Problems of Youth
229
stranger nurses and physicians.—
The Signs of the Times, June 29,
1882
. (
Fundamentals of Christian Education, 75
.)
When Women Failed to Train Mind—Woman professing godli-
ness generally fail to train the mind. They leave it uncontrolled, to go
where it will. This is a great mistake. Many seem to have no mental
[289]
power. They have not educated the mind to think; and because they
have not done this, they suppose they cannot. Meditation and prayer
are necessary to a growth in grace.
Why there is no more stability among women is because of so little
mental culture, so little reflection. Leaving the mind in a state of inac-
tion, they lean upon others to do the brain work, to plan, and think, and
remember for them, and thus grow more and more inefficient. Some
need to discipline the mind by exercise. They should force it to think.
While they depend upon someone to think for them, to solve their
difficulties, and they refuse to tax the mind with thought, the inability
to remember, to look ahead and discriminate, will continue. Efforts
must be made by every individual to educate the mind.—
Testimonies
for the Church 2:187, 188
(1868).
Women’s Dress an Index of the Mind—Dress is an index of the
mind and heart. That which is hung upon the outside is the sign of
what is within. It does not require intellect or a cultivated mind to
overdress. The very fact that women can hang upon their persons
such an amount of needless articles of clothing shows that they cannot
have time to cultivate their intellects and store their minds with useful
knowledge.—
Manuscript 76, 1900.
Need for Purity in Thought and Action—I urge upon you the
necessity of purity in every thought, in every word, in every action. We
have an individual accountability to God, an individual work which no
one can do for us. It is to make the world better by precept, personal
effort, and example. While we should cultivate sociability, let it not be
merely for amusement but for a purpose. There are souls to save.—
The
Review and Herald, November 10, 1885
. (
Evangelism, 495
.)
[290]
Masturbation Debases the Mind [
See
Child Guidance, 439-
468
.]—Some children begin to practice self-pollution in their infancy;
and as they increase in years, the lustful passions grow with their
growth and strengthen with their strength. Their minds are not at rest.
Girls desire the society of boys, and boys that of the girls. Their de-
portment is not reserved and modest. They are bold and forward, and