Importance of Physical Culture
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whole man. All our actions, good or bad, have their source in the mind.
It is the mind that worships God, and allies us to heavenly beings. Yet
many spend all their lives without becoming intelligent in regard to
the casket that contains this treasure.
All the physical organs are the servants of the mind, and the nerves
are the messengers that transmit its orders to every part of the body,
guiding the motions of the living machinery. Exercise is an important
aid to physical development. It quickens the circulation of the blood,
and gives tone to the system. If the muscles are allowed to remain
unused, it will soon be apparent that the blood does not sufficiently
nourish them. Instead of increasing in size and strength, they will lose
their firmness and elasticity, and become soft and weak. Inactivity is
not the law the Lord has established in the human body. The harmo-
nious action of all the parts,—brain, bone, and muscle,—is necessary
to the full and healthful development of the entire human organism.
The work of physical training, begun in the home, should be carried
on in the schools. It is the design of the Creator that man shall know
himself; but too often in the pursuit of knowledge this design is lost
sight of. Students devote years to different educational lines; they
become engrossed in the study of the sciences and of things in the
natural world; they are intelligent on most subjects, but they do not
become acquainted with themselves. They look upon the delicate
human organism as something that will take care of itself; and that
which is in the highest degree essential—a knowledge of their own
bodies—is neglected.
Every student should understand how to take such care of himself
as to preserve the best possible condition of health, resisting feebleness
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and disease; and if from any cause disease does come, or accidents
occur, he should know how to meet ordinary emergencies without
calling upon a physician, and taking his poisonous drugs.
The Lord himself has spoken upon this subject of the care of the
body. He says in His word, “If any man destroyeth the temple of God,
him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye
are.”
1 Corinthians 3:17
, R. V. This scripture enjoins a conscientious
care of the body, and condemns all ignorant or careless neglect. And
again: “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost
which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For
ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in