To Restore Harmony in the Being—The true object of education is to restore the image of God in the soul. In the beginning God created man in His own likeness. He endowed him with noble qualities. His mind was well balanced, and all the powers of his being were harmonious. But the fall and its effects have perverted these gifts. Sin has marred and well-nigh obliterated the image of God in man. It was to restore this that the plan of salvation was devised and a life of probation was granted to man. To bring him back to the perfection in which he was first created is the great object of life—the object that underlies every other. It is the work of parents and teachers, in the education of the youth, to cooperate with the divine purpose; and in so doing they are “laborers together with God.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, 595 (1890). {1MCP 359.2}

Alle evner skal udvikles. - Mennesker har fået alle deres åndelige, sjælelige og legemlige evner af Gud, for at de skal stræbe efter (360) at nå så langt som overhovedet muligt. Men vi skal ikke søge at nå dette høje mål blot for vor egen skyld. Vi skal ligne Gud, og hans fornemste karakteregenskab er kærlighed. Vi skal benytte hver eneste evne og egenskab, som Skaberen har skænket os, til hans ære og til menneskehedens højnelse. Når vi gør det, bruger vi vore evner på den reneste, ædleste og lykkeligste måde. - PP s. 310 (1890).