Sentimentalism to Be Shunned as Leprosy.--Imagination, lovesick 
sentimentalism, should be guarded against as would be the leprosy. Very many 
of the young men and women in this age of the world are lacking in virtue; 
therefore great caution is needed. . . . Those who have preserved a virtuous 
character, although they may lack in other desirable qualities, may be of 
real moral worth. {AH 51.4}
     There are persons who have for some time made a profession of religion 
who are, to all intents and purposes, without God and without a sensitive 
conscience. They are vain and trifling; their conversation is of a low 
order.
                                                                             
52
Courtship and marriage occupy the mind, to the exclusion of higher and 
nobler thoughts. {AH 51.5}

     The young are bewitched with the mania for courtship and marriage. 
Lovesick sentimentalism prevails. Great vigilance and tact are needed to 
guard the youth from these wrong influences. {AH 52.1}

     Daughters are not taught self-denial and self-control. They are petted, 
and their pride is fostered. They are allowed to have their own way, until 
they become headstrong and self-willed, and you are put to your wits' end to 
know what course to pursue to save them from ruin. Satan is leading them on 
to be a proverb in the mouth of unbelievers because of their boldness, their 
lack of reserve and womanly modesty. The young boys are likewise left to 
have their own way. They have scarcely entered their teens before they are 
by the side of little girls of their own age, accompanying them home and 
making love to them. And the parents are so completely in bondage through 
their own indulgence and mistaken love for their children that they dare not 
pursue a  decided course to make a change and restrain their too-fast 
children in this fast age. {AH 52.2}