Honoring the Sabbath Day

Honoring the Sabbath Day

Have you ever wondered about how to keep the Sabbath Day holy? Have you ever looked at Sunday more as a day when you can’t do things that as a day that is most special?

Doctrine:

Let’s first of all examine the question, what is the Sabbath Day?
There are at least three extremely important events in the history of the world

The first is the Creation. We learn about the Sabbath from following the example of our Heavenly Father.

And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day form all his work which had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it” (Genesis 2:2-3)

From this verse we learn at least two things about our Heavenly Father.

He needed rest from the work of the creation. He needed a day to rejuvenate or renew.

1. He blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it. In other words, he made it holy and sacred.

Should we not want to follow the example of Heavenly Father in our desires to be like him.

A second important event was the Exodus. The Israelites were in bondage and as such were slaves. They could not do as they pleased on any day of the week. Heavenly Father delivered the Israelites from captivity and renewed a commandment to them saying “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” (Exodus 20:8). They treated the Sabbath as a symbol of their deliverance and would not permit even their animals to work on that holy day. It is called a perpetual covenant. This means forever and reminds us all of our obligation to our Heavenly Father.

However, the most important event of all, is the third critical event that has shaped the world and our mortal existence forever…it is the Atonement. The Savior was resurrected on that day and from that time forth His followers appointed that day as the Sabbath. Until that time, the seventh day had been the Sabbath and to commemorate his resurrection on the Sunday, the first day, or Sunday was appointed as the Sabbath for the early Christians.

Principles:

So you see, the Sabbath is for man. It is a day appointed to remember God. We follow His example of setting aside one day for rest, we note the importance of the Sabbath as the fourth commandment, as given to the Israelites, and most importantly we remember the Atonement of the Savior as we renew sacred covenants of baptism each Sunday in partaking of the Sacrament.

Application:

Let’s examine the question, what is the Sabbath Day?

Answer: The word Sabbath means day of rest in Hebrew. The Sabbath day is every seventh day. In looking at the creation, the exodus, and the Atonement, three applications give us guidance as to how we should honor this day.

The Lord in modern day revelation counseled us “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.” (D&C 59:9, 10)

The following questions introduce to you three applications about the Sabbath. Each requires careful thought.

First, how is the Sabbath a day for our physical well-being?

(The Lord rested on the seventh day. He showed us the importance of renewing our bodies one day every week.)

Second, how is the Sabbath a day for our spiritual well-being?

(This is a commandment. It is what keeps us unspotted from the world. What a privilege it is to approach the Sacrament each Sunday with a repentant Spirit, knowing that we can become as clean from our sins as we were day we were baptized. It is the one day that we can clearly demonstrate to the Lord that we are different and we belong to His true church. It would be well to consider staying dressed for the Sabbath the entire day to remind ourselves of this holy day.)

Third, how does the Sabbath give us the opportunity to know God and to express our love for Him?

(What a great day set aside to pay devotions unto the Lord, to offer up our sacraments, and honor Him. We are given the gift of one day a week that we can give to others spiritually – we can gather in our families, we can visit the sick and the less active, we can honor our God through loving His children.)

Remember: The Sabbath is not a day to be a couch potato and lounge and do nothing. It is not a day to be preceded by late night activities on Saturday. President Kimball taught us that if we do nothing on the Sabbath, we are not keeping the day holy. The Sabbath calls for constructive thoughts and acts.”

Activity: Isaiah said that we should “call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable.” (Isaiah 58:13)

Discuss activities we can do to keep the Sabbath holy:

Attend Church meetings

• Read scriptures and words of living prophets
• Visit the sick, aged and our loved ones
• Listen to uplifting music and sing hymns
• Pray to Heavenly Father with praise and thanksgiving
• Perform Church service
• Prepare family history records and write personal histories
• Tell faith-promoting stories
• Bear testimony to our family and share spiritual experiences
• Write letters to loved ones
• Fast with a purpose
• Share time with children and others in the home

Discuss activities that would be best to avoid to keep the Spirit of the Sabbath?

Discuss the blessings that come from keeping the Sabbath Day holy.