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"Whenever possible, it is the duty of parents to make homes in the country for their children."{AH 141.1}
"So long as God gives me power to speak to our people, I shall continue to call upon parents to leave the cities and get homes in the country, where they can cultivate the soil and learn from the book of nature the lessons of purity and simplicity. The things of nature are the Lord's silent ministers, given to us to teach us spiritual truths. They speak to us of the love of God and declare the wisdom of the great Master Artist."{AH 146.3}
"I love the beautiful flowers. They are memories of Eden, pointing to the blessed country into which, if faithful, we shall soon enter. The Lord is leading my mind to the health-giving properties of the flowers and trees." {AH 147.1}
"Fathers and mothers who possess a piece of land and a comfortable home are kings and queens." {AH 141.2}
"Do not consider it a privation when you are called to leave the cities and move out into the country places. Here there await rich blessings for those who will grasp them. {AH 141.3}
Contributes to Economic Security.
"Again and again the Lord has instructed that our people are to take their families away from the cities, into the country, where they can raise their own provisions; for in the future the problem of buying and selling will be a very serious one. We should now begin to heed the instruction given us over and over again: Get out of the cities into rural districts, where the houses are not crowded closely together, and where you will be free from the interference of enemies. (For further detailed counsel on this topic see Country Living.) {AH 141.4}
Advice to a City Dweller.
"It would be well for you to lay by your perplexing cares and find a retreat in the country, where there is not so strong an influence to corrupt the morals of the young. True, you would not be entirely free from annoyances and perplexing cares in the country; but you would there avoid many evils and close the door against a flood of temptations which threaten to overpower the minds of your children. They need employment and variety. The sameness of their home makes them uneasy and restless, and they have fallen into the habit of mingling with the vicious lads of the town, thus obtaining a street education. . . . {AH 141.5}
"To live in the country would be very beneficial to them; an active, out-of-door life would develop health of both mind and body. They should have a garden to cultivate, where they might find both amusement and useful employment. The training of plants and flowers tends to the improvement of taste and judgment, while an acquaintance with God's useful and beautiful creations has a refining and ennobling influence upon the mind, referring it to the Maker and Master of all. {AH 142.1}
"Rich Blessings Assured Country Dwellers.--The earth has blessings hidden in her depths for those who have courage and will and perseverance to gather her treasures. . . . Many farmers have failed to secure adequate returns from their land because they have undertaken the work as though it was a degrading employment; they do not see that there is a blessing in it for themselves and their families. {AH 142.2}
Labor That Will Quicken the Mind, Refine the Character.
"In the cultivation of the soil the thoughtful worker will find that treasures little dreamed of are opening up before him. No one can succeed in agriculture or gardening without attention to the laws involved. The special needs of every variety of plant must be studied. Different varieties require different soil and cultivation, and compliance with the laws governing each is the condition of success. The attention required in transplanting, that not even a root fiber shall be crowded or misplaced, the care of the young plants, the pruning and watering, the shielding from frost at night and sun by day, keeping out weeds, disease, and insect pests, the training and arranging, not only teach important lessons concerning the development of character, but the work itself is a means of development. In cultivating carefulness, patience, attention to detail, obedience to law, it imparts a most essential training. The constant contact with the mystery of life and the loveliness of nature, as well as the tenderness called forth in ministering to these beautiful objects of God's creation, tends to quicken the mind and refine and elevate the character. {AH 142.3}
God Will Instruct and Teach.
"He who taught Adam and Eve in Eden how to tend the garden would instruct men today. There is wisdom for him who holds the plow and plants and sows the seed. The earth has its concealed treasures, and the Lord would have thousands and tens of thousands working upon the soil who are crowded into the cities to watch for a chance to earn a trifle. . . . Those who will take their families into the country place them where they have fewer temptations. The children who are with parents that love and fear God are in every way much better situated to learn of the Great Teacher, who is the source and fountain of wisdom. They have a much more favorable opportunity to gain a fitness for the kingdom of heaven. {AH 143.1}
God's Plan for Israel's Land.
"Through disobedience to God Adam and Eve had lost Eden, and because of sin the whole earth was cursed. But if God's people followed His instruction, their land would be restored to fertility and beauty. God Himself gave them directions in regard to the culture of the soil, and they were to co-operate with Him in its restoration. Thus the whole land, under God's control, would become an object lesson of spiritual truth. As in obedience to His natural laws the earth should produce its treasures, so in obedience to His moral law the hearts of the people were to reflect the attributes of His character. {AH 143.2}
Find Spiritual Lessons in Daily Living.
"God has surrounded us with nature's beautiful scenery to attract and interest the mind. It is His design that we should associate the glories of nature with His character. If we faithfully study the book of nature, we shall find it a fruitful source for contemplating the infinite love and power of God. {AH 144.1}
"In the Bible the inheritance of the saved is called a country. There the heavenly Shepherd leads His flock to fountains of living waters. The tree of life yields its fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree are for the service of the nations. There are ever-flowing streams, clear as crystal, and beside them waving trees cast their shadows upon the paths prepared for the ransomed of the Lord. There the widespreading plains swell into hills of beauty, and the mountains of God rear their lofty summits. On those peaceful plains, beside those living streams, God's people, so long pilgrims and wanderers, shall find a home. {AH 542.1}
"My people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places." Isa. 32:18. "Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise." Isa. 60:18. "They shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: . . . mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands." Isa. 65:21, 22. {FLB 368.4}
There, "the wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose." Isa. 35:1. "Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree." Isa. 55:13. "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; . . . and a little child shall lead them." Isa. 11:6. {FLB 368)
"If the poor now crowded into the cities could find homes upon the land, they might not only earn a livelihood, but find health and happiness now unknown to them. Hard work, simple fare, close economy, often hardship and privation, would be their lot. But what a blessing would be theirs in leaving the city, with its enticements to evil, its turmoil and crime, misery and foulness, for the country's quiet and peace and purity. {CL 19.1}
"Believers who are now living in the cities will have to move to the country, [color=red]that they may save their children from ruin[/color]. Attention must be given to the establishment of industries in which these families can find employment. Those who have charge of the school-work at ----- and ----- should see what can be done by these institutions to establish such industries, so that our people desiring to leave the cities, can obtain modest homes without a large outlay of means, and can also find employment. In both ----- and ----- there are favorable and encouraging features for the development of this plan. Study what these features are. {CL 19.4}
"Get out of the cities as soon as possible and purchase a little piece of land where you can have a garden, where your children can watch the flowers growing and learn from them lessons of simplicity and purity.--2SM 356 (1903). {LDE 95.1}
"Out of the cities, is my message at this time. Be assured that the call is for our people to locate miles away from the large cities. One look at San Francisco as it is today would speak to your intelligent minds, showing you the necessity of getting out of the cities. . . . {LDE 95.2}
The Lord calls for His people to locate away from the cities, for in such an hour as ye think not, fire and brimstone will be rained from heaven upon these cities. Proportionate to their sins will be their visitation. When one city is destroyed, let not our people regard this matter as a light affair, and think that they may, if favorable opportunity offers, build themselves homes in that same destroyed city. . . . {LDE 95.3}
"Let all who would understand the meaning of these things read the eleventh chapter of Revelation. Read every verse, and learn the things that are yet to take place in the cities. Read also the scenes portrayed in the eighteenth chapter of the same book.--MR 1518 (May 10, 1906). {LDE 95.4}
"Fathers and mothers who possess a piece of land and a comfortable home are kings and queens.--AH 141 (1894). {LDE 96.1}
Cities to Be Worked From Outposts
"As God's commandment-keeping people we must leave the cities. As did Enoch, we must work in the cities but not dwell in them.--Ev 77, 78 (1899). {LDE 96.2}
"
The cities are to be worked from outposts. Said the messenger of God, "Shall not the cities be warned? Yes, not by God's people living in them but by their visiting them, to warn them of what is coming upon the earth."--2SM 358 (1902). {LDE 96.3}
"For years I have been given special light that we are not to center our work in the cities. The turmoil and confusion that fill these cities, the conditions brought about by the labor unions and the strikes, would prove a great hindrance to our work.--7T 84 (1902). {LDE 96.4}
"When iniquity abounds in a nation there is always to be heard some voice giving warning and instruction, as the voice of Lot was heard in Sodom. Yet Lot could have preserved his family from many evils had he not made his home in this wicked, polluted city. All that Lot and his family did in Sodom could have been done by them even if they had lived in a place some distance away from the city.--Ev 78 (1903). {LDE 96.5}
"For the present, some will be obliged to labor in Chicago, but these should be preparing working centers in rural districts from which to work the city. The Lord would have His people looking about them and securing humble, inexpensive places as centers for their work. And from time to time larger places will come to their notice, which they will be able to secure at a surprisingly low price.--Ev 402 (1906). {LDE 96.6}
Rich Blessings in a Natural Environment
"We say again, "Out of the cities." Do not consider it a great deprivation that you must go into the hills and mountains, but seek for that retirement where you can be alone with God, to learn His will and way. . . . {LDE 97.1}
"I urge our people to make it their lifework to seek for spirituality. Christ is at the door. This is why I say to our people, "Do not consider it a privation when you are called to leave the cities and move out into the country places. Here there await rich blessings for those who will grasp them. By beholding the scenes of nature, the works of the Creator, by studying God's handiwork, imperceptibly you will be changed into the same image."--2SM 355, 356 (1908). {LDE 97.2}
Character Development
Easier in the Country
"Parents flock with their families to the cities because they fancy it easier to obtain a livelihood there than in the country. The children, having nothing to do when not in school, obtain a street education. From evil associates they acquire habits of vice and dissipation.--5T 232 (1882). {LDE 97.3}
"Send the children to schools located in the city, where every phase of temptation is waiting to attract and demoralize them, and the work of character building is tenfold harder for both parents and children.--FE 326 (1894). {LDE 98.1}
"The cities are filled with temptation. We should plan our work in such a way as to keep our young people as far as possible from this contamination.--AH 136 (1902). {LDE 98.2}
"It is time for our people to take their families from the cities into more retired localities, else many of the youth, and many also of those older in years, will be ensnared and taken by the enemy.--8T 101 (1904). {LDE 98.3}
"There is not one family in a hundred who will be improved physically, mentally, or spiritually, by residing in the city. Faith, hope, love, happiness, can far better be gained in retired places, where there are fields and hills and trees. Take your children away from the sights and sounds of the city, away from the rattle and din of streetcars and teams, and their minds will become more healthy. It will be found easier to bring home to their hearts the truth of the Word of God.--AH 137 (1905). {LDE 98.4}
Better Physical Health in Rural Environment
"It is not God's will that His people shall settle in the cities, where there is constant turmoil and confusion. Their children should be spared this, for the whole system is demoralized by the hurry and rush and noise.--2SM 357 (1902). {LDE 98.5}
"To many of those living in the cities who have not a spot of green grass to set their feet upon, who year after year have looked out upon filthy courts and narrow alleys, brick walls and pavements and skies clouded with dust and smoke--if these could be taken to some farming district, surrounded with the green fields, the woods and hills and brooks, the clear skies and the fresh, pure air of the country, it would seem almost like heaven.--MH 191, 192 (1905). {LDE 99.1}
"The physical surroundings in the cities are often a peril to health. The constant liability to contact with disease, the prevalence of foul air, impure water, impure food, the crowded, dark, unhealthful dwellings, are some of the many evils to be met. It was not God's purpose that people should be crowded into cities, huddled together in terraces and tenements.--MH 365 (1905). {LDE 99.2}
Raise Your Own Provisions
"The Lord desires His people to move into the country, where they can settle on the land, and raise their own fruit and vegetables, and where their children can be brought in direct contact with the works of God in nature. Take your families away from the cities, is my message.--2SM 357, 358 (1902). {LDE 99.3}
"Again and again the Lord has instructed that our people are to take their families away from the cities, into the country, where they can raise their own provisions, for in the future the problem of buying and selling will be a very serious one. We should now begin to heed the instruction given us over and over again: Get out of the cities into rural districts, where the houses are not crowded closely together, and where you will be free from the interference of enemies.--2SM 141 (1904). {LDE 99.4}
Locate Institutions
"Just Out From the Large Cities"
"Let men of sound judgment be appointed, not to publish abroad their intentions, but to search for such properties in the rural districts, in easy access to the cities, suitable for small training schools for workers, and where facilities may also be provided for treating the sick and weary souls who know not the truth. Look for such places just out from the large cities, where suitable buildings may be secured, either as a gift from the owners or purchased at a reasonable price by the gifts of our people. Do not erect buildings in the noisy cities.--Ev 77 (1909). {LDE 100.1}
Hoping that all the people of God will locate their families away from the cities before the great storm shall come, and since God has a requirements for us to reach the perfection of character and be a part of those who will receive the outpouring of the latter rain. It would be 20 times harder to form a character needed for our preparation if we continue to leave in the cities. Indeed our souls will surely suffer especially of our children if we don't take sacrificies and move to the country as soon as provision allows.
