I would remind the youth who ornament their persons and wear feathers upon their hats that, because of their sins, our Saviour’s head wore the shameful crown of thorns. When you devote precious time to trimming your apparel, remember that the King of glory wore a plain, seamless coat. You who weary yourselves in decorating your persons, please bear in mind that Jesus was often weary from incessant toil and self-denial and self-sacrifice to bless the suffering and needy. He spent whole nights in prayer upon the lonely mountains, not because of His weakness and His necessities, but because He saw, He felt, the weakness of your natures to resist the temptations of the enemy upon the very points where you are now overcome. He knew that you would be indifferent in regard to your dangers and would not feel your need of prayer. It was on our account that He poured out His prayers to His Father with strong cries and tears. It was to save us from the very pride and love of vanity and pleasure which we now indulge, and which crowds out the love of Jesus, that those tears were shed and that our Saviour’s visage was marred with sorrow and anguish more than any of the sons of men. {3T 379.2}

[Jeg vil minde de unge, der pynter sig og sætter fjer i hatten, om, at det var på grund af deres synder, vor frelsers hoved bar den forsmædelige tornekrone. Når I ofrer kostbar tid på at pynte på jeres tøj, husk da, at ærens konge bar en enkel kjortel uden sammensyninger. I, som arbejder jer trætte på at pynte jer selv, bedes have i tanke, at Jesus ofte var træt på grund af uafbrudt arbejde, selvfornægtelse og selvopofrelse for at kunne velsigne de lidende og trængende.] Han brugte hele nætter i bøn på ensomme bjerge, ikke på grund af hans svaghed og fornødenheder, men fordi han så og mærkede jeres naturlige svagheder mod fjendens fristelser, på de punkter hvor I nu overvindes. Han vidste at I ville være ligegyldige med hensyn til jeres farer og ville ikke føle jeres behov for bøn. [Det var for vor skyld, at han med høje råb og tårer opsendte sine bønner til sin Fader. Det var for at frelse os fra netop den stolthed og lyst til forfængelighed og fornøjelser, vi nu hengiver os til og som fortrænger Jesu kærlighed, (380) at disse tårer blev udgydt og at vor frelsers ansigt blev mere skæmmet af sorg og kval end nogen andres. Barnet i hjemmet side 405-406]