Appeal to the Young
343
door wide for Satan to enter. With God’s word for our guide and Jesus
as our heavenly Teacher we need not be ignorant of His requirements
or of Satan’s devices and be overcome by his temptations. It will be
no unpleasant task to be obedient to the will of God when we yield
ourselves fully to be directed by His Spirit.
Now is the time to work. If we are children of God, as long as we
live in the world He will give us our work. We can never say that we
have nothing to do so long as there remains a work undone. I wish
that all the young could see, as I have seen, the work that they can do
and that God will hold them responsible for neglecting. The greatest
work that was ever accomplished in the world was done by Him who
was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. A frivolous-minded
person will never accomplish good.
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The spiritual weakness of many young men and women in this
age is deplorable because they could be powerful agents for good if
they were consecrated to God. I mourn greatly the lack of stability
with the young. This we should all deplore. There seems to be a lack
of power to do right, a lack of earnest effort to obey the calls of duty
rather than those of inclination. There seems to be with some but
little strength to resist temptation. The reason why they are dwarfs
in spiritual things is because they do not by exercise grow spiritually
strong. They stand still when they should be going forward. Every
step in the life of faith and duty is a step toward heaven. I want greatly
to hear of a reformation in many respects such as the young have never
heretofore realized. Every inducement that Satan can invent is pressed
upon them to make them indifferent and careless in regard to eternal
things. I suggest that special efforts be made by the youth to help one
another to live faithful to their baptismal vows and that they pledge
themselves solemnly before God to withdraw their affections from
dress and display.
I would remind the youth who ornament their persons and wear
feathers upon their hats that, because of their sins, our Saviour’s head
wore the shameful crown of thorns. When you devote precious time to
trimming your apparel, remember that the King of glory wore a plain,
seamless coat. You who weary yourselves in decorating your persons,
please bear in mind that Jesus was often weary from incessant toil
and self-denial and self-sacrifice to bless the suffering and needy. He
spent whole nights in prayer upon the lonely mountains, not because