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Chapter 6—Total Abstinence Our Position
The Only Safe Course
—The only safe course is to touch not,
taste not, handle not, tea, coffee, wines, tobacco, opium, and alco-
holic drinks. The necessity for the men of this generation to call to
their aid the power of the will, strengthened by the grace of God,
in order to withstand the temptations of Satan and resist the least
indulgence of perverted appetite is twice as great as it was several
generations ago. But the present generation have less power of self-
control than had those who lived then.—
Testimonies for the Church
3:488
.
Let us never partake of a glass of alcoholic liquor. Let us never
touch it.—
Manuscript 38 1/2, 1905
.
The Will to Touch Not, Taste Not, and Handle Not
—If all
would be vigilant and faithful in guarding the little openings made
by the moderate use of the so-called harmless wine and cider, the
highway to drunkenness would be closed up. What is needed in every
community is firm purpose, and a will to touch not, taste not, handle
not; then the temperance reformation would be strong, permanent,
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and thorough.—
The Review and Herald, March 25, 1884
.
Abstain strictly from all stimulating food or drink. You are God’s
property. You are not to abuse any organ of the body. You are to
care wisely for your body, that there may be a perfect development
of the whole man. Is it not an act of ingratitude on your part to do
anything so to weaken your vital forces that you are unable properly
to represent Him or to do the work He has for you to do?—
Letter
236, 1903
.
Temperance Principles Stem From God’s Law
—If men
strictly and conscientiously kept the law of God, there would be
no drunkards, no tobacco inebriates, no distress, penury, and crime.
Liquor saloons would be closed for want of patronage, and nine
tenths of all misery existing in the world would come to an end.
Young men would walk forth with erect and noble forms, free and
elastic step, clear eye, and healthy complexions.
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