Basic HTML Version
250
The Ministry of Health and Healing
Many of these were reared in country homes. They knew little
of luxury. They did not spend their youth in amusement. Many were
forced to struggle with poverty and hardship. They early learned to
work, and their active life in the open air gave vigor and elasticity
to all their faculties. Forced to depend upon their own resources,
they learned to combat difficulties and to surmount obstacles, and
they gained courage and perseverance. They learned the lessons of
[208]
self-reliance and self-control.
Sheltered to a great degree from evil associations, they were
satisfied with natural pleasures and wholesome companionships.
They were simple in their tastes and temperate in their habits. They
were governed by principle, and they grew up pure and strong and
true. When called to their lifework, they brought to it physical and
mental power, buoyancy of spirit, ability to plan and execute, and
steadfastness in resisting evil that made them a positive power for
good in the world.
Better than any inheritance of wealth, give your children the gift
of a healthy body, a sound mind, and a noble character. Understand
what constitutes life’s true success. Keep in view life’s best things
in your choice of a home.
Instead of dwelling where only the works of human beings can be
seen, where the sights and sounds frequently suggest thoughts of evil,
where turmoil and confusion bring weariness and disquietude, go
where you can look upon the works of God. Find rest of spirit in the
beauty and quietude and peace of nature. Let the eye rest on the green
fields, the groves, and the hills. Look up to the blue sky, unobscured
by the city’s dust and smoke, and breathe the invigorating air of
heaven. Go where, apart from the distractions and dissipations of
city life, you can give your children your companionship, where you
can teach them to learn of God through His works and train them
for lives of integrity and usefulness.
Simplicity in Furnishing
Our artificial habits deprive us of many blessings and much
enjoyment, and unfit us for living the most useful lives. Elaborate
and expensive furnishings are a waste not only of money but of that