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Messages to Young People
moral lesson,—are a curse to the readers. Religious sentiments may be
woven all through a story-book, but, in most cases, Satan is but clothed
in angel-robes, the more effectively to deceive and allure. None are
so confirmed in right principles, none so secure from temptation, that
they are safe in reading these stories.
The readers of fiction are indulging an evil that destroys spirituality,
eclipsing the beauty of the sacred page. It creates an unhealthy excite-
ment, fevers the imagination, unfits the mind for usefulness, weans the
soul from prayer, and disqualifies it for any spiritual exercise.
God has endowed many of our youth with superior capabilities;
but too often they have enervated their powers, confused and enfeebled
their minds, so that for years they have made no growth in grace or
in a knowledge of the reasons of our faith, because of their unwise
choice of reading. Those who are looking for the Lord soon to come,
looking for that wondrous change, when “this corruptible shall put
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on incorruption,” should in this probationary time be standing upon a
higher plane of action.
My dear young friends, question your own experience as to the
influence of exciting stories. Can you, after such reading, open the
Bible and read with interest the words of life? Do you not find the
Book of God uninteresting? The charm of that love story is upon the
mind, destroying its healthy tone, and making it impossible for you to
fix the attention upon the important, solemn truths that concern your
eternal welfare.
Resolutely discard all trashy reading. It will not strengthen your
spirituality, but will introduce into the mind sentiments that pervert the
imagination, causing you to think less of Jesus and to dwell less upon
His precious lessons. Keep the mind free from everything that would
lead it in a wrong direction. Do not encumber it with trashy stories,
which impart no strength to the mental powers. The thoughts are of
the same character as the food provided for the mind.
The Book of Books
The nature of one’s religious experience is revealed by the character
of the books one chooses to read in one’s leisure moments. In order to
have a healthy tone of mind and sound religious principles, the youth
must live in communion with God through His word. Pointing out