are given as a sacred trust, that
in maturer years he may be the means of giving life to those who shall live
forever.

12. "Impress upon him that if these organs are abused, or if they are put
to any use besides that for which God made them--and He did not intend they
should be used at all until man is fully grown--they will bring disease and
ruin upon those who abuse and disobey the laws which God has made to govern
them. If he has ever learned to handle his _sexual organs_, or to touch
them in any way except to keep them clean, not to do it again. If he does
he will not grow up happy, healthy and strong.

13. "Teach him that when he handles or excites the {393} sexual organs all
parts of the body suffer, because they are connected by nerves that run
throughout the system; this is why it is called 'self-abuse.' The whole
body is abused when this part of the body is handled or excited in any
manner whatever. Teach them to shun all children who indulge in this
loathsome habit, or all children who talk about these things. The sin is
terrible, and is, in fact, worse than lying or stealing. For, although
these are wicked and will ruin their souls, yet this habit of self-abuse
will ruin both soul and body.

14. "If the sexual organs are handled, it brings too much blood to these
parts, and this produces a diseased condition; it also causes disease in
other organs of the body, because they are left with a less amount of blood
than they ought to have. The sexual organs, too, are very closely connected
with the spine and the brain by means of the nerves, and if they are
handled, or if you keep thinking about them, these nerves get excited and
become exhausted, and this makes the back ache, the brain heavy and the
whole body weak.

15. "It lays the foundation for consumption, paralysis and heart disease.
It weakens the memory, makes a boy careless, negligent and listless. It
even makes many lose their minds; others, when grown, commit suicide. How
often mothers see their little boys handling themselves, and let it pass,
because they think the boy will outgrow the habit, and do not realize the
strong hold it has upon them. I say to you who love your boys--'Watch!'

16. "Don't think it does no harm to your boy because he does not suffer
now, for the effects of this vice come on so slowly that the victim is
often very near death before you realize that he has done himself harm. The
boy with no knowledge of the consequences, an