“There is no book from the perusal of which the mind is so much elevated and strengthened and expanded as the Bible.  And there is nothing that will so endow with new vigor all our faculties as bringing them in contact with stupendous truths of the Word of God, and setting the mind to grasp and measure those truths.”  2MR:244 (1900); DG:80.5.

 

“And He tells us the world did not know Him.  And why?  Because the cares of this world occupy all the faculties of the mind.  The affections are centered just where the mind is.  So notwithstanding the love of God that was manifested for us, notwithstanding He did not withhold His Only Begotten Son that our affections might be centered on things above, notwithstanding all the Sacrifice that has been made for the fallen race, notwithstanding He has placed before each of us a crown of immortality that shall not fade away, that He has promised us a place where Christ and angels shall meet us, notwithstanding there is an eternal weight of glory waiting the faithful; yet notwithstanding all this, for the fleeting pleasures of this earth, the world throws away these things of eternal interest.”  2SAT:48.4.

 

“When the mind of man is brought into communion with the mind of God, the finite with the Infinite, the effect on body and mind and soul is beyond estimate.  In such communion is found the highest education.”  AA:126.1.

 

“Wherever an influence is exerted to cause men to forget God, there Satan is exercising his bewitching power.  When men yield to his influence, ere they are aware the mind is bewildered and the soul polluted.”  AA:290.2.

 

“The habit of sitting up late at night is customary; but it is not pleasing to God, even if you are both Christians.  These untimely hours injure health, unfit the mind for the next day's duties, and have an appearance of evil.”  AH:56.1.

 

How can the carnal mind harmonize with the mind that is assimilated to the mind of Christ?  One is sowing to the flesh, thinking and acting in accordance with the promptings of his own heart; the other is sowing to the Spirit, seeking to repress selfishness, to overcome inclination, and to live in obedience to the Master, whose servant he professes to be.  Thus there is a perpetual difference of taste, of inclination, and of purpose.”  AH:84.1.

 

“The mind is so constituted that it must be occupied with either good or evil.  If it takes a low level, it is generally because it is left to deal with common-place subjects -- unimportant matters, -- not being called out and reined up to grasp those grand and elevated truths which are as enduring as eternity.  The understanding will gradually adapt itself to the subjects with which it is familiarized.  Man has the power to regulate and control the workings of the mind, and give direction to the current of his thoughts.  But this requires greater effort than we can make in our own strength.  We must stay our minds on God, if we would have right thoughts, and proper subjects for meditation.

 

“Few realize that it is a duty to exercise control over their thoughts and imaginations.  It is difficult to keep the undisciplined mind fixed upon profitable subjects.  But if the thoughts are not properly employed, religion cannot flourish in the soul.  The mind must be pre-occupied with sacred and eternal things, or it will cherish trifling and superficial thoughts.  Both the intellectual and the moral powers must be disciplined, and they will strengthen and improve by exercise.”  RH, January 4, 1881; AG:258 (1973); OHC:111 (1961).

 

Just Getting Started.