Duties and Work of the Young

Notes

1. "Young men and women, you are accountable to God for the light that He has given you. This light and these warnings, if not heeded, will rise up in the judgment against you. Your dangers have been plainly stated; you have been cautioned and guarded on every side, hedged in with warnings. In the house of God you have listened to the most solemn, heart-searching truths presented by the servants of God in demonstration of the Spirit. What weight do these solemn appeals have upon your hearts? What influence do they have upon your characters? You will be held responsible for every one of these appeals and warnings. They will rise up in the judgment to condemn those who pursue a life of vanity, levity, and pride.

"Dear young friends, that which you sow, you will also reap. Now is the sowing time for you. What will the harvest be? What are you sowing? Every word you utter, every act you perform, is a seed which will bear good or evil fruit, and will result in joy or sorrow to the sower. As is the seed sown, so will be the crop. God has given you great light and many privileges. After this light has been given, after your dangers have been plainly presented before you, the responsibility becomes yours. The manner in which you treat the light that God gives you, will turn the scale for happiness or woe. You are shaping your destinies for yourselves."—Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 3, page 363.

2. "A little time spent in sowing your wild oats, dear young friends, will produce a crop that will embitter your whole life; an hour of thoughtlessness—once yielding to temptation—may turn the whole current of your life in the wrong direction. You can have but one youth; make that useful. When once you have passed over the ground, you can never return to rectify your mistakes. He who refuses to connect with God, and puts himself in the way of temptation, will surely fall. God is testing every youth."—Idem, Vol. 4, pages 622, 623.

3. The youth who find joy and happiness in reading the Word of God and in the hour of prayer, are constantly refreshed by draughts from the Fountain of Life. He will attain a height of moral excellence and a breadth of thought of which others can not conceive."—Idem, Vol. 4, page 624.

"I was shown that the youth must take a higher stand, and make the Word of God the man of their counsel and their guide."—Idem, Vol. 1, page 497.

4. "I saw that Satan is a vigilant foe, intent upon his purpose of leading the youth to a course of action entirely contrary to that which God would approve. He well knows that there is no other class that can do as much good as young men and young women who are consecrated to God. The youth, if right, could sway a mighty influence. Preachers, or laymen advanced in years, can not have one-half the influence upon the young that the youth, devoted to God, can have upon their associates. They ought to feel that a responsibility rests upon them to do all they can to save their fellow mortals, even at a sacrifice to their pleasure and natural desires."—Idem, Vol. 1, page 511.

"Young men and young women, gather a stock of knowledge. Do not wait until some human examination pronounces you competent to work, but go out into the highways and hedges, and begin to work for God. Use wisely the knowledge you have. Exercise your ability with faithfulness, generously imparting the light that God gives you."—Idem, Vol. 7, page 281.

5. "His soul thrilled with the high resolve to prove himself true to God,—under all circumstances to act as became a subject of the King of Heaven. He would serve the Lord with undivided heart; he would meet the trials of his lot with fortitude, and perform every duty with fidelity."—Patriarchs and Prophets, page 206.