Chapter 31—Choice of Reading
Education is but a preparation of the physical, intellectual, and
spiritual powers for the best performance of all the duties of life. The
powers of endurance, and the strength and activity of the brain, are
lessened or increased by the way in which they are employed. The
mind should be so disciplined that all its powers will be symmetrically
developed.
Many youth are eager for books. They desire to read everything
that they can obtain. Let them take heed what they read as well as what
they hear. I have been instructed that they are in the greatest danger of
being corrupted by improper reading. Satan has a thousand ways of
unsettling the minds of youth. They cannot safely be off guard for a
moment. They must set a watch upon their minds, that they may not
be allured by the enemy’s temptations
Influence of Unwholesome Reading
Satan knows that to a great degree the mind is affected by that upon
which it feeds. He is seeking to lead both the youth and those of mature
age to read story-books, tales, and other literature. The readers of such
literature become unfitted for the duties lying before them. They live
an unreal life, and have no desire to search the Scriptures, to feed upon
the heavenly manna. The mind that needs strengthening is enfeebled,
and loses its power to study the great truths that relate to the mission
and work of Christ—truths that would fortify the mind, awaken the
imagination, and kindle a strong, earnest desire to overcome as Christ
overcame.
Could a large share of the books published be consumed, a plague
would be stayed that is doing a fearful work upon mind and heart. Love
stories, frivolous and exciting tales, and even that class of books called
religious novels—books in which the author attaches to his story a
moral lesson—are a curse to the readers. Religious sentiments may be
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