The need of carefulness in habits of diet should be impressed on the minds of all students. I have been instructed that those attending our schools are not to be served with flesh foods or with preparations of food that are known to be unwholesome. Nothing that will serve to encourage a desire for stimulants should be placed on the table. I appeal to all to refuse to eat those things that will injure the health. Thus they can serve the Lord by sacrifice. (CT 298.1) MC VC

Those who obey the laws of health will give time and thought to the needs of the body and to the laws of digestion. And they will be rewarded by clearness of thought and strength of mind. On the other hand, it is possible for one to spoil his Christian experience by abuse of the stomach. Those things that derange the digestion have a benumbing influence on the finer feelings of the heart. That which darkens the skin and makes it dingy also clouds the spirits and destroys cheerfulness and peace of mind. Every habit that injures the health reacts upon the mind. That time is well spent which is directed to the establishment and preservation of sound physical and mental health. Firm, quiet nerves and a healthy circulation help men to follow right principles and to listen to the promptings of conscience. (CT 298.2) MC VC

Ventilation and Sanitation VC

Special attention should be paid to ventilation and sanitation. The teacher should put into practical use in the schoolroom the knowledge of the principles of physiology and hygiene. He may thus guard his pupils from many dangers to which they would be exposed through ignorance or neglect of sanitary laws. Many lives have been sacrificed because teachers have not given attention to these things. (CT 298.3) MC VC

Sudden changes of temperature should be avoided. Care should be taken to see that the students do not become chilled by sitting in drafts. It is not safe for the teacher to regulate the heat of the schoolroom by his own feelings. His own good, as well as that of the students, demands that a uniform temperature be maintained. (CT 299.1) MC VC

The Reward of Obedience VC

The brain is the citadel of the being. Wrong physical habits affect the brain and prevent the attainment of that which the students desire—a good mental discipline. Unless the youth are versed in the science of how to care for the body as well as for the mind, they will not be successful students. Study is not the principal cause of breakdown of the mental powers. The main cause is improper diet, irregular meals, a lack of physical exercise, and careless inattention in other respects to the laws of health. When we do all that we can to preserve the health, then we can ask God in faith to bless our efforts. (CT 299.2) MC VC

Before students talk of their attainments in the so-called “higher education,” let them learn to eat and drink to the glory of God and to exercise brain, bone, and muscle in such a way as to fit them for the highest service. A student may devote all his powers to acquiring knowledge, but as he disobeys the laws that govern his being he will weaken his efficiency. By cherishing wrong habits, he loses the power of self-appreciation, and he loses self-control. He cannot reason correctly about matters that concern him most deeply, and becomes reckless and irrational in his treatment of mind and body. (CT 299.3) MC VC