| Show A LESSON FOR FOE THE BOYS joseph P F smith in the improvement era for february while there may be kittle use in in preaching at you young man yet let me in all confidence say a word or two on this subject of self respect I 1 as related to proper conduct and purity of life do you believe these qualities are de desirable in a person 17 certainly self respect requires among other things that one ahall hall behave like a true gent gentleman lemau in a h house ouse of worship no self respect jug ing person will go to a house devoted to the service of god to worship agos sip and visit rather it is ones I 1 duty to put on self restraint to gire ones itin divided attention to the speaker slier ker vand sand concentrate the mind upon iris ills words that his thoughts may be grasped to our benefit and profit with mth this in mind it Is clear that no seu sell respecting person will be guilty of unseemly conduct UL IBL so sacred a at li lilamay lamas a house of peo ale met to attune themselves to the of the spirit of the lord self respect would teach every man due deference in such a place to those who have met to worship as well as to the place and the occasion of 0 such worship respect for others lc one of the first steps in the process of gaining respect for ones self and like happiness self respect increases in proportion as it Is applied to other people among the strong helps to gain self respect are personal purity and proper thoughts which are the basis of all proper action J wish that all young men could appreciate the value there Is in this practice and in giving their youthful days to the service of the lord growth development progress self respect thees the esteem and admiration of men naturally follow such a course in youth the savior set a striking example in this matter and was early about his fathers business he did not leave it until his older years but even as early as twelve lie had developed so far in thiis this line lifie that lie he was able to teach men of wisdom and doctors of knowledge in the temple samuel the prophet had so prepared himself by a pure self respecting childhood that he was perfectly attuned to the whisperings of god tie the shapely youth i fc dv dav ta wasa chosen above his h la alde r ax athi ethi en to selve serve ln in haghpa high places es in nr utile the M matters asters cause baher bl her great characters in history were also selected early in life and the best men in all ages gave their young manhood to the service of god who honored them abundantly with communication and approval in more modern times the lord chose joseph smith in early youth to be the founder of the new and glorious dispensation of the gospel gosp brigam brigham young ws but a buth when ho h determined to devote his life to the church john taylor wilford woodruff and in fact all the early founders of the church devoted their youth and manhood to the cause or zion you may look around you today and who are the leaders among the people but those who early and zealously devoted themselves to the faith and you may fortell who are to be the leaders by observing the boys who show self respect and purit yand who are earnest in all good works the lord will not choose men from an class of his bis people and exalt them into prominence the opposite coarse Nv waiting alting to serve the lord un until til the wild oats of your youth are sown is reprehensible there is always some thing lacking in in a man who spends his Is youth in wickedness and sari and then turns to righteousness in later years of course the lord honors his tence and it is better far that a man should late turn from evil than to continue in sin all his days but the fact is clear that the best part of his life and strength arc wasted and there remains only poor broken service to offer the lard there are regrets and heart burnings in repenting late in life from the follies and sins of youth bouthi but there is consolation and rich reward in serving the lord in vigorous days of early manhood self respect deference for things and personal purity are the beginning and the essence of wisdom the value of the teachings of the gospel iello ilo assist the child and the youth in this path cannot be over estima fedj ted t hence llen e the duty of listening respectfully and attentively to the men who deliver them the doctrie nes of the gospel and restraint are like schoolmasters to keep us in the line of duty it if it were not for or these schoolmasters we would perish and be overcome by the evil I 1 I 1 I 1 about us we see men who have freed themselves from church restraint and from the precious preciou abc doctrines of the gospel who perish about us every day they boast of freedom Ire edoin but are the slaves ot of sin let me admonish you to permit the gospel schoolmaster school master to teach you self respect and to keep you pure and free from secret sins that bring not only physical punishment but sure spiritual death you cannot hide the penalty which god lias ims affixed to them a penalty often worse than death it is the loss ot of self respect it is physical debility atis insanity indifference to all powers that are good and noble all these fol lowin the wake of of the sinner in secret and of the unchaste thermo only I 1 fixes its penalty on the one who transgresses but reaches out unerring to the third and fourth generation making not only the transgressor transgress ora a wreck but mayhap involving scores ol of people in his direct line of disrupting family ties breaking the hearts of parents and causing an a black stream of sorrow to overwhelm lives such a seeming simple thing then as proper conduct in a house of worship leads to good results in many res pacts good conduct leads to self respect which creates purity of thought and action pure thought and noble action lead to a desire to serve god in the strength of manhood and to become subservient to the schoolmasters church restraint and the doctrines of 0 then gospel of christ |
