Now, here I have a glass of water and a bottle of ink. If I take and pour a half a teaspoonful of this water into the ink, it makes no particular difference in its color. But if I take only two or three drops of ink and mix them with the water, it discolors the entire glass of water at once. One or two good boys in the midst of many bad ones are likely to be influenced in a bad direction. This is especially true if the good boys have sought the bad boys as companions. Even one or two bad boys, placed in the midst of several good boys, may exert a very bad influence over them. I suppose you have all seen this illustrated in the school room. You may have had a set of good boys, or a set of good girls in your class, but some day a bad boy came to the school, or a bad girl joined the class and they were frivolous, laughed and talked and were disorderly, disobeyed the teacher, played truant and did all kinds of naughtiness when in school, and it had its bad effect upon the entire class, and sometimes even upon the entire school. The text teaches us that we should avoid such foolish boys and foolish girls; boys and girls who do not obey God or revere the Bible, who do not listen to their consciences, nor do that which is right. Such should be avoided at all times, and in choosing our companions, we should always prefer those who will have an influence for good upon us socially, intellectually and morally. The influence of bad companions will tend to destroy all our best interests physically, by leading to every kind of vice and evil; destroy us financially, by causing us to be inattentive to our work, causing us to prefer idleness and pleasure to labor and usefulness; destroy us morally, by making light of the teachings of the Bible, the importance of the Sunday-school and of the Church, the authority of father and mother and the wisdom of what they teach and require of us. But in addition to all this, we should remember that those who are our companions upon earth, will be our companions in the world to come. If we go with the wicked and the profane here, we shall dwell with them forever in the world to come. If we desire to go to heaven and to be forever with those who are good and righteous, pure and holy; if we desire to be happy for ever and ever in the world to come, we must choose as our companions here, those who are living not for this present fleeting life, but who are living for the glory of God and who are trusting sincerely in Jesus Christ for everlasting salvation. May God help us all to be wise and to walk with the wise, and not to be foolish and choose fools as our companions, both for time and eternity.