Church Should Awake
443
mothers, brothers, sisters, take up this work heartily, and see if the
home church will not be greatly improved.
Especially will the youth who have been accustomed to reading
novels and cheap storybooks receive benefit by joining in the evening
family study. Young men and young women, read the literature that
will give you true knowledge, and that will be a help to the entire
family. Say firmly: “I will not spend precious moments in reading that
which will be of no profit to me, and which only unfits me to be of
service to others. I will devote my time and my thoughts to acquiring
a fitness for God’s service. I will close my eyes to frivolous and sinful
things. My ears are the Lord’s, and I will not listen to the subtle
reasoning of the enemy. My voice shall not in any way be subject to a
will that is not under the influence of the Spirit of God. My body is
[428]
the temple of the Holy Spirit, and every power of my being shall be
consecrated to worthy pursuits.”
The Youth, God’s Helping Hand
The Lord has appointed the youth to be His helping hand. If in
every church they would consecrate themselves to Him, if they would
practice self-denial in the home, relieving their careworn mother, the
mother could find time to make neighborly visits, and, when oppor-
tunity offered, they could themselves give assistance by doing little
errands of mercy and love. Books and papers treating on the subject of
health and temperance could be placed in many homes. The circulation
of this literature is an important matter; for thus precious knowledge
can be imparted in regard to the treatment of disease—knowledge
that would be a great blessing to those who cannot afford to pay for a
physician’s visits.
The Study of Physiology
Parents should seek to interest their children in the study of phys-
iology. There are but few among the youth who have any definite
knowledge of the mysteries of life. The study of the wonderful human
organism, the relation and dependence of its complicated parts, is one
in which many parents take little interest. Although God says to them,
“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be