Chapter 24—Dangers and Duties of Youth
Addressed to Two Young Men
Last December I was shown the dangers and temptations of youth.
The two younger sons of Father O need to be converted. They need
to die daily to self. Paul, the faithful apostle, had a fresh experience
daily. He says: “I die daily.” This is exactly the experience that these
young men need. They are in danger of overlooking present duty and
of neglecting the education that is essential for practical life. They
regard education in books as the all-important matter to be attended to
in order to make life a success.
These young men have duties at home which they overlook. They
have not learned to take up the duties and bear the home responsibilities
which it is their duty to bear. They have a faithful, practical mother,
who has borne many burdens which her children should not have
suffered her to bear. In this they have failed to honor their mother.
They have not shared the burdens of their father as was their duty, and
have neglected to honor him as they should. They follow inclination
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rather than duty. They have pursued a selfish course in their lives,
in shunning burdens and toil, and have failed to obtain a valuable
experience which they cannot afford to be deprived of if they would
make life a success. They have not felt the importance of being faithful
in little things, nor have they felt under obligation to their parents to be
true, thorough, and faithful in the humble, lowly duties of life which
lie directly in their pathway. They look above the common branches
of knowledge, so very necessary for practical life.
If these young men would be a blessing anywhere, it should be
at home. If they yield to inclination, instead of being guided by the
cautious decision of sober reason, sound judgment, and enlightened
conscience, they cannot be a blessing to society or to their father’s
family, and their prospects in this world and in the better world may
be endangered. Many youth receive the impression that their early life
is not designed for caretaking, but to be frittered away in idle sport, in
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