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Counsels for the Church
receive their education in the field where they are to labor. It is seldom
best, either for the worker or for the advancement of the work, that he
should go to distant lands for his education
As a church, as individuals, if we would stand clear in the judgment,
we must make more liberal efforts for the training of our young people,
that they may be better fitted for the various branches of the great
work committed to our hands. We should lay wise plans, in order that
the ingenious minds of those who have talent may be strengthened
and disciplined, and polished after the highest order, that the work of
Christ may not be hindered for lack of skillful laborers, who will do
their work with earnestness and fidelity
Moral Support of Our Institutions
Fathers and mothers should co-operate with the teacher, laboring
earnestly for the conversion of their children. Let them strive to keep
the spiritual interest fresh and wholesome in the home and to bring
up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Let them
devote a portion of each day to study and become learners with their
children. Thus they may make the educational hour one of pleasure
and profit, and their confidence will increase in this method of seeking
for the salvation of their children
Some of the students return home with murmuring and complaints,
and parents and members of the church give an attentive ear to their
exaggerated, one-sided statements. They would do well to consider
that there are two sides to the story; but instead, they allow these
garbled reports to build up a barrier between them and the college.
They then begin to express fears, questionings, and suspicions in regard
to the way the college is conducted. Such an influence does great harm.
The words of dissatisfaction spread like a contagious disease, and the
impression made upon minds is hard to efface. The story enlarges
with every repetition, until it becomes of gigantic proportions, when
investigation would reveal the fact that there was no fault with teachers
or professors. They were simply doing their duty in enforcing the rules
327
Testimonies for the Church 6:137
328
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 43
329
Testimonies for the Church 6:199