No effort should be spared to establish a right habit of study. If the mind wanders, bring it back. If the intellectual and moral taste has been perverted by the overwrought and exciting tales of fiction, ... then you have a battle to fight with yourself to overcome this depraved habit.... We are surrounded by unbelief. The very atmosphere seems charged with it. Only by constant effort can we resist its power.... I appeal to young and old: Make the Word of God your textbook. Here you will find the true standard of character.... (OHC 205.3) MC VC

Books from the pens of infidels should have no place in the libraries of those who would serve God. They will make better kindling material for your stove than food for the mind. Infidel books have been a cause of ruin to many souls. Men have studied these books of Satan′s inspiration, and they have become confused in regard to what was truth. Satan stands at the side of him who opens an infidel book, and he will educate the mind that peruses such literature, and so bewitch the soul that it will be almost impossible to break the infatuation. Let no believer flatter himself that his mountain standeth sure, and that he will never be moved away from his position of faith. (OHC 276.3) MC VC