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Based on the writings of Ellen White, she did not approve of playing chess. She categorized it with other amusements that she believed were not beneficial and could lead to negative influences. She wrote, "There are amusements, such as dancing, card playing, chess, checkers, etc., which we cannot approve, because Heaven condemns them. These amusements open the door for great evil. They are not beneficial in their tendency, but have an exciting influence, producing in some minds a passion for those plays which lead to gambling and dissipation. All such plays should be condemned by Christians, and something perfectly harmless should be substituted in their place" (CT 346).

Based on her writings, Ellen White's counsel is that Christians should not play chess. She explained her reasoning in the same passage previously mentioned: "There are amusements, such as dancing, card playing, chess, checkers, etc., which we cannot approve, because Heaven condemns them. These amusements open the door for great evil. They are not beneficial in their tendency, but have an exciting influence, producing in some minds a passion for those plays which lead to gambling and dissipation." She advised that "All such plays should be condemned by Christians, and something perfectly harmless should be substituted in their place" (CT 346). Her concern was that such games were not harmless and could lead away from spiritual focus and toward negative influences.

No, based on Ellen White's counsel, chess would not be appropriate to include in sports activities for youth. As mentioned earlier, she specifically stated: "There are amusements, such as dancing, card playing, chess, checkers, etc., which we cannot approve, because Heaven condemns them" (CT 346). She recommended that "All such plays should be condemned by Christians, and something perfectly harmless should be substituted in their place" (CT 346). Her writings on recreation and sports for youth emphasize activities that are beneficial rather than merely entertaining. She wrote that the tendency of most athletic sports is a subject of anxious thought to those who have at heart the well-being of the youthbecause "The games that occupy so much of his time are diverting the mind from study. They are not helping to prepare the youth for practical, earnest work in life. Their influence does not tend toward refinement, generosity, or real manliness" (Ed 210.2). Instead of games like chess, Ellen White advocated for recreation that combines physical activity with useful purpose. She taught that As a rule, the exercise most beneficial to the youth will be found in useful employmentand "the best recreation will be found in some line of effort that is useful. That which trains the hand to helpfulness, and teaches the young to bear their share of life's burdens, is most effective in promoting the growth of mind and character" (Ed 215.1). While she acknowledged that youth need recreation and should not be bound by overly rigid rules—advising parents and teachers to "provide in their stead innocent pleasures, which will not taint or corrupt the morals" (CCh 161)—chess was not among the activities she considered innocent or beneficial. --- 💡 **You might also want to explore:** • What types of recreation did Ellen White recommend as beneficial for youth? • What did she say about the balance between physical exercise and mental development? • How should parents and teachers guide youth in choosing appropriate activities? --- 📚 **thousands of passages found** containing these search terms — [Explore in Full-Text Search](/advanced-search?q=But+is+it+okay+to+include+it+in+sports+activities+for+the+youth%3F)

I understand your question about chess being mental exercise and whether basketball falls under the same category. Let me clarify Ellen White's perspective on this important distinction. **Ellen White's concern with chess was not about mental exercise itself, but about the *type* of mental activity and its purpose.** Her writings reveal that she valued mental exercise highly—but she emphasized that both mental and physical activity should be directed toward *useful* purposes rather than mere amusement. ## The Key Distinction: Useful vs. Merely Entertaining Ellen White taught that "Exercise should be taken, not in play and amusement merely to please self, but exercise that will teach the science of doing good" (YI April 7, 1898, par. 6). This is the crucial principle: she wasn't against mental or physical exercise, but against activities that were purely for entertainment without productive purpose. She explained that "There are plenty of necessary, useful things to do in our world that would make the pleasure amusement exercise almost wholly unnecessary. Brain, bone, and muscle will acquire solidity and strength in using them to a purpose, doing good, hard thinking, and devising plans which shall train them to develop powers of intellect and strength of the physical organs" (CCh 161.6). ## Her Counsel on Physical Sports Like Basketball Regarding athletic games like basketball and football, Ellen White expressed similar concerns. She wrote: "What force of powers is put into your games of football and your other inventions after the way of the Gentiles—exercises which bless no one! Just put the same powers into exercise in doing useful labor, and would not your record be more pleasing to meet in the great day of God?" (SpTEd 191.1). Notice her reasoning: these games require significant energy and effort, but they "bless no one" in terms of productive outcome. She wasn't saying physical exercise is wrong—quite the opposite. She taught that "The time spent in physical exercise is not lost. A proportionate exercise of all the organs and faculties of the body is essential to the best work of each" (CCh 160.7). ## What She Recommended Instead Her alternative was combining mental and physical work in *useful* labor. She explained: "The mind thus educated to enjoy physical taxation in practical life becomes enlarged, and through culture and training, well disciplined and richly furnished for usefulness, and acquires a knowledge essential to be a help and blessing to themselves and to others" (SpTEd 191.1). She advocated that "If one-third of the time now occupied in the study of books, using the mental machinery, were occupied in learning lessons in regard to the right use of one's own physical powers, it would be much more after the Lord's order" (13MR 254). This physical work should be productive: "Students who think that education consists only in book study never make a right use of their hands. They should be taught to do the work that thousands of hands are never educated to do" (YI April 7, 1898, par. 6). ## The Bottom Line So to answer your question directly: **Both chess and basketball fall under the same category in Ellen White's counsel**—activities that exercise the mind or body but lack productive purpose. Her concern wasn't that chess exercises the mind or that basketball exercises the body, but that both are "amusements" rather than "useful labor." She taught that the same mental and physical energy could be better invested in work that develops skills, serves others, and accomplishes something lasting. Her ideal was education that prepared students "for the best performance of all the duties of life" (CCh 168), combining mental and physical development through productive work rather than games. --- 💡 **You might also want to explore:** • What specific types of recreation did Ellen White approve of for youth? • What did she say about the balance between study, work, and rest? • How did she counsel parents and teachers to guide youth in choosing activities?