2012-7-28 Remember the Sabbath Day
It is sometimes difficult for people, particularly
youth, to feel gratitude for the Sabbath day.
These people associate the day with rules and restrictions rather a
blessing from our loving Heavenly Father.
When we understand that Heavenly Father commanded us to keep the Sabbath
day holy for our own good, we will be more able to see that honoring the Lord
on the Sabbath day brings blessings to us.
Then we will be more able to enjoy the Sabbath and be grateful for it
The Sabbath is a day of rest and worship and is a
blessing in the lives of all who remember the sacredness of the day. Eli Herring was a football player on the
Springville (Utah
Several universities invited Eli to play for them
after high school, but he chose to attend Brigham Young
University United States
As Eli realized that he had a good chance at a
career playing professional football, he thought about how much he would enjoy
it and how much money he could make. But
he also realized that as a professional football player, he would have to play
football on the Sabbath.
Eli knew he could do good things with the money
he could earn as a professional football player. He could pay his children's college and
mission expenses; he could go on missions with his wife; he could do whatever
he wanted after his football career was over without worrying about money.
As Eli struggled to make his decision, he
remembered reading about Erroll Bennett.
When Erroll joined the Church, he decided to stop playing soccer on
Sunday, even though he was a top soccer star in Tahiti
and not playing on Sunday would mean he would have to quit his team. Eli Herring was very impressed by Erroll
Bennett. Eli said, "I knew I wanted
to be a man like that, with that kind of commitment and dedication to what I knew
was right."
Eli's parents and wife let him know they would
support him in whatever he decided. Eli
talked to many people and then fasted and prayed about his decision. He also read the scriptures intensively. It took him six months to come to a final
decision.
Ultimately Eli decided that for him, keeping the
Sabbath day holy was more important than playing professional football and
making lots of money. "I read my
scriptures, and time after time I would see more and more and more reasons that
I felt in my heart that I needed to observe the Sabbath more than I needed to
play football," Eli said. He turned
down the offers from the professional teams and now teaches and coaches at a
high school. He does not make a lot of
money, but he is happy. He said: "The paychecks now, in spite of being
low, are more than we were making when we were students. We're happy to have more than we had before. Occasionally I think we could have a
brand-new car or a nice house, but I have never had any serious doubts about
the decision." (See Joseph
Richardson, "To Keep It Holy," New
Era, Oct. 1997, 34-37.)
When the Lord gave Moses the Ten Commandments, He
included a commandment about the use of the Sabbath day. "Remember
the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
"Six
days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
"But
the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor
thy son, nor thy daughter, they manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy
cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
"For
in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is,
and rested the seventh day: wherefore
the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it" (Exodus 20:9-11).
The Sabbath was made holy after the Lord finished
the creation of the earth. He rested on
the seventh day and hallowed it or made it holy. Until the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the
Sabbath was observed on the seventh day or Saturday. Today the Sabbath is observed on Sunday in
remembrance of the Savior's Resurrection on that day.
"Now
upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the
sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with
them.
"And
they found the stone rolled away from the sepulcher.
"And
they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus" (Luke 24:1-3).
When we say "Remember the Sabbath day, to
keep it holy" we mean that we want to honor the day, to dedicate it to
righteous purposes, and to keep it sacred and deserving of reverence. We should keep the Sabbath day holy because
it helps us to do so.
Elder James E. Faust, who was at the time a
member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:
"Why has God asked us to honor the Sabbath day? The reasons I think are at least threefold. .
The first has to do with the physical need for rest and renewing. Obviously God, who created us, would know
more than we do of the limits of our physical and nervous energy and strength.
"The second reason is, in my opinion, of far
greater significance. It has to do with
the need for regeneration and the strengthening of our spiritual being. God knows that left completely to our own
devices without regular reminders of our spiritual needs, many would degenerate
into the preoccupation of satisfying earthly desires and appetites. This need for physical, mental, and spiritual
regeneration is met in large measure by faithful observance of the Sabbath
day.
"The third reason [for honoring the Sabbath
day] may be the most important of the three.
It has to do with obedience to commandments as an expression of our love
for God. Blessed are those who need no
reasons other than their love for the Savior to keep his commandments" (Ensign, Nov. 1991, 35).
According to Elder Faust, there are at least
three reasons why we are asked to keep the Sabbath day holy: 1) physical renewal; 2) spiritual strength;
and 3) love for God. Our bodies are
wonderful creations, but they need occasional rest and renewal. By giving us the Sabbath day, God gave us a day
each week to rejuvenate our bodies. As
important as this reason is, it is even more important for us to gain the
spiritual strength to take us through another week. By reverently observing the Sabbath day, we
show that we love God - the most important reason for keeping any of His
commandments.
The Prophet Isaiah taught the importance of
keeping the Sabbath day holy: "If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath,
from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the
holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways,
nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
"Then
shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the
high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy
father: for the mouth of the Lord hath
spoken it" (Isaiah 5:13-14).
When Isaiah wrote "Turn away… not doing
thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own
words," he was not saying that we should not enjoy the Sabbath; he was
saying that the Sabbath is a day to forget our own desires and follow God's
will)
We can make the Sabbath day a delight by
observing it as the Lord commands.
President Thomas S. Monson of the First Presidency said, "The Lord
has given the Sabbath day for your benefit and has commanded you to keep it
holy. Many activities are appropriate
for the Sabbath. Bear in mind, however,
that Sunday is not a holiday. Sunday is
a holy day" (in Ensign, Nov.
1990, 47).
Some of our most "holy days" have been
turned into "holidays" by much of the world (particularly Christmas
and Easter), but those who understand the significance of those holy days
observe them more appropriately. The
Lord obviously considers a holiday differently than he does His holy day. Elder James E. Faust related the following
story:
"A … miracle occurred at the Wells Stake
Welfare Tannery some years ago where hides of animals were tanned into
leather. On regular work days, the hides
were removed from the vats and fresh lime placed in the vats, after which the
hides were returned to the lime solution.
If the hides were not turned on holidays, they would spoil. But the change was never made on Sunday, and
there were no spoiled hides on Monday.
Explained J. Lowell Fox, the supervisor of the tannery at the time:
"`This brought a strange fact to our
minds: holidays are determined by man,
and on these days just as on every week day, the hides need to have special
care every twelve hours. Sunday is the
day set aside by the Lord as a day of rest, and He makes it possible for us to
rest from our labors as He has commanded.
The hides at the tannery never spoil on Sundays. This is a modern-day miracle, a miracle that
happens every weekend!'" (in Ensign,
Nov. 1991, 35).
There are numerous ways that we can make the
Sabbath a holy day and a delight for us.
One important way is to attend Church and partake of the Spirit
there. "An almost totally deaf
sister was once asked how she managed to come to sacrament meeting each week
[and remain] genuinely interested in what was being said…. [She said]:
`I look forward to being in the physical presence of those whom I love and
who love the gospel. I can share in
their spirit without hearing a word, and if I am really in tune, the Lord
whispers to me'" (Robert K. Thomas, "Listening with the Spirit,"
Ensign, Jan. 1978, 40).
Another important way is to use the day to
"re-create" ourselves. President
Spencer W. Kimball explained how we can use the Sabbath day to make ourselves
better: "The Sabbath is a day on
which to take inventory - to analyze our weaknesses, to confess our sins to our
associates and our Lord. It is a day on
which to fast…. It is a day on which to
read good books, a day to contemplate and ponder, a day to study lessons for
priesthood and auxiliary organizations, a day to study the scriptures and to
prepare sermons, a day to nap and rest and relax, a day to visit the sick, a
day to preach the gospel, a day to proselyte, a day to visit quietly with the
family…, a day for proper courting, a day to do good, a day to drink at the
fountain of knowledge and of instruction, a day to seek forgiveness of our
sins, a day for the enrichment of our spirit and our soul, a day to restore us
to our spiritual stature, a day to partake of the emblems of [Jesus'] sacrifice
and atonement, a day to contemplate the glories of the gospel and of the
eternal realms, a day to climb high on the upward path toward our Heavenly
Father" (The Teachings of Spencer W.
Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball [1982], 216).
Another valuable thing we can do to better
observe the Sabbath is to eliminate all those activities that are not conducive
to bringing us closer to our Heavenly Father.
Elder Ezra Taft Benson, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles,
said:
"It seems to me that the following should be
avoided on the Sabbath:
"Overworking and staying up late Saturday so
that you are exhausted the next day.
"Filling the Sabbath so full of extra
meetings that there is no time for prayer, meditation, family fellowship, and
counseling.
"Doing gardening and odd jobs around the
house.
"Taking trips to canyons or resorts,
visiting friends socially, joy riding, wasting time, and engaging in other
amusements….
"Playing vigorously and going to movies.
"Engaging in sports and hunting `wild
animals' which God made for the use of man only `in times of famine and excess
of hunger.' (See D&C 89:15.) …
"Reading material that does not contribute
to your spiritual uplift.
"Shopping or supporting with your patronage
businesses that operate on Sunday, such as grocery stores, supermarkets,
restaurants, and service stations" ("Keeping the Sabbath Day
Holy," Ensign, May 1971, 6-7).
Even though our leaders encourage us to put aside
as much work as possible, they understand that some businesses are
"essential" and must be prepared to act at a moment's notice;
however, even those who have to work on Sunday can keep the Sabbath day holy by
reading their scriptures during breaks at work and by attending Church meetings
either before or after working. Elder
Earl C. Tingey of the Seventy said:
"We know that there are essential businesses that must be open on
Sunday. These are emergency, medical,
transportation, and some forms of protective services, such as police and fire"
(Ensign, May 1996, 10-11).
We can determine our own attitudes toward the
Sabbath by asking questions such as the following: 1) Which purposes and blessings of the
Sabbath are important to me? 2) What activities
seem to take away from the purpose of the Sabbath for me? 3) What activities help me feel the Spirit on
the Sabbath? 4) What could I do before
Sunday to make the Sabbath a more delightful day?
5) What will I do to keep the
Sabbath day holy and enjoy it more?
The value of the Sabbath cannot be overstated,
particularly for helping us to prepare to return to the presence of our
Heavenly Father. A modern-day scripture
says: "And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world,
thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy
day;
"For
verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay
thy devotions unto the Most High" (Doctrine and Covenants 59:9-10).
My parents taught me to keep the Sabbath day holy
by their examples. I grew up on a farm
where work was done every day of the week.
On the Sabbath, our parents taught us to do the necessary work - milk
the cows and feed the animals - but to generally rest from our labors. There have been a few Sabbaths that I did not
keep holy. I quickly learned that I
needed that "day of rest" every week.
If I did not "rest" on Sunday, I needed to use another day to
rejuvenate and renew my body and spirit.
I know that blessings and joy come through proper observance of the
Sabbath day. I encourage all my readers
to make each Sunday delightful by putting into practice those activities that will
bring you closer to the Savior.
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