Cleanliness an Aid to Purity
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Having the clothing neat and clean will be one means of keeping
the thoughts pure and sweet. Every article of dress should be plain
and simple, without unnecessary adornment, so that it will be but little
work to wash and iron it. Especially should every article which comes
in contact with the skin be kept clean, and free from any offensive
odor. Nothing of an irritating character should touch the bodies of
children, nor should their clothing be allowed to bind them in any way.
If more attention were given to this subject, far less impurity would be
practiced.
I have often seen children’s beds in such a condition that the foul,
poisonous odor constantly rising from them was to me unendurable.
Keep everything the eyes of the children rest upon and that comes in
contact with the body, night or day, clean and wholesome. This will
be one means of educating them to choose the cleanly and the pure.
Let the sleeping-room of your children be neat, however destitute
it may be of expensive furniture. Begin early to teach the little ones to
take care of their clothing. Let them have a place to lay their things
away, and be taught to fold every article neatly and put it in its place.
If you cannot afford even a cheap bureau, use a dry-goods box, fitting
it with shelves, and covering it with some bright, pretty figured cloth.
This work of teaching neatness and order will take a little time each
day, but it will pay in the future of your children, and in the end will
save you much time and care.
If parents desire their children to be pure, they must surround them
with pure associations, such as God can approve. The home must
be kept pure and clean. Unclean, neglected corners in the house will
tend to make impure, neglected corners in the soul. Mothers, you
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are the educators of your children, and you can do a great deal if you
begin early to inculcate pure thoughts, by fitting up their rooms in a
cleanly, tasteful, attractive manner. If the children have a room which
they know is their own, and if they are taught how to keep it tidy and
make it pleasant, they will have a sense of ownership,—they will feel
that they have within the home a home of their own, and will have a
satisfaction in keeping it neat and nice. The mother will necessarily
have to inspect their work, and make suggestions and give instruction.
This is the mother’s work, and nothing should be permitted to come
between her and her children.