Education of the Children.

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Extracts from Recent Unpublished Testimonies. A decided reform is needed in the lessons given to the children and youth in our schools. Students need lessons which they have not yet received. We are not at liberty to teach that which shall meet the world’s standard or the standard of the church, simply because it is the custom to do so. The cross of Christ is to be the theme, revealing the lessons we must learn and practise in this life, that we may represent Christ in character. The lessons given in the Old and New Testaments should be carefully selected and arranged so as to be interesting and attractive to the minds of the children. The lessons which Christ has taught are to be the standard. Jesus came to give the highest class of education in lessons adapted to the comprehension of humanity. The excellence of Christ is to be our study through time and eternity. . . .

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Our Sabbath-schools give the youth instruction in regard to the truth, and then as they go to the dayschool, books are placed before them which confuse the mind, and lessons containing falsehoods are given them to learn. These things need close criticism; for if the young are educated from books which contain a perversion of truth, how will the influence of this education be counteracted? The mind will be of the same character as the food upon which it feeds; the harvest of the same nature as the seed sown. . . .

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We are living in the closing work of these perilous times, when «truth hath fallen in the street, and equity can not enter;» when «he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey.» The great, grand work of preparing a people to stand in the day of the Lord is to be accomplished. . . .

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The truth is light and power, and to present it so that impressions will be made upon hearts should be the work of our schools as well as of our churches, of the teacher as well as of the minister. . . .

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We can not in this day of peril accept teachers because they have been in school two, three, four, or five years. The question which should decide whether they are qualified for their work should be, Have they, with all their acquisition of knowledge, searched the Bible, and dug beneath the surface for truth as for hid treasures? or have they seized the chaff in the place of the pure wheat thoroughly winnowed? Are they partakers of the fruit of the tree of life? We can not consent at this period of time to expose our youth to the consequences of learning a mixture of truth with error. The youth who come from school without feeling the importance of making the Word of God their first study, the main study, above every science in educational lines, are not qualified, in these days of peril, to enter upon the work of the teacher. . . .

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In all our churches, and wherever there is a company of believers, church schools should be established, and in these schools there should be teachers who have the true missionary spirit; for the children are to be trained to become missionaries. It is essential that teachers be educated to act their important part in instructing children of Sabbath-keepers, not only in the sciences, but in the Scriptures . These schools established in different localities, and conducted by God-fearing men and women, as the case demands, should be built upon the same principles as were the schools of the prophets. . . .

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There is an earnest work to be done for the children. Before the overflowing scourge shall come upon all the dwellers upon the earth, the Lord calls upon all who are Israelites indeed to serve him. Gather your children into your houses; gather them in from the classes who are voicing the words of Satan, who are disobeying the commandments of God. Get out of the cities as soon as possible. Establish church schools. Gather in your children, and give them the Word of God as the foundation of all their education. Had the churches in different localities sought counsel of God, they would not need to be thus addressed on this point.

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When the children of Israel were gathered out from among the Egyptians, the Lord said: «For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt will I execute judgment: I am the Lord.». . . Any one of the children of the Hebrews who was found in the Egyptian habitations was destroyed . . . .

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We have a special work to do in educating and training our children, that they may not, either in attending school or in associating with others, be influenced by those of corrupt habits. . . .

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The education that is generally given in the schools of the world is not that which can be accepted as true education. Educators of youth should be Christians, who are themselves under the discipline of God. . . .

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Let us view the case correctly. Children are the heritage of the Lord, and are to be so educated that they may be the younger members of the Lord’s family, prepared by proper instruction to serve the Lord in their childhood life. Shall the members of the church give means to advance the cause of Christ among others, and then let their own children carry on the work and service of Satan?. . . . O, for a clearer perception of what we might accomplish if we would learn of Jesus!. . . .

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We may bring hundreds and thousands of children to Christ if we will work for them. Let all who read these words be melted and subdued. Let us in our educational work embrace far more of the children and youth than we have done, and there will be a whole army of missionaries raised up to work for God. —