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Show READING OF HOVELS Arlicle by President Joseph F. Smith. A HARMFUL INFLUENCE Caused by Excessive H'udlugnf ('heap Liteiature A Valuable At tlclr Foi tho Young. The following I taken from the Juvenile Ju-venile Instructor editorial of Mar: It would be dlllkult to estimate harm ful Influence upon the thoughts, feelings and actions of tho young brought about by the ptactlce of leading dime novels. Bcoks constitute aott of. companionship companion-ship to overyone that reads? and they create within the heart feelings either for good or for bad. It fconictlmcs hap pens that parents aio very can-ful about ttio company which their children keep, and aro yet ytry indifferent about the hooks they tead. In the end the ad Ingof a bad book will bring about c II tmodates. It iccins to be tho purpose of om din.e novel literatutc to expose all the real and imaginary vices and crimes which beset nun in life. They feed a sort of morbid curiosity that becomes extreme-I) extreme-I) intoxicating, especially to the .toitlig, and they seem to have 3 pottoiinus in flm-ncc orr the minds of those who road them, so thallho adage is quit truo th:it "doo.l books enrich, lint books bewitch." be-witch." Tho rapid Introduction oi books and the increased habits, of reading read-ing an- matters that should affect tho discipline nnd concern cf every home With the increase of the iducatioual facilities there naturally comes an in-cicase in-cicase in the acquaintanceship with books, and if parents aro wise they wjli discriminate between the good and the had book in their homes just as they would discriminate between tho good and (ho bad companions for their daughters and sons. It Is not only tho boy who leads tills stiarjgetw)ltdjajgil,uiinutuial)yTCxciliiiK Irteraturc that 1 affected by its influence, in-fluence, Ini. in time ho influences other. Tills literature becomes the mother of all sorts of evil suggestions that ripen into evil practices and biiug about an unnatural and debased' feeling whlc)i is over crowding out Ihp M Kid ii. tho human heart and giving place to the bad. It was Shelley who mid that "Sirange thoughts beget strange deeds," ami when our children aro reading hooks that aro cieating itiauge and unusual un-usual and undesirable thnuxhls in their minds we need not bo surprised to Imrn that they have committed some unusual, un-usual, some strange, or unnatural act,1 It is in tho. thoughts and feelings that we have to combat the evils'and Temptations Temp-tations ol the world and the pui ideation of our thoughts and feelings should be made the Bpedal effort of every father and mother. Fuller once wrote; "It seeray my soul is like a filthy pond where lhh die oon and frogs live long." It is remarkable how easy it is to leain Bin and how hard it is to forget it. A story 1p told ol an English ofltcer in India, who, one day, went to the I wok shelf to lake down a book. As he reached his hand up over the volume hia linger was bitten by an adder. After a few hours the finger began to swell. a(er on the swelling went into Ids arm and finally the whole body was affected,' and in a fow das the oflicer was dead. There aro adders concealed in ma ) a cheap and trashy book, and they are always common in dime novels Their effects upon our souls aro poisonous, and in time thev are'sure.to ptoduca n nlota1 and spiritual death. The recent sensational sensa-tional development In Salt Lako City wherein n very young boy is believed to havo been involved In tho shedding of tho blood of his fellow man is not with- ..ii. Iftn ivfirnlmra (n iinrontn nvflrvivllfrtt. oui us warnings iu jmiemo evei.ywiii.-ic. Tho practice is pernicious and youth should bo guarded from It iis'lhey me guatded from thoso personal associates that often corrupt the lives of oui' young. Tho Idflupuce of these novels is all tho uioio dangerous because the feelings and heart and mind aro more or less hidden, ii'vJ the evil consequences consequenc-es of such reading frequently does not manifest itself until some overt and hurriable act is tho lCsuHs of months nnd sometimes years of imagination and wonderment. Let the Saints beware of tile books that enter their homes, for thetrinlluonces may bu as poisonous and death to (he English oflicer in India. |