Article March 13, 1976 Issue

To My Daughters

Our talk the other night, about the many moral issues you face nowadays, has given me a lot to think about. You need to be sure that you've really been the ones to establish your set of values, or else you won't be able to support them fully. A quick, pat answer from me won't do it. Only inspired, freshly-thought-out conviction on your part is enough, because you're facing a barrage of peer pressures and "logical" rationalizations, with matter-based nonmorality demanding acceptance.

Everything in the human scene is based on changing mortal opinions. What seemed right yesterday may not be right today. But don't we all need a stable base to our lives? Eternal, unvarying laws to live by are beautifully satisfying when we gain the bigger-than-self view of man. Then we perceive the deeper significance of our actions, and recognize that we'll never find lasting satisfaction in a merely sensual or an immoral act.

Most young people are really trying to find a yardstick to measure values and ideals. But human trying isn't enough—it's too human! Mrs. Eddy says, "If mortal mind knew how to be better, it would be better." Science and Health, p. 186; You know from your own friendships that people generally want to do their best. But something more is needed, and here's what I think that "something more" is. Fill your thought with divine good. (This will counteract the mental vacuum that invites sensuality.) Live this divine good in every possible way—expressing charity, creativity, integrity, purity, wisdom—every good quality.

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