The Need of Educational Reform
“And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former
desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of
many generations.” “And thou shalt be called, The repairer of the
breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.”
Isaiah 61:4
;
58:12
. These
words of Inspiration present before believers in present truth the work
that should now be done in the education of our children and youth.
When the truth for these last days came to the world in the proclamation
of the first, second, and third angel’s messages, we were shown that
in the education of our children a different order of things must be
brought in; but it has taken much time to understand what changes
should be made.
Our work is reformatory; and it is the purpose of God that through
the excellence of the work done in our educational institutions the
attention of the people shall be called to the last great effort to save
the perishing. In our schools the standard of education must not be
lowered. It must be lifted higher and still higher, far above where it now
stands; but the education given must not be confined to a knowledge of
textbooks merely. The study of textbooks alone cannot afford students
the discipline they need, nor can it impart true wisdom. The object
of our schools is to provide places where the younger members of
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the Lord’s family may be trained according to His plan of growth and
development.
Satan has used the most ingenious methods to weave his plans
and principles into the systems of education, and thus gain a strong
hold on the minds of the children and youth. It is the work of the true
educator to thwart his devices. We are under solemn, sacred covenant
to God to bring up our children for Him and not for the world; to teach
them not to put their hands into the hand of the world, but to love and
fear God, and to keep His commandments. They should be impressed
with the thought that they are formed in the image of their Creator and
that Christ is the pattern after which they are to be fashioned. Most
earnest attention must be given to the education which will impart a
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