At the creation, labor was appointed as a blessing. It meant development, power, happiness. The
changed condition of the earth through the curse of sin has brought a change in the conditions of
labor; yet though now attended with anxiety, weariness, and pain, it is still a source of happiness
and development. And it is a safeguard against temptation. Its discipline places a check on selfindulgence,
and promotes industry, purity, and firmness. Thus it becomes a part of God’s great plan
for our recovery from the Fall.
The youth [and others] should be led to see the true dignity of labor. Show them that God is a
constant worker. All things in nature do their allotted work. Action pervades the whole creation, and
in order to fulfill our mission we, too, must be active.
In our labor we are to be workers together with God. He gives us the earth and its treasures; but we
must adapt them to our use and comfort. He causes the trees to grow; but we prepare the timber and
build the house. He has hidden in the earth the gold and silver, the iron and coal; but it is only
through toil that we can obtain them….
While God has created and constantly controls all things, He has endowed us with a power not
wholly unlike His. To us has been given a degree of control over the forces of nature. As God called
forth the earth in its beauty out of chaos, so we can bring order and beauty out of confusion. And
though all things are now marred with evil, yet in our completed work we feel a joy akin to His
when, looking on the fair earth, He pronounced it “very good.”
As a rule, the exercise most beneficial to the youth will be found in useful employment. The little
children find both diversion and development in play; and their sports should be such as to promote
not only physical, but mental and spiritual growth. As they gain strength and intelligence, the best
recreation will be found in some line of effort that is useful. That which trains the hand to
helpfulness, and teaches the young to bear their share of life’s burdens, is most effective in
promoting the growth of mind and character.—Education, 214, 215.