Appeal to Parents
17
will be wise betimes. They will keep in view life’s best things in their
choice of a home.
[16]
Instead of dwelling where only the works of men can be seen,
where the sights and sounds frequently suggest thoughts of evil, where
turmoil and confusion bring weariness and disquietude, go where you
can look upon the works of God. Find rest of spirit in the beauty and
quietude and peace of nature. Let the eye rest on the green fields, the
groves, and the hills. Look up to the blue sky, unobscured by the city’s
dust and smoke, and breathe the invigorating air of heaven. Go where,
apart from the distractions and dissipations of city life, you can give
your children your companionship, where you can teach them to learn
of God through His works, and train them for lives of integrity and
usefulness.—
The Ministry of Healing, 265-267
(1905).
Manifold Benefits of Active Out-of-Door Life
It would be well for you to lay by your perplexing cares, and find
a retreat in the country, where there is not so strong an influence to
corrupt the morals of the young.
True, you would not be entirely free from annoyances and per-
plexing cares in the country; but you would there avoid many evils
and close the door against a flood of temptations which threaten to
overpower the minds of your children. They need employment and
variety. The sameness of their home makes them uneasy and restless,
and they have fallen into the habit of mingling with the vicious lads of
the town, thus obtaining a street education....
To live in the country would be very beneficial to them; an ac-
tive, out-of-door life would develop health of both mind and body.
They should have a garden to cultivate, where they might find both
amusement and useful employment. The training of plants and flowers
tends to the improvement of taste and judgment, while an acquaintance
with God’s useful and beautiful creations has a refining and ennobling
influence upon the mind, referring it to the Maker and Master of all.—
Testimonies for the Church 4:136
(1876).