Sentimentalism to Be Shunned as Leprosy.--Imagination, lovesick
sentimentalism, should be guarded against as would be the leprosy. Very
many
of the young men and women in this age of the world are lacking in virtue;
therefore great caution is needed. . . . Those who have preserved a
virtuous
character, although they may lack in other desirable qualities, may be of
real moral worth. {AH 51.4}
There are persons who have for some time made a profession of
religion
who are, to all intents and purposes, without God and without a sensitive
conscience. They are vain and trifling; their conversation is of a low
order.
52
Courtship and marriage occupy the mind, to the exclusion of higher and
nobler thoughts. {AH 51.5}
The young are bewitched with the mania for courtship and marriage.
Lovesick sentimentalism prevails. Great vigilance and tact are needed to
guard the youth from these wrong influences. {AH 52.1}
Daughters are not taught self-denial and self-control. They are
petted,
and their pride is fostered. They are allowed to have their own way, until
they become headstrong and self-willed, and you are put to your wits' end
to
know what course to pursue to save them from ruin. Satan is leading them
on
to be a proverb in the mouth of unbelievers because of their boldness,
their
lack of reserve and womanly modesty. The young boys are likewise left to
have their own way. They have scarcely entered their teens before they are
by the side of little girls of their own age, accompanying them home and
making love to them. And the parents are so completely in bondage through
their own indulgence and mistaken love for their children that they dare
not
pursue a decided course to make a change and restrain their too-fast
children in this fast age. {AH 52.2}
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