“Never can the proper education be given to the youth in this country, or any other country, unless they are separated a wide distance from the cities. The customs and practices in the cities unfit the minds of the youth for the entrance of truth. The liquor-drinking, the smoking and gambling, the horse-racing, the theater-going, the great importance placed upon holidays,—all are a species of idolatry, a sacrifice upon idol altars....” (LS 351.1) MC VC

“It is not the correct plan to locate school buildings where the students will have constantly before their eyes the erroneous practices that have moulded their education during their lifetime, be it longer or shorter.... Should schools be located in the cities or within a few miles from them, it would be most difficult to counteract the influence of the former education which students have received in regard to these holidays and the practices connected with them, such as horse-racing, betting, and the offering of prizes. The very atmosphere of these cities is full of poisonous malaria....” (LS 351.2) MC VC