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Testimonies for the Church Volume 4
administered, but all were unheeded, and the curse fell upon him. It is
a terrible thing to neglect the education of children. Not only will they
be lost in consequence, but the parents themselves, who have so far
departed from God as to lose all sense of their sacred responsibility,
stand in a very perilous position as regards eternal life.
Fond and indulgent parents, let me present for your instruction
the directions given in the Bible for dealing with a rebellious son: “If
a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the
voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have
chastened him, will not hearken unto them; then shall his father and
his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his
city, and unto the gate of his place; and they shall say unto the elders
of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey
our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his city
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shall stone him with stones, that he die; so shalt thou put evil away
from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.”
Both the young and the old who are connected with the office
should be looked after closely, lest their influence should be such as
to work directly against the object designed by the office. If any are
employed whose influence is of a character to lead away from God and
the truth, there should not be a moment’s question as to the disposal
of their cases. They should be separated from the office at once, for
they are scattering from Christ instead of gathering with Him. They
are virtually servants of Satan.
If there are young people connected with the office who do not
respect the authority of parents, and are ungovernable at home, de-
spising counsel and restraint, the curse of God will fall upon them;
and it will not only rest upon them, but upon the office, should their
services be retained and they be given further opportunity to pervert
the young with whom they are there brought in contact. Those who
occupy responsible positions in the office are accountable for the pre-
vailing influence there, and if they are indifferent to the course of the
insubordinate and impenitent in their employ they become partakers
of their sin.
There has been a covering up of iniquity in-----. God calls for a
different order of things. The youth connected with His work should
be select, those who will be improved, refined, and ennobled by being
associated with the cause of God. Faithful minutemen are needed at