MARION HARLAND, as quoted in Good Health, gives the following excellent advice, which advocates of true education will recognize as essential to daily health and usefulness:—
“Sensible people who are tolerably familiar with the benefits conferred upon their race by modern science, have ceased to hold up the ways of our forbears as examples for our imitation. Unless the exception to this rule be a barbaric blockhead, he admits that wells sunk in the heart of the city, or in the vicinity of a farmyard, or at the foot of a hillside cemetery, had much to do with the putrid fevers that walked, a devouring pestilence, in the darkness of the good old times. He appreciates that the active life led by day in the open air was needed to counteract in his great-grandfather’s system the evil effects of sleeping upon a feather bed in a low-browed room whose dormer windows were not opened all winter long. He is not ignorant of salutary dietetic restrictions and food values, although he may cling to the wretched theory that our ancestors lived longer and were stronger, even down to old age, than we, their degenerate descendants, can hope to do and to be.
“Yet a majority of sensible people in this, the cycle of practical common sense, are ignorant of, or culpably negligent in, the practice of the technique of breathing. Four fifths of the race do not breathe properly once in twenty-four hours. Dogberry, oft quoted and never stale, set the pace of the average thinker. It is no more rational to opine that the right method of respiration comes by nature than that reading and writing do. In the golden by-and-by which is to confirm all that is good in our generation and to rectify the evil, breathing will be taught in the nursery, and made the first order of the day in the kindergarten. The intelligent mother will explain to the child upon her knee the use of his lungs as she now expatiates upon the propriety of washing face and hands.
“How many educated mothers—though they may be college graduates—bethink themselves of the unpleasant fact that they carry about with them daily and allow to remain in their children’s lungs a quantity, more or less in volume, of foul, unchanged air? Physiologists know, and physicians will tell you—with carelessness that is strange when one considers the gravity of the circumstance—that there is always in the lungs what is known technically as ‘residuary air;’ furthermore, that seven deep, deliberate respirations are necessary to expel this residuum and to supply its place with fresh air. If plied with further questions, the man of healing divulges that most people never breathe all the way down to the bottom of the lungs; that, in consequence of this neglect, the lower lungs become inactive, sometimes atrophied, occasionally (although such cases are phenomenal) ossified.”
“Reduction to intelligible English eliminates the truth that health and vigor depend largely upon the action of the lungs, and that when this important function is impaired, disease and weakness must ensue.”
“A celebrated health club, to which I have had the honor and happiness to belong for some years, enjoins upon each member the duty of taking one hundred deep breaths every day, advising that these be drawn in sections of ten each, at convenient seasons. Those who practice, learn to take advantage of the freshest air to be had in the course of the day. The first ten breaths are enjoyed after leaving the morning bath. The shoulders are thrown back, the chin is level or slightly raised, the arms are held tightly at the side, the lips are firmly closed. ‘Never breathe with the mouth open,’ is an admonition which can not be too rigidly enforced.”
“The ten breaths are drawn from new, live air, not that which has stagnated all night in the house. Each inspiration is slow and steady, filling the lungs to their12
there will come a time when each will be his own physician. In the degree that we live in harmony with the higher laws of our being, and so, in the degree that we become better acquainted with the power of the mind and spirit, will we give less attention to the body,—no less care, but less attention.
“The bodies of thousands to-day would be much better cared for if their owners gave them less thought and attention. As a rule, those who think least of their bodies enjoy the best health. Many are kept in continual ill health by the abnormal thought and attention they give them.
“Give the body the nourishment, the exercise, the fresh air, the sunlight, it requires, keep it clean, and then think of it as little as possible. In your thoughts and in your conversation never dwell upon the negative side. Don’t talk of sickness and disease. By talking of these you do yourself harm, and you do harm to those who listen to you. Talk of those things that will make people the better for listening to you. Thus you will infect them with health and strength, and not with weakness and disease.”
“To dwell upon the negative side is always destructive. This is true of the body the same as it is true of all other things. The following from one whose training as a physician has been supplemented by extensive study and observation along the lines of the powers of the interior forces, are of special significance and value in this connection: ‘We can never gain health by contemplating disease, any more than we can reach perfection by dwelling upon imperfection, or harmony through discord. We should keep a high ideal of health and harmony constantly before the mind . . .’
“Never affirm or repeat about your health what you do not wish to be true. Do not dwell upon your ailments, nor study your symptoms. Never allow yourself to be convinced that you are not complete master of yourself. Stoutly affirm your superiority over bodily ills, and do not acknowledge yourself the slave of any inferior power. . . . I would teach children early
to build a strong barrier between themselves and disease, by healthy habits of thought, high thinking, and purity of life. I would teach them to expel all thoughts of death, all images of disease, all discordant emotions, like hatred, malice, revenge, envy, and sensuality, as they would banish a temptation to do evil. I would teach them that bad food, bad drink, or bad air makes bad blood; that bad blood makes bad tissue, and bad flesh bad morals. I would teach them that healthy thoughts are as essential to healthy bodies as pure thoughts to a clean life. I would teach them to cultivate a strong will power, and to brace themselves against life’s enemies in every possible way. I would teach the sick to have hope, confidence, cheer. Our thoughts and imaginations are the only real limits to our possibilities. No man’s success or health will ever reach beyond his own confidence; as a rule, we erect our own barriers.”
“Like produces like, the universe through. Hatred, envy, malice, jealousy, and revenge all have children. Every bad thought breeds others, and each of these goes on and on, ever producing itself, until our world is peopled with their offspring. The true physician and parent of the future will not medicate the body with drugs so much as the mind with principles. The coming mother will teach her child to assuage the fever of anger, hatred, malice, with the great panacea of the world,—love. The coming physician will teach the people to cultivate cheerfulness, good-will, and noble deeds for a health tonic as well as a heart tonic; and that a merry heart doeth good like a medicine.”
“After all, there is nothing in the world so great, so effective in service of mankind, as
It is the Life That Tells.
a strong, noble, and beautiful manhood or womanhood. It is this that in the ultimate determines the influence of every man upon his fellow men. Life, character, is the greatest power in the world, and character it is that gives the power; for in all true power, along whatever line it may be, it is, after all, living the life that tells. This is a great law that13but few who would have great power and influence seem to recognize, or, at least, that but few seem to act upon.
“Are you a writer? You can never write more than you yourself are. Would you write more? Then broaden, deepen, enrich the life. Are you a minister? You can never raise men higher than you have raised yourself. Your words will have exactly the sound of the life whence they come. Hollow the life? Hollow-sounding and empty will be the words, weak, ineffective, false. Would you have them go with greater power, and thus be more effective? Live the life, the power will come. Are you an orator? The power and effectiveness of your words in influencing and moving masses of men depends entirely upon the altitude from which they are spoken. Would you have them more effective, each one filled with living power? Then elevate the life, the power will come. Are you in the walks of private life? Then, wherever you move, there goes from you, even if there be no word spoken, a silent but effective influence of an elevating or a degrading nature. Is the life high, beautiful? Then the influences are inspiring, life-giving. Is it low, devoid of beauty? The influences and then are disease laden, death-dealing. The tones of your voice, the attitude of your body, the character of your face, all are determined by the life you live, all in turn influence for better or for worse all who come within your radius.”
“I have seen this great principle made the foundation principle in an institution of learning. It is made not a theory merely, as I have seen it here and there, but a vital, living truth. And I wish I had time to tell of its wonderful and beautiful influence upon the life and work of that institution, and upon the lives and the work of those who go out from it. A joy indeed to be there. One can’t enter within its walls, even for a few moments, without feeling the benign influence. One can’t go out without taking it with him. I have seen purposes and lives almost or quite transformed; and life so rich, so beautiful, and so valuable opened up, such as the persons never dreamed could be, by being but a single year under these beautiful and life-giving influences.”
NOTE.—These paragraphs are selected from Trine.
MANUAL TRAINING.
“MANUAL training is recognized as a fifth branch of study, which, if properly adapted to the teaching of the other four great branches, language, science, history, and mathematics, is destined to become one of the greatest educational factors in correlating all lines of school work. To this end we advocate the training of the bodily powers as well as the mental; not only that the student may have the opportunity to do something better, but that he may thereby think something better.
“The time has come when intelligent hand-work is recognized as contributing to moral and intellectual development as fully as the older plan of studying books.”—James Addicott, San Jose, Cal., quoted in The Child Study Monthly.
WE MAY NOT KNOW.
By Ada Phelps
We may not know where a word will lead
When it takes to wing;
We may not know what its fruitful seed
Will back to us bring;
But we guess if the heart be filled with love,
Which Jesus taught when he came from above,
Then over its path that word will fling
The joy of the songs the bright angels sing,
When it takes to wing.
—Ada Phelps, in The Nickell.
THE ADVOCATE.
By Editor
ITS HISTORY.
One year ago the Spirit of God attended the educational work in a marked degree. The work was going, not by argument, but by the convincing power of love. Young people, with hearts overflowing, were used to proclaim the message, and the principles of Christian education came more prominently before the minds of our people than ever before.
Righteousness by faith has been accepted, nominally by some, it is true, but in sincerity by many others, for several years. Health reform was one of the earliest distinguishing features of the third angel’s message, and we are told that it is as closely connected with the gospel for to-day as the right arm is with the human body.
The righteousness of Christ, to be accepted by faith, is the great central trunk of the tree from which all phases of the message spring, and which nourishes unto eternal life. This trunk has two main roots: one is health reform, which, when properly understood and practiced, will prepare the physical man to accept righteousness by faith; and the other root is Christian education, which, taken in its fulness, fits the mind to grasp the principles of truth. For long we have been striving to keep the tree upright when but one root was present. Of late, light has revealed the presence of that other root which balances the whole, and supplies the needed nourishment to make a well-fed plant.
We have found it hard to manifest the righteousness of Christ because of this one-sided development.
The ADVOCATE came into existence in the midst of deep experiences in education by faith. It has advocated mind and soul culture as a means of developing the kingdom of Christ within the man. It has been in existence one year, and with this number begins the second volume.
THE FUTURE.
In the future the ADVOCATE will be published by the Training-School Publishing Association, an organization recently formed for the purpose of publishing the principles of Christian education, and placing them before the public.
While in the past, a local paper devoted to the interests of Battle Creek College, the opening of the new year takes the ADVOCATE from the College, and makes it a paper for the field in general. It is in a special sense the organ of the church-school work, and the application of Christian education to the home and the church. Every church-school teacher is a recognized agent.
THE ENLARGED FORM.
The current number appears in its new form for the year 1900. The subscription price is 50 cents a year. This does not cover the cost of publishing the magazine, but owing to the kindness of the friends of Christian education and the ADVOCATE, and the desire of the publishers to keep these principles prominent, the magazine will be published at the stated price for one year.
Teachers throughout the field are invited to contribute to its pages, and the ADVOCATE will welcome correspondence with all who are interested in the principles of true higher education.12
there will come a time when each will be his own physician. In the degree that we live in harmony with the higher laws of our being, and so, in the degree that we become better acquainted with the power of the mind and spirit, will we give less attention to the body,—no less care, but less attention.
“The bodies of thousands to-day would be much better cared for if their owners gave them less thought and attention. As a rule, those who think least of their bodies enjoy the best health. Many are kept in continual ill health by the abnormal thought and attention they give them.
“Give the body the nourishment, the exercise, the fresh air, the sunlight, it requires, keep it clean, and then think of it as little as possible. In your thoughts and in your conversation never dwell upon the negative side. Don’t talk of sickness and disease. By talking of these you do yourself harm, and you do harm to those who listen to you. Talk of those things that will make people the better for listening to you. Thus you will infect them with health and strength, and not with weakness and disease.
“To dwell upon the negative side is always destructive. This is true of the body the same as it is true of all other things. The following from one whose training as a physician has been supplemented by extensive study and observation along the lines of the powers of the interior forces, are of special significance and value in this connection: ‘We can never gain health by contemplating disease, any more than we can reach perfection by dwelling upon imperfection, or harmony through discord. We should keep a high ideal of health and harmony constantly before the mind . . .’
“Never affirm or repeat about your health what you do not wish to be true. Do not dwell upon your ailments, nor study your symptoms. Never allow yourself to be convinced that you are not complete master of yourself. Stoutly affirm your superiority over bodily ills, and do not acknowledge yourself the slave of any inferior power. . . . I would teach children early to build a strong barrier between themselves and disease, by healthy habits of thought, high thinking, and purity of life. I would teach them to expel all thoughts of death, all images of disease, all discordant emotions, like hatred, malice, revenge, envy, and sensuality, as they would banish a temptation to do evil. I would teach them that bad food, bad drink, or bad air makes bad blood; that bad blood makes bad tissue, and bad flesh bad morals. I would teach them that healthy thoughts are as essential to healthy bodies as pure thoughts to a clean life. I would teach them to cultivate a strong will power, and to brace themselves against life’s enemies in every possible way. I would teach the sick to have hope, confidence, cheer. Our thoughts and imaginations are the only real limits to our possibilities. No man’s success or health will ever reach beyond his own confidence; as a rule, we erect our own barriers.
“Like produces like, the universe through. Hatred, envy, malice, jealousy, and revenge all have children. Every bad thought breeds others, and each of these goes on and on, ever producing itself, until our world is peopled with their offspring. The true physician and parent of the future will not medicate the body with drugs so much as the mind with principles. The coming mother will teach her child to assuage the fever of anger, hatred, malice, with the great panacea of the world,—love. The coming physician will teach the people to cultivate cheerfulness, goodwill, and noble deeds for a health tonic as well as a heart tonic; and that a merry heart doeth good like a medicine.”
“After all, there is nothing in the world so great, so effective in service of mankind, as a strong, noble, and beautiful manhood or womanhood. It is this that in the ultimate determines the influence of every man upon his fellow men. Life, character, is the greatest power in the world, and character it is that gives the power; for in all true power, along whatever line it may be, it is, after all, living the life that tells. This is a great law that13but few who would have great power and influence seem to recognize, or, at least, that but few seem to act upon.
“Are you a writer? You can never write more than you yourself are. Would you write more? Then broaden, deepen, enrich the life. Are you a minister? You can never raise men higher than you have raised yourself. Your words will have exactly the sound of the life whence they come. Hollow the life? Hollow-sounding and empty will be the words, weak, ineffective, false. Would you have them go with greater power, and thus be more effective? Live the life, the power will come. Are you an orator? The power and effectiveness of your words in influencing and moving masses of men depends entirely upon the altitude from which they are spoken. Would you have them more effective, each one filled with living power? Then elevate the life, the power will come. Are you in the walks of private life? Then, wherever you move, there goes from you, even if there be no word spoken, a silent but effective influence of an elevating or a degrading nature. Is the life high, beautiful? Then the influences are inspiring, life-giving. Is it low, devoid of beauty? The influences then are disease laden, death-dealing. The tones of your voice, the attitude of your body, the character of your face, all are determined by the life you live, all in turn influence for better or for worse all who come within your radius.
“I have seen this great principle made the foundation principle in an institution of learning. It is made not a theory merely, as I have seen it here and there, but a vital, living truth. And I wish I had time to tell of its wonderful and beautiful influence upon the life and work of that institution, and upon the lives and the work of those who go out from it. A joy indeed to be there. One can’t enter within its walls, even for a few moments, without feeling the benign influence. One can’t go out without taking it with him. I have seen purposes and lives almost or quite transformed; and life so rich, so beautiful, and so valuable opened up, such as the persons never dreamed could be, by being but a single year under these beautiful and life-giving influences.”
NOTE.—These paragraphs are selected from Trine.
EDITORIAL
By Editor
EDWARD A. SUTHERLAND, EDITOR. M. DESSIE DE GRAW, ASSISTANT EDITOR.
MANUAL TRAINING.
“MANUAL training is recognized as a fifth branch of study, which, if properly adapted to the teaching of the other four great branches, language, science, history, and mathematics, is destined to become one of the greatest educational factors in correlating all lines of school work. To this end we advocate the training of the bodily powers as well as the mental; not only that the student may have the opportunity to do something better, but that he may thereby think something better. ‘The time has come when intelligent hand-work is recognized as contributing to moral and intellectual development as fully as the older plan of studying books.’”—James Addicott, San Jose, Cal., quoted in The Child Study Monthly.
WE MAY NOT KNOW.
By Ada Phelps
We may not know where a word will lead
When it takes to wing;
We may not know what its fruitful seed
Will back to us bring;
But we guess if the heart be filled with love,
Which Jesus taught when he came from above,
Then over its path that word will fling
The joy of the songs the bright angels sing,
When it takes to wing.
— Ada Phelps, in The Nickell.
THE ADVOCATE.
By Editor
ITS HISTORY.
ONE year ago the Spirit of God attended the educational work in a marked degree. The work was going, not by argument, but by the convincing power of love. Young people, with hearts overflowing, were used to proclaim the message, and the principles of Christian education came more prominently before the minds of our people than ever before.
Righteousness by faith has been accepted, nominally by some, it is true, but in sincerity by many others, for several years. Health reform was one of the earliest distinguishing features of the third angel’s message, and we are told that it is as closely connected with the gospel for to-day as the right arm is with the human body.
The righteousness of Christ, to be accepted by faith, is the great central trunk of the tree from which all phases of the message spring, and which nourishes unto eternal life. This trunk has two main roots: one is health reform, which, when properly understood and practiced, will prepare the physical man to accept righteousness by faith; and the other root is Christian education, which, taken in its fulness, fits the mind to grasp the principles of truth. For long we have been striving to keep the tree upright when but one root was present. Of late, light has revealed the presence of that other root which balances the whole, and supplies the needed nourishment to make a well-fed plant.
We have found it hard to manifest the righteousness of Christ because of this one-sided development.
The ADVOCATE came into existence in the midst of deep experiences in education by faith. It has advocated mind and soul culture as a means of developing the kingdom of Christ within the man. It has been in existence one year, and with this number begins the second volume.
THE FUTURE.
In the future the ADVOCATE will be published by the Training-School Publishing Association, an organization recently formed for the purpose of publishing the principles of Christian education, and placing them before the public.
While in the past, a local paper devoted to the interests of Battle Creek College, the opening of the new year takes the ADVOCATE from the College, and makes it a paper for the field in general. It is in a special sense the organ of the church-school work, and the application of Christian education to the home and the church. Every church-school teacher is a recognized agent.
THE ENLARGED FORM.
The current number appears in its new form for the year 1900. The subscription price is 50 cents a year. This does not cover the cost of publishing the magazine, but owing to the kindness of the friends of Christian education and the ADVOCATE, and the desire of the publishers to keep these principles prominent, the magazine will be published at the stated price for one year.
Teachers throughout the field are invited to contribute to its pages, and the ADVOCATE will welcome correspondence with all who are interested in the principles of true higher education.
EDITORIAL
By Editor
EDWARD A. SUTHERLAND, EDITOR. M. BESSIE DE GRAW, ASSISTANT EDITOR.
FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF CHURCH SCHOOLS.
Before entering the direct study of ways and means for supporting the church school, one important question should be settled. Has the Lord, himself the owner of the cattle upon a thousand hills and the possessor of all the gold and silver in the world, commanded us to establish these schools? Again, if he has, is there a promise with the command, that sufficient power to obtain necessary wealth (Deut. 8 : 18) will be given?
Those who have faith say, Yes, we have the following clear answer to the first question: “It is high time for Sabbath-keepers to separate their children from worldly associations, and place them under the very best teachers, who will make the Bible the foundation of all study.” “In all our churches, and wherever there is a company of believers, church schools should be established.”
Has the Lord a care for the financial support of these schools?
“The church should take in the situation, and by their influence and means seek to bring about this much-desired end. Let a fund be created by generous contributions for the establishment of schools for the advancement of educational work.”
The vital importance of maintaining these schools with proper financial help is impressed upon us in these words: “Shall the members of the church give means to advance the cause of Christ among others, and then let their own children carry on the work and service of Satan?”—Test. on the Need of Church Schools.
“The work that lies next to our church-members is to become interested in our youth.”
More should be given to other branches of the cause, it is true, but God will not accept offerings from those who care not for the Christian education of the children.
Light has come on the church-school question—specific directions are given his people. The prosperity of the church, the home, the family, and the individual now depends upon faith in this instruction and strict obedience thereto. Every individual church-member is responsible for this work, because these children “are the younger members of the Lord’s family.” To educate these children, the Lord says “is the noblest missionary work that any man or woman can undertake.” When Israel heeded this instruction, no power on earth could resist the nation; when they faltered, captivity was the result.
Christian business men should be appointed to look after the finances of the school. They should bear the character ascribed to the deacons in the seventh chapter of Acts. They should be men of faith, who will devote to the work sufficient time and thought to make it a success.
No burden in this respect should be placed upon the teacher, and above all things, no teacher should be embarrassed because of slow pay. No haphazard work should be done, for the Lord’s hand is in it, and his instruction is: “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” “Be not slothful in business.”
That tuition should be charged, and that it should not be too low, is learned from these words: “It is not desirable to place the tuition too low. . . . The larger part of those who would be induced to come because of the low tuition would be of no benefit to other students or the church.” Read Test. No. 33, p. 84. This applies to the College. Is your school also a school of the prophets?
There are in almost every church those who are too poor to bear any expense in a church school; how shall they be treated? Read what is said in the reference given above. “Remember the poor. . . . In doing for them you are doing for Jesus. . . . Do not trust to your feelings, and give when you feel like it, and withhold when you do not feel like it. Give regularly, either ten, twenty, or fifty cents a week.”16
Encourage the children to assist in meeting the expense of their education. This can be done by allotting them a certain portion of land to cultivate, or they may canvass for our papers and small books.
When our people in the cities heed the instruction to move into the country, more children can cultivate a plot of ground. The school will have land to till, and a part of the daily instruction will be obtained with the hoe in hand.
Some are advocating the support of the church school from the tithe. This should not now be done, but there is a donation which it is proper to use in the cause of education. I refer to the second tithe.
One reason why this question has been so perplexing is that but little time is spent by the church-members in studying the principles of Christian education. Every teacher should have an opportunity to conduct such lessons. When your hearts are touched, the money will be forthcoming.
People who have no children of school age are very apt to excuse themselves, but these are the individuals singled out by the Lord as especially responsible for the poor and orphans. Read the first half of the 54th chapter of Isaiah, and you will see this truth.
You who rest easy in this matter, while children’s souls are going to ruin before your eyes, when will you say, as did Paul, “My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you”?
When the situation is realized and the responsibility is met, then marvelous results will follow. When we use our own means and raise the banner of education high, then the Gentiles will be attracted to our schools, and will come bringing their wealth with them. But we need never look for such results as long as the schools in our midst are almost crushed out of existence by selfishness and penury. “Arise, be enlightened.”
FAITH OR THE SENSES—WHICH?
CHRISTIAN education bases the acquisition of knowledge upon faith, while the majority of people scoff at the idea of trusting to the eye of faith instead of, and oftentimes in direct opposition to, the truth as it appeals to the five senses. It seems that this same question puzzled men centuries ago. And the following words from an Arabian philosopher of the eleventh century show that thinking minds have again and again been called to decide upon what they would base their knowledge. After deciding that knowledge to be of any value, must appeal to the mind as a certainty, he writes: “The only hope of acquiring incontestable convictions is by the perceptions of the senses. . . . I began to examine the objects of sensation and speculation, to see if they possibly could admit of doubt. Then doubts crowded upon me in such numbers that my incertitude became complete. Whence results the confidence I have in sensible things? The strongest of all our senses is sight: and yet, looking at a shadow, and perceiving it to be fixed and immovable, we judge it to be deprived of movement; nevertheless, experience teaches us that, when we return to the same place an hour after, the shadow is displaced, for it does not vanish suddenly, but gradually, little by little, so as never to be at rest.”
“If we look at the stars, they seem to be as small as money-pieces; but mathematical proofs convince us that they are larger than the earth. These and other things are judged by the senses, but rejected by reason as false. I abandoned the senses, therefore, having seen all my confidence in their truth shaken.”
Have you learned the lesson of the Arabian, and are you willing to accept the wisdom of God which cometh only by faith?
UNDER SEALED ORDERS.
Out she swung from her moorings,
And over the harbor bar;
As the moon was slowly rising
She faded from sight afar,
And we traced her gleaming canvas
By the twinkling evening star.
None knew the port she sailed for,
Nor whither her cruise would be;
Her future course was shrouded
In silence and mystery;
She was sailing under “sealed orders,”
To be opened out at sea.
So souls cut off from moorings
Go drifting into the night,
Darkness before and around them,
With scarce a glimmer of light;
They are acting under “sealed orders,”
And sailing by faith, not sight.
Keeping the line of duty
Through good and evil report,
They shall ride the storms out safely,
Be the passage long or short;
For the ship that carries God’s ordersShall anchor at last in port.
—Selected.
SCHOOLS FOR THE CHILDREN AND YOUTH.
Need of.
CITIES and even country towns are becoming like Sodom and Gomorrah, and like the world in the days of Noah. The training of the youth in those days was after the same order as children are being educated and trained in this age. . . . All these things are lessons for us.—Sp. T. on Ed., p. 93.
Number and Location of.
In localities where there is a church, schools should be established if there are no more than six children to attend. A teacher should be employed who will educate the children in the truths of the word of God, which is so essential in these last days, and which is so important for them to understand.—P. C., p. 510; May 6, 1897.
We should have primary schools in different localities, to prepare the youth for the higher schools.—Test. to Ministers and Workers. No. 6, p. 58.
There should be schools established wherever there is a church or company of believers. Teachers should be employed to educate the children of the Sabbath-keepers.
This would close the door to a large number who are drifting into Battle Creek,—the very place where the Lord has warned them not to go. In the light that has been given me, I have been pointed to the churches that are scattered in different localities, and have been shown that the strength of these churches depends upon their growth in usefulness and efficiency. . . .
Let us in our educational work embrace far more than we have done of the children and youth, and there will be a whole army of missionaries raised up to the work for God. I say again, establish schools for the children where there are churches,—those who assemble to worship God. Where there are churches, let there be schools. Work as if you were working for your life, to save children from being drowned in the polluting, corrupting influences of this life. . . .
There are places where our schools should have been in operation years ago. Let these now be started under wise directors. The youth should be educated in their18own churches.—Test. on “Church Schools,” dated Dec. 15, 1897.
Schools and Teachers.
In all our churches there should be schools, and teachers in those schools who are missionaries. It is essential that teachers be educated to act their important part in educating the children of Sabbath-keepers, not only in the sciences, but in the Scriptures. These schools, established in different localities, and conducted by God-fearing men and women as the case demands, should be built on the same principles as were the schools of the prophets.
Special talent should be given to the education of the youth. The children are to be trained to become missionaries, and but few understand distinctly what they must do to be saved. . . . These lessons can be given only by those who are themselves truly converted; and this is the noble missionary work that any man or woman can undertake.
Children should be educated to read, to write, to understand figures, to keep their own accounts, when very young. They may go forward, advancing step by step in this knowledge. But before everything else they should be taught that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Small as well as older children will be benefited by this instruction; and in thus simplifying the plan of salvation, the teachers will receive as great blessings as those who are taught.—Test. on “Church Schools.”
