Responsibilities of Parenthood
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sin, and the blood of their souls will be in the skirts of her garments and
their father’s. They can now redeem the past by a reformation on their
part, but they can never blot out the results of their great neglect as far
as their children are concerned. God holds parents responsible for the
conduct of their children in a great degree, for they have [responsibility
for] the formation of their characters....
Your daughter needs to be energized by active labor. She is far
better able to work and bear her share of life’s burdens than for her
mother to bear them for her. Work, every day, that will bring into
action her muscles and the organs of the body will be the best medicine
your daughter can have. Delicate idleness is keeping her bilious and
discontented and unhappy.... May God bless these lines to you, my
brother and sister.—
Letter 1, 1871
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