School of the Prophets 20 - Jeremiah Davis & Moses Mason (Atlanta 2013)

"... Further provision was made for the instruction of the young, by the establishment of the schools of the prophets. If a youth desired to search deeper into the truths of the word of God, and to seek wisdom from above, that he might become a teacher in Israel, these schools were open to him. The schools of the prophets were founded by Samuel, to serve as a barrier against the wide-spread corruption, to provide for the moral and spiritual welfare of the youth, and to promote the future prosperity of the nation by furnishing it with men qualified to act in the fear of God as leaders and counselors. In the accomplishment of this object, Samuel gathered companies of young men who were pious, intelligent, and studious.

These were called the sons of the prophets. As they communed with God, and studied his word and his works, wisdom from above was added to their natural endowments. The instructors were men not only well versed in divine truth, but those who had themselves enjoyed communion with God, and had received the special endowment of his Spirit. They enjoyed the respect and confidence of the people, both for learning and for piety. {CE 61.1}

In Samuel's day there were two of these schools, --one at Ramah, the home of the prophet, and the other at Kirjathjearim, where the ark then was. Others were established in later times. {CE 61.2}

The pupils of these schools sustained themselves by their own labor in tilling the soil or in some mechanical employment. In Israel this was not thought strange or degrading; indeed, it was regarded a crime to allow children to grow up in ignorance of useful labor. By the command of God, every child was taught some trade, even though he was to be educated for holy office. Many of the religious teachers supported themselves by manual labor. Even so late as the time of the apostles, Paul and Aquila were no less honored because they earned a livelihood by their trade of tent-making. [62] {CE 61.3}

The chief subje..