Exercise
109
a bearing upon the others, and all need to be exercised in order to be
properly developed. If one muscle of the body is exercised more than
another, the one used will become much the larger, and will destroy
the harmony and beauty of the development of the system. A variety
of exercise will call into use all the muscles of the body.—
Testimonies
for the Church 3:77, 78
.
563. It is not good policy to give up the use of certain muscles
because pain is felt when they are exercised. The pain is frequently
caused by the effort of nature to give life and vigor to those parts that
have become partially lifeless through inaction. The motion of these
long disused muscles will cause pain, because nature is awakening
them to life.—
Testimonies for the Church 3:78
.
564. Exercise, to be of decided advantage to you, should be sys-
tematized, and brought to bear upon the debilitated organs that they
may become strengthened by use.—
Testimonies for the Church 3:76
.
Useful Labor
565. When useful labor is combined with study, there is no need
of gymnastic exercises; and much more benefit is derived from work
performed in the open air than from indoor exercise. The farmer and
[129]
the mechanic each have physical exercise; yet the farmer is much
the healthier of the two, for nothing short of the invigorating air and
sunshine will fully meet the wants of the system. The former finds in
his labor all the movements that were ever practised in the gymnasium.
And his movement room is the open fields; the canopy of heaven is its
roof, the solid earth is its floor.—
The Signs of the Times, August 26,
1886
.
566. Brethren, when you take time to cultivate your gardens, thus
gaining the exercise needed to keep the system in good working order,
you are just as much doing the work of God as in holding meetings.—
Gospel Workers, 174
.
567. If work is performed without the heart’s being in it, it is
simply drudgery, and the benefit which should result from the exercise
is not gained.—
The Health Reformer, May 1, 1873
.