The question to be settled by you is: “Am I raising a family of children to strengthen the influence and swell the ranks of the powers of darkness, or am I bringing up children for Christ?” If you do not govern your children and mold their characters to meet the requirements of God, then the fewer children there are to suffer from your defective training the better it will be for you, their parents, and the better it will be for society. Unless children can be trained and disciplined from their babyhood by a wise and judicious mother, who is conscientious and intelligent, and who rules her household in the fear of the Lord, molding and shaping their characters to meet the standard of righteousness, it is a sin to increase your family. God has given you reason, and He requires you to use it. {5T 323.2}

Det spørgsmål I må bringe i orden er: "Opdrager jeg en børnefamilie der styrker indflydelsen fra og øger rækkerne hos mørkets kræfter, eller opdrager jeg børn for Kristus?" Hvis I ikke behersker jeres børn og danner deres karakter, imødekommer Guds krav, så er der færre børn der skal lide under jeres mangelfulde opdragelse og jo bedre vil det være for jer, deres forældre og des bedre vil det være for samfundet. Hvis børn ikke kan oplæres og opdrages fra deres tidligste barndom af en klog og skønsom moder, som (324) er samvittighedsfuld og som hersker sit hjem i frygt for Herren, former og danner deres karakter til at imødekomme retfærdighedens standard, så vil det være en synd at forøge jeres familie. Gud har givet jer fornuften og han kræver at I skal bruge den.