is excluded from the modest apparel which God’s Word
enjoins.
22
Self-denial in dress is a part of our Christian duty. To dress
plainly and abstain from display of jewelry and ornaments of every
kind is in keeping with our faith. Are we of the number who see the
folly of worldlings in indulging in extravagance of dress as well as
in love of amusements?
23
Imperishable Ornaments Versus Gold or Pearls
—There is
an ornament that will never perish, that will promote the happiness
of all around us in this life, and will shine with undimmed luster in
the immortal future. It is the adorning of a meek and lowly spirit.
God has bidden us wear the richest dress upon the soul.... Instead of
seeking golden ornaments for the exterior, an earnest effort would
be put forth to secure that wisdom which is of more value than fine
gold.
24
Of how little value are gold or pearls or costly array in com-
parison with the loveliness of Christ. Natural loveliness consists
[424]
in symmetry, or the harmonious proportion of parts, each with the
other; but spiritual loveliness consists in the harmony or likeness of
our souls to Jesus. This will make its possessor more precious than
fine gold, even the golden wedge of Ophir. The grace of Christ is
indeed a priceless adornment. It elevates and ennobles its possessor
and reflects beams of glory upon others, attracting them also to the
Source of light and blessing.
25
The Attractiveness of Genuine Beauty
—There is a natural
tendency with all to be sentimental rather than practical. In view
of this fact, it is important that parents, in the education of their
children, should direct and train their minds to love truth, duty, and
self-denial, and to possess noble independence, to choose to be right,
if the majority choose to be wrong....
If they preserve to themselves sound constitutions and amiable
tempers, they will possess true beauty that they can wear with a di-
vine grace. And they will have no need to be adorned with artificials,
for these are always expressive of an absence of the inward adorning
Teaching the Fundamental Principles of Dress 335
of true moral worth. A beautiful character is of value in the sight of
God. Such beauty will attract, but not mislead. Such charms are fast
colors; they never fade.
26
The pure religion of Jesus requires of its followers the simplicity
of natural beauty and the polish of natural refinement and elevated
purity, rather than the artificial and false.
27
Teach Children to Recognize Sensible Dress
—Let us be faith-
ful to the duties of the home life. Let your children understand that
obedience must reign there. Teach them to distinguish between that
which is sensible and that which is foolish in the matter of dress,
and furnish them with clothes that are neat and simple. As a people
[425]
who are preparing for the soon return of Christ, we should give to
the world an example of modest dress in contrast with the prevailing
fashion of the day. Talk these things over, and plan wisely what you
will do; then carry out your plans in your families. Determine to
be guided by higher principles than the notions and desires of your
children.
28
If our hearts are united with Christ’s heart, ... nothing will be put
upon the person to attract attention or to create controversy.
29
Provide Becoming Garments Appropriate for Age and Sta-
tion in Life
—My sister, bind your children to your heart by affec-
tion. Give them proper care and attention in all things. Furnish them
with becoming garments, that they may not be mortified by their
appearance, for this would be injurious to their self-respect.... It is
always right to be neat and to be clad appropriately, in a manner
becoming to your age and station in life.
30
The Body Should Not Be Constricted
—The dress should fit
easily, obstructing neither the circulation of the blood nor a free,
full, natural respiration. The feet should be suitably protected from
cold and damp. Clad in this way, we can take exercise in the open
air, even in the dew of morning or evening, or after a fall of rain or
snow, without fear of taking cold.
31
The Dress of Young Children
—If the dress of the child com-
bines warmth, protection, and comfort, one of the chief causes of
irritation and restlessness will be removed. The little one will have
better health, and the mother will not find the care of the child so
heavy a tax upon her strength and time.
Tight bands or waists hinder the action of the heart and lungs and
[426]
336 Child Guidance
should be avoided. No part of the body should at any time be made
uncomfortable by clothing that compresses any organ or restricts its
freedom of movement. The clothing of all children should be loose
enough to admit of the freest and fullest respiration, and so arranged
that the shoulders will support its weight.
32
Let the Extremities Be Properly Clothed
—Special attention
should be given to the extremities, that they may be as thoroughly
clothed as the chest and the region over the heart, where is the
greatest amount of heat. Parents who dress their children with the
extremities naked, or nearly so, are sacrificing the health and lives
of their children to fashion. If these parts are not so warm as the
body, the circulation is not equalized. When the extremities, which
are remote from the vital organs, are not properly clad, the blood
is driven to the head, causing headache or nosebleed; or there is a
sense of fullness about the chest, producing cough or palpitation
of the heart, on account of too much blood in that locality; or the
stomach has too much blood, causing indigestion.
In order to follow the fashions, mothers dress their children
with limbs nearly naked; and the blood is chilled back from its
natural course and thrown upon the internal organs, breaking up the
circulation and producing disease. The limbs were not formed by
our Creator to endure exposure, as was the face. The Lord provided,
... also, large veins and nerves for the limbs and feet, to contain
a large amount of the current of human life, that the limbs might
be uniformly as warm as the body. They should be so thoroughly
clothed as to induce the blood to the extremities.
Satan invented the fashions which leave the limbs exposed, chill-
[427]
ing back the life current from its original course. And parents bow
at the shrine of fashion and so clothe their children that the nerves
and veins become contracted, and do not answer the purpose that
God designed they should. The result is habitually cold feet and
hands. Those parents who follow fashion instead of reason will have
an account to render to God for thus robbing their children of health.
Even life itself is frequently sacrificed to the god of fashion.
33
A Distinction in Dress of Men and Women
—There is an in-
creasing tendency to have women in their dress and appearance as
near like the other sex as possible and to fashion their dress very
much like that of men, but God pronounces it abomination. “In like
Teaching the Fundamental Principles of Dress 337
manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with
shamefacedness and sobriety.” 1 Timothy 2:9....
God designed that there should be a plain distinction between the
dress of men and women, and has considered the matter of sufficient
importance to give explicit directions in regard to it; for the same
dress worn by both sexes would cause confusion and great increase
of crime.
34
Dressing for Church
—Let none dishonor God’s sanctuary by
their showy apparel.
35
All should be taught to be neat, clean, and orderly in their dress,
but not to indulge in that external adorning which is wholly inappro-
priate for the sanctuary. There should be no display of the apparel,
for this encourages irreverence. The attention of the people is often
called to this or that fine article of dress, and thus thoughts are in-
truded that should have no place in the hearts of the worshipers. God
is to be the subject of thought, the object of worship; and anything
[428]
that attracts the mind from the solemn, sacred service is an offense
to Him. The parading of bows and ribbons, ruffles and feathers,
and gold and silver ornaments is a species of idolatry and is wholly
inappropriate for the sacred service of God.
36
Some receive the idea that in order to carry out that separation
from the world that the Word of God requires, they must be neglect-
ful of their apparel. There is a class of sisters who think they are
carrying out the principle of nonconformity to the world by wearing
an ordinary sun-bonnet, and the same dress worn by them through
the week, upon the Sabbath when appearing in the assembly of
the saints to engage in the worship of God. And some men who
profess to be Christians view the matter of dress in the same light.
These persons assemble with God’s people upon the Sabbath, with
their clothing dusty and soiled, and even with gaping rents in their
garments, which are placed upon their persons in a slovenly manner.
This class, if they had an engagement to meet a friend honored
by the world, by whom they wished to be especially favored, would
exert themselves to appear in his presence with the best apparel
that could be obtained; for this friend would feel insulted were they
to come into his presence with their hair uncombed and garments
uncleanly and in disorder. Yet these persons think that it is no matter
338 Child Guidance
in what dress they appear or what is the condition of their persons
when they meet upon the Sabbath to worship the great God.
37
Dress Not to Be Made a Subject of Controversy
—There is
no need to make the dress question the main point of your religion.
There is something richer to talk of. Talk of Christ; and when the
[429]
heart is converted, everything that is out of harmony with the Word
of God will drop off.
38
It is not your dress that makes you of value in the Lord’s sight.
It is the inward adorning, the graces of the Spirit, the kind word, the
thoughtful consideration for others that God values.
39
None to Be Conscience for Another, but Set a Worthy Exam-
ple
—Do not encourage a class who center their religion in dress. Let
each one study the plain teachings of the Scriptures as to simplicity
and plainness of dress and by faithful obedience to those teachings
strive to set a worthy example to the world and to those new in
the faith. God does not want any one person to be conscience for
another.
Talk of the love and humility of Jesus, but do not encourage
the brethren and sisters to engage in picking flaws in the dress or
appearance of one another. Some take delight in this work; and
when their minds are turned in this direction, they begin to feel that
they must become church tinkers. They climb upon the judgment
seat, and as soon as they see one of their brethren and sisters, they
look to find something to criticize. This is one of the most effectual
means of becoming narrow-minded and of dwarfing spiritual growth.
God would have them step down from the judgment seat, for He has
never placed them there.
40
The Heart Must Be Right
—If we are Christians, we shall fol-
low Christ, even though the path in which we are to walk cuts right
across our natural inclinations. There is no use in telling you that
you must not wear this or that, for if the love of these vain things
is in your heart, your laying off your adornments will only be like
[430]
cutting the foliage off a tree. The inclinations of the natural heart
would again assert themselves. You must have a conscience of your
own.
41
Where Many Denominations Lost Their Power
—Human rea-
soning has ever sought to evade or set aside the simple, direct instruc-
tions of the Word of God. In every age a majority of the professed
Teaching the Fundamental Principles of Dress 339
followers of Christ have disregarded those precepts which enjoin
self-denial and humility, which require modesty and simplicity of
conversation, deportment, and apparel. The result has ever been
the same—departure from the teachings of the gospel leads to the
adoption of the fashions, customs, and principles of the world. Vital
godliness gives place to a dead formalism. The presence and power
of God, withdrawn from those world-loving circles, are found with
a class of humble worshipers, who are willing to obey the teachings
of the Sacred Word. Through successive generations this course has
been pursued. One after another different denominations have risen
and yielding their simplicity, have lost, in a great measure, their
early power.
42
God’s Word the Standard
—All matters of dress should be
strictly guarded, following closely the Bible rule. Fashion has been
the goddess who has ruled the outside world, and she often insinuates
herself into the church. The church should make the Word of God
her standard, and parents should think intelligently upon this subject.
When they see their children inclined to follow worldly fashions,
they should, like Abraham, resolutely command their households
after them. Instead of uniting with the world, connect them with
God.
43
1
Education, 246.
2
Letter 19, 1897.
3
Testimonies For The Church 6:170.
4
Testimonies For The Church 4:642.
5
Messages to Young People, 349.
6
Messages to Young People, 353.
7
The Review and Herald, November 17, 1904.
8
Health Reformer. Quoted in Healthful Living, 120.
9
The Ministry of Healing, 288.
10
Counsels on Stewardship, 301.
11
Ibid.
12
Manuscript 24, 1904.
13
The Review and Herald, November 17, 1904.
14
The Review and Herald, December 6, 1881.
15
Health Reformer, April, 1872.
16
Testimonies For The Church 3:376.
17
Testimonies For The Church 3:379, 380.
18
Counsels on Stewardship, 301, 302.
19
Testimonies For The Church 1:135, 136.
340 Child Guidance
20
Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 180.
21
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 93.
22
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 302.
23
Testimonies For The Church 3:366.
24
Testimonies For The Church 4:643, 644.
25
The Review and Herald, December 6, 1881.
26
The Signs of the Times, September 9, 1875.
27
Testimonies For The Church 3:375.
28
Manuscript 45, 1911.
29
Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 131.
30
Testimonies For The Church 4:142.
31
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 89, 90.
32
The Ministry of Healing, 382.
33
Testimonies For The Church 2:531, 532.
34
Testimonies For The Church 1:457-460.
35
Testimonies For The Church 5:499.
36
Ibid.
37
The Review and Herald, January 30, 1900.
38
Evangelism, 272.
39
Counsels on Stewardship, 301.
40
Historical Sketches of the Foreign Missions of the Seventh-day Adventists, 122,
123.
41
The Review and Herald, May 10, 1892.
42
Messages to Young People, 354.
43
Testimonies For The Church 5:499.
Chapter 67—The Fascinating Power of Fashion [431]
[432]
Fashion Is a Tyrannical Ruler
—Fashion rules the world; and
she is a tyrannical mistress, often compelling her devotees to submit
to the greatest inconvenience and discomfort. Fashion taxes without
reason and collects without mercy. She has a fascinating power and
stands ready to criticize and ridicule all who do not follow in her
wake.
1
The rich are ambitious to outdo one another in conforming to her
ever-varying styles; the middle and poorer classes strive to approach
the standard set by those supposed to be above them. Where means
or strength is limited, and the ambition for gentility is great, the
burden becomes almost insupportable. With many it matters not
how becoming, or even beautiful, a garment may be, let the fashions
change, and it must be remade or cast aside.
2
Satan, the instigator and prime mover in the ever-changing,
never-satisfying decrees of fashion, is always busy devising some-
thing new that shall prove an injury to physical and moral health; and
he triumphs that his devices succeed so well. Death laughs that the
health-destroying folly and blind zeal of the worshipers at fashion’s
shrine bring them so easily under his dominion. Happiness and the
favor of God are laid upon her altar.
3
The idolatry of dress is a moral disease. It must not be taken
over into the new life. In most cases submission to the gospel
requirements will demand a decided change in the dress.
4
The Price Some Pay
—How contrary to the principles given in
[433]
the Scriptures are many of the modes of dress that fashion prescribes!
Think of the styles that have prevailed for the last few hundreds of
years or even for the last few decades. How many ... would be
pronounced inappropriate for a refined, God-fearing, self-respecting
woman.... Many a poor girl, for the sake of a stylish gown, has
deprived herself of warm underwear and paid the penalty with her
life. Many another, coveting the display and elegance of the rich,
has been enticed into paths of dishonesty and shame. Many a home
341
342 Child Guidance
is deprived of comforts, many a man is driven to embezzlement
or bankruptcy, to satisfy the extravagant demands of the wife or
children.
5
Salvation Imperiled by Idolatry of Dress
—Pride and vanity
are manifested everywhere; but those who are inclined to look into
the mirror to admire themselves will have little inclination to look
into the law of God, the great moral mirror. This idolatry of dress
destroys all that is humble, meek, and lovely in character. It con-
sumes the precious hours that should be devoted to meditation, to
searching the heart, to the prayerful study of God’s Word.... No
Christian can conform to the demoralizing fashions of the world
without imperiling his soul’s salvation.
6
Love of Display Demoralizes the Home
—Aided by the grace
of Christ, women are capable of doing a great and grand work. For
this reason Satan works with his devices to invent fashionable dress,
that love of display may so absorb the mind and heart and affection
of even professed Christian mothers in this age, that they have no
time to give to the education and training of their children or to
[434]
the cultivation of their own minds and characters, that they may be
examples to their children, patterns of good works. When Satan
secures the time and affections of the mother, he is fully aware of
how much he has gained. In nine cases out of ten he has secured
the devotion of the whole family to dress and frivolous display. He
reckons the children as among his spoils, for he has captivated the
mother.
7
Little children hear more of dress than of their salvation, ... for
the mother is more familiar with fashion than with her Saviour.
8
Parents and children are robbed of that which is best and sweet-
est and truest in life. For fashion’s sake they are cheated out of a
preparation for the life to come.
9
Not Brave Enough to Stem the Tide
—Many of the mother’s
burdens are the result of her effort to keep pace with the fashions
of the day. Terrible is the effect of these fashions on the physical,
mental, and moral health. Lacking the courage to stand firm for
the right, women allow the current of popular feeling to draw them
on in its wake.... Too often professedly Christian mothers sacrifice
principle to their desire to follow the multitude who make fashion
Fascinating Power of Fashion 343
their god. Conscience protests, but they are not brave enough to take
a decided stand against the wrong.
10
Parents—Take Care
—Parents frequently dress their children in
extravagant garments, with much display of ornaments, then openly
admire the effect of their apparel and compliment them on their
appearance. These foolish parents would be filled with consternation
if they could see how Satan seconds their efforts and urges them on
to greater follies.
11
A Problem That Faces Many Mothers
—Your daughters are
[435]
inclined, if they see a dress different from that which they have,
to desire a dress similar to that. Or perhaps they want something
else that they see others have, which you do not feel would be in
accordance with your faith to grant them. Will you allow them to
tease this thing out of you, letting them mold you instead of molding
them according to the principles of the gospel? Our children are very
precious in the sight of God. Let us teach them the Word of God and
train them in His ways. It is your privilege to teach your children to
live so that they will have the commendation of Heaven....
Let us not encourage our children to follow the fashions of the
world; and if we will be faithful in giving them a right training, they
will not do this.... The fashions of the world often take a ridiculous
form, and you must take a firm position against them.
12
The Fruitage of the Love of Display
—Love of dress and plea-
sure is wrecking the happiness of thousands. And some of those who
profess to love and keep the commandments of God ape this class
as near as they possibly can and retain the Christian name. Some of
the young are so eager for display that they are even willing to give
up the Christian name, if they can only follow out their inclination
for vanity of dress and love of pleasure.
13
Families who spend much time in dressing for display may be
likened to the fig tree that Christ saw from afar. This fig tree flaunted
its flourishing branches in the very face of justice; but when Christ
came to look for fruit, He searched from the topmost twig to the
lowest boughs and found nothing but leaves. It is fruit that He
hungers for; fruit He must have.
14
Unsatisfying to Daughters of God
—There is enough necessary
[436]
and important labor in this world of need and suffering without
wasting precious moments for ornamentation or display. Daughters
344 Child Guidance
of the heavenly King, members of the royal family, will feel a burden
of responsibility to attain to a higher life, that they may be brought
into close connection with Heaven and work in unison with the
Redeemer of the world. Those who are engaged in this work will
not be satisfied with the fashions and follies which absorb the mind
and affections of women in these last days. If they are indeed the
daughters of God, they will be partakers of the divine nature. They
will be stirred with deepest pity, as was their divine Redeemer,
as they see the corrupting influences in society. They will be in
sympathy with Christ and in their sphere, as they have ability and
opportunity, will work to save perishing souls, as Christ worked in
His exalted sphere for the benefit of man.
15
1
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 85.
2
Education, 246.
3
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 85.
4
Testimonies For The Church 6:96.
5
The Ministry of Healing, 290.
6
The Review and Herald, March 31, 1891.
7
Manuscript 43, 1900.
8
Testimonies For The Church 4:643.
9
The Ministry of Healing, 291.
10
The Review and Herald, November 17, 1904.
11
Pacific Health Journal, January, 1890.
12
Manuscript 45, 1911.
13
Testimonies For The Church 3:366.
14
Manuscript 67, 1903.
15
Testimonies For The Church 3:483, 484.
Section 16—Preserving Moral Integrity [437]
Chapter 68—Prevalence of Corrupting Vices[438]
[439]
An Age of Abounding Iniquity
—We live amid the perils of the
last days. Because iniquity abounds, the love of many waxes cold.
The word “many” refers to the professed followers of Christ. They
are affected by the prevailing iniquity and backslide from God, but
it is not necessary that they should be thus affected. The cause of
this declension is that they do not stand clear from this iniquity. The
fact that their love of God is waxing cold because iniquity abounds
shows that they are, in some sense, partakers in this iniquity, or it
would not affect their love for God and their zeal and fervor in this
cause.
1
Influence of Debasing Books and Pictures
—Many of the
young are eager for books. They read everything they can obtain.
Exciting love stories and impure pictures have a corrupting influ-
ence. Novels are eagerly perused by many; and, as the result, their
imagination becomes defiled. In the cars photographs of females in
a state of nudity are frequently circulated for sale. These disgusting
pictures are also found in daguerrean saloons [photo shops] and are
hung upon the walls of those who deal in engravings. This is an
age when corruption is teeming everywhere. The lust of the eye and
corrupt passions are aroused by beholding and by reading. The heart
is corrupted through the imagination. The mind takes pleasure in
contemplating scenes which awaken the lower and baser passions.
These vile images, seen through defiled imagination, corrupt the
morals and prepare the deluded, infatuated beings to give loose rein
to lustful passions. Then follow sins and crimes which drag beings
[440]
formed in the image of God down to a level with the beasts, sinking
them at last in perdition.
2
Licentiousness the Special Sin
—A terrible picture of the condi-
tion of the world has been presented before me. Immorality abounds
everywhere. Licentiousness is the special sin of this age. Never did
vice lift its deformed head with such boldness as now. The people
346
Prevalence of Corrupting Vices 347
seem to be benumbed, and the lovers of virtue and true goodness are
nearly discouraged by its boldness, strength, and prevalence.
3
I was referred to Romans 1:18-32, as a true description of the
world previous to the second appearing of Christ.
4
It is sin, not trial and suffering, which separates God from His
people and renders the soul incapable of enjoying and glorifying
Him. It is sin that is destroying souls. Sin and vice exist in Sabbath-
keeping families.
5
Satan’s Attack on Youth
—It is the special work of Satan in
these last days to take possession of the minds of youth, to corrupt
the thoughts and inflame the passions; for he knows that by so doing
he can lead to impure actions, and thus all the noble faculties of the
mind will become debased, and he can control them to suit his own
purposes.
6
An Index to the Future of Society
—The youth of today are
a sure index to the future of society; and as we view them, what
can we hope for that future? The majority are fond of amusement
and averse to work.... They have but little self-control and become
excited and angry on the slightest occasion. Very many in every age
and station of life are without principle or conscience; and with their
[441]
idle, spendthrift habits they are rushing into vice and are corrupting
society, until our world is becoming a second Sodom. If the appetites
and passions were under the control of reason and religion, society
would present a widely different aspect. God never designed that the
present woeful condition of things should exist; it has been brought
about through the gross violation of nature’s laws.
7
The Problems of Self-abuse
—Some who make a high profes-
sion do not understand the sin of self-abuse and its sure results.
Long-established habit has blinded their understanding. They do not
realize the exceeding sinfulness of this degrading sin.
8
Youth and children of both sexes engage in moral pollution and
practice this disgusting, soul-and-body- destroying vice. Many
professed Christians are so benumbed by the same practice that their
moral sensibilities cannot be aroused to understand that it is sin, and
that if continued its sure results will be utter shipwreck of body and
mind. Man, the noblest being upon the earth, formed in the image of
God, transforms himself into a beast! He makes himself gross and
corrupt. Every Christian will have to learn to restrain his passions
348 Child Guidance
and be controlled by principle. Unless he does this, he is unworthy
of the Christian name.
9
Moral pollution has done more than every other evil to cause
the race to degenerate. It is practiced to an alarming extent and
brings on disease of almost every description. Even very small
children, infants, being born with natural irritability of the sexual
organs, find momentary relief in handling them, which only increases
the irritation and leads to a repetition of the act, until a habit is
[442]
established which increases with their growth.
10
Lustful Propensities Are Inherited
—Parents do not generally
suspect that their children understand anything about this vice. In
very many cases the parents are the real sinners. They have abused
their marriage privileges and by indulgence have strengthened their
animal passions. And as these have strengthened, the moral and
intellectual faculties have become weak. The spiritual has been over-
borne by the brutish. Children are born with the animal propensities
largely developed, the parents’ own stamp of character having been
given to them.... Children born to these parents will almost invari-
ably take naturally to the disgusting habits of secret vice.... The sins
of the parents will be visited upon their children, because the parents
have given them the stamp of their own lustful propensities.
11
A Bewitching Slavery
—I have felt deeply as I have seen the
powerful influence of animal passions in controlling men and women
of no ordinary intelligence and ability. They would be capable of
engaging in a good work, of exerting a powerful influence, were
they not enslaved by base passions. My confidence in humanity has
been terribly shaken.
I have been shown that persons of apparently good deportment,
not taking unwarrantable liberties with the other sex, were guilty
of practicing secret vice nearly every day of their lives. They have
not refrained from this terrible sin even while most solemn meet-
ings have been in session. They have listened to the most solemn,
impressive discourses upon the judgment, which seemed to bring
them before the tribunal of God, causing them to fear and quake;
[443]
yet hardly an hour would elapse before they would be engaged in
their favorite, bewitching sin, polluting their own bodies. They were
such slaves to this awful crime that they seemed devoid of power
to control their passions. We have labored for some earnestly, we
Prevalence of Corrupting Vices 349
have entreated, we have wept and prayed over them; yet we have
known that right amid all our earnest effort and distress, the force
of sinful habit has obtained the mastery, and these sins have been
committed.
12
Knowledge of Vice Is Spread by Its Victims
—Those who have
become fully established in this soul-and-body-destroying vice can
seldom rest until their burden of secret evil is imparted to those
with whom they associate. Curiosity is at once aroused, and the
knowledge of vice is passed from youth to youth, from child to
child, until there is scarcely one to be found ignorant of the practice
of this degrading sin.
13
One corrupt mind can sow more evil seed in a short period of
time than many can root out in a whole lifetime.
14
1
Testimonies For The Church 2:346.
2
Testimonies For The Church 2:410.
3
Testimonies For The Church 2:346.
4
An Appeal to Mothers, 27.
5
Testimonies For The Church 2:390, 391.
6
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 136.
7
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 45.
8
Testimonies For The Church 2:347.
9
Ibid.
10
Testimonies For The Church 2:391.
11
Ibid.
12
Testimonies For The Church 2:468, 469.
13
Testimonies For The Church 2:392.
14
Testimonies For The Church 2:403.
Chapter 69—Effects of Harmful Practices[444]
Vital Energy Is Depleted
—The practice of secret habits surely
destroys the vital forces of the system. All unnecessary vital action
will be followed by corresponding depression. Among the young
the vital capital, the brain, is so severely taxed at an early age that
there is a deficiency and great exhaustion, which leaves the system
exposed to disease of various kinds.
1
Foundation Laid for Various Diseases Later in Life
—If the
practice is continued from the ages of fifteen and upward, nature will
protest against the abuse she has suffered, and continues to suffer,
and will make them pay the penalty for the transgression of her laws,
especially from the ages of thirty to forty-five, by numerous pains
in the system and various diseases, such as affection of the liver
and lungs, neuralgia, rheumatism, affection of the spine, diseased
kidneys, and cancerous humors. Some of nature’s fine machinery
gives way, leaving a heavier task for the remaining to perform, which
disorders nature’s fine arrangement; and there is often a sudden
breaking down of the constitution, and death is the result.
2
The Sixth Commandment Is Thoughtlessly Violated
—To
take one’s life instantly is no greater sin in the sight of heaven than to
destroy it gradually, but surely. Persons who bring upon themselves
sure decay, by wrongdoing, will suffer the penalty here, and without
a thorough repentance, will not be admitted into heaven hereafter
any sooner than the one who destroys life instantly. The will of God
[445]
establishes the connection between cause and its effects.
3
Pure-minded Also Subject to Disease
—We do not include all
the youth who are feeble as guilty of wrong habits. There are those
who are pure-minded and conscientious who are sufferers from
different causes over which they have no control.
4
The Mental Powers Are Weakened
—Fond and indulgent par-
ents will sympathize with their children because they fancy their
lessons are too great a task, and that their close application to study
is ruining their health. True, it is not advisable to crowd the minds of
350
Effects of Harmful Practices 351
the young with too many and too difficult studies. But, parents, have
you looked no deeper into this matter than merely to adopt the idea
suggested by your children? Have you not given too ready credence
to the apparent reason for their indisposition? It becomes parents
and guardians to look beneath the surface for the cause.
5
The minds of some of these children are so weakened that they
have but one half or one third of the brilliancy of intellect that they
might have had, had they been virtuous and pure. They have thrown
it away in self-abuse.
6
High Resolve and Spiritual Life Destroyed
—Secret vice is
the destroyer of high resolve, earnest endeavor, and strength of will
to form a good religious character. All who have any true sense of
what is embraced in being a Christian know that the followers of
Christ are under obligation as His disciples to bring all their passions,
their physical powers and mental faculties into perfect subordination
to His will. Those who are controlled by their passions cannot be
followers of Christ. They are too much devoted to the service of
[446]
their master, the originator of every evil, to leave their corrupt habits
and choose the service of Christ.
7
Religion May Be Formal, but It Is Destitute
—Some who pro-
fess to be followers of Christ know that they are sinning against
God and ruining their health, yet they are slaves to their own corrupt
passions. They feel a guilty conscience and have less and less incli-
nation to approach God in secret prayer. They may keep up the form
of religion, yet be destitute of the grace of God in the heart. They
have no devotedness to His service, no trust in Him, no living to His
glory, no pleasure in His ordinances, and no delight in Him.
8
Power of Self-government Seems Lost
—Some will acknowl-
edge the evil of sinful indulgences, yet will excuse themselves by
saying that they cannot overcome their passions. This is a terrible
admission for any person to make who names Christ. “Let everyone
that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” Why is this
weakness? It is because the animal propensities have been strength-
ened by exercise, until they have gained the ascendancy over the
higher powers. Men and women lack principle. They are dying spir-
itually, because they have so long pampered their natural appetites
that their power of self-government seems gone. The lower passions
of their nature have taken the reins, and that which should be the
352 Child Guidance
governing power has become the servant of corrupt passion. The
soul is held in lowest bondage. Sensuality has quenched the desire
for holiness and withered spiritual prosperity.
9
Communication With Heaven Is Severed
—Solemn messages
from Heaven cannot forcibly impress the heart that is not fortified
[447]
against the indulgence of this degrading vice. The sensitive nerves of
the brain have lost their healthy tone by morbid excitation to gratify
an unnatural desire for sensual indulgence. The brain nerves which
communicate with the entire system are the only medium through
which Heaven can communicate to man and affect his inmost life.
Whatever disturbs the circulation of the electric currents in the ner-
vous system lessens the strength of the vital powers, and the result is
a deadening of the sensibilities of the mind. In consideration of these
facts, how important that ministers and people who profess godli-
ness should stand forth clear and untainted from this soul-debasing
vice!
10
Some Are Remorseful, but Self-respect Is Lost
—The effect of
such debasing habits is not the same upon all minds. There are some
children who have the moral powers largely developed, who, by
associating with children that practice self-abuse, become initiated
into this vice. The effect upon such will be too frequently to make
them melancholy, irritable, and jealous; yet such may not lose their
respect for religious worship and may not show special infidelity
in regard to spiritual things. They will at times suffer keenly from
feelings of remorse, and will feel degraded in their own eyes, and
lose their self-respect.
11
The Mind May Be Fortified Against Temptation
—Moral
power is exceedingly weak when it comes in conflict with estab-
lished habits. Impure thoughts have control of the imagination, and
temptation is almost irresistible. If the mind were accustomed to
contemplate elevating subjects, the imagination trained to behold
pure and holy things, it would be fortified against temptation. It
[448]
would linger upon the heavenly, the pure, the sacred, and could not
be attracted to the base, corrupt, and vile.
12
Become Intelligent on These Things
—Indulgence of the baser
passions will lead very many to shut their eyes to the light, for they
fear that they will see sins which they are unwilling to forsake. All
may see if they will. If they choose darkness rather than light, their
Effects of Harmful Practices 353
criminality will be none the less. Why do not men and women read
and become intelligent upon these things, which so decidedly affect
their physical, intellectual, and moral strength? God has given you
a habitation to care for and preserve in the best condition for His
service and glory. Your bodies are not your own. “What! know ye
not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you,
which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought
with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit,
which are God’s.” “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and
that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple
of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which
temple ye are.”
13
1
An Appeal to Mothers, 28.
2
An Appeal to Mothers, 18.
3
An Appeal to Mothers, 26.
4
An Appeal to Mothers, 23.
5
Testimonies For The Church 4:96, 97.
6
Testimonies For The Church 2:361.
7
An Appeal to Mothers, 9, 10.
8
An Appeal to Mothers, 25.
9
Testimonies For The Church 2:348.
10
Testimonies For The Church 2:347.
11
Testimonies For The Church 2:392.
12
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 135.
13
Testimonies For The Church 2:352, 353.
Chapter 70—Cautions and Counsels[449]
Many Cases Have Been Revealed
—Many cases have been pre-
sented before me, and as I have had a view of their inner lives, my
soul has been sick and disgusted with the rotten-heartedness of hu-
man beings who profess godliness and talk of translation to heaven.
I have frequently asked myself, Whom can I trust? Who is free from
iniquity?
1
I am filled with horror as the condition of families professing
present truth is opened before me. The profligacy of youth and even
children is almost incredible. Parents do not know that secret vice is
destroying and defacing the image of God in their children. The sins
which characterized the Sodomites exist among them. The parents
are responsible, for they have not educated their children to love and
obey God. They have not restrained them, nor diligently taught them
the way of the Lord. They have allowed them to go out and to come
in when they chose, and to associate with worldlings. These worldly
influences which counteract parental teaching and authority are to
be found largely in so-called good society. By their dress, looks,
amusements, they surround themselves with an atmosphere which is
opposed to Christ.
Our only safety is to stand as God’s peculiar people. We must
not yield one inch to the customs and fashions of this degenerate
age, but stand in moral independence, making no compromise with
its corrupt and idolatrous practices.
2
The Ignorant to Be Enlightened
—No matter how high a per-
son’s profession, those who are willing to be employed in gratifying
[450]
the lust of the flesh cannot be Christians. As servants of Christ their
employment and meditations and pleasure should consist in things
more excellent. Many are ignorant of the sinfulness of these habits
and their certain results. Such need to be enlightened.
3
One Who Requested Prayer for Healing
—My husband and
I once attended a meeting where our sympathies were enlisted for
a brother who was a great sufferer with the phthisic. He was pale
354
Cautions and Counsels 355
and emaciated. He requested the prayers of the people of God. He
said that his family were sick, and that he had lost a child. He spoke
with feeling of his bereavement. He said that he had been waiting
for some time to see Brother and Sister White. He had believed that
if they would pray for him, he would be healed. After the meeting
closed, the brethren called our attention to the case. They said that
the church was assisting them, that his wife was sick, and his child
had died. The brethren had met at his house and united in praying
for the afflicted family. We were much worn and had the burden of
labor upon us during the meeting and wished to be excused. I had
resolved not to engage in prayer for anyone, unless the Spirit of the
Lord should dictate in the matter....
That night we bowed in prayer and presented his case before the
Lord. We entreated that we might know the will of God concerning
him. All we desired was that God might be glorified. Would the
Lord have us pray for this afflicted man? We left the burden with the
Lord and retired to rest. In a dream the case of that man was clearly
presented. His course from his childhood up was shown, and that if
we should pray, the Lord would not hear us; for he regarded iniquity
[451]
in his heart. The next morning the man came for us to pray for him.
We took him aside and told him we were sorry to be compelled to
refuse his request. I related my dream, which he acknowledged was
true. He had practiced self-abuse from his boyhood up, and he had
continued the practice during his married life, but said he would
try to break himself of it. This man had a long-established habit to
overcome. He was in the middle age of life. His moral principles
were so weak that when brought in conflict with long-established
indulgence, they were overcome....
Here was a man debasing himself daily and yet daring to venture
into the presence of God and ask an increase of strength which he had
vilely squandered, and which, if granted, he would consume upon
his lust. What forbearance has God! If He should deal with man
according to his corrupt ways, who could live in His sight? What if
we had been less cautious and carried the case of this man before
God while he was practicing iniquity, would the Lord have heard?
Would He have answered? “For thou art not a God that hath pleasure
in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. The foolish shall
not stand in thy sight; thou hatest all workers of iniquity.” ...
356 Child Guidance
This is not a solitary case. Even the marriage relation was not
sufficient to preserve this man from the corrupt habits of his youth. I
wish I could be convinced that such cases as the one I have presented
are rare, but I know they are frequent.
4
A Self-murderer
—A Mr.-----professed to be a devoted follower
of Christ. He was in very feeble health. Our feelings of sympathy
were called out in his behalf....
His case was shown me in vision. I saw that he was deceived
[452]
in regard to himself, that he was not in favor with God. He had
practiced self-abuse until he was a mere wreck of humanity. This
vice was shown me as an abomination in the sight of God....
[He] had practiced these habits so long he seemed to have lost
the control of himself. He was naturally a smart man, possessing
more than common abilities. But how were all his powers of body
and mind brought into subjection by Satan and consumed upon his
altar!
This man had gone so far he seemed to be left of God. He would
go into the woods and spend days and nights in fasting and prayer
that he might overcome this great sin, and then would return to his
old habits. God did not hear his prayers. He asked God to do for
him what had been in his power to do for himself. He had vowed to
God, time and again, and had as often broken his vows and given
himself up to his own corrupt lust, until God had left him to work
his own ruin. He has since died. He was a self-murderer. The purity
of heaven will never be marred with his society
5
Appeal to an Indulged Daughter
[Note: These are extracts
from a letter to a self-willed girl who was practicing secret vice.]—
Your mind is impure. You were relieved from care and labor al-
together too long. Household duties would have been one of the
richest blessings that you could have had. Weariness would not have
injured you one tenth as much as have your lascivious thoughts and
conduct. You have received incorrect ideas in regard to girls and
boys associating together, and it has been very congenial to your
mind to be in the company of the boys. You are not pure in heart and
[453]
mind. You have been injured by reading love stories and romances,
and your mind has been fascinated by impure thoughts. Your imag-
ination has become corrupt, until you seem to have no power to
control your thoughts. Satan leads you captive as he pleases....
Cautions and Counsels 357
Your conduct has not been chaste, modest, or becoming. You
have not had the fear of God before your eyes. You have so often
dissembled in order to accomplish your plans that you bear a violated
conscience. My dear girl, unless you stop just where you are, ruin
is surely before you. Cease your daydreaming, your castle-build-
ing. Stop your thoughts from running in the channel of folly and
corruption.
You cannot safely associate with the boys. A tide of temptation
is roused and surges in your breast, having a tendency to uproot
principle, female virtue, and true modesty. If you go on in your
willful, headstrong course, what will be your fate? ... You are in
danger, for you are just upon the point of sacrificing your eternal
interests at the altar of passion. Passion is obtaining positive control
of your entire being—passion of what quality? Of a base, destructive
nature. By yielding to it, you will embitter the lives of your parents,
bring sadness and shame to your sisters, sacrifice your own character,
and forfeit heaven and a glorious immortal life. Are you ready to do
this? ...
You are forward. You love the boys and love to make them the
theme of your conversation. “Out of the abundance of the heart the
mouth speaketh.” Habits have become powerful to control you, and
you have learned to deceive in order to carry out your purposes and
[454]
accomplish your desires. I do not consider your case hopeless; if I
did, my pen would not be tracing these lines. In the strength of God,
you can redeem the past....
Keep clear of the boys. In their society your temptations become
earnest and powerful. Put marriage out of your girl’s head. You are
in no sense fit for this. You need years of experience before you
can be qualified to understand the duties and take up the burdens
of married life. Positively guard your thoughts, your passions, and
your affections. Do not degrade these to minister to lust. Elevate
them to purity; devote them to God.
You may become a prudent, modest, virtuous girl, but not with-
out earnest effort. You must watch, you must pray, you must medi-
tate, you must investigate your motives and your actions. Closely
analyze your feelings and your acts. Would you, in the presence
of your father, perform an impure action? No, indeed. But you do
this in the presence of your heavenly Father, who is so much more
358 Child Guidance
exalted, so holy, so pure. Yes; you corrupt your own body in the
presence of the pure, sinless angels and in the presence of Christ;
and you continue to do this irrespective of conscience, irrespective
of the light and warnings given you. Remember, a record is made of
all your acts. You must meet again the most secret things of your
life....
Again I warn you as one who must meet these lines in that day
when the case of everyone shall be decided. Yield yourself to Christ
without delay; He alone, by the power of His grace, can redeem you
from ruin. He alone can bring your moral and mental powers into
a state of health. Your heart may be warm with the love of God;
your understanding, clear and mature; your conscience, illuminated,
[455]
quick, and pure; your will, upright and sanctified, subject to the
control of the Spirit of God. You can make yourself what you
choose. If you will now face right about, cease to do evil and learn
to do well, then you will be happy indeed; you will be successful in
the battles of life and rise to glory and honor in the better life than
this. “Choose you this day whom ye will serve.”
6
Satan Works While Parents Sleep
—This is a fast age. Little
boys and girls commence paying attentions to one another when
they should both be in the nursery, taking lessons in modesty of
deportment. What is the effect of this common mixing up? Does it
increase chastity in the youth who thus gather together? No, indeed!
It increases the first lustful passions; after such meetings the youth
are crazed by the devil and give themselves up to their vile practices.
Parents are asleep and know not that Satan has planted his hellish
banner right in their households. What, I was led to inquire, will
become of the youth in this corrupt age? I repeat, Parents are asleep.
The children are infatuated with a lovesick sentimentalism, and the
truth has no power to correct the wrong. What can be done to stay
the tide of evil? Parents can do much if they will.
If a young girl just entering her teens is accosted with familiarity
by a boy of her own age, or older, she should be taught to so resent
this that no such advances will ever be repeated. When a girl’s
company is frequently sought by boys or young men, something is
wrong. That young girl needs a mother to show her her place, to
restrain her, and teach her what belongs to a girl of her age.
The corrupting doctrine which has prevailed, that, as viewed
[456]
Cautions and Counsels 359
from a health standpoint, the sexes must mingle together, has done its
mischievous work. When parents and guardians manifest one tithe
of the shrewdness which Satan possesses, then can this association
of sexes be nearer harmless. As it is, Satan is most successful in his
efforts to bewitch the minds of the youth; and the mingling of boys
and girls only increases the evil twenty- fold.
7
The Picture Is Not Colored
—Do not deceive yourselves into
the belief that, after all, this matter is placed before you in an exag-
gerated light. I have not colored the picture. I have stated facts which
will bear the test of the judgment. Awake! Awake! I beseech you,
before it shall be too late for wrongs to be righted, and you and your
children perish in the general ruin. Take hold of the solemn work,
and bring to your aid every ray of light you can gather than has shone
upon your pathway, and that you have not cherished; and, together
with the aid of the light now shining, commence an investigation of
your life and character as if you were before the tribunal of God.
8
Until parents arouse, there is no hope for their children.
9
1
Testimonies For The Church 2:349.
2
Testimonies For The Church 5:78.
3
An Appeal to Mothers, 25.
4
Testimonies For The Church 2:349, 351.
5
An Appeal to Mothers, 24-28.
6
Testimonies For The Church 2:559-565.
7
Testimonies For The Church 2:482, 483.
8
Testimonies For The Church 2:401.
9
Testimonies For The Church 2:406.
Chapter 71—Parental Vigilance and Help[457]
Parents to Teach Self-control From Infancy
—How important
that we teach our children self-control from their very infancy, and
teach them the lesson of submitting their wills to us. If they should
be so unfortunate as to learn wrong habits, not knowing all the
evil results, they can be reformed by appealing to their reason and
convincing them that such habits ruin the constitution and affect
the mind. We should show them that whatever persuasions corrupt
persons may use to quiet their awakened fears and lead them to still
indulge this pernicious habit, whatever may be their pretense, they
are their enemies and the devil’s agents.
1
Keep Them Pure—Fortify Their Minds
—It is a crime for
mothers to allow themselves to remain in ignorance in regard to
the habits of their children. If they are pure, keep them so. Fortify
their young minds, and prepare them to detest this health-and-soul-
destroying vice.
2
Satan is controlling the minds of the young, and we must work
resolutely and faithfully to save them. Very young children practice
this vice, and it grows upon them and strengthens with their years,
until every noble faculty of body and soul is being degraded. Many
might have been saved if they had been carefully instructed in regard
to the influence of this practice upon their health. They were ignorant
of the fact that they were bringing much suffering upon themselves....
Mothers, you cannot be too careful in preventing your children
[458]
from learning low habits. It is easier to learn evil than to eradicate it
after it is learned.
3
Exercise Determined Watchfulness and Close Inquiry
—If
your children practice this vice, they may be in danger of resorting
to falsehood to deceive you. But, mothers, you must not be easily
quieted and cease your investigations. You should not let the matter
rest until you are fully satisfied. The health and souls of those you
love are in peril, which makes this matter of the greatest importance.
Determined watchfulness and close inquiry, notwithstanding the
360
Parental Vigilance and Help 361
attempts to evade and conceal, will generally reveal the true state
of the case. Then should the mother faithfully present this subject
to them in its true light, showing it degrading downward tendency.
Try to convince them that indulgence in this sin will destroy self-
respect and nobleness of character, will ruin health and morals; and
its foul stain will blot from the soul true love for God and the beauty
of holiness. The mother should pursue this matter until she has
sufficient evidence that the practice is at an end.
4
Avoid Haste and Censure as You Begin
—You may inquire,
How can we remedy the evils which already exist? How shall we
begin the work? If you lack wisdom, go to God; He has promised
to give liberally. Pray much, and fervently, for divine aid. One
rule cannot be followed in every case. The exercise of sanctified
judgment is now needful. Be not hasty and agitated and approach
your children with censure. Such a course would only cause rebellion
in them. You should feel deeply over any wrong course you have
taken, which may have opened a door for Satan to lead your children
by his temptations. If you have not instructed them in regard to the
violation of the laws of health, blame rests upon you. You have
[459]
neglected important duty, which result may be seen in the wrong
practices of your children.
5
Instructing With Self-possession and Sympathy
—Before you
engage in the work of teaching your children the lesson of self-con-
trol, you should learn it yourself. If you are easily agitated and
become impatient, how can you appear reasonable to your children,
while instructing them to control their passions? With self-pos-
session and feelings of the deepest sympathy and pity, you should
approach your erring children and faithfully present to them the sure
work of ruin upon their constitutions if they continue the course they
have begun—that as they debilitate the physical and mental, so also
the moral must feel the decay, and they are sinning, not only against
themselves, but against God.
You should make them feel, if possible, that it is God, the pure
and holy God, that they have been sinning against; that the great
Searcher of hearts is displeased with their course; that nothing is
concealed from Him. If you can so impress your children that they
will exercise that repentance which is acceptable to God, that godly
sorrow which worketh repentance unto salvation, not to be repented
362 Child Guidance
of, the work will be thorough, the reform certain. They will not
feel sorrow merely because their sins are known; but they will view
their sinful practices in their aggravated character and will be led
to confess them to God, without reserve, and will forsake them.
They will feel to sorrow for their wrong course, because they have
displeased God and sinned against Him and dishonored their bodies
before Him who created them and has required them to present their
bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto Him, which is
[460]
their reasonable service.
6
Guard the Association of Children
—Unless the minds of our
children are firmly balanced by religious principle, their morals will
become corrupted by the vicious examples with which they come in
contact.
7
Shield them, as faithful mothers should, from becoming contam-
inated by associating with every young companion. Keep them, as
precious jewels, from the corrupting influence of this age. If you
are situated so that their intercourse with young associates cannot
always be overruled, as you would wish to have it, then let them visit
your children in your presence; and in no case allow these associates
to lodge in the same bed or even in the same room. It will be far
easier to prevent an evil than to cure it afterward....
They [parents] let them visit other young friends, form their own
acquaintances, and even go from their parental watch care, some
distance from home, where they are allowed to do very much as they
please. Satan improves all such opportunities and takes charge of
the minds of these children whom mothers ignorantly expose to his
artful snares.
8
The Diet Is Important
—You cannot arouse the moral sensibil-
ities of your children while you are not careful in the selection of
their food. The tables that parents usually prepare for their children
are a snare to them.
9
Indulgent parents do not teach their children self-denial. The
very food they place before them is such as to irritate the stomach.
The excitement thus produced is communicated to the brain, and
as a result the passions are aroused. It cannot be too often repeated
[461]
that whatever is taken into the stomach affects not only the body,
but ultimately the mind as well. Gross and stimulating food fevers
the blood, excites the nervous system, and too often dulls the moral
Parental Vigilance and Help 363
perceptions, so that reason and conscience are overborne by the
sensual impulses. It is difficult, and often well-nigh impossible,
for one who is intemperate in diet to exercise patience and self-
control. Hence the special importance of allowing children, whose
characters are yet unformed, to have only such food as is healthful
and unstimulating. It was in love that our heavenly Father sent the
light of health reform to guard against the evils that result from
unrestrained indulgence of appetite.
10
If ever there was a time when the diet should be of the most
simple kind, it is now. Meat should not be placed before our children.
Its influence is to excite and strengthen the lower passions and has a
tendency to deaden the moral powers.
11
Cleanliness Important
—Frequent bathing is very beneficial,
especially at night, just before retiring, or upon rising in the morning.
It will take but a few moments to give the children a bath and to
rub them until their bodies are in a glow. This brings the blood to
the surface, relieving the brain; and there will be less inclination to
indulge in impure practices. Teach the little ones that God is not
pleased to see them with unclean bodies and untidy, torn garments.
Tell them that He wants them to be pure without and within, that He
may dwell with them.
12
Clean, Loose-fitting Clothing
—Having the clothing neat and
clean will be one means of keeping the thoughts pure and sweet.
[462]
Every article of dress should be plain and simple, without unneces-
sary adornment, so that it will be but little work to wash and iron
it. Especially should every article which comes in contact with the
skin be kept clean and free from any offensive odor. Nothing of an
irritating character should touch the bodies of children, nor should
their clothing be allowed to bind them in any way. If more attention
were given to this subject, far less impurity would be practiced.
13
Do Not Release From Exercise
—They [the youth] are excused
from physical exercise to a great degree for fear they will overwork.
The parents bear burdens themselves which their children should
bear. Overwork is bad, but the result of indolence is more to be
dreaded. Idleness leads to the indulgence of corrupt habits. Industry
does not weary and exhaust one-fifth part as much as the pernicious
habit of self-abuse. If simple, well-regulated labor exhausts your
children, be assured, parents, there is something, aside from their
364 Child Guidance
labor, which is enervating their systems and producing a sense of
constant weariness. Give your children physical labor, which will
call into exercise the nerves and muscles. The weariness attending
such labor will lessen their inclination to indulge in vicious habits.
14
Indolence an Open Door to Temptation
—Mothers, give your
children enough to do.... Indolence will not be favorable to physical,
mental, or moral health. It throws open the door and invites Satan
in, which opportunity he improves, and draws the young into his
snares. By indolence not only the moral strength is weakened, and
the impulse of passion increased, but Satan’s angels take possession
of the whole citadel of the mind and compel conscience to surrender
[463]
to vile passion. We should teach our children habits of patient
industry.
15
God Will Not Leave the Repentant to Perish
—You should
present encouragements before your children that a merciful God
will accept true heart repentance and will bless their endeavors to
cleanse themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. As
Satan sees that he is losing control over the minds of your children,
he will strongly tempt them and seek to bind them to continue to
practice this bewitching vice. But with a firm purpose they must
resist Satan’s temptations to indulge the animal passions, because it
is sin against God. They should not venture on forbidden ground,
where Satan can claim control over them. If they in humility entreat
God for purity of thought and a refined and sanctified imagination,
He will hear them and grant their petitions. God has not left them to
perish in their sins, but will help the weak and helpless, if they cast
themselves in faith upon Him.
16
1
An Appeal to Mothers, 10.
2
An Appeal to Mothers, 13.
3
An Appeal to Mothers, 10, 11.
4
An Appeal to Mothers, 13, 14.
5
An Appeal to Mothers, 20, 21.
6
An Appeal to Mothers, 21, 22.
7
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 134.
8
An Appeal to Mothers, 13, 14.
9
Testimonies For The Church 2:400.
10
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 134.
11
Testimonies For The Church 2:352.
12
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 141, 142.
Chapter 72—The Battle for Reform[464]
Sincere Repentance and Determined Effort Necessary
—
Those who corrupt their own bodies cannot enjoy the favor of God
until they sincerely repent, make an entire reform, and perfect holi-
ness in the fear of the Lord.
1
The only hope for those who practice vile habits is to forever
leave them if they place any value upon health here and salvation
hereafter. When these habits have been indulged in for quite a length
of time, it requires a determined effort to resist temptation and refuse
the corrupt indulgence.
2
Thoughts Must Be Controlled
[Note: These are further ex-
tracts from a letter to the self-willed youth who was practicing secret
vice.]—You should control your thoughts. This will not be an easy
task; you cannot accomplish it without close and even severe ef-
fort.... If you indulge in vain imaginations, permitting your mind to
dwell upon impure subjects, you are, in a degree, as guilty before
God as if your thoughts were carried into action. All that prevents
the action is the lack of opportunity. Day and night dreaming and
castle-building are bad and exceedingly dangerous habits. When
once established, it is next to impossible to break up such habits and
direct the thoughts to pure, holy, elevated themes. You will have to
become a faithful sentinel over your eyes, ears, and all your senses if
you would control your mind and prevent vain and corrupt thoughts
from staining your soul. The power of grace alone can accomplish
this most desirable work.
3
Subject Passions and Affections to Reason.
*
—Not only does
[465]
God require you to control your thoughts, but also your passions
and affections. Your salvation depends upon your governing your-
self in these things. Passion and affection are powerful agents. If
misapplied, if set in operation through wrong motives, if misplaced,
they are powerful to accomplish your ruin and leave you a miserable
wreck, without God and without hope.
366
Battle for Reform 367
The imagination must be positively and persistently controlled if
the passions and affections are made subject to reason, conscience,
and character....
Unless you restrain your thoughts, your reading, and your words,
your imagination will become hopelessly diseased. Read your Bible
attentively, prayerfully, and be guided by its teachings. This is your
safety.
4
Close Senses Against Evil
—Those who would have that wis-
dom which is from God must become fools in the sinful knowledge
of this age in order to be wise. They should shut their eyes that they
may see and learn no evil. They should close their ears lest they
hear that which is evil, and obtain that knowledge which would stain
their purity of thoughts and acts, and guard their tongues lest they
utter corrupt communications and guile be found in their mouths.
5
Avoid reading and seeing things which will suggest impure
thoughts. Cultivate the moral and intellectual powers.
6
Avoid Inactivity Coupled With Excessive Study
—Excessive
study, by increasing the flow of blood to the brain, creates morbid
excitability that tends to lessen the power of self-control and too
often gives sway to impulse or caprice. Thus the door is opened to
[466]
impurity. The misuse or nonuse of the physical powers is largely
responsible for the tide of corruption that is overspreading the world.
“Pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness” are as deadly
foes to human progress in this generation as when they led to the
destruction of Sodom.
Teachers should understand these things and should instruct their
pupils in these lines. Teach the students that right living depends
on right thinking, and that physical activity is essential to purity of
thought.
7
No Time for Vacillation
—Purity of life and a character molded
after the divine Pattern are not obtained without earnest effort and
fixed principles. A vacillating person will not succeed in attaining
Christian perfection. Such will be weighed in the balances and found
wanting. Like a roaring lion, Satan is seeking for his prey. He tries
his wiles upon every unsuspecting youth.... Satan tells the young
that there is time enough yet, that they may indulge in sin and vice
this once and never again; but that one indulgence will poison their
whole life. Do not once venture on forbidden ground. In this perilous
368 Child Guidance
day of evil, when allurements to vice and corruption are on every
hand, let the earnest, heartfelt cry of the young be raised to heaven:
“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?” And may his
ears be open and his heart inclined to obey the instruction given in
the answer, “By taking heed thereto, according to thy word.”
8
All are accountable for their actions while in this world upon
probation. All have power to control their actions if they will. If
they are weak in virtue and purity of thoughts and acts, they can
obtain help from the Friend of the helpless. Jesus is acquainted
[467]
with all the weaknesses of human nature, and, if entreated, will give
strength to overcome the most powerful temptations. All can obtain
this strength if they seek for it in humility.
9
The only safety for the youth in this age of pollution is to make
God their trust. Without divine help they will be unable to control
human passions and appetites. In Christ is the very help needed, but
how few will come to Him for that help. Said Jesus when upon the
earth, “Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.” In Christ all
can conquer. You can say with the apostle, “Nay, in all these things
we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” Again,
“But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection.”
10
In Him True Pleasure May Be Found
—The only sure safety
for our children against every vicious practice is to seek to be admit-
ted into the fold of Christ and to be taken under the watch care of
the faithful and true Shepherd. He will save them from every evil,
shield them from all dangers, if they will heed His voice. He says,
“My sheep hear my voice, ... and they follow me.” In Christ they
will find pasture, obtain strength and hope, and will not be troubled
with restless longings for something to divert the mind and satisfy
the heart. They have found the pearl of great price, and the mind is
at peaceful rest. Their pleasures are of a pure, peaceful, elevated,
heavenly character. They leave no painful reflections, no remorse.
Such pleasures do not impair health or prostrate the mind, but are of
a healthful nature.
Communion with and love for God, the practice of holiness,
the destruction of sin, are all pleasant. The reading of God’s Word
[468]
will not fascinate the imagination and inflame the passions, like a
fictitious storybook, but softens, soothes, elevates, and sanctifies
the heart. When in trouble, when assailed by fierce temptations,
Battle for Reform 369
they have the privilege of prayer. What an exalted privilege! Finite
beings, of dust and ashes, admitted through the mediation of Christ,
into the audience chamber of the Most High. In such exercises the
soul is brought into a sacred nearness with God and is renewed in
knowledge and true holiness and fortified against the assaults of the
enemy.
11
1
An Appeal to Mothers, 29.
2
An Appeal to Mothers, 27.
3
Testimonies For The Church 2:561.
*
Note: See note on p. 452.
4
Testimonies For The Church 2:561-563.
5
An Appeal to Mothers, 31.
6
Testimonies For The Church 2:410.
7
Education, 209.
8
Testimonies For The Church 2:408, 409.
9
An Appeal to Mothers, 31.
10
Testimonies For The Church 2:409.
11
An Appeal to Mothers, 23, 24.
370 Child Guidance
Section 17—Arousing the Spiritual Powers [469]
Chapter 73—Responsibility for Eternal Interests[470]
[471]
Ours Is a Day of Special Peril for Children
—We are living in
an unfortunate age for children. A heavy current is setting downward
to perdition, and more than childhood’s experience and strength is
needed to press against this current, and not be borne down by it.
The youth generally seem to be Satan’s captives, and he and his
angels are leading them to certain destruction. Satan and his hosts
are warring against the government of God, and all who have a desire
to yield their hearts to Him and obey His requirements Satan will try
to perplex and overcome with his temptations, that they may become
discouraged and give up the warfare.
1
We never needed close connection with God more than we need
it today. One of the greatest dangers that besets God’s people has
ever been from conformity to worldly maxims and customs. The
youth especially are in constant peril. Fathers and mothers should be
on their guard against the wiles of Satan. While he is seeking to ac-
complish the ruin of their children, let not parents flatter themselves
that there is no particular danger. Let them not give thought and care
to the things of this world, while the higher, eternal interests of their
children are neglected.
2
Parents in General Are Indifferent
—It is a sad thing when
parents grow cold in their spiritual life, and, because of waning
piety and want of devotion to God, they do not realize the high
responsibility that devolves upon them to patiently and thoroughly
[472]
train their children to keep the way of the Lord.
3
Parents in general are doing their best to unfit their children for
the stern realities of life, for the difficulties that will surround them
in the future, when they will be called upon to decide for right or
wrong, and when strong temptations will be brought upon them.
They will then be found weak where they should be strong. They
will waver in principle and duty, and humanity will suffer from their
weakness.
4
372
Responsibility for Eternal Interests 373
The All-important Work Is Neglected
—One great reason why
there is so much evil in the world today is that parents occupy their
minds with other things to the exclusion of the work that is all-
important—the task of patiently and kindly teaching their children
the way of the Lord.
5
Mothers may have acquired knowledge of many things, but
they have not acquired the essential knowledge unless they have a
knowledge of Christ as a personal Saviour. If Christ is in the home,
if mothers have made Him their counselor, they will educate their
children from their very babyhood in the principles of true religion.
6
Satan Is Allowed to Control
—Because men and women do not
obey God, but choose their own way and follow their own perverted
imagination, Satan is permitted to set up his hellish banner in their
families and make his power felt through babes, children, and youth.
His voice and will are expressed in the unsubdued wills and warped
characters of the children, and through them he exerts a controlling
power and carries out his plans. God is dishonored by the exhibition
of perverse tempers, which exclude reverence for Him, and induce
obedience to Satan’s suggestions. The sin committed by parents in
[473]
thus permitting Satan to bear sway is beyond conception.
7
Many parents by their training, by their foolish indulgence and
pampering of the tastes and appetite, are making themselves respon-
sible for the crooked ways and dispositions of their children. Satan
can control the whole being by that disposition to disobey the laws
of God. Parents do not, like Abraham, command their households
after them. And what is the result? Children and youth are standing
under the rebel flag. They will not be ruled, but are determined to
follow their own will. The only hope for children is to teach them to
deny and not indulge self.
8
A Severe Battle Before Undisciplined Children
—Children
who are thus brought up undisciplined have everything to learn
when they profess to be Christ’s followers. Their whole religious
experience is affected by their bringing up in childhood. The same
self-will often appears; there is the same lack of self-denial, the same
impatience under reproof, the same love of self and unwillingness to
seek counsel of others, or to be influenced by other’s judgment, the
same indolence, shunning of burdens, lack of bearing responsibili-
ties. All this is seen in their relation to the church. It is possible for
374 Child Guidance
such to overcome, but how hard the battle! How severe the conflict!
How hard to pass through the course of thorough discipline which
is necessary for them to reach the elevation of Christian character!
Yet if they overcome at last, they will be permitted to see, before
they are translated, how near the precipice of eternal destruction they
came, because of the lack of right training in youth, the failure to
learn submission in childhood.
9
Fortify Against Corrupting Influences
—Parents, you have
[474]
taken the responsibility of bringing children into the world without
any voice of theirs, and you are responsible for the lives and souls
of your children. They have the attractions of the world to fascinate
and allure. You can educate them so as to fortify them against its
corrupting influence. You can train them to bear life’s responsibili-
ties and to realize their obligations to God, truth, and duty, and the
bearing that their actions will have upon their future immortal life.
10
The youth of our day are ignorant of Satan’s devices. Parents
should therefore be awake in these perilous times, working with
perseverance and industry, to shut out the first approach of the foe.
They should instruct their children when sitting in the house, or
walking by the way, when rising up or lying down.
11
Eternal vigilance must be exercised, that the children may be
led in the paths of righteousness. Satan begins his work upon them
from earliest childhood and creates desires for that which God has
forbidden. The safety of children depends largely upon the vigilance,
watchfulness, and care of the parents over them.
12
Parents should allow nothing to prevent them from giving to
their children all the time that is necessary to make them understand
what it means to obey and trust the Lord fully.
13
Parents, Awake From Your Deathlike Slumber
—From the
indifference of their parents, many children are left to feel that their
parents have no care for their souls. This ought not to be so, but those
who have children should so manage their domestic and business
affairs that nothing may come in between them and the children that
[475]
would lessen the parents’ influence in directing them to Christ. You
should teach your children the lesson of the love of Jesus, that they
may be pure in heart, in conduct, and conversation....
The Lord would work upon the hearts of the children if the
parents would but co-operate with the divine agencies, but He will
Responsibility for Eternal Interests 375
not undertake to do that which has been appointed as your part of
the work. Parents, you must awake from your deathlike slumber.
14
Our Great Hope Is Home Religion
—Parents are asleep. Their
children are going to destruction before their eyes, and the Lord
would have His messengers present before the people, by precept
and example, the necessity of home religion. Urge this matter home
upon your congregations. Press the conviction of these solemn
duties, so long neglected, home upon the conscience. This will break
up the spirit of Pharisaism and resistance to the truth as nothing else
can. Religion in the home is our great hope and makes the prospect
bright for the conversion of the whole family to the truth of God.
15
Satan’s Power May Be Broken
—Parents have a more serious
charge than they imagine. The inheritance of children is that of
sin. Sin has separated them from God. Jesus gave His life that He
might unite the broken links to God. As related to the first Adam,
men receive from him nothing but guilt and the sentence of death.
But Christ steps in and passes over the ground where Adam fell,
enduring every test in man’s behalf.... Christ’s perfect example and
the grace of God are given him to enable him to train his sons and
daughters to be sons and daughters of God. It is by teaching them,
line upon line, precept upon precept, how to give the heart and will
[476]
up to Christ that Satan’s power is broken.
16
Fathers and mothers, in full assurance of faith plead with your
sons and daughters. Let them not hear one impatient word from your
lips. If necessary, make to your children a heartfelt confession for
having allowed them to follow in the path of vanity and to displease
the Lord, who withheld not His Son from a lost world, that all might
receive pardon and forgiveness of sin....
Fathers and mothers who have in various ways indulged your
children to their hurt, God desires you to redeem the time. Take
heed while it is called today.
17
Parents Have the Noblest Missionary Field
—Make it your
lifework to form the characters of your children according to the
divine Pattern. If they ever possess the inward adorning, the orna-
ment of a meek and quiet spirit, it will be because you perseveringly
trained them to love the teachings of God’s Word and to seek the
approval of Jesus above the approbation of the world.
18
376 Child Guidance
As workers for God, our work is to begin with those nearest. It
is to begin in our own home. There is no more important missionary
field than this.
19
We need missionary fervor in our homes, that we may bring the
Word of life before the members of our families and lead them to
seek a home in the kingdom of God.
20
The management and instruction of children is the noblest mis-
sionary work that any man or woman can undertake.
21
Parents as Artists to Shape Living Clay
—How earnestly and
perseveringly the artist labors to transfer to canvas a perfect likeness
of his model; and how diligently the sculptor hews and chisels out the
stone into a counterpart of the copy he is following. So the parents
should labor to shape, polish, and refine their children after the
[477]
pattern given them in Christ Jesus. As the patient artist studies, and
works, and forms plans to make the results of his labors more perfect,
so should the parent consider time well spent that is occupied in
training the children for useful lives and fitting them for the immortal
kingdom. The artist’s work is small and unimportant compared with
that of the parent. The one deals with lifeless material, from which
he fashions forms of beauty; but the other deals with a human being
whose life can be shaped for good or ill, to bless humanity or to
curse it; to go out in darkness, or to live forever in a future sinless
world.
22
Make Perfection the Goal—Christ was once a little child. For
His sake honor the children. Look upon them as a sacred charge, not
to be petted and idolized, but to be taught to live pure, noble lives.
They are God’s property. He loves them, and He calls upon you to co-
operate with Him in teaching them to form perfect characters. The
Lord requires perfection from His redeemed family. He expects from
us the perfection which Christ revealed in His humanity. Fathers and
mothers especially need to understand the best methods of training
children that they may co-operate with God.
23
Converted Parents Needed
—Day and night I am burdened
with the thought of our great need of converted parents. How many
there are who need to humble their hearts before God and come
into right relation to heaven if they would exert a saving influence
over their families. They should know what they must do to inherit
eternal life, if they would train their children for the inheritance of
Responsibility for Eternal Interests 377
the redeemed. Every day they should be receiving the light of heaven
[478]
into their souls, every day be receiving the impressions of the Holy
Spirit upon heart and mind. Every day they should be receiving the
Word of truth and letting it control the life.
24
Great responsibilities rest upon parents, and they should strive
earnestly to fulfill their God-appointed mission. When they see the
need of bending all the energies of the being to the work of training
their children for God, a great deal of the frivolity and unnecessary
pretense that is now seen will be put away. They will consider no
sacrifice or toil too great that will enable them to prepare to meet
the Lord with joy. This is a most precious part of their service as
followers of God, and one that they cannot afford to neglect.
25
Look Constantly to Jesus
—Parents, ... use every spiritual
sinew and muscle in the effort to save your little flock. The powers
of hell will unite for its destruction, but God will lift up for you a
standard against the enemy. Pray much more than you do. Lovingly,
tenderly, teach your children to come to God as their heavenly Father.
By your example teach them self-control and helpfulness. Tell them
that Christ lived not to please Himself.
Gather up the rays of divine light that are shining upon your
pathway. Walk in the light as Christ is in the light. As you take
hold of the work of helping your children to serve God, the most
provoking trials will come; but do not lose your hold; cling to Jesus.
He says, “Let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace
with me; and he shall make peace with me.” Isaiah 27:5. Difficulties
will arise; you will meet with obstacles; but look constantly to Jesus.
When an emergency arises, ask, Lord, what shall I do now? If you
refuse to fret or scold, the Lord will show you the way. He will help
[479]
you to use the talent of speech in so Christlike a way that peace and
love will reign in the home. By following a consistent course of
action, you may be evangelists in the home, ministers of grace to
your children.
26
This Work Pays
—It costs something to bring children up in
the way of God. It costs a mother’s tears and a father’s prayers. It
calls for unflagging effort, for patient instruction, here a little and
there a little. But this work pays. Parents can thus build around their
children bulwarks which will preserve them from the evil that is
flooding our world.
27
378 Child Guidance
1
Testimonies For The Church 1:397.
2
The Review and Herald, June 13, 1882.
3
The Signs of the Times, September 17, 1894.
4
Pacific Health Journal, January, 1890.
5
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 129.
6
The Signs of the Times, July 22, 1889.
7
Testimonies For The Church 5:325.
8
Letter 117, 1898.
9
Testimonies For The Church 1:219, 220.
10
The Signs of the Times, December 9, 1875.
11
The Signs of the Times, February 26, 1880.
12
The Review and Herald, March 13, 1894.
13
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 129.
14
The Review and Herald, October 25, 1892.
15
Manuscript 21, 1894.
16
Letter 68, 1899.
17
Letter 66, 1910.
18
The Review and Herald, October 9, 1883.
19
Manuscript 19, 1900.
20
Manuscript 101, 1908.
21
Testimonies For The Church 6:205.
22
Pacific Health Journal, May, 1890.
23
Manuscript 19, 1900.
24
Manuscript 53, 1912.
25
Manuscript 27, 1911.
26
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 156, 157.
27
The Review and Herald, July 9, 1901.
Chapter 74—Every Home a Church [480]
Parents to Be God’s Representatives
—Every family in the
home life should be a church, a beautiful symbol of the church
of God in heaven. If parents realized their responsibilities to their
children, they would not under any circumstances scold and fret at
them. This is not the kind of education any child should have. Many,
many children have learned to be faultfinding, fretful, scolding,
passionate children, because they were allowed to be passionate at
home. Parents are to consider that they are in the place of God to
their children, to encourage every right principle and repress every
wrong thought.
1
If the moral qualities of children are neglected by parents and
teachers, they are sure to be perverted.
2
Bible Religion the Only Safeguard
—Generally speaking, the
youth have but little moral strength. This is the result of neglected
education in childhood. A knowledge of the character of God and
our obligations to Him should not be regarded as a matter of minor
consequence. The religion of the Bible is the only safeguard for the
young.
3
Happy are the parents whose lives are a true reflection of the
divine, so that the promises and commands of God awaken in the
child gratitude and reverence; the parents whose tenderness and
justice and long-suffering interpret to the child the love and justice
and long-suffering of God; and who, by teaching the child to love
and trust and obey them, are teaching him to love and trust and obey
his Father in heaven. Parents who impart to the child such a gift
have endowed him with a treasure more precious than the wealth of
[481]
all the ages—a treasure as enduring as eternity.
4
Profession Is Valueless Without Home Religion
—The daily
acts of life tell the measure and mold of our disposition and character.
Where there is a lack of home religion, a profession of faith is
valueless. Then let no unkind words fall from the lips of those
who compose the home circle. Make the atmosphere fragrant with
379
380 Child Guidance
tender thoughtfulness of others. Only those will enter heaven who in
probationary time have formed a character that breathes a heavenly
influence. The saint in heaven must first be a saint upon earth.
5
That which will make the character lovely in the home is that
which will make it lovely in the heavenly mansions. The measure
of your Christianity is gauged by the character of your home life.
The grace of Christ enables its possessors to make the home a happy
place, full of peace and rest. Unless you have the Spirit of Christ,
you are none of His and will never see the redeemed saints in His
kingdom, who are to be one with Him in the heaven of bliss. God
desires you to consecrate yourself wholly to Him and represent His
character in the home circle.
6
The work of sanctification begins in the home. Those who are
Christians in the home will be Christians in the church and in the
world. There are many who do not grow in grace because they fail
of cultivating home religion.
7
Parents as Educators in the Home Church
—I speak to fathers
and mothers: You can be educators in your home churches; you
can be spiritual missionary agencies. Let fathers and mothers feel
the need of being home missionaries, the need of keeping the home
atmosphere free from the influence of unkind and hasty speech, and
[482]
the home school a place where angels of God can come in and bless
and give success to the efforts put forth.
8
Consider the family institution a training school, preparatory
for the performance of religious duties. Your children are to act a
part in church capacity, and every power of the mind, every physical
capacity is to be kept strong and active for the service of Christ.
They are to be taught to love truth because it is truth; they are to be
sanctified through the truth, that they may stand in the grand review
that shall take place erelong to determine the fitness of each to enter
the higher school and become a member of the royal family, a child
of the heavenly King.
9
They Must Lead Consistent Lives
—Everything leaves its im-
press upon the youthful mind. The countenance is studied, the voice
has its influence, and the deportment is closely imitated by them.
Fretful and peevish fathers and mothers are giving their children
lessons which at some period in their lives they would give all the
world, were it theirs, could they unlearn. Children must see in the
Every Home a Church 381
lives of their parents that consistency which is in accordance with
their faith. By leading a consistent life and exercising self-control,
parents may mold the characters of their children.
10
Train Children as Workers for Christ
—Those who are united
by the ties of nature have the strongest claims upon each other. The
members of the family should manifest kindness and the tenderest
love. The words spoken and the deeds performed should be in
accordance with Christian principles. In this way the home may be
made a school, where workers for Christ may be trained.
The home is to be regarded as a sacred place.... Every day of
[483]
our lives we should surrender ourselves to God. Thus we may gain
special help and daily victories. The cross is to be borne daily. Every
word should be guarded, for we are responsible to God to represent
in our lives as far as possible the character of Christ.
11
A Fatal Mistake Many Make
.—Can we educate our sons and
daughters for a life of respectable conventionality, a life professedly
Christian, but lacking His self-sacrifice, a life on which the verdict
of Him who is truth must be, “I know you not”? Thousands are
doing this. They think to secure for their children the benefits of
the gospel while they deny its spirit. But this cannot be. Those who
reject the privilege of fellowship with Christ in service reject the only
training that imparts a fitness for participation with Him in His glory.
They reject the training that in this life gives strength and nobility
of character. Many a father and mother, denying their children to
the cross of Christ, have learned too late that they were thus giving
them over to the enemy of God and man. They sealed their ruin, not
alone for the future but for the present life. Temptation overcame
them. They grew up a curse to the world, a grief and shame to those
who gave them being.
12
We know not in what line our children may be called to serve.
They may spend their lives within the circle of the home; they may
engage in life’s common vocations or go as teachers of the gospel
to heathen lands; but all are alike called to be missionaries for God,
ministers of mercy to the world. They are to obtain an education that
will help them to stand by the side of Christ in unselfish service.
13
Teach Them to Rely on Divine Aid
.—If you wish your children
[484]
to possess enlarged capacities to do good, teach them to have a
right hold of the future world. If they are instructed to rely upon
382 Child Guidance
divine aid in their difficulties and dangers, they will not lack power
to curb passion and to check the inward temptations to do wrong.
Connection with the Source of wisdom will give light and the power
of discernment between right and wrong. Those so endowed will
become morally and intellectually strong and will have clearer views
and better judgment even in temporal affairs.
14
Salvation Assured Through Faith and Trust
.—We can have
the salvation of God in our families; but we must believe for it,
live for it, and have a continual, abiding faith and trust in God....
The restraint which God’s Word imposes upon us is for our own
interest. It increases the happiness of our families, and of all around
us. It refines our taste, sanctifies our judgment, and brings peace
of mind, and in the end, everlasting life.... Ministering angels will
linger in our dwellings, and with joy carry heavenward the tidings
of our advance in the divine life, and the recording angel will make
a cheerful, happy record.
15
The Spirit of Christ will be an abiding influence in the home life.
If men and women will open their hearts to the heavenly influence
of truth and love, these principles will flow forth again like streams
in the desert, refreshing all and causing freshness to appear where
now is barrenness and dearth.
16
Your children will carry forth from the home the precious influ-
ence of the home education. Then work in the home circle, in the
first years of the children’s lives, and they will carry your influence
[485]
into the schoolroom; that influence will be felt by many others. Thus
the Lord will be glorified.
17
1
Letter 104, 1897.
2
The Review and Herald, March 30, 1897.
3
Testimonies For The Church 5:23, 24.
4
Prophets and Kings, 245.
5
The Signs of the Times, November 14, 1892.
6
The Signs of the Times, November 14, 1892.
7
The Signs of the Times, February 17, 1904.
8
Manuscript 33, 1908.
9
Manuscript 12, 1898.
10
Testimonies For The Church 4:621.
11
Manuscript 140, 1897.
12
Education, 264, 265.
13
Prophets and Kings, 245.
Chapter 75—Leading Little Children to Christ[486]
How Early May Children Become Christians?
—In child-
hood the mind is readily impressed and molded, and it is then that
boys and girls should be taught to love and honor God.
1
God wants every child of tender age to be His child, to be adopted
into His family. Young though they may be, the youth may be mem-
bers of the household of faith and have a most precious experience.
They may have hearts that are tender and ready to receive impres-
sions that will be lasting. They may have their hearts drawn out in
confidence and love for Jesus, and live for the Saviour. Christ will
make them little missionaries. The whole current of their thought
may be changed, so that sin will not appear a thing to be enjoyed,
but to be shunned and hated.
2
Age of No Consequence
.—An eminent divine was once asked
how old a child must be before there was reasonable hope of his
being a Christian. “Age has nothing to do with it,” was the answer.
“Love to Jesus, trust, repose, confidence, are all qualities that agree
with the child’s nature. As soon as a child can love and trust his
mother, then can he love and trust Jesus as the Friend of his mother.
Jesus will be his Friend, loved and honored.”
In view of the foregoing truthful statement, can parents be too
careful in presenting precept and example before those watchful
little eyes and sharp senses? Our religion should be made practical.
[487]
It is needed in our homes as much as in the house of worship. There
should be nothing cold, stern, and forbidding in our demeanor; but
we should show, by kindness and sympathy, that we possess warm,
loving hearts. Jesus should be the honored Guest in the family circle.
We should talk with Him, bring all our burdens to Him, and converse
of His love, His grace, and His perfection of character. What a lesson
may be daily given by godly parents in taking all their troubles to
Jesus, the Burden Bearer, instead of fretting and scolding over cares
and perplexities they cannot help. The minds of the little ones may
384
Leading Little Children to Christ 385
be taught to turn to Jesus as the flower turns its opening petals to the
sun.
3
God’s Love Should Be Taught in Every Lesson
.—The first
lesson that children are to be taught is that God is their Father. This
lesson should be given them in their earliest years. Parents are to
realize that they are responsible before God for making their children
acquainted with their heavenly Father.... That God is love is to be
taught by every lesson.
4
Fathers and mothers should teach the infant, the child, and the
youth of the love of Jesus. Let the first baby lispings be of Christ.
5
Christ should be associated with all the lessons given to chil-
dren.
6
From the child’s earliest years it is to be made acquainted with
the things of God. In simple words let the mother tell it about Christ’s
life on earth. And more than this, let her bring into her daily life
the teachings of the Saviour. Let her show her child, by her own
example, that this life is a preparation for the life to come, a period
granted to human beings in which they may form characters that
[488]
will win for them entrance into the city of God.
7
They Need More Than Casual Notice
.—There has been alto-
gether too little attention paid to our children and youth, and they
have failed to develop as they should in the Christian life, because
the church members have not looked upon them with tenderness and
sympathy, desiring that they might be advanced in the divine life.
8
The Lord is not glorified when the children are neglected and
passed by.... They require more than casual notice, more than a word
of encouragement. They need painstaking, prayerful, careful labor.
The heart that is filled with love and sympathy will reach the hearts
of the youth who are apparently careless and hopeless.
9
Jesus Says, “Train These Children for Me
.”—Parents should
seek to comprehend the fact that they are to train their children for
the courts of God. When they are entrusted with children, it is the
same as though Christ placed them in their arms and said, “Train
these children for Me, that they may shine in the courts of God.”
One of the first sounds that should attract their attention is the name
of Jesus, and in their earliest years they should be led to the footstool
of prayer. Their minds should be filled with stories of the life of the
386 Child Guidance
Lord, and their imaginations encouraged in picturing the glories of
the world to come.
10
They May Have a Christian Experience in Childhood
.—
Help your children to prepare for the mansions that Christ has gone
to prepare for those that love Him. Help them to fulfill God’s pur-
pose for them. Let your training be such that it will help them to be
an honor to the One who died to secure for them eternal life in the
kingdom of God. Teach them to respond to the invitation, “Take my
[489]
yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart,
and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my
burden is light.”
11
My brother and sister, you have a sacred work to do in the
training of your children. While they are young, their hearts and
minds are most susceptible to right impressions.... Teach them that
they have an individual part to act and a Christian experience to gain
even in their childhood.
12
Unless parents shall make it the first business of their lives to
guide their children’s feet into the path of righteousness from their
earliest years, the wrong path will be chosen before the right.
13
Willing Obedience Is the Test of Conversion
.—Shall we not
teach our children that willing obedience to the will of God proves
whether those claiming to be Christians are Christians indeed? The
Lord means every word He says.
14
God’s Law the Foundation of Reformation
.—The law of God
is to be the means of education in the family. Parents are under a
most solemn obligation to walk in all the commandments of God,
setting their children an example of the strictest integrity....
The law of God is the foundation of all enduring reformation.
We are to present to the world in clear, distinct lines the need of
obedience to His law. The great reformative movement must begin in
the home. Obedience to God’s law is the great incentive to industry,
economy, truthfulness, and just dealing between man and man.
15
Teach It to the Children
.—Have you taught your children from
their babyhood to keep the commandments of God? ... You are to
[490]
teach them to form characters after the divine similitude, that Christ
may reveal Himself to them. He is willing to reveal Himself to
children. We know this from the history of Joseph, of Samuel, of
Leading Little Children to Christ 387
Daniel and his companions. Can we not see from the record of their
lives what God expects from children and youth?
16
Parents ... are under obligation to God to present their children to
Him fitted at a very early period to receive an intelligent knowledge
of what is comprehended in being a follower of Jesus Christ.
17
Testimony of a Converted Child
.—Religion helps children to
study better and to do more faithful work. A little girl of twelve was
telling, in a simple way, the evidence that she was a Christian. “I did
not like to study, but to play. I was idle at school and often missed
my lessons. Now I learn every lesson well, to please God. I was
mischievous at school, when the teachers were not looking at me,
making fun for the children to look at. Now I wish to please God by
behaving well and keeping the school laws. I was selfish at home,
didn’t like to run errands, and was sulky when mother called me
from play to help her in work. Now it is a real joy for me to help
mother in any way and to show that I love her.”
18
Beware of Procrastination
.—Parents, you should commence
to discipline the minds of your children while they are young, to
the end that they may be Christians.... Beware how you lull them to
sleep over the pit of destruction, with the mistaken thought that they
are not old enough to be accountable, not old enough to repent of
their sins and profess Christ.
19
Children of eight, ten, or twelve years are old enough to be
[491]
addressed on the subject of personal religion. Do not teach your
children with reference to some future period when they shall be old
enough to repent and believe the truth. If properly instructed, very
young children may have correct views of their state as sinners and
of the way of salvation through Christ.
20
I was referred to the many precious promises on record for those
who seek their Saviour early. Ecclesiastes 12:1: “Remember now
thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not,
nor the years draw nigh when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in
them.” Proverbs 8:17: “I love them that love me, and those that seek
me early shall find me.” The great Shepherd of Israel is still saying,
“Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of
such is the kingdom of heaven.” Teach your children that youth is
the best time to seek the Lord.
21
388 Child Guidance
Direct From Infancy Through Youth
—To allow a child to
follow his natural impulses is to allow him to deteriorate and to
become proficient in evil. The results of wrong training begin to be
revealed in childhood. In early youth a selfish temper is developed,
and as the youth grows to manhood, he grows in sin. A continual
testimony against parental neglect is borne by children who have
been permitted to follow a course of their own choosing. Such a
downward course can be prevented only by surrounding them with
influences that will counteract evil. From infancy to youth and from
youth to manhood, a child should be under influences for good.
22
Fortify Children for Future Tests
—Parents, ask yourselves the
solemn question, “Have we educated our children to yield to paternal
[492]
authority, and thus trained them to obey God, to love Him, to hold
His law as the supreme guide of conduct and life? Have we educated
them to be missionaries for Christ? To go about doing good?”
Believing parents, your children will have to fight decisive battles
for the Lord in the day of conflict; and while they win victories for
the Prince of peace, they may be gaining triumphs for themselves.
But if they have not been brought up in the fear of the Lord; if
they have no knowledge of Christ, no connection with heaven, they
will have no moral power, and they will yield to earthly potentates
who have assumed to exalt themselves above the God of heaven in
establishing a spurious sabbath to take the place of the Sabbath of
Jehovah.
23
1
Manuscript 115, 1903.
2
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 169.
3
Good Health, January, 1880.
4
The Review and Herald, June 6, 1899.
5
The Review and Herald, October 9, 1900.
6
The Signs of the Times, February 9, 1882.
7
Manuscript 2, 1903.
8
The Review and Herald, February 13, 1913.
9
Counsels on Sabbath School Work, 77.
10
The Review and Herald, February 19, 1895.
11
Manuscript 138, 1903.
12
Letter 10, 1912.
13
The Review and Herald, April 14, 1885.
14
Manuscript 64, 1899.
15
Letter 74, 1900.
16
Manuscript 62, 1901.
Chapter 76—Preparing for Church Membership[493]
A Well-balanced Training
—Instruction should be given as God
has directed. Patiently, carefully, diligently, mercifully, children
should be trained. Upon all parents rests the obligation of giving their
children physical, mental, and spiritual instruction. It is essential
ever to keep before children the claims of God.
Physical training, the development of the body, is far more easily
given than spiritual training....
Soul culture, which gives purity and elevation to the thoughts
and fragrance to word and act, requires more painstaking effort. It
takes patience to keep every evil motive weeded from the garden of
the heart.
The spiritual training should in no case be neglected. Let us
teach our children the beautiful lessons of God’s Word, that through
these they may gain a knowledge of Him. Let them understand
that they should do nothing which is not right. Teach them to do
justice and judgment. Tell them that you cannot permit them to take
a wrong course. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ present them to
God at the throne of grace. Let them know that Jesus lives to make
intercession for them. Encourage them to form characters fashioned
after the divine similitude.
1
Knowledge of God and Christ Is Fundamental
—The spiri-
tual training should in no case be neglected, for “the fear of the Lord
is the beginning of wisdom.” Psalm 111:10. By some, education is
[494]
placed next to religion, but true education is religion.
2
Define Practical Religious Experience
—Practical instruction
in religious experience is what Christian parents should be prepared
to give their children. God requires this of you, and you neglect
your duty if you fail to perform this work. Instruct your children in
regard to God’s chosen methods of discipline and the conditions of
success in the Christian life. Teach them that they cannot serve God
and have their minds absorbed in overcareful provision for this life;
but do not let them cherish the thought that they have no need to toil
390
Preparing for Church Membership 391
and may spend their leisure moments in idleness. God’s Word is
plain on this point.
3
Teach the Knowledge of God
—To know God is eternal life.
Are you teaching this to your children, or are you teaching them to
meet the world’s standard? Are you getting ready for the home that
God is preparing for you? ... Teach your children of the Saviour’s
life, death, and resurrection. Teach them to study the Bible.... Teach
them to form characters that will live through the eternal ages. We
must pray as we never have before that God will keep and bless our
children.
4
Teach Daily Repentance and Forgiveness
—It is not essential
that all shall be able to specify to a certainty when their sins were
forgiven. The lesson to be taught the children is that their errors
and mistakes are to be brought to Jesus in their very childhood of
life. Teach them to ask His forgiveness daily for any wrong that they
have done, and that Jesus does hear the simple prayer of the penitent
heart, and will pardon, and receive them, just as He received the
[495]
children brought to Him when He was upon earth.
5
Teach Sound Doctrine
—Those who have seen the truth and felt
its importance, and have had an experience in the things of God, are
to teach sound doctrine to their children. They should make them
acquainted with the great pillars of our faith, the reasons why we are
Seventh-day Adventists—why we are called, as were the children of
Israel, to be a peculiar people, a holy nation, separate and distinct
from all other people on the face of the earth. These things should be
explained to the children in simple language, easy to be understood;
and as they grow in years, the lessons imparted should be suited to
their increasing capacity, until the foundations of truth have been
laid broad and deep.
6
Instruct Briefly and Frequently
—Those who give instruction
to children and youth should avoid tedious remarks. Short talks,
right to the point, will have a happy influence. If there is much
to be said, make up for brevity by frequency. A few interesting
remarks, every now and then, will be more helpful than to give all
the instruction at once. Long speeches tire the minds of the young.
Too much talk will lead them even to loathe spiritual instruction, just
as overeating burdens the stomach and lessens the appetite, leading
to a loathing for food.
7
392 Child Guidance
The Evenings Are Precious Seasons
—The home should be
made a school of instruction rather than a place of monotonous
drudgery. The evenings should be cherished as precious seasons, to
be devoted to the instruction of the children in the way of righteous-
ness.
8
Recount God’s Promises
—We need to recognize the Holy
Spirit as our enlightener. That Spirit loves to address the children
[496]
and discover to them the treasures and beauties of the Word. The
promises spoken by the great Teacher will captivate the senses and
animate the soul of the child with a spiritual power that is divine.
There will grow in the receptive mind a familiarity with divine things
which will be as a barricade against the temptations of the enemy.
9
Make Religious Instruction Pleasant
—Religious instruction
should be given to children from their earliest years. It should be
given, not in a condemnatory spirit, but in a cheerful, happy spirit.
Mothers need to be on the watch constantly, lest temptation shall
come to the children in such a form as not to be recognized by
them. The parents are to guard their children with wise, pleasant
instruction. As the very best friends of these inexperienced ones, they
should help them in the work of overcoming, for it means everything
to them to be victorious. They should consider that their own dear
children who are seeking to do right are younger members of the
Lord’s family, and they should feel an intense interest in helping
them to make straight paths in the King’s highway of obedience.
With loving interest they should teach them day by day what it
means to be children of God and to yield the will in obedience to
Him. Teach them that obedience to God involves obedience to their
parents. This must be a daily, hourly work. Parents, watch, watch
and pray, and make your children your companions.
10
Teach Spiritual Lessons From Domestic Tasks
—God has
given to parents and teachers the work of educating the children
and youth in these lines, and from every act of their lives they may
be taught spiritual lessons. While training them in habits of physi-
[497]
cal cleanliness, we should teach them that God desires them to be
clean in heart as well as in body. While sweeping a room, they may
learn how the Lord purifies the heart. They would not close the
doors and windows and leave in the room some purifying substance,
but would open the doors and throw wide the windows, and with
Preparing for Church Membership 393
diligent effort expel all the dust. So the windows of impulse and
feeling must be opened toward heaven, and the dust of selfishness
and earthliness must be expelled. The grace of God must sweep
through the chambers of the mind, and every element of the nature
must be purified and vitalized by the Spirit of God. Disorder and
untidiness in daily duties will lead to forgetfulness of God and to
keeping the form of godliness in a profession of faith, having lost
the reality. We are to watch and pray, else we shall grasp the shadow
and lose the substance.
A living faith like threads of gold should run through the daily
experience in the performance of little duties.
11
Heart Education Versus Book Learning
—It is right for the
youth to feel that they must reach the highest development of their
mental powers. We would not restrict the education to which God
has set no limit. But our attainments will avail nothing if not put
to use for the honor of God and the good of humanity. Unless our
knowledge is a steppingstone to the accomplishment of the highest
purposes, it is worthless....
Heart education is of more importance than the education gained
from books. It is well, even essential, to obtain a knowledge of the
world in which we live; but if we leave eternity out of our reckoning,
we shall make a failure from which we can never recover.
12
Mutual Benefits
—Our children are the Lord’s property; they
[498]
have been bought with a price. This thought should be the main-
spring of our labors for them. The most successful methods of
assuring their salvation and keeping them out of the way of temp-
tation is to instruct them constantly in the Word of God. And as
parents become learners with their children, they will find their own
growth in a knowledge of the truth more rapid. Unbelief will disap-
pear; faith and activity will increase; assurance and confidence will
deepen as they thus follow on to know the Lord.
13
How Parents May Be Stumbling Blocks
—What example do
you give your children? What order do you have at home? Your
children should be educated to be kind, thoughtful of others, gentle,
easy to be entreated, and, above everything else, to respect religious
things and feel the importance of the claims of God.
14
Boys and girls may early reveal deep and symmetrical piety if
the means which God has ordained for the guidance of every family
394 Child Guidance
is followed in His fear and love. They will demonstrate the value
of correct training and discipline. But the impression made upon
the mind of children by the words of the teacher of truth is often
counteracted by the words and actions of the parents. The susceptible
though wayward hearts of children are often impressed by the truth,
but often temptations come to them through father or mother, and
they fall a prey to Satan’s devices. It is almost impossible to set the
feet of children in safe paths when the parents do not co-operate.
Evil sentiments, falling from the lips of injudicious parents, are the
chief hindrance to genuine conversions among children.
15
Live in Harmony With Your Prayers
—“If ye abide in me, and
[499]
my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done
unto you.” When you pray, present this promise. It is our privilege
to come to Him with holy boldness. As in sincerity we ask Him to
let His light shine upon us, He will hear and answer us. But we must
live in harmony with our prayers. They are of no avail if we walk
contrary to them. I have seen a father who, after reading a portion
of scripture and offering prayer, would often, almost as soon as he
had risen from his knees, begin to scold his children. How could
God answer the prayer he had offered? And if, after scolding his
children, a father offers prayer, does that prayer benefit the children?
No; not unless it is a prayer of confession to God.
16
When Children Are Ready for Baptism
—Never allow your
children to suppose that they are not children of God until they
are old enough to be baptized. Baptism does not make children
Christians; neither does it convert them; it is but an outward sign,
showing that they are sensible that they should be children of God
by acknowledging that they believe in Jesus Christ as their Saviour
and will henceforth live for Christ.
17
Parents whose children desire to be baptized have a work to do,
both in self-examination and in giving faithful instruction to their
children. Baptism is a most sacred and important ordinance, and
there should be a thorough understanding as to its meaning. It means
repentance for sin, and the entrance upon a new life in Christ Jesus.
There should be no undue haste to receive the ordinance. Let both
parents and children count the cost. In consenting to baptism of their
children, parents sacredly pledge themselves to be faithful stewards
[500]
over these children, to guide them in their character building. They
Preparing for Church Membership 395
pledge themselves to guard with special interest these lambs of the
flock, that they may not dishonor the faith they profess....
When the happiest period of their life has come, and they in their
hearts love Jesus and wish to be baptized, then deal faithfully with
them. Before they receive the ordinance, ask them if it is to be their
first purpose in life to work for God. Then tell them how to begin.
It is the first lessons that mean so much. In simplicity teach them
how to do their first service for God. Make the work as easy to be
understood as possible. Explain what it means to give up self to the
Lord, to do just as His Word directs, under the counsel of Christian
parents.
18
Parents’ Duty After Baptism
—After faithful labor, if you are
satisfied that your children understand the meaning of conversion
and baptism and are truly converted, let them be baptized. But, I
repeat, first of all prepare yourselves to act as faithful shepherds in
guiding their inexperienced feet in the narrow way of obedience.
God must work in the parents that they may give to their children
a right example in love, courtesy, and Christian humility, and in an
entire giving up of self to Christ. If you consent to the baptism of
your children and then leave them to do as they choose, feeling no
special duty to keep their feet in the straight path, you yourselves are
responsible if they lose faith and courage and interest in the truth.
19
God calls upon you to teach them to prepare to be members of
the royal family, children of the heavenly King. Co-operate with
God by working diligently for their salvation. If they err, do not
[501]
scold them. Never taunt them with being baptized and yet doing
wrong. Remember that they have much to learn in regard to the
duties of a child of God.
20
Preparation for Special Convocations
—Here is a work for
families to engage in before coming up to our holy convocations.
Let the preparation for eating and dressing be a secondary matter,
but let deep heart-searching commence at home. Pray three times
a day, and like Jacob, be importunate. At home is the place to find
Jesus; then take Him with you to the meeting, and how precious
will be the hours you spend there. But how can you expect to feel
the presence of the Lord and see His power displayed, when the
individual work of preparation for that time is neglected?
396 Child Guidance
For your soul’s sake, for Christ’s sake, and for the sake of others,
work at home. Pray as you are not accustomed to pray. Let the heart
break before God. Set your house in order. Prepare your children for
the occasion. Teach them that it is not of so much consequence that
they appear with fine clothes as that they appear before God with
clean hands and pure hearts. Remove every obstacle that may have
been in their way—all differences that may have existed between
themselves or between you and them. By so doing you will invite
the Lord’s presence into your homes, and holy angels will attend
you as you go up to the meeting, and their light and presence will
press back the darkness of evil angels.
21
Sow the Seeds of Truth in Faith
—The work of the sower is a
work of faith. The mystery of the germination and growth of the
seed he cannot understand, but he has confidence in the agencies by
which God causes vegetation to flourish. He casts away the seed,
[502]
expecting to gather it manyfold in an abundant harvest. So parents
and teachers are to labor, expecting a harvest from the seed they
sow.
22
We should ask the blessing of God on the seed sown, and the
conviction of the Holy Spirit will take hold of even the little ones.
If we exercise faith in God, we shall be enabled to lead them to the
Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. This is a work
of the greatest consequence to the younger members of the Lord’s
family.
23
1
The Review and Herald, September 15, 1904.
2
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 108.
3
Testimonies For The Church 5:42.
4
Manuscript 16, 1895.
5
Manuscript 5, 1896.
6
Testimonies For The Church 5:330.
7
Gospel Workers, 208, 209.
8
Counsels on Sabbath School Work, 48.
9
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 172.
10
Testimonies For The Church 6:93, 94.
11
Testimonies For The Church 6:170, 171.
12
Testimonies For The Church 8:311.
13
The Review and Herald, May 6, 1909.
14
Testimonies For The Church 5:424.
15
Manuscript 49, 1901.
398 Child Guidance
Section 18—Maintaining the Religious [503]
Experience
Chapter 77—The Bible in the Home[504]
[505]
The Bible Is a Versatile Book
—In its wide range of style and
subjects, the Bible has something to interest every mind and appeal
to every heart. In its pages are found history the most ancient; bi-
ography the truest to life; principles of government for the control
of the state, for the regulation of the household—principles that
human wisdom has never equaled. It contains philosophy the most
profound; poetry the sweetest and the most sublime, the most impas-
sioned and the most pathetic. Immeasurably superior in value to the
productions of any human author are the Bible writings, even when
thus considered; but of infinitely wider scope, of infinitely greater
value, are they when viewed in their relation to the grand central
thought. Viewed in the light of this thought, every topic has a new
significance. In the most simply stated truths are involved principles
that are as high as heaven and that compass eternity.
1
The Word of God abounds in precious jewels of truth, and parents
should bring them forth from their casket and present them before
their children in their true luster.... In the Word of God you have a
treasure house from which you may draw precious stores, and as
Christians you should furnish yourselves for every good work.
2
In It God Provides a Rich Banquet
—In giving us the privilege
of studying His Word, the Lord has set before us a rich banquet.
Many are the benefits derived from feasting on His Word, which is
represented by Him as His flesh and blood, His spirit and life. By
partaking of this Word, our spiritual strength is increased; we grow[506]
in grace and in a knowledge of the truth. Habits of self-control are
formed and strengthened. The infirmities of childhood—fretfulness,
willfulness, selfishness, hasty words, passionate acts—disappear,
and in their place are developed the graces of Christian manhood
and womanhood.
3
The beautiful lessons of the Bible stories and parables, the pure,
simple instruction of God’s Holy Word, is the spiritual food for you
and your children.
400
Bible in the Home 401
Oh, what a work is before you! Will you take hold of it in the
love and fear of God? Will you put yourselves in communication
with God through His Word?
4
It Is the Standard of Rectitude
—The Word of God should
be judiciously brought to bear upon the youthful minds and be
their standard of rectitude, correcting their errors, enlightening and
guiding their minds, which will be far more effectual in restraining
and controlling the impulsive temperament than harsh words, which
will provoke to wrath. This training of children to meet the Bible
standard will require time, perseverance, and prayer. This should be
attended to if some things about the house are neglected.
5
The truths of the Bible, received, will uplift the mind from its
earthliness and debasement. If the Word of God were appreciated as
it should be, both young and old would possess an inward rectitude,
a strength of principle, that would enable them to resist temptation.
6
The Holy One of Israel has made known to us the statutes and
laws which are to govern all human intelligences. These precepts,
which have been pronounced “holy, and just, and good,” are to
form the standard of action in the home. There can be no departure
[507]
from them without sin, for they are the foundation of the Christian
religion.
7
It Strengthens the Intellect
—If the Bible were studied as it
should be, men would become strong in intellect. The subjects
treated upon in the Word of God, the dignified simplicity of its
utterance, the noble themes which it presents to the mind, develop
faculties in man which cannot otherwise be developed. In the Bible
a boundless field is opened for the imagination. The student will
come from a contemplation of its grand themes, from association
with its lofty imagery, more pure and elevated in thought and feeling
than if he had spent the time reading any work of mere human origin,
to say nothing of those of a trifling character. Youthful minds fail
to reach their noblest development when they neglect the highest
source of wisdom—the Word of God. The reason why we have so
few men of good mind, of stability and solid worth, is that God is
not feared, God is not loved, the principles of religion are not carried
out in the life as they should be.
God would have us avail ourselves of every means of cultivating
and strengthening our intellectual powers.... If the Bible were read
402 Child Guidance
more, if its truths were better understood, we should be a far more
enlightened and intelligent people. Energy is imparted to the soul
by searching its pages.
8
It Is the Foundation for Home, Social, and National Pros-
perity
—The teaching of the Bible has a vital bearing upon man’s
prosperity in all the relations of this life. It unfolds the principles
that are the cornerstone of a nation’s prosperity—principles with
which is bound up the well-being of society, and which are the safe-
[508]
guard of the family—principles without which no man can attain
usefulness, happiness, and honor in this life, or can hope to secure
the future, immortal life. There is no position in life, no phase of
human experience, for which the teaching of the Bible is not an
essential preparation.
9
Knowledge of the Scriptures Is a Safeguard
—From a child,
Timothy knew the Scriptures; and this knowledge was a safeguard to
him against the evil influences surrounding him and the temptation
to choose pleasure and selfish gratification before duty. Such a
safeguard all our children need, and it should be a part of the work
of parents and of Christ’s ambassadors to see that the children are
properly instructed in the Word of God.
10
Love for the Bible Is Not Natural
—Youth are ignorant and
inexperienced, and the love of the Bible and its sacred truths will
not come naturally. Unless great pains are taken to build up around
them barriers to shield them from Satan’s devices, they are subject
to his temptations and are led captive by him at his will. In their
early years children are to be taught the claims of God’s law and
faith in Jesus our Redeemer to cleanse from the stains of sin. This
faith must be taught day by day, by precept and example.
11
Youth Especially Neglect Bible Study
—Both old and young
neglect the Bible. They do not make it their study, the rule of their
life. Especially are the young guilty of this neglect. Most of them
find time to read other books, but the book that points out the way to
eternal life is not daily studied, Idle stories are attentively read, while
the Bible is neglected. This book is our guide to a higher, holier
[509]
life. The youth would pronounce it the most interesting book they
ever read had not their imagination been perverted by the reading of
fictitious stories.
Bible in the Home 403
Youthful minds fail to reach their noblest development when
they neglect the highest source of wisdom—the Word of God. That
we are in God’s world, in the presence of the Creator; that we are
made in His likeness; that He watches over us and loves us and cares
for us—these are wonderful themes for thought and lead the mind
into broad, exalted fields of meditation. He who opens mind and
heart to the contemplation of such themes as these will never be
satisfied with trivial, sensational subjects.
12
Parental Disregard Is Reflected in Children
—Even when
quite young, children notice; and if the parents show that the Word of
God is not their guide and counselor, if they disregard the messages
brought to them, the same reckless spirit of, “I don’t care; I will
have my own way,” will be shown by the children.
13
Give the Word Its Honored Place
—As a people who have had
great light, we are to be uplifting in our habits, in our words, in our
domestic life and association. Give the Word its honored position
as a guide in the home. Let it be regarded as the counselor in every
difficulty, the standard of every practice. Will my brethren and sisters
be convinced that there can never be true prosperity to any soul in the
family circle unless the truth of God, the wisdom of righteousness,
presides? Every effort should be made by fathers and mothers to
bring their own minds up from the lazy habit of regarding the service
of God as a burden. The power of the truth must be a sanctifying
agency in the home.
14
Parents, give your children, line upon line, precept upon precept,
[510]
the instruction contained in God’s Holy Word. This is the work you
pledged yourself to do when you were baptized. Let nothing of a
worldly character keep you from doing this work. Do all in your
power to save the souls of your children, whether they are bone of
your bone and flesh of your flesh, or whether they have been received
into your family by adoption.
15
Make It the Home Textbook
—Parents, if you would educate
your children to serve God and do good in the world, make the
Bible your textbook. It exposes the wiles of Satan. It is the great
elevator of the race, the reprover and corrector of moral evils, the
detector which enables us to distinguish between the true and the
false. Whatever else is taught in the home or at school, the Bible,
as the great educator, should stand first. If it is given this place,
404 Child Guidance
God is honored, and He will work for you in the conversion of your
children. There is a rich mine of truth and beauty in this holy book,
and parents have themselves to blame if they do not make it intensely
interesting to their children.
16
“It is written” was the only weapon that Christ used when the
tempter came with his deceptions. The teaching of Bible truth is
the great and grand work which every parent should undertake. In a
pleasant, happy frame of mind place the truth as spoken by God be-
fore the children. As fathers and mothers, you can be object lessons
to the children in the daily life by practicing patience, kindness,
and love, by attaching them to yourself. Do not let them do as they
please, but show them that your work is to practice the Word of God
and to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
17
Study Diligently, Systematically
—Observe system in the study
[511]
of the Scriptures in your families. Neglect anything of a temporal
nature, ... but be sure that the soul is fed with the bread of life. It
is impossible to estimate the good results of one hour or even half
an hour each day devoted in a cheerful, social manner to the Word
of God. Make the Bible its own expositor, bringing together all
that is said concerning a given subject at different times and under
varied circumstances. Do not break up your home class for callers
or visitors. If they come in during the exercise, invite them to take
part in it. Let it be seen that you consider it more important to obtain
a knowledge of God’s Word than to secure the gains or pleasures of
the world.
18
If we would study the Bible diligently and prayerfully every day,
we should every day see some beautiful truth in a new, clear, and
forcible light.
19
Let All Study Sabbath School Lessons
—The Sabbath school
affords to parents and children an opportunity for the study of God’s
Word. But in order for them to gain that benefit which they should
gain in the Sabbath school, both parents and children should devote
time to the study of the lesson, seeking to obtain a thorough knowl-
edge of the facts presented and also of the spiritual truths which these
facts are designed to teach. We should especially impress upon the
minds of the youth the importance of seeking the full significance
of the scripture under consideration.
Bible in the Home 405
Parents, set apart a little time each day for the study of the
Sabbath school lesson with your children. Give up the social visit
if need be, rather than sacrifice the hour devoted to the lessons of
sacred history. Parents as well as children will receive benefit from [512]
this study. Let the more important passages of Scripture connected
with the lesson be committed to memory, not as a task, but as a
privilege. Though at first the memory be defective, it will gain
strength by exercise, so that after a time you will delight thus to
treasure up the words of truth. And the habit will prove a most
valuable aid to spiritual growth.
20
Parents should feel it a sacred duty to instruct their children in
the statutes and requirements of God as well as in the prophecies.
They should educate their children at home and should themselves
be interested in the Sabbath school lessons. By studying with the
children they show that they attach importance to the truth brought
out in the lessons, and help to create a taste for Bible knowledge.
21
Be Not Satisfied With Superficial Knowledge
—The impor-
tance of seeking a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures can hardly
be estimated. “Given by inspiration of God” able to make us “wise
unto salvation,” rendering the man of God “perfect, throughly fur-
nished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:15-17), the Bible has the
highest claim to our reverent attention. We should not be satisfied
with a superficial knowledge, but should seek to learn the full mean-
ing of the words of truth, to drink deep of the spirit of the Holy
Oracles.
22
Apply Lessons to Child’s Experience
—In teaching children
the Bible, we may gain much by observing the bent of their minds,
the things in which they are interested, and arousing their interest
to see what the Bible says about these things. He who created us,
with our various aptitudes, has in His Word given something for
everyone. As the pupils see that the lessons of the Bible apply to
[513]
their own lives, teach them to look to it as a counselor....
The Bible has a fullness, a strength, a depth of meaning, that
is inexhaustible. Encourage the children and youth to seek out its
treasures, both of thought and of expression.
23
Each Must Study for Himself
—Mothers and fathers carry a
heavy responsibility in regard to their children. Those parents who
believe and study the Scriptures will realize that they must obey
406 Child Guidance
the commandments of God, that they must not walk contrary to
His holy law. Those who allow anyone, even the minister, to lead
them to disregard the Word of God must at the judgment meet the
result of their course. Parents are not to trust their own souls and the
souls of their children to the minister, but to God, whose they are
by creation and by redemption. Parents should search the Scriptures
for themselves, for they have souls to save or to lose. They cannot
afford to depend for salvation upon the minister. They must study
the truth for themselves.
24
Make Bible Study Interesting to Children
—Let the youth be
taught to love the study of the Bible. Let the first place in our
thoughts and affections be given to the Book of books, for it contains
knowledge which we need above all other.
25
In order to do this work, parents must themselves become ac-
quainted with the Word of God.... And instead of speaking vain
words and telling idle tales to their children, they will talk with them
upon Bible subjects. The book was not designed for scholars alone.
It was written in a plain, simple style to meet the understanding of
the common people; and, with proper explanations, a large portion
[514]
of it can be made intensely interesting and profitable to very small
children.
26
Do not think that the Bible will become a tiresome book to the
children. Under a wise instructor the Word will become more and
more desirable. It will be to them as the bread of life; it will never
grow old. There is in it a freshness and beauty that attract and charm
the children and youth. It is like the sun shining upon the earth,
giving its brightness and warmth, yet never exhausted. By lessons
from Bible history and doctrine, the children and youth can learn
that all other books are inferior to this. They can find here a fountain
of mercy and love.
27
Parents, let the instruction you give your children be simple, and
be sure that it is clearly understood. The lessons that you learn from
the Word you are to present to their young minds so plainly that
they cannot fail to understand. By simple lessons drawn from the
Word of God and their own experience, you may teach them how to
conform their lives to the highest standard. Even in childhood and
youth they may learn to live thoughtful, earnest lives that will yield
a rich harvest of good.
28
Bible in the Home 407
Give Freshest Thought; Use Best Methods
—Our heavenly
Father, in giving His Word, did not overlook the children. In all that
men have written, where can be found anything that has such a hold
upon the heart, anything so well adapted to awaken the interest of
the little ones, as the stories of the Bible?
In these simple stories may be made plain the great principles
of the law of God. Thus by illustrations best suited to the child’s
comprehension, parents and teachers may begin very early to fulfill
the Lord’s injunction concerning His precepts: “Thou shalt teach
them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou
[515]
sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when
thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” Deuteronomy 6:7.
The use of object lessons, blackboards, maps, and pictures will
be an aid in explaining these lessons and fixing them in the memory.
Parents and teachers should constantly seek for improved methods.
The teaching of the Bible should have our freshest thought, our best
methods, and our most earnest effort.
29
Take the Bible as the Guide
—You must make the Bible your
guide if you would bring up your children in the nurture and admo-
nition of the Lord. Let the life and character of Christ be presented
as the pattern for them to copy. If they err, read to them what the
Lord has said concerning similar sins. There is need of constant care
and diligence in this work. One wrong trait tolerated by parents,
uncorrected by teachers, may cause the whole character to become
deformed and unbalanced. Teach the children that they must have
a new heart; that new tastes must be created, new motives inspired.
They must have help from Christ; they must become acquainted with
the character of God as revealed in His Word.
30
1
Education, 125.
2
The Signs of the Times, September 10, 1894.
3
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 207.
4
Letter 27, 1890.
5
The Signs of the Times, September 13, 1877.
6
Testimonies For The Church 8:319.
7
The Review and Herald, November 13, 1888.
8
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 126.
9
Patriarchs and Prophets, 599.
10
Testimonies For The Church 4:398.
11
Testimonies For The Church 5:329.
408 Child Guidance
12
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 138, 139.
13
Manuscript 49, 1898.
14
Letter 107, 1898.
15
Manuscript 70, 1900.
16
Testimonies For The Church 5:322.
17
Manuscript 5, 1896.
18
The Review and Herald, October 9, 1883.
19
Counsels on Sabbath School Work, 23.
20
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 137, 138.
21
Testimonies on Sabbath School Work, 111.
22
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 139.
23
Education, 188.
24
Manuscript 33, 1900.
25
The Review and Herald, October 9, 1883.
26
The Signs of the Times, April 8, 1886.
27
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 171.
28
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 109.
29
Education, 185, 186.
30
The Signs of the Times, May 25, 1882.
Chapter 78—The Power of Prayer [516]
[517]
The Need for Family Prayer
—Every family should rear its al-
tar of prayer, realizing that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of
wisdom. If any persons in the world need the strength and encour-
agement that religion gives, it is those who are responsible for the
education and training of children. They cannot do their work in a
manner acceptable to God while their daily example teaches those
who look to them for guidance that they can live without God. If
they educate their children to live for this life only, they will make
no preparation for eternity. They will die as they have lived, without
God, and parents will be called to account for the loss of their souls.
Fathers, mothers, you need to seek God morning and evening at the
family altar, that you may learn how to teach your children wisely,
tenderly, lovingly.
1
Family Worship Neglected
—If ever there was a time when
every house should be a house of prayer, it is now. Infidelity and
skepticism prevail. Iniquity abounds. Corruption flows in the vital
currents of the soul, and rebellion against God breaks out in the
life. Enslaved by sin, the moral powers are under the tyranny of
Satan. The soul is made the sport of his temptations; and unless
some mighty arm is stretched out to rescue him, man goes where
the archrebel leads the way.
And yet, in this time of fearful peril, some who profess to be
Christians have no family worship. They do not honor God in the
home; they do not teach their children to love and fear Him. Many
have separated themselves so far from Him that they feel under
condemnation in approaching Him. They cannot “come boldly
[518]
unto the throne of grace,” “lifting up holy hands, without wrath and
doubting.” Hebrews 4:16; 1 Timothy 2:8. They have not a living
connection with God. Theirs is a form of godliness without the
power.
2
The idea that prayer is not essential is one of Satan’s most suc-
cessful devices to ruin souls. Prayer is communion with God, the
409
410 Child Guidance
Fountain of wisdom, the Source of strength, and peace, and happi-
ness.
3
Tragedy of a Prayerless Home
—I know of nothing that causes
me so great sadness as a prayerless home. I do not feel safe in such
a house for a single night; and were it not for the hope of helping
the parents to realize their necessity and their sad neglect, I would
not remain. The children show the result of this neglect, for the fear
of God is not before them.
4
Formal Prayer Is Not Acceptable
—In many cases the morn-
ing and evening worship is little more than a mere form, a dull,
monotonous repetition of set phrases in which the spirit of gratitude
or the sense of need finds no expression. The Lord accepts not such
service. But the petitions of a humble heart and contrite spirit He
will not despise. The opening of our hearts to our heavenly Father,
the acknowledgment of our entire dependence, the expression of our
wants, the homage of grateful love—this is true prayer.
5
Let There Be Households of Prayer
—Like the patriarchs of
old, those who profess to love God should erect an altar to the Lord
wherever they pitch their tent.... Fathers and mothers should often
lift up their hearts to God in humble supplication for themselves and
their children. Let the father, as priest of the household, lay upon
[519]
the altar of God the morning and evening sacrifice, while the wife
and children unite in prayer and praise. In such a household Jesus
will love to tarry.
6
Let the members of every family bear in mind that they are
closely allied to heaven. The Lord has a special interest in the
families of His children here below. Angels offer the smoke of the
fragrant incense for the praying saints. Then in every family let
prayer ascend to heaven both in the morning and at the cool sunset
hour, in our behalf presenting before God the Saviour’s merits.
Morning and evening the heavenly universe take notice of every
praying household.
7
Angels Guard Children Dedicated to God
—Before leaving
the house for labor, all the family should be called together; and the
father, or the mother in the father’s absence, should plead fervently
with God to keep them through the day. Come in humility, with
a heart full of tenderness, and with a sense of the temptations and
dangers before yourselves and your children; by faith bind them
Power of Prayer 411
upon the altar, entreating for them the care of the Lord. Ministering
angels will guard children who are thus dedicated to God.
8
Prayer Makes a Hedge About Children
—In the morning the
Christian’s first thoughts should be upon God. Worldly labor and
self-interest should be secondary. Children should be taught to
respect and reverence the hour of prayer.... It is the duty of Christian
parents, morning and evening, by earnest prayer and persevering
faith, to make a hedge about their children. They should patiently
instruct them—kindly and untiringly teach them how to live in order
to please God.
9
Have Fixed Times for Worship
—In every family there should
[520]
be a fixed time for morning and evening worship. How appropriate
it is for parents to gather their children about them before the fast
is broken, to thank the heavenly Father for His protection during
the night, and to ask Him for His help and guidance and watch care
during the day! How fitting, also, when evening comes, for parents
and children to gather once more before Him and thank Him for the
blessings of the day that is past!
10
Do Not Be Governed by Circumstances
—Family worship
should not be governed by circumstances. You are not to pray
occasionally and, when you have a large day’s work to do, neglect
it. In thus doing you lead your children to look upon prayer as of
no special consequence. Prayer means very much to the children
of God, and thank offerings should come up before God morning
and evening. Says the psalmist, “O come, let us sing unto the Lord:
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come
before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto
him with psalms.”
11
Fathers and mothers, however pressing your business, do not fail
to gather your family around God’s altar. Ask for the guardianship
of holy angels in your home. Remember that your dear ones are
exposed to temptations.
12
In our efforts for the comfort and happiness of guests, let us not
overlook our obligations to God. The hour of prayer should not be
neglected for any consideration. Do not talk and amuse yourselves
till all are too weary to enjoy the season of devotion. To do this is to
present to God a lame offering. At an early hour of the evening, when
we can pray unhurriedly and understandingly, we should present our
[521]
412 Child Guidance
supplications and raise our voices in happy, grateful praise.
Let all who visit Christians see that the hour of prayer is the most
precious, the most sacred, and the happiest hour of the day. These
seasons of devotion exert a refining, elevating influence upon all
who participate in them. They bring a peace and rest grateful to the
spirit.
13
Children to Respect the Worship Hour
—Your children should
be educated to be kind, thoughtful of others, gentle, easy to be
entreated, and, above everything else, to respect religious things and
feel the importance of the claims of God. They should be taught
to respect the hour of prayer; they should be required to rise in the
morning so as to be present at family worship.
14
Make the Worship Period Interesting
—The father, who is the
priest of his household, should conduct the morning and evening
worship. There is no reason why this should not be the most interest-
ing and enjoyable exercise of the home life, and God is dishonored
when it is made dry and irksome. Let the seasons of family worship
be short and spirited. Do not let your children or any member of your
family dread them because of their tediousness or lack of interest.
When a long chapter is read and explained and a long prayer offered,
this precious service becomes wearisome, and it is a relief when it
is over.
It should be the special object of the heads of the family to make
the hour of worship intensely interesting. By a little thought and
careful preparation for this season, when we come into the presence
of God, family worship can be made pleasant and will be fraught
with results that eternity alone will reveal. Let the father select a
portion of Scripture that is interesting and easily understood; a few
[522]
verses will be sufficient to furnish a lesson which may be studied
and practiced through the day. Questions may be asked, a few
earnest, interesting remarks made, or incident, short and to the point,
may be brought in by way of illustration. At least a few verses of
spirited song may be sung, and the prayer offered should be short
and pointed. The one who leads in prayer should not pray about
everything, but should express his needs in simple words and praise
God with thanksgiving.
15
In arousing and strengthening a love for Bible study, much de-
pends on the use of the hour of worship. The hours of morning
Power of Prayer 413
and evening worship should be the sweetest and most helpful of the
day. Let it be understood that into these hours no troubled, unkind
thoughts are to intrude; that parents and children assemble to meet
with Jesus and to invite into the home the presence of holy angels.
Let the services be brief and full of life, adapted to the occasion, and
varied from time to time. Let all join in the Bible reading and learn
and often repeat God’s law. It will add to the interest of the children
if they are sometimes permitted to select the reading. Question them
upon it, and let them ask questions. Mention anything that will serve
to illustrate its meaning. When the service is not thus made too
lengthy, let the little ones take part in prayer, and let them join in
song, if it be but a single verse.
16
Pray Clearly and Distinctly
—By your own example teach your
children to pray with clear, distinct voice. Teach them to lift their
heads from the chair and never to cover their faces with their hands.
Thus they can offer their simple prayers, repeating the Lord’s prayer
[523]
in concert.
17
The Power of Music
—The history of the songs of the Bible
is full of suggestion as to the uses and benefits of music and song.
Music is often perverted to serve purposes of evil, and it thus be-
comes one of the most alluring agencies of temptation. But, rightly
employed, it is a precious gift of God, designed to uplift the thoughts
to high and noble themes, to inspire and elevate the soul....
It is one of the most effective means of impressing the heart
with spiritual truth. How often to the soul hard-pressed and ready
to despair memory recalls some word of God’s—the long-forgotten
burden of a childhood song—and temptations lose their power, life
takes on new meaning and new purpose, and courage and gladness
are imparted to other souls!
The value of song as a means of education should never be lost
sight of. Let there be singing in the home, of songs that are sweet
and pure, and there will be fewer words of censure and more of
cheerfulness and hope and joy. Let there be singing in the school;
and the pupils will be drawn closer to God, to their teachers, and to
one another.
As a part of religious service singing is as much an act of worship
as is prayer. Indeed, many a song is prayer. If the child is taught to
414 Child Guidance
realize this, he will think more of the meaning of the words he sings
and will be more susceptible to their power.
18
Instrumental and Vocal
—Evening and morning join with your
children in God’s worship, reading His Word and singing His praise.
Teach them to repeat God’s law. Concerning the commandments the
Israelites were instructed: “Thou shalt teach them diligently unto
[524]
thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house,
and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and
when thou risest up.” Accordingly Moses directed the Israelites to
set the words of the law to music. While the older children played
on instruments, the younger ones marched, singing in concert the
song of God’s commandments. In later years they retained in their
minds the words of the law which they learned during childhood.
If it was essential for Moses to embody the commandments in
sacred song, so that as they marched in the wilderness, the children
could learn to sing the law verse by verse, how essential it is at this
time to teach our children God’s Word! Let us come up to the help
of the Lord, instructing our children to keep the commandments to
the letter. Let us do everything in our power to make music in our
homes, that God may come in.
19
Special Worship Period for Sabbath
—At family worship [on
Sabbath] let the children take a part. Let all bring their Bibles and
each read a verse or two. Then let some familiar hymn be sung,
followed by prayer. For this, Christ has given a model. The Lord’s
Prayer was not intended to be repeated merely as a form, but it
is an illustration of what our prayers should be—simple, earnest,
and comprehensive. In a simple petition tell the Lord your needs
and express gratitude for His mercies. Thus you invite Jesus as a
welcome guest into your home and heart. In the family long prayers
concerning remote objects are not in place. They make the hour of
prayer a weariness, when it should be regarded as a privilege and
blessing. Make the season one of interest and joy.
20
More Prayer Means Less Punishment
—We should pray to
[525]
God much more than we do. There is great strength and blessing in
praying together in our families, with and for our children. When
my children have done wrong, and I have talked with them kindly
and then prayed with them, I have never found it necessary after that
Power of Prayer 415
to punish them. Their hearts would melt in tenderness before the
Holy Spirit that came in answer to prayer.
21
Benefits of Solitary Prayer
—It was in hours of solitary prayer
that Jesus in His earth-life received wisdom and power. Let the
youth follow His example in finding at dawn and twilight a quiet
season for communion with their Father in heaven. And throughout
the day let them lift up their hearts to God. At every step of our way
He says, “I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand; ... fear not; I
will help thee.” Isaiah 41:13. Could our children learn these lessons
in the morning of their years, what freshness and power, what joy
and sweetness, would be brought into their lives!
22
The Gates of Heaven Are Open to Every Mother
—When
Christ bowed on the banks of Jordan after His baptism and offered
up prayer in behalf of humanity, the heavens were opened; and the
Spirit of God, like a dove of burnished gold, encircled the form of
the Saviour; and a voice came from heaven which said, “This is my
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
What significance does this have for you? It says that heaven is
open to your prayers. It says that you are accepted in the Beloved.
The gates are open for every mother who would lay her burden at
the Saviour’s feet. It says that Christ has encircled the race with His
human arm, and with His divine arm He has grasped the throne of
[526]
the Infinite and united man with God, and earth with heaven.
23
The prayers of Christian mothers are not disregarded by the
Father of all, who sent His Son to the earth to ransom a people for
Himself. He will not turn away your petitions and leave you and
yours to the buffetings of Satan in the great day of final conflict. It
is for you to work with simplicity and faithfulness, and God will
establish the work of your hands.
24
1
The Review and Herald, June 27, 1899.
2
Testimonies For The Church 7:42.
3
Ibid.
4
The Signs of the Times, August 7, 1884.
5
The Signs of the Times, July 1, 1886.
6
Patriarchs and Prophets, 144.
7
Manuscript 19, 1900.
8
Testimonies For The Church 1:397, 398.
9
Ibid.
416 Child Guidance
10
Testimonies For The Church 7:43.
11
Manuscript 12, 1898.
12
The Ministry of Healing, 393.
13
Messages to Young People, 342.
14
Testimonies For The Church 5:424.
15
The Signs of the Times, August 7, 1884.
16
Education, 186.
17
Manuscript 12, 1898.
18
Education, 167, 168.
19
Evangelism, 499, 500.
20
Testimonies For The Church 6:357, 358.
21
Manuscript 47, 1908.
22
Education, 259.
23
The Signs of the Times, July 22, 1889.
24
The Review and Herald, April 23, 1889.
Chapter 79—Sabbath—The Day of Delight [527]
Prevalent Disregard for the Sabbath
—I have been shown that
very many of the parents who profess to believe the solemn message
for this time have not trained their children for God. They have
not restrained themselves and have been irritated with anyone who
attempted to restrain them. They have not by living faith daily
bound their children upon the altar of the Lord. Many of these
youth have been allowed to transgress the Fourth Commandment,
by seeking their own pleasure upon God’s holy day. They have felt
no compunctions of conscience in going about the streets on the
Sabbath for their own amusement. Many go where they please, and
do what they please; and their parents are so fearful of displeasing
them that, imitating the management of Eli, they lay no commands
upon them.
These youth finally lose all respect for the Sabbath and have no
relish for religious meetings or for sacred and eternal things.
1
Heed First Word of the Fourth Commandment
—“Remem-
ber” is placed at the very first of the Fourth Commandment. Parents,
you need to remember the Sabbath day yourselves to keep it holy.
And if you do this, you are giving the proper instruction to your
children; they will reverence God’s holy day.... Christian education
is needed in your homes. All through the week keep the Lord’s holy
Sabbath in view, for that day is to be devoted to the service of God.
It is a day when the hands are to rest from worldly employment,
when the soul’s needs are to receive especial attention.
2
When the Sabbath is thus remembered, the temporal will not be
[528]
allowed to encroach upon the spiritual. No duty pertaining to the
six working days will be left for the Sabbath. During the week our
energies will not be so exhausted in temporal labor that on the day
when the Lord rested and was refreshed, we shall be too weary to
engage in His service.
3
Make Friday the Preparation Day
—On Friday let the prepa-
ration for the Sabbath be completed. See that all the clothing is in
417
418 Child Guidance
readiness, and that all the cooking is done. Let the boots be blacked,
and the baths be taken. It is possible to do this. If you make it a
rule, you can do it. The Sabbath is not to be given to the repairing
of garments, to the cooking of food, to pleasure seeking, or to any
other worldly employment. Before the setting of the sun, let all
secular work be laid aside, and all secular papers be put out of sight.
Parents, explain your work and its purpose to your children, and let
them share in your preparation to keep the Sabbath according to the
commandment.
4
In many families [on Sabbath] boots and shoes are blacked and
brushed, and stitches are taken, all because these little odds and ends
were not done on Friday. They did not “remember the Sabbath day
to keep it holy.” ...
On Friday the clothing of the children is to be looked after.
During the week they should be all laid out by their own hands under
the direction of the mother, so that they can dress quietly, without
any confusion or rushing about and hasty speeches.
5
There is another work that should receive attention on the prepa-
ration day. On this day all differences between brethren, whether in
[529]
the family or in the church, should be put away.
6
The Sabbath Opens With the Family at Worship
—Before
the setting of the sun, let the members of the family assemble to
read God’s Word, to sing and pray. There is need of reform here,
for many have been remiss. We need to confess to God and to one
another. We should begin anew to make special arrangements that
every member of the family may be prepared to honor the day which
God has blessed and sanctified.
7
Sabbath Hours Not Ours but God’s
—God has given us the
whole of six days in which to do our work, and has reserved only
one to Himself. This should be a day of blessing to us—a day when
we should lay aside all our secular matters and center our thoughts
upon God and heaven.
8
When the Sabbath commences, we should place a guard upon
ourselves, upon our acts and our words, lest we rob God by appro-
priating to our own use that time which is strictly the Lord’s. We
should not do ourselves, nor suffer our children to do, any manner
of our own work for a livelihood or anything which could have been
done on the six working days. Friday is the day of preparation. Time
Sabbath—The Day of Delight 419
can then be devoted to making the necessary preparation for the
Sabbath and to thinking and conversing about it. Nothing which
will in the sight of Heaven be regarded as a violation of the holy
Sabbath should be left unsaid or undone, to be said or done upon the
Sabbath. God requires not only that we refrain from physical labor
upon the Sabbath, but that the mind be disciplined to dwell upon sa-
cred themes. The Fourth Commandment is virtually transgressed by
conversing upon worldly things or by engaging in light and trifling
[530]
conversation. Talking upon anything or everything which may come
into the mind is speaking our own words. Every deviation from right
brings us into bondage and condemnation.
9
Sabbath Time Too Precious to Sleep Away
—None should per-
mit themselves, through the week, to become so absorbed in their
temporal interests, and so exhausted by their efforts for worldly gain,
that on the Sabbath they have no strength or energy to give to the
service of God. We are robbing the Lord when we unfit ourselves
to worship Him upon His holy day. And we are robbing ourselves
as well; for we need the warmth and glow of association, as well as
the strength to be gained from the wisdom and experience of other
Christians.
10
Let not the precious hours of the Sabbath be wasted in bed. On
Sabbath morning the family should be astir early. If they rise late,
there is confusion and bustle in preparing for breakfast and Sabbath
school. There is hurrying, jostling, and impatience. Thus unholy
feelings come into the home. The Sabbath, thus desecrated, becomes
a weariness, and its coming is dreaded rather than loved.
11
Attend Public Worship With Children
—Fathers and mothers
should make it a rule that their children attend public worship on
the Sabbath, and should enforce the rule by their own example. It is
our duty to command our children and our household after us, as did
Abraham. By example as well as precept we should impress upon
them the importance of religious teaching. All who have taken the
baptismal vow have solemnly consecrated themselves to the service
of God; they are under covenant obligation to place themselves and
[531]
their children where they may obtain all possible incentives and
encouragement in the Christian life.
12
But while we worship God, we are not to consider this a drudgery.
The Sabbath of the Lord is to be made a blessing to us and to our
420 Child Guidance
children. They are to look upon the Sabbath as a day of delight, a
day which God has sanctified; and they will so consider it if they are
properly instructed.
13
Wear Comely Garments for the House of Worship
—Many
need instruction as to how they should appear in the assembly for
worship on the Sabbath. They are not to enter the presence of God
in the common clothing worn during the week. All should have a
special Sabbath suit, to be worn when attending service in God’s
house. While we should not conform to worldly fashions, we are
not to be indifferent in regard to our outward appearance. We are to
be neat and trim, though without adornment. The children of God
should be pure within and without.
14
Explain Sabbath Sermon to the Children
—Ministers are en-
gaged in a sacred, solemn work, but upon those who hear rests just
as sacred a responsibility. They are to hear with a determination to
follow the instruction that all must practice who gain eternal life.
Each hearer should strive to understand each presentation of Bible
truth as God’s message to him, to be received by faith and put into
practice in the daily life. Parents should explain to their children
the words spoken from the pulpit, that they also may understand
and have that knowledge which if put into practice brings abundant
grace and peace.
15
Provide Special Treat for Mealtime
—We should not provide
[532]
for the Sabbath a more liberal supply or a greater variety of food
than for other days. Instead of this the food should be more simple,
and less should be eaten, in order that the mind may be clear and
vigorous to comprehend spiritual things. Overeating befogs the
brain. The most precious words may be heard and not appreciated,
because the mind is confused by an improper diet. By overeating on
the Sabbath, many have done more than they think to dishonor God.
While cooking upon the Sabbath should be avoided, it is not
necessary to eat cold food. In cold weather let the food prepared the
day before be heated. And let the meals, though simple, be palatable
and attractive. Provide something that will be regarded as a treat,
something the family do not have every day.
16
The Rest of the Day Is Precious
—The Sabbath school and the
meeting for worship occupy only a part of the Sabbath. The portion
remaining to the family may be made the most sacred and precious
Sabbath—The Day of Delight 421
season of all the Sabbath hours. Much of this time parents should
spend with their children.
17
Plan Suitable Reading and Conversation
—The Sabbath—
oh!—make it the sweetest, the most blessed day of the week....
Parents can and should give attention to their children, reading
to them the most attractive portions of Bible history, educating
them to reverence the Sabbath day, keeping it according to the
commandment. This cannot be done if the parents feel no burden to
interest their children. But they can make the Sabbath a delight if
they will take the proper course. The children can be interested in
[533]
good reading or in conversation about the salvation of their souls.
But they will have to be educated and trained. The natural heart does
not love to think of God, of heaven, or of heavenly things. There
must be a continual pressing back of the current of worldliness and
inclination to evil and a letting in of heavenly light.
18
Not Indifferent to Children’s Activities
—I have found that on
the Sabbath day many are indifferent and do not know where their
children are or what they are doing.
19
Parents, above everything take care of your children upon the
Sabbath. Do not suffer them to violate God’s holy day by playing in
the house or out-of-doors. You may just as well break the Sabbath
yourselves as to let your children do it, and when you suffer your
children to wander about and suffer them to play upon the Sabbath,
God looks upon you as Sabbathbreakers.
20
Out-of-doors With the Children
—The parents may take their
children outdoors to view God in nature. They can be pointed to
the blooming flowers and the opening buds, the lofty trees and
beautiful spires of grass, and taught that God made all these in six
days and rested on the seventh day and hallowed it. Thus the parents
may bind up their lessons of instruction to their children, so that
when these children look upon the things of nature, they will call to
mind the great Creator of them all. Their thoughts will be carried
up to nature’s God—back to the creation of our world, when the
foundation of the Sabbath was laid, and all the sons of God shouted
for joy. Such are the lessons to be impressed on the minds of our
children.
We are not to teach our children that they must not be happy on
[534]
the Sabbath, that it is wrong to walk out-of-doors. Oh, no. Christ
422 Child Guidance
led His disciples out by the lakeside on the Sabbath day and taught
them. His sermons on the Sabbath were not always preached within
enclosed walls.
21
Other Lessons From Nature—Object Lessons
—Teach the
children to see Christ in nature. Take them out into the open air,
under the noble trees, into the garden; and in all the wonderful works
of creation teach them to see an expression of His love. Teach them
that He made the laws which govern all living things, that He has
made laws for us, and that these laws are for our happiness and joy.
Do not weary them with long prayers and tedious exhortations, but
through nature’s object lessons teach them obedience to the law of
God.
22
Give True Concept of God’s Character
—How can children
receive a more correct knowledge of God, and their minds be better
impressed, than in spending a portion of their time out-of-doors, not
in play, but in company with their parents? Let their young minds
be associated with God in the beautiful scenery of nature; let their
attention be called to the tokens of His love to man in His created
works, and they will be attracted and interested. They will not be
in danger of associating the character of God with everything that
is stern and severe; but as they view the beautiful things which He
has created for the happiness of man, they will be led to regard Him
as a tender, loving Father. They will see that His prohibitions and
injunctions are not made merely to show His power and authority, but
that He has the happiness of His children in view. As the character of
God puts on the aspect of love, benevolence, beauty, and attraction,
[535]
they are drawn to love Him. You can direct their minds to the lovely
birds making the air musical with their happy songs, to the spires of
grass and the gloriously tinted flowers in their perfection perfuming
the air. All these proclaim the love and skill of the heavenly Artist
and show forth the glory of God.
Parents, why not make use of the precious lessons which God
has given us in the book of nature, to give our children a correct
idea of His character? Those who sacrifice simplicity to fashion
and shut themselves away from the beauties of nature cannot be
spiritually minded. They cannot understand the skill and power of
God as revealed in His created works; therefore their hearts do not
Sabbath—The Day of Delight 423
quicken and throb with new love and interest, and they are not filled
with awe and reverence as they see God in nature.
23
A Day to Live the Life of Eden
—The value of the Sabbath as
a means of education is beyond estimate. Whatever of ours God
claims from us, He returns again, enriched, transfigured, with His
own glory....
The Sabbath and the family were alike instituted in Eden, and
in God’s purpose they are indissolubly linked together. On this
day more than on any other, it is possible for us to live the life
of Eden. It was God’s plan for the members of the family to be
associated in work and study, in worship and recreation, the father as
priest of his household, and both father and mother as teachers and
companions of their children. But the results of sin, having changed
the conditions of life, to a great degree prevent this association. Often
the father hardly sees the faces of his children throughout the week.
He is almost wholly deprived of opportunity for companionship or
instruction. But God’s love has set a limit to the demands of toil.
[536]
Over the Sabbath He places His merciful hand. In His own day He
preserves for the family opportunity for communion with Him, with
nature, and with one another.
24
Make the Sabbath a Delight
—All who love God should do
what they can to make the Sabbath a delight, holy and honorable.
They cannot do this by seeking their own pleasure in sinful, for-
bidden amusements. Yet they can do much to exalt the Sabbath in
their families and make it the most interesting day of the week. We
should devote time to interesting our children. A change will have a
happy influence upon them. We can walk out with them in the open
air; we can sit with them in the groves and in the bright sunshine,
and give their restless minds something to feed upon by conversing
with them upon the works of God, and can inspire them with love
and reverence by calling their attention to the beautiful objects in
nature.
The Sabbath should be made so interesting to our families that its
weekly return will be hailed with joy. In no better way can parents
exalt and honor the Sabbath than by devising means to impart proper
instruction to their families and interesting them in spiritual things,
giving them correct views of the character of God and what He
requires of us in order to perfect Christian characters and attain to
424 Child Guidance
eternal life. Parents, make the Sabbath a delight, that your children
may look forward to it and have a welcome in their hearts for it.
25
A Fitting Climax in Prayer and Song
—As the sun goes down,
let the voice of prayer and the hymn of praise mark the close of the
[537]
sacred hours, and invite God’s presence through the cares of the
week of labor.
Thus parents can make the Sabbath, as it should be, the most
joyful day of the week. They can lead their children to regard it as a
delight, the day of days, the holy of the Lord, honorable.
26
1
Testimonies For The Church 5:36, 37.
2
Manuscript 57, 1897.
3
Testimonies For The Church 6:354.
4
Testimonies For The Church 6:355, 356.
5
Manuscript 57, 1897.
6
Testimonies For The Church 6:356.
7
Testimonies For The Church 6:356, 357.
8
Manuscript 3, 1879.
9
Testimonies For The Church 2:702, 703.
10
The Review and Herald, June 13, 1882.
11
Testimonies For The Church 6:357.
12
The Review and Herald, June 13, 1882.
13
Manuscript 3, 1879.
14
Testimonies For The Church 6:355.
15
Manuscript 41, 1903.
16
Testimonies For The Church 6:357.
17
Testimonies For The Church 6:358.
18
The Review and Herald, April 14, 1885.
19
The Review and Herald, April 14, 1885.
20
The Review and Herald, September 19, 1854.
21
Manuscript 3, 1879.
22
The Desire of Ages, 516, 517.
23
Testimonies For The Church 2:583, 584.
24
Education, 250, 251.
25
Testimonies For The Church 2:584, 585.
26
Testimonies For The Church 6:359.
Chapter 80—Reverence for That Which Is Holy [538]
The Precious Grace of Reverence
—Another precious grace
that should be carefully cherished is reverence.
1
The education and training of the youth should be of a character
that would exalt sacred things, and encourage pure devotion for God
in His house. Many who profess to be children of the heavenly King
have no true appreciation of the sacredness of eternal things.
2
God Is to Be Had in Reverence
—True reverence for God is
inspired by a sense of His infinite greatness and a realization of His
presence. With this sense of the Unseen the heart of every child
should be deeply impressed.
3
“God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to
be had in reverence of all them that are about him.” Psalm 89:7.
His Name Is to Be Revered
—Reverence should be shown also
for the name of God. Never should that name be spoken lightly
or thoughtlessly. Even in prayer its frequent or needless repetition
should be avoided. “Holy and reverend is his name.” Psalm 111:9.
Angels, as they speak it, veil their faces. With what reverence should
we, who are fallen and sinful, take it upon our lips!
4
His Word Is Sacred
—We should reverence God’s Word. For
the printed volume we should show respect, never putting it to com-
mon uses or handling it carelessly. And never should Scripture be
quoted in a jest or paraphrased to point a witty saying. “Every word
[539]
of God is pure”; “as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven
times.” (Proverbs 30:5; Psalm 12:6).
5
Children should be taught to respect every word that proceeds
out of the mouth of God. Parents are ever to magnify the precepts of
the law of the Lord before their children, by showing obedience to
that law, by themselves living under the control of God. If a sense
of the sacredness of the law takes possession of the parents, it will
surely transform the character by converting the soul.
6
The Place of Prayer—God Is There
—In every Christian home
God should be honored by the morning and evening sacrifices of
425
426 Child Guidance
prayer and praise. Children should be taught to respect and reverence
the hour of prayer.
7
The hour and place of prayer and the services of public worship
the child should be taught to regard as sacred because God is there.
And as reverence is manifested in attitude and demeanor, the feeling
that inspires it will be deepened.
8
The House of God—His Holy Temple
—Well would it be for
young and old to study and ponder and often repeat those words
of Holy Writ that show how the place marked by God’s special
presence should be regarded.
“Put off thy shoes from off thy feet,” He commanded Moses
at the burning bush, “for the place whereon thou standest is holy
ground.” Exodus 3:5.
Jacob, after beholding the vision of the angels, exclaimed, “The
Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.... This is none other but the
house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” Genesis 28:16, 17.
“The Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence
[540]
before him.” Habakkuk 2:20.
9
Many ... have no true appreciation of the sacredness of eternal
things. Nearly all need to be taught how to conduct themselves in
the house of God. Parents should not only teach, but command, their
children to enter the sanctuary with sobriety and reverence.
10
Guard Against a Growing Carelessness
—From the sacred-
ness which was attached to the earthly sanctuary, Christians may
learn how they should regard the place where the Lord meets with
His people. There has been a great change, not for the better, but
for the worse, in the habits and customs of the people in reference
to religious worship. The precious, the sacred things which connect
us with God are fast losing their hold upon our minds and hearts
and are being brought down to the level of the common things. The
reverence which the people had anciently for the sanctuary, where
they met with God in sacred service, has largely passed away. Nev-
ertheless God Himself gave the order of His service, exalting it high
above everything of a temporal nature.
11
The house of God is often desecrated, and the Sabbath violated
by Sabbath-believers’ children. In some cases they are even allowed
to run about the house, play, talk, and manifest their evil tempers
in the very meetings where the saints should worship God in the
Reverence for That Which Is Holy 427
beauty of holiness. And the place that should be holy, and where a
holy stillness should reign, and where there should be perfect order,
neatness, and humility, is made to be a perfect Babylon, “confusion.”
This is enough to bring God’s displeasure and shut His presence
from our assemblies.
12
We Have More Reasons for Reverence Than the Hebrews
—
[541]
It is too true that reverence for the house of God has become almost
extinct. Sacred things and places are not discerned; the holy and
exalted are not appreciated. Is there not a cause for the want of
fervent piety in our families? Is it not because the high standard of
religion is left to trail in the dust? God gave rules of order, perfect
and exact, to His ancient people. Has His character changed? Is He
not the great and mighty God who rules in the heaven of heavens?
Would it not be well for us often to read the directions given by God
Himself to the Hebrews, that we who have the light of the glorious
truth shining upon us may imitate their reverence for the house of
God? We have abundant reason ... even to be more thoughtful and
reverential in our worship than had the Jews. But an enemy has been
at work to destroy our faith in the sacredness of Christian worship.
13
The Church—the Sanctuary of the Congregation
—The
house is the sanctuary for the family, and the closet or the grove
the most retired place for individual worship; but the church is the
sanctuary for the congregation. There should be rules in regard to
the time, the place, and the manner of worshiping.
14
Teach Children to Enter Reverently
—Parents, elevate the
standard of Christianity in the minds of your children; help them to
weave Jesus into their experience; teach them to have the highest
reverence for the house of God and to understand that when they
enter the Lord’s house, it should be with hearts that are softened
and subdued by such thoughts as these: “God is here; this is His
house. I must have pure thoughts and the holiest motives. I must
have no pride, envy, jealousy, evil surmising, hatred, or deception in
[542]
my heart; for I am coming into the presence of the holy God. This
is the place where God meets with and blesses His people. The high
and holy One who inhabiteth eternity looks upon me, searches my
heart, and reads the most secret thoughts and acts of my life.”
15
Remain With Their Parents
—The moral taste of the wor-
shipers in God’s holy sanctuary must be elevated, refined, sanc-
428 Child Guidance
tified. This matter has been sadly neglected. Its importance has been
overlooked, and as the result disorder and irreverence have become
prevalent, and God has been dishonored. When the leaders in the
church, ministers and people, fathers and mothers, have not had
elevated views of this matter, what could be expected of the inexpe-
rienced children? They are too often found in groups, away from the
parents, who should have charge of them. Notwithstanding they are
in the presence of God, and His eye is looking upon them; they are
light and trifling; they whisper and laugh, are careless, irreverent,
and inattentive.
16
To Be Sober and Quiet
—Do not have so little reverence for
the house and worship of God as to communicate with one another
during the sermon. If those who commit this fault could see the
angels of God looking upon them and marking their doings, they
would be filled with shame and abhorrence of themselves. God
wants attentive hearers. It was while men slept that the enemy
sowed tares.
17
Not to Act as in a Common Place
—There should be a sacred
spot, like the sanctuary of old, where God is to meet with His people.
That place should not be used as a lunchroom or as a business room,
[543]
but simply for the worship of God. When children attend day school
in the same place where they assemble to worship on the Sabbath,
they cannot be made to feel the sacredness of the place, and that they
must enter with feelings of reverence. The sacred and common are
so blended that it is difficult to distinguish them.
It is for this reason that the house or sanctuary dedicated to God
should not be made a common place. Its sacredness should not be
confused or mingled with the common everyday feelings or business
life. There should be a solemn awe upon the worshipers as they enter
the sanctuary, and they should leave behind all common worldly
thoughts, for it is the place where God reveals His presence. It is as
the audience chamber of the great and eternal God; therefore pride
and passion, dissension and self-esteem, selfishness, and covetous-
ness, which God pronounces idolatry, are inappropriate for such a
place.
18
To Manifest No Spirit of Levity
—Parents, it is your duty to
have your children in perfect subjection, having all their passions
and evil tempers subdued. And if children are taken to meeting, they
Reverence for That Which Is Holy 429
should be made to know and understand where they are—that they
are not at home, but where God meets with His people. And they
should be kept quiet and free from all play, and God will turn His
face toward you, to meet with you and bless you.
If order is observed in the assemblies of the saints, the truth will
have better effect upon all that hear it. A solemnity which is so much
needed will be encouraged, and there will be power in the truth to
stir up the depths of the soul, and a deathlike stupor will not hang
upon those who hear. Believers and unbelievers will be affected. It
[544]
has seemed evident that in some places the ark of God was removed
from the church, for the holy commandments have been violated
and the strength of Israel has been weakened.
19
Take the Disturbing Child Out
—Your child should be taught
to obey as the children of God obey Him. If this standard is main-
tained, a word from you will have some weight when your child is
restless in the house of God. But if the children cannot be restrained,
if the parents feel that the restraint is too much of an exaction, the
child should be removed from the church at once; it should not be
left to divert the minds of the hearers by talking or running about.
God is dishonored by the loose way in which parents manage their
children while at church.
20
Irreverence Encouraged by Display of Apparel
—All should
be taught to be neat, clean, and orderly in their dress, but not to
indulge in that external adorning which is wholly inappropriate for
the sanctuary. There should be no display of the apparel, for this
encourages irreverence.... All matters of dress should be strictly
guarded, following closely the Bible rule. Fashion has been the
goddess who has ruled the outside world, and she often insinuates
herself into the church. The church should make the Word of God her
standard, and parents should think intelligently upon this subject.
21
Show Reverence for Ministers
—God’s Representatives.—
Reverence should be shown for God’s representatives—for min-
isters, teachers, and parents who are called to speak and act in His
stead. In the respect shown to them He is honored.
22
They [children] are seldom instructed that the minister is God’s
[545]
ambassador, that the message he brings is one of God’s appointed
agencies in the salvation of souls, and that to all who have the
430 Child Guidance
privilege brought within their reach, it will be a savor of life unto
life or of death unto death.
23
Nothing that is sacred, nothing that pertains to the worship of
God, should be treated with carelessness and indifference. When the
word of life is spoken, you should remember that you are listening
to the voice of God through His delegated servant. Do not lose these
words through inattention; if heeded, they may keep your feet from
straying into wrong paths.
24
Accountability of Critical Parents
—Parents, be careful what
example and what ideas you give your children. Their minds are
plastic, and impressions are easily made. In regard to the service
of the sanctuary, if the speaker has a blemish, be afraid to mention
it. Talk only of the good work he is doing, of the good ideas he
presented, which you should heed as coming through God’s agent.
It may be readily seen why children are so little impressed with the
ministry of the Word, and why they have so little reverence for the
house of God. Their education has been defective in this respect.
25
The delicate and susceptible minds of the youth obtain their
estimate of the labors of God’s servants by the way their parents
treat the matter. Many heads of families make the service a subject
of criticism at home, approving a few things and condemning others.
Thus the message of God to men is criticized and questioned and
made a subject of levity. What impressions are thus made upon the
young by these careless, irreverent remarks, the books of heaven
[546]
alone will reveal. The children see and understand these things
very much quicker than parents are apt to think. Their moral senses
receive a wrong bias that time will never fully change. The parents
mourn over the hardness of heart in their children and the difficulty
in arousing their moral sensibility to answer to the claims of God.
But the books of heavenly record trace with unerring pen the true
cause. The parents were unconverted. They were not in harmony
with Heaven or with Heaven’s work. Their low, common ideas of
the sacredness of the ministry and of the sanctuary of God were
woven into the education of their children.
It is a question whether anyone who has for years been under
this blighting influence of home instruction will ever have a sensitive
reverence and high regard for God’s ministry and the agencies He
has appointed for the salvation of souls. These things should be
Reverence for That Which Is Holy 431
spoken of with reverence, with propriety of language, and with fine
susceptibility, that you may reveal to all you associate with that you
regard the message from God’s servants as a message to you from
God Himself.
26
Practice Reverence Till It Becomes Habitual
—Reverence is
greatly needed in the youth of this age. I am alarmed as I see children
and youth of religious parents so heedless of the order and propriety
that should be observed in the house of God. While God’s servants
are presenting the words of life to the people, some will be reading,
others whispering and laughing. Their eyes are sinning by diverting
the attention of those around them. This habit, if allowed to remain
unchecked, will grow and influence others.
Children and youth should never feel that it is something to be
[547]
proud of to be indifferent and careless in meetings where God is
worshiped. God sees every irreverent thought or action, and it is
registered in the books of heaven. He says, “I know thy works.”
Nothing is hid from His all-searching eye. If you have formed in any
degree the habit of inattention and indifference in the house of God,
exercise the powers you have to correct it, and show that you have
self-respect. Practice reverence until it becomes a part of yourself.
27
1
Education, 242.
2
Testimonies For The Church 5:496.
3
Education, 242.
4
Education, 243.
5
Education, 244.
6
The Review and Herald, May 10, 1898.
7
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 110.
8
Education, 242, 243.
9
Education, 243.
10
Testimonies For The Church 5:496.
11
Testimonies For The Church 5:491.
12
The Review and Herald, September 19, 1854.
13
Testimonies For The Church 5:495, 496.
14
Testimonies For The Church 5:491.
15
Testimonies For The Church 5:494.
16
Testimonies For The Church 5:496, 497.
17
Messages to Young People, 266.
18
Manuscript 23, 1886.
19
The Review and Herald, September 19, 1854.
20
Letter 1, 1877.
Chapter 81—Co-Ordination of Home and Church [548]
Begin the Work of Grace in the Home
—Parents, begin the
work of grace in the church in your own home, so conducting your-
selves that your children will see that you are co-operating with the
heavenly angels. Be sure that you are converted every day. Train
yourselves and your children for life eternal in the kingdom of God.
Angels will be your strong helpers. Satan will tempt you, but do
not yield. Do not speak one word of which the enemy can take an
advantage.
Truth is pure and uncorrupted. Let it dwell in the heart. Let
the determination of each member of the family be, “I will be a
Christian, for in the school here below I must form a character which
will give me entrance into the higher grade in heaven. I must do to
others as I desire them to do to me, for only those who reveal Christ
in this world can enter the courts of heaven.”
Make the home life as nearly as possible like heaven. Let the
members of the family forget not, as they gather round the family
altar, to pray for the men in positions of responsibility in God’s
work.
1
Those who govern their families in the right way will bring into
the church an influence of order and reverence. They will represent
the attributes of mercy and justice as standing hand in hand. They
will reveal to their children the character of Christ. The law of
kindness and love upon their lips will not make their commands
weak and without authority, and their injunctions will not be met
[549]
with disobedience.
2
Model Homes Make a Model Church
—Every family is a
church, over which the parents preside. The first consideration
of the parents should be to work for the salvation of their children.
When the father and mother as priest and teacher of the family take
their position fully on the side of Christ, a good influence will be
exerted in the home. And this sanctified influence will be felt in the
church and will be recognized by every believer. Because of the
433
434 Child Guidance
great lack of piety and sanctification in the home, the work of God
is greatly hindered. No man can bring into the church an influence
that he does not exert in his home life and in his business relations.
3
Proper Church Conduct Is Learned at Home
—The home is
a school where all may learn how they are to act in the church. When
all are members of the royal family, there will be true politeness
in the home life. Each member of the family will seek to make it
pleasant for every other member. The angels of God, who minister
to those who shall be heirs of salvation, will help you to make
your family a model of the heavenly family. Let there be peace
in the home, and there will be peace in the church. This precious
experience brought into the church will be the means of creating a
kindly affection one for another. Quarrels will cease. True Christian
courtesy will be seen among church members. The world will take
knowledge of them that they have been with Jesus and have learned
of Him. What an impression the church would make upon the world
if all the members would live Christian lives!
4
Why There Is Weakness in the Church
—Many seem to think
[550]
that the declension in the church, the growing love of pleasure, is
due to want of pastoral work. True, the church is to be provided with
faithful guides and pastors. Ministers should labor earnestly for the
youth who have not given themselves to Christ, and also for others
who, though their names are on the church roll, are irreligious and
Christless. But ministers may do their work faithfully and well, yet
it will amount to very little if parents neglect their work. It is to a
lack of Christianity in the home life that the lack of power in the
church is due. Until parents take up their work as they should, it will
be difficult to arouse the youth to a sense of their duty. If religion
reigns in the home, it will be brought into the church. The parents
who do their work for God are a power for good. As they restrain
and encourage their children, bringing them up in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord, they bless the neighborhood in which they
live. And the church is strengthened by their faithful work.
5
Neglectful Parents Cannot Uplift the Church
—If disobedi-
ence is allowed in the home life, the hearts of the children will be
filled with opposition to the government of God. The power of the
Holy Spirit will prove ineffectual to soften and subdue their hearts.
If in later years, under special circumstances, they yield to the gospel
Co-Ordination of Home and Church 435
of Christ, they will have to fight terrible battles to bring the disloyal
will into submission to the will of God. Often the church has to
suffer through its members because of the wrong education received
by them in childhood. When children, they were allowed to practice
deception in order to gain their own way; and the spirit that was
[551]
permitted to be rebellious in the home will be the last to render
obedience to the requirements of God’s Word.
6
Spirituality May Be Killed by Criticism
—When you are
tempted to speak cross words, pray for grace to resist the temp-
tation. Remember that your children will speak as they hear you
speaking. By your example you are educating them. Remember
that if you speak cross words to fellow church members, you would
speak the same kind of words in heaven, were you permitted to enter
there....
After the family then comes the church. The influence of the
family is to be such that it will be a help and a blessing in the church.
Never speak a word of complaint or faultfinding. There are churches
in which the spirituality has been almost killed, because the spirit of
backbiting has been allowed to enter. Why do we speak words of
blame and censure? To be silent is the strongest rebuke that you can
give to one who is speaking harsh, discourteous words to you. Keep
perfectly silent. Often silence is eloquence.
7
In Care for Unfortunate Youth
—Young men and women who
are not under home influences need someone to look after them
and to manifest some interest for them; and those who do this are
supplying a great lack and are as verily doing a work for God and
the salvation of souls as the minister in the pulpit. This work of
disinterested benevolence in laboring for the good of the youth is no
more than God requires of every one of us. How earnestly should
the experienced Christian work to prevent the formation of those
habits that indelibly mar the character! Let the followers of Christ
[552]
make the Word of God attractive to the youth.
8
The Minister Has a Special Opportunity
—At every suitable
opportunity let the story of Jesus’ love be repeated to the children. In
every sermon let a little corner be left for their benefit. The servant
of Christ may make lasting friends of these little ones. Then let him
lose no opportunity of helping them to become more intelligent in
a knowledge of the Scriptures. This will do more than we realize
436 Child Guidance
to bar the way against Satan’s devices. If children early become
familiar with the truths of God’s Word, a barrier against ungodliness
will be erected, and they will be able to meet the foe with the words,
“It is written.”
9
Be As Faithful at Home As at Worship
—Parents, as teachers
of your loved ones the truth should have a controlling power over
your conscience and your understanding, presiding over word and
deed. Be as faithful in your home life as you are in the worship of
God. Give a right character to all within the home. Angels of God
are present, noting how the younger members of the Lord’s family
are treated. The religion of the home will surely be brought into the
church.
10
1
Manuscript 93, 1901.
2
The Review and Herald, February 19, 1895.
3
Manuscript 57, 1903.
4
Manuscript 60, 1903.
5
The Signs of the Times, April 3, 1901.
6
The Review and Herald, March 30, 1897.
7
Manuscript 21, 1903.
8
Fundamentals of Christian Education, 51.
9
Gospel Workers, 208.
10
Manuscript 84, 1897.
Section 19—The Day of Reckoning [553]
Chapter 82—The Hour Is Late[554]
[555]
Satan Is Marshaling His Host
—Satan is marshaling his host,
and are we individually prepared for the fearful conflict that is just
before us? Are we preparing ourselves and our households to un-
derstand the position of our adversaries and their modes of warfare?
Are our children forming habits of decision, that they may be firm
and unyielding in every matter of principle and duty? I pray that
we all may understand the signs of the times, and that we may so
prepare ourselves and our children that in the time of conflict God
may be our refuge and defense.
1
Prepare for an Overwhelming Surprise
—Transgression has
almost reached its limit. Confusion fills the world, and a great terror
is soon to come upon human beings. The end is very near. God’s
people should be preparing for what is to break upon the world as
an overwhelming surprise.
Our time is precious. We have but a few, a very few, days of
probation in which to make ready for the future, immortal life.
2
Many Families Unprepared
—On Sabbath and Sunday, in vi-
sions of the night, I seemed to be bearing my testimony before the
people. On both these occasions I seemed to be in a mammoth tent
which was literally packed. The Lord gave me a decided message
for the people. My burden was for our families who are unprepared
to meet the Lord. A special burden was upon me to point out to our
people the need of seeking the Lord with close searching of heart
and earnestness of purpose....
Parents who are truly converted will reveal in their home life
[556]
that they are bringing their lives under the discipline of the Word of
God.... To the mother and father the right training of their children
is the most important work of their life.
3
Solemn Questions for Parents
—Fathers and mothers, how
stands your record? Have you been faithful to your trust? As you
have seen your children inclined to follow a course that you knew
would result in impurity of thought and word and act, have you, first
438
Hour Is Late 439
asking God for help, tried to show them their danger? Have you
pointed out to them the peril of taking a path of their own choosing?
Mothers, have you neglected your God-given work—the greatest
work ever committed to mortals? Have you refused to bear your
God-given responsibilities? In the time of trouble just before us,
when the judgments of God fall upon the impure and unholy, will
your children curse you because of your indulgence?
4
Parents New in the Message Need Instruction
—Those who
bear the last message of mercy to the world should feel it their duty to
instruct parents in regard to home religion. Their great reformatory
movement must begin in presenting to fathers and mothers and
children the principles of the law of God. As the claims of the law
are presented, and men and women are convicted of their duty to
render obedience, show them the responsibility of their decision, not
only for themselves but for their children. Show that obedience to
God’s Word is our only safeguard against the evils that are sweeping
the world to destruction.
5
Our Youth Need Help and Encouragement
—Now is our time
and opportunity to labor for the young people. Tell them that we
[557]
are now in a perilous crisis, and we want to know how to discern
true godliness. Our young people need to be helped, uplifted, and
encouraged, but in the right manner; not, perhaps, as they would
desire it, but in a way that will help them to have sanctified minds.
They need good, sanctifying religion more than anything else.
6
Do Not Delay—Coming events are casting their shadows upon
our pathway. Fathers, mothers, I appeal to you to make most earnest
efforts now for your children. Give them daily religious instruction.
Teach them to love God and to be true to the principles of right.
With lofty, earnest faith, directed by the divine influence of the Holy
Spirit, work, work now. Do not put it off one day, one hour.
7
Do a Thorough Work
—Parents, humble your hearts before
God. Begin a thorough work with your children. Plead with the
Lord to forgive your disregard of His Word in neglecting to train
your children in the way they should go. Ask for light and guidance,
for a tender conscience, and for clear discernment that you may
see your mistakes and failures. God will hear such prayers from a
humble and contrite heart.
8
440 Child Guidance
Confession May Be Necessary
—If you have failed in your duty
to your families, confess your sins before God. Gather your children
about you and acknowledge your neglect. Tell them that you desire
to bring about a reformation in the home, and ask them to help you
to make the home what it ought to be. Read to them the directions
found in the Word of God. Pray with them; and ask God to spare
their lives, and to help them to prepare for a home in His kingdom.
In this way you may begin a work of reformation; and then continue
[558]
to keep the way of the Lord.
9
Give Children an Example of Strict Obedience
—The special
work of parents is to make the laws of God plain to their children and
to urge their obedience to them, that they may see the importance
of obeying God all the days of their life. This was the work of
Moses. He was to enjoin upon parents their duty to give to their
children an example of strict obedience. And this is the work that
above everything else must be done in the home life today. It is
to accompany the third angel’s message. Ignorance is no excuse
why parents should neglect to teach their children what it means to
transgress the law of God. The light is abundant, and none need to
walk in darkness, none need to be in ignorance. God is as verily our
instructor today as He was the teacher of the children of Israel, and
all are bound by the most sacred obligations to obey His laws.
10
Pray and Work for Their Salvation
—Teach your children that
the heart must be trained to self-control and self-denial. The motives
of the life must be in harmony with the law of God. Never be
satisfied to have your children grow up apart from Christ. Never feel
at ease while they are cold and indifferent. Cry to God day and night.
Pray and work for the salvation of the souls of your children. “The
fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” It is the mainspring,
the balance wheel of character. Without the fear of the Lord, they
will fail of accomplishing the great object of their creation.
11
Act as Character Builders
—Seventh-day Adventist parents
should more fully realize their responsibilities as character builders.
[559]
God places before them the privilege of strengthening His cause
through the consecration and labors of their children. He desires
to see gathered out from the homes of our people a large company
of youth who, because of the godly influences of their homes, have
surrendered their hearts to Him and go forth to give Him the highest
Hour Is Late 441
service of their lives. Directed and trained by the godly instruction
of the home, the influence of the morning and evening worship, the
consistent example of parents who love and fear God, they have
learned to submit to God as their teacher and are prepared to render
Him acceptable service as loyal sons and daughters. Such youth are
prepared to represent to the world the power and grace of Christ.
12
1
The Review and Herald, April 23, 1889.
2
The Youth’s Instructor, April 28, 1908.
3
Letter 64, 1911.
4
The Review and Herald, December 23, 1902.
5
Testimonies For The Church 6:119.
6
Fundamentals of Christian Education, 547.
7
The Review and Herald, April 23, 1889.
8
Manuscript 22, 1904.
9
Ibid.
10
Letter 90, 1898.
11
The Review and Herald, April 23, 1889.
12
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 131.
Chapter 83—The Rewards[560]
A Graphic Scene of the Judgment Day
—I had a dream once
in which I saw a large company gathered together; and suddenly the
heavens gathered blackness, the thunder rolled, the lightning flashed,
and a voice louder than the heaviest peals of thunder sounded through
the heavens and the earth, saying, “It is done.” Part of the company,
with pallid faces, sprang forward with a wail of agony, crying out,
“Oh, I am not ready.” The question was asked, “Why are you not
ready? Why have you not improved the opportunities I graciously
gave you?” I awoke with the crying ringing in my ears. “I am not
ready; I am unsaved—lost! lost! eternally lost!”
In view of the solemn responsibilities that rest upon us, let us
contemplate the future, that we may understand what we must do
in order to meet it. In that day shall we be confronted with neglect
and contempt of God and His mercy, with rejection of His truth and
love? In the solemn assembly of the last day, in the hearing of the
universe, will be read the reason of the condemnation of the sinner.
For the first time parents will learn what has been the secret life
of their children. Children will see how many wrongs they have
committed against their parents. There will be a general revealing
of the secrets and motives of the heart, for that which is hid will
be made manifest. Those who have made sport of solemn things
connected with the judgment will be sobered as they face its terrible
reality.
Those who have despised the Word of God will then face the
Author of the inspired oracles. We cannot afford to live with no
[561]
reference to the day of judgment; for though long delayed, it is
now near, even at the door, and hasteth greatly. The trumpet of the
Archangel will soon startle the living and wake the dead. At that day
the wicked will be separated from the just, as the shepherd divides
the goats from the sheep.
1
When God Asks, “Where Are the Children?”
—Parents who
have neglected their God-given responsibilities must meet that ne-
442
Rewards 443
glect in the judgment. The Lord will then inquire, “Where are the
children that I gave you to train for Me? Why are they not at My
right hand?” Many parents will then see that unwise love blinded
their eyes to their children’s faults and left those children to develop
deformed characters unfit for heaven. Others will see that they did
not give their children time and attention, love and tenderness; their
own neglect of duty made the children what they are.
2
Parents, if you lose your opportunity, God pity you; for in the
day of judgment God will say, “What have you done with My flock,
My beautiful flock?”...
Suppose you should get to heaven and none of your children be
there. How could you say to God, “Here am I, Lord, and the children
which Thou hast given me”? Heaven marks the neglect of parents.
It is recorded in the books of heaven.
3
Families Will Pass in Review Before God
—When parents and
children meet at the final reckoning, what a scene will be presented!
Thousands of children who have been slaves to appetite and debasing
vice, whose lives are moral wrecks, will stand face to face with the
parents who made them what they are. Who but the parents must
bear this fearful responsibility? Did the Lord make these youth
corrupt? Oh, no! He made them in His image, a little lower than
[562]
the angels. Who, then, has done the fearful work of forming the
life character? Who changed their characters so that they do not
bear the impress of God and must be forever separated from His
presence as too impure to have any place with the pure angels in a
holy heaven? Were the sins of the parents transmitted to the children
in perverted appetites and passions? And was the work completed
by the pleasure-loving mother in neglecting to properly train them
according to the pattern given her? All these mothers will pass in
review before God just as surely as they exist.
4
In Heaven Is a Pictorial Record
—Let parents and children
remember that day by day they are each forming a character, and
that the features of this character are imprinted upon the books of
heaven. God is taking pictures of His people, just as surely as an
artist takes pictures of men and women, transferring the features of
the face to the polished plate. What kind of picture do you wish to
produce? Parents, answer the question! What kind of picture will
the great Master Artist make of you in the records of heaven? ... We
444 Child Guidance
must decide this now. Hereafter, when death shall come, there will
be no time to straighten the crooked places in the character.
To us individually this should be a most important matter. Every
day our likeness is being taken for time and for eternity. Let each
one say, “I am having my likeness taken today.” Ask yourself daily,
hourly, “How will my words sound to the heavenly angels? Are they
as apples of gold in pictures of silver, or are they like a blasting hail,
wounding and bruising?” ...
Not only our words and actions, but our thoughts, make up the
[563]
picture of what we are. Then let every soul be good and do good. Let
the picture made of you be one of which you will not be ashamed.
Every feeling we cherish makes its impress upon the countenance.
God help us to make our record in our families what we would wish
it to be in the heavenly record.
5
Have You Been Careless?
—Oh, that parents would look prayer-
fully and carefully after their children’s eternal welfare! Let them
ask themselves, Have we been careless? Have we neglected this
solemn work? Have we allowed our children to become the sport of
Satan’s temptations? Have we not a solemn account to settle with
God because we have permitted our children to use their talents,
their time and influence, in working against the truth, against Christ?
Have we not neglected our duty as parents and increased the number
of the subjects of Satan’s kingdom?
6
If mothers neglect to properly educate their children, their ne-
glect is reflected back upon them again, making their burdens and
perplexities harder than they would have been if they had devoted
time and patient care in training their children to obedience and sub-
mission. It will pay in the end for mothers to make the formation of
the characters of their children their first and highest consideration,
that the thorns may not take root and yield an abundant harvest.
7
Children Will Condemn Unfaithful Parents
—The curse of
God will surely rest upon unfaithful parents. Not only are they
planting thorns which will wound them here, but they must meet
their own unfaithfulness when the judgment shall sit. Many children
will rise up in judgment and condemn their parents for not restraining
[564]
them and charge upon them their destruction. The false sympathy
and blind love of parents cause them to excuse the faults of their
children and pass them by without correction, and their children are
Rewards 445
lost in consequence, and the blood of their souls will rest upon the
unfaithful parents.
8
Children Will Pay Tribute to Faithful Parents
—When the
judgment shall sit, and the books shall be opened; when the “well
done” of the great Judge is pronounced, and the crown of immortal
glory is placed upon the brow of the victor, many will raise their
crowns in sight of the assembled universe and, pointing to their
mother, say, “She made me all I am through the grace of God. Her
instruction, her prayers, have been blessed to my eternal salvation.”
9
Results of Faithful Training Will Be Manifest
—All who have
wrought with unselfish spirit will behold the fruit of their labors.
The outworking of every right principle and noble deed will be seen.
Something of this we see here. But how little of the result of the
world’s noblest work is in this life manifest to the doer! How many
toil unselfishly and unweariedly for those who pass beyond their
reach and knowledge! Parents and teachers lie down in their last
sleep, their lifework seeming to have been wrought in vain; they
know not that their faithfulness has unsealed springs of blessing that
can never cease to flow; only by faith they see the children they have
trained become a benediction and an inspiration to their fellowmen,
and the influence repeat itself a thousandfold.... Men sow the seed
from which, above their graves, others reap blessed harvests. They
plant trees that others may eat the fruit. They are content here to
[565]
know that they have set in motion agencies for good. In the hereafter
the action and reaction of all these will be seen.
10
Parents May Bring Children With Them to Promised
Land
—God has permitted light from His throne to shine all along
the path of life. A pillar of cloud by day, a pillar of fire by night,
is moving before us as before ancient Israel. It is the privilege of
Christian parents today, as it was the privilege of God’s people of
old, to bring their children with them to the Promised Land.
11
You want a household for God; you want your family for God.
You want to take them up to the gates of the city and say, “Here
am I, Lord, and the children that Thou hast given me.” They may
be men and women that have grown to manhood and womanhood,
but they are your children all the same; and your educating, and
your watchfulness over them have been blessed of God, till they
446 Child Guidance
stand as overcomers. Now you can say, “Here am I, Lord, and the
children.”
12
Broken Family Chains Will Be Relinked
—Jesus is coming,
coming with clouds and great glory. A multitude of shining angels
will attend Him. He will come to honor those who have loved Him
and kept His commandments, and to take them to Himself. He has
not forgotten them or His promise. There will be a relinking of the
family chain.
13
Comfort for a Bereaved Mother
—You inquire in regard to
your little one being saved. Christ’s words are your answer: “Suffer
little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such
is the kingdom of God.” Remember the prophecy, “Thus saith the
Lord: A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping;
[566]
Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted.... Thus
saith the Lord: Refrain thy voice from weeping and thine eyes from
tears; for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall
come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine
end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to thine own
border.”
This promise is yours. You may be comforted and trust in the
Lord. The Lord has often instructed me that many little ones are to
be laid away before the time of trouble. We shall see our children
again. We shall meet them and know them in the heavenly courts.
Put your trust in the Lord, and be not afraid.
14
Children Will Be Borne to Mothers’ Arms
—Oh, wonderful
redemption! long talked of, long hoped for, contemplated with eager
anticipation, but never fully understood.
The living righteous are changed “in a moment, in the twinkling
of an eye.” At the voice of God they were glorified; now they are
made immortal and with the risen saints are caught up to meet their
Lord in the air. Angels “gather together His elect from the four
winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Little children are
borne by holy angels to their mothers’ arms. Friends long separated
by death are united, nevermore to part, and with songs of gladness
ascend together to the City of God.
15
The Day Long Hoped For
—From the day when the first pair
turned their sorrowing steps from Eden, the children of faith have
waited the coming of the Promised One to break the destroyer’s
[567]
Rewards 447
power and bring them again to the lost Paradise.
16
Heaven will be cheap enough if we obtain it through suffering....
As I saw what we must be in order to inherit glory, and then saw
how much Jesus had suffered to obtain for us so rich an inheritance,
I prayed that we might be baptized into Christ’s sufferings, that
we might not shrink at trials, but bear them with patience and joy,
knowing what Jesus had suffered that we through His poverty and
sufferings might be made rich.
17
Heaven Is Worth Everything!
—Heaven is worth everything to
us. We must not run any risk in this matter. We must take no venture
here. We must know that our steps are ordered by the Lord. May
God help us in the great work of overcoming. He has crowns for
those that overcome. He has white robes for the righteous. He has
an eternal world of glory for those who seek for glory, honor, and
immortality. Everyone who enters the City of God will enter it as a
conqueror. He will not enter it as a condemned criminal, but as a son
of God. And the welcome given to everyone who enters there will
be, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world.” Matthew 25:34.
18
Partakers of Christ’s Joy
—We see a retinue of angels on either
side of the gate; and as we pass in, Jesus speaks, “Come, ye blessed
of my Father, inherit the kingdom that is prepared for you from the
foundation of the world.” Here He tells you to be a partaker of His
joy, and what is that? It is the joy of seeing of the travail of your
soul, fathers. It is the joy of seeing that your efforts, mothers, are
rewarded. Here are your children; the crown of life is upon their
[568]
heads, and the angels of God immortalize the names of the mothers
whose efforts have won their children to Jesus Christ.
19
The Glorious Day of Victory
—Now the church is militant.
Now we are confronted with a world in darkness, almost wholly
given over to idolatry.... But the day is coming when the battle will
have been fought, the victory won. The will of God is to be done on
earth as it is done in heaven.... All will be a happy, united family,
clothed with the garments of praise and thanksgiving—the robe of
Christ’s righteousness. All nature, in its surpassing loveliness, will
offer to God a tribute of praise and adoration. The world will be
bathed in the light of heaven. The light of the moon will be as the
light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold greater
448 Child Guidance
than it is now. The years will move on in gladness. Over the scene
the morning stars will sing together, and the sons of God will shout
for joy, while God and Christ will unite in proclaiming, “There shall
be no more sin, neither shall there be any more death.”
These visions of future glory, scenes pictured by the hand of
God, should be dear to His children....
We need to keep ever before us this vision of things unseen. It is
thus that we shall be able to set a right value on the things of eternity
and the things of time. It is this that will give us power to influence
others for the higher life.
20
Will God Say, “Well Done”?
—When you stand before the
great white throne, then your work will appear as it is. The books
are opened, the record of every life made known. Many in that vast
company are unprepared for the revelations made. Upon the ears
of some the words will fall with startling distinctness, “Weighed in
[569]
the balance, and found wanting.” To many parents the Judge will
say in that day, “You had My Word, plainly setting forth your duty.
Why have you not obeyed its teachings? Knew ye not that it was
the voice of God? Did I not bid you search the Scriptures, that you
might not go astray? You have not only ruined your own souls, but
by your pretensions to godliness you have misled many others. You
have no part with Me. Depart; depart.”
Another class stand pale and trembling, trusting in Christ, and
yet oppressed with a sense of their own unworthiness. They hear
with tears of joy and gratitude the Master’s commendation. The
days of incessant toil, of burden bearing, and of fear and anguish
are forgotten as that voice, sweeter than the music of angel harps,
pronounces the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter
ye into the joy of your Lord.” There stand the host of the redeemed,
the palm branch of victory in their hand, the crown upon their head.
These are the ones who by faithful, earnest labor have obtained a
fitness for heaven. The lifework performed on earth is acknowledged
in the heavenly courts as a work well done.
With joy unutterable, parents see the crown, the robe, the harp,
given to their children. The days of hope and fear are ended. The
seed sown with tears and prayers may have seemed to be sown in
vain, but their harvest is reaped with joy at last. Their children have
Rewards 449
been redeemed. Fathers, mothers, shall the voices of your children
swell the song of gladness in that day?
21
1
The Youth’s Instructor, July 21, 1892.
2
Testimonies For The Church 4:424.
3
Manuscript 62, 1901.
4
Testimonies For The Church 3:568, 569.
5
Letter 78, 1901.
6
Testimonies For The Church 6:429, 430.
7
The Signs of the Times, August 5, 1875.
8
Testimonies For The Church 1:219.
9
Messages to Young People, 330.
10
Education, 305, 306.
11
The Signs of the Times, November 24, 1881.
12
Manuscript 49, 1894.
13
The Review and Herald, November 22, 1906.
14
Letter 196, 1899.
15
The Great Controversy, 645.
16
The Great Controversy, 299.
17
Early Writings, 67.
18
Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 149.
19
Manuscript 12, 1895.
20
The Ministry of Healing, 504-508.
21
The Signs of the Times, July 1, 1886.
