"In childhood and youth the character is most impressible. The power of self-control should then be acquired. By the fireside and at the family board influences are exerted whose results are as enduring as eternity. More than any natural endowment, the habits established in early years decide whether a man will be victorious or vanquished in the battle of life. Youth is the sowing time. It determines the character of the harvest, for this life and for the life to come. DA 101.1"
"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
The EGW passage emphasizes the importance of early habits in shaping character and determining success in life, which directly reflects the principle in Proverbs 22:6 about training a child in the right way.
"As a prophet, John was “to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” In preparing the way for Christ's first advent, he was a representative of those who are to prepare a people for our Lord's second coming. The world is given to self- indulgence. Errors and fables abound. Satan's snares for destroying souls are multiplied. All who would perfect holiness in the fear of God must learn the lessons of temperance and self-control. The appetites and passions must be held in subjection to the higher powers of the mind. This self-discipline is essential to that mental strength and spiritual insight which will enable us to understand and to practice the sacred truths of God's word. For this reason temperance finds its place in the work of preparation for Christ's second coming. DA 101.2"
"And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."
EGW directly quotes Malachi 4:6 and applies it to John the Baptist's mission and the preparation for Christ's second coming, making it a clear explicit allusion.
"In the natural order of things, the son of Zacharias would have been educated for the priesthood. But the training of the rabbinical schools would have unfitted him for his work. God did not send him to the teachers of theology to learn how to interpret the Scriptures. He called him to the desert, that he might learn of nature and nature's God. DA 101.3"
"And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel."
EGW's statement directly elaborates on Luke 1:80, explaining *why* John was in the desert. It's more than a possible connection; it's an interpretation and expansion of the biblical text.
"But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ."
Both passages discuss receiving knowledge/training directly from God rather than through human institutions. While the contexts differ (John the Baptist vs. Paul), the underlying principle is similar.