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Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students
The youth must soon bear the burdens that older workers are now
carrying. We have lost time in neglecting to give young men a solid,
practical education. The cause of God is constantly progressing, and
we must obey the command, Go forward. There is need of young
men and women who will not be swayed by circumstances, who
walk with God, who pray much, and who put forth earnest efforts to
gather all the light they can.
The worker for God should put forth the highest mental and moral
energies with which nature, cultivation, and the grace of God have
endowed him; but his success will be proportionate to the degree
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of consecration and self-sacrifice in which his work is done, rather
than to either natural or acquired endowments. Earnest, continuous
endeavor to acquire qualifications for usefulness is necessary; but
unless God works with humanity, nothing good can be accomplished.
Divine grace is the great element of saving power; without it all
human effort is unavailing.
Whenever the Lord has a work to be done, He calls not only
for the commanding officers, but for all the workers. Today He is
calling for young men and women who are strong and active in
mind and body. He desires them to bring into the conflict against
principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness in high places
their fresh, healthy powers of brain, bone, and muscle. But they must
have the needed preparation. Some young men are urging their way
into the work who have no real fitness for it. They do not understand
that they need to be taught before they can teach. They point to men
who with little preparation have labored with a measure of success.
But if these men were successful, it was because they put heart and
soul into the work. And how much more effective their labors might
have been if at the first they had received suitable training!
The cause of God needs efficient men. Education and training
are rightly regarded as an essential preparation for business life; and
how much more essential is thorough preparation for the work of
presenting the last message of mercy to the world! This training
cannot be gained by merely listening to preaching. In our schools
our youth are to bear burdens for God. They are to receive a thor-
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ough training under experienced teachers. They should make the
best possible use of their time in study, and put into practice the
knowledge acquired. Hard study and hard work are required to make