Chapter 114—Youth to Bear Responsibilities
[Addressed to two young men.]
These young men have duties at home which they overlook. They
have not learned to take up the duties, and bear the home responsi-
bilities, which it is their duty to bear. They have a faithful, practical
mother, who has borne many burdens which her children should not
have suffered her to bear. In this they have failed to honor their mother.
They have not shared the burdens of their father as was their duty, and
have neglected to honor him as they should. They follow inclination
rather than duty.
They have pursued a selfish course in their lives, in shunning
burdens and toil, and have failed to obtain a valuable experience which
they cannot afford to be deprived of if they would make life a success.
They have not felt the importance of being faithful in little things, nor
have they felt under obligation to their parents to be true, thorough,
and faithful in the humble, lowly duties of life which lie directly in
their pathway. They look above the common branches of knowledge,
so very necessary for practical life.
Making Home Happy
If these young men would be a blessing anywhere, it should be
at home. If they yield to inclination, instead of being guided by the
cautious decision of sober reason, sound judgment, and enlightened
conscience, they cannot be a blessing to society or to their father’s
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family, and their prospects in this world and in the better world may
be endangered.
Many youth receive the impression that their early life is not de-
signed for care-taking, but to be frittered away in idle sport, in jesting,
in joking, and in foolish indulgences. While engaged in folly and
indulgences of the senses, some think of nothing but the momentary
gratification connected with it. Their desire for amusement, their love
for society and for chatting and laughing, increases by indulgence, and
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