108
Mind, Character, and Personality Volume 1
Innocent Offspring Will Be Sufferers—Diseased children are
born because of the gratification of appetite by the parents. The system
did not demand the variety of food upon which the mind dwelt. Be-
cause once in the mind it must be in the stomach is a great error which
Christian women should reject. Imagination should not be allowed
to control the wants of the system. Those who allow the taste to rule
will suffer the penalty of transgressing the laws of their being. And
the matter does not end here; their innocent offspring also will be
sufferers.—
Testimonies for the Church 2:383
(1870).
Unwise advisers will urge upon the mother the gratification of
every wish and impulse as essential to the well-being of her offspring.
Such advice is false and mischievous. By the command of God Himself
[134]
the mother is placed under the most solemn obligation to exercise self-
control. Whose voice shall we heed—the voice of divine wisdom or
the voice of human superstition?—
The Signs of the Times, February
26, 1902
.
Pregnant Mother to Form Habits of Self-denial—The mother
who is a fit teacher for her children must, before their birth, form
habits of self-denial and self-control; for she transmits to them her
own qualities, her own strong or weak traits of character. The enemy
of souls understands this matter much better than do many parents.
He will bring temptation upon the mother, knowing that if she does
not resist him, he can through her affect her child. The mother’s only
hope is in God. She may flee to Him for grace and strength. She will
not seek help in vain. He will enable her to transmit to her offspring
qualities that will help them to gain success in this life and to win
eternal life.—
The Signs of the Times, February 26, 1902
. (
Counsels
on Diet and Foods, 219
.)
The Basis of Right Character—The basis of a right character in
the future man is made firm by habits of strict temperance in the mother
prior to the birth of her child.... This lesson should not be regarded with
indifference.—
The Gospel Herald, February, 1880
. (
The Adventist
Home, 258
.)
Race Groaning Under Weight of Accumulated Woe—The race
is groaning under a weight of accumulated woe because of the sins of
former generations. And yet with scarcely a thought or care, men and
women of the present generation indulge intemperance by surfeiting
and drunkenness and thereby leave, as a legacy for the next generation,