Remember the Sabbath Day

Sacrament Talk - September 25, 2016
Southpass Ward - Eagle Mountain, UT

On May 12th, 1985, Paul and I entered the waters of baptism. On this sacred day, we made a covenant with God. We promised to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ, always remember Him, keep His commandments, and serve Him to the end.

We soon learned that there were many sacrifices to be made as members of the Church. Exodus 20:8 reads: Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. With both of us working full-time outside of the home and Paul’s typical 12-14 hour work days, our weekends were filled with family chores, including yardwork in a state where there is no winter reprieve. This pretty much took two days to accomplish. In addition, the nearest temple at the time was the Los Angeles Temple which was two hours away.

1 Nephi 3:7 reads: “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.”

This was the first scripture that I memorized and it soon became my motto. If I was going to be a member of the church, I knew I had to evaluate my life and not only make changes, but do it with enthusiasm. (A bit of a side note. Enthusiasm comes from the Greek word “entheos” which translates into “with God”.) I knew that we had to sit down as a family, and come up with a plan on how we were going to fit all this into one day, even sacrificing certain chores on the Saturdays that we attended the temple. Then I began to consider all the things I no longer HAD to do, instead of what I didn’t get to do.

Elder Holland said of the Sabbath, “I plead with you not to see Sunday as a day of negative rules and stifling restrictions or a day of tedious duty or a day devoid of any pleasure or joy. Any such view could not be farther from the truth.”

In the revelation from the Lord given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, in Doctrine and Covenants 59, we are told that by keeping the Lord’s day holy, the saints will be blessed both temporally and spiritually, that our joy may be full. That we must do so with a glad heart and a cheerful countenance.

In Elder Holland’s plea to the youth which can apply to us all, he counsels: “The Sabbath is for our physical rest and renewal. This earthly experience gives us a mortal body that becomes tired, fatigued and weary. It does require respite from our weekday work, but it is more than that.”

He goes on to say, “This brings us to our second reason for Sabbath observance. The Sabbath is for the regeneration and strengthening of our spiritual being as well as for our physical bodies. The Sabbath focuses us on eternal things. The sacrament is a weekly reminder that directs our

thoughts to the Savior, toward that one great source of our salvation and our need to repent so that we might qualify for the full blessings of His Atonement and Resurrection. Although we should be repenting all the time, the Sabbath and the sacrament give us the opportunity to really set aside worldly cares and to concentrate on our spiritual improvement.

The Sabbath provides a day, uninterrupted from worldly cares, to concentrate on heaven, on all
that our Father in Heaven is and has done for us. In worshipping Him, we come to know Him and love Him, and we develop a greater resolve to follow Him. For at least one day a week, we’re not tarnished by the world because we’re hardly even in it. For at least one day, we’re into scriptures, prayer, faith, family, friends, service, repentance, and the sacrament.

Elder Russell M. Nelson said, “I learned from the scriptures that my conduct and my attitude on the Sabbath constituted a sign between me and my Heavenly Father. With that understanding, I no longer needed lists of dos and don’ts. When I had to make a decision whether or not an activity was appropriate for the Sabbath, I simply asked myself, ‘What sign do I want to give to God?’ That question made my choices about the Sabbath day crystal clear”.

Brigham Young speaking of the saints who take the Sabbath day lightly said that they are “weak in the faith. Gradually, little by little, little by little, the spirit of their religion leaks out of their hearts and their affections, and by and by they begin to see faults in their brethren, faults in the doctrines of the Church, faults in the organization…”

President Hinckley said that one of his concerns was “our tendency to take on the ways of the world.” He added: “We don’t adopt them immediately, but we slowly take them on, unfortunately. I know our people would be more richly blessed of the Lord if they would walk in faithfulness in the observance of the Sabbath”

In the words of Sheri Dew, one of my personal favorites, “Helaman’s stripling warriors performed “every word of command with exactness” and “were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted” In other words, they kept their covenants with precision. They clearly understood that a half-hearted effort to keep the Sabbath day holy or to be morally clean or to tell the truth is no effort at all. Joseph Smith didn’t declare that we usually believe in being “honest, true, chaste, benevolent, [and] virtuous” On Mount Sinai the Lord didn’t say, “Thou shalt rarely covet”; or “Thou shalt not steal very often”.” He said “Thou shalt not,” clearly delineating the line between integrity and infidelity, a line that when we cross we risk losing control of our thoughts, motives, and actions.”

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, in his conference talk in October of 2012, "Of Regrets and Resolutions,” said this, speaking of laying up for ourselves treasure in Heaven, “How do we do this? By following the example of the Savior, by incorporating His teachings in our daily lives, by truly loving God and our fellowman.

“We certainly cannot do this with a dragging-our-feet, staring-at-our-watch, complaining-as-we-go approach to discipleship.”

"When it comes to living the gospel, we should not be like the boy who dipped his toe in the water and then claimed he went swimming. As sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, we are capable of so much more. For that, good intentions are not enough. We must do. Even more important, we must become what Heavenly Father wants us to be."

Elder Holland also counseled the saints on our Sunday attire: “…from ancient times to modern we have always been invited to present our best selves inside and out when entering the house of the Lord—and a dedicated LDS chapel is a “house of the Lord.” Our clothing or footwear need never be expensive, indeed should not be expensive, but neither should it appear that we are on our way to the beach. When we come to worship the God and Father of us all and to partake of the sacrament symbolizing the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we should be as comely and respectful, as dignified and appropriate as we can be. We should be recognizable in appearance as well as in behavior that we truly are disciples of Christ.

In Sheri Dew’s book, God Wants a Powerful People, she states: Today’s casual society has produced an informality that has now crept into nearly every aspect of our culture, including sadly even Sabbath day worship. Particularly among women, there is a regrettable tendency to wear into the chapel and then partake of the emblems of the sacrament in the same clothing one might wear to the mall or the park, or even as Elder Holland suggested, to the beach.

What is wrong with this? Isn’t it enough just to show up at church.

The chapel is an ordinance room. What takes place there every Sabbath day is an ordinance in which we have the privilege of presenting ourselves before the Lord and committing once again to follow and serve Him. The Sabbath day is a holy day, set aside to worship the Risen Lord. Do we reverence that day, and would our reverence be apparent to others?”

President Henry B. Eyring counsels, “As the challenges around us increase, we must commit to do more to qualify for the companionship of the Holy Ghost. Casual prayer won’t be enough. Reading a few verses of the scripture won’t be enough. Doing the minimum of what the Lord asks of us won’t be enough. Hoping that we will have the Atonement work in our lives and that we will perhaps sometimes feel the influence of the Holy Ghost won’t be enough. And one great burst of effort won’t be enough. Only a steady, ever-increasing effort will allow the Lord to take us to higher ground.”

Brothers and sisters, we need to be true to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to the commandments. Ask yourself, “What sign do I want to give to God?” Therein we will feel good about ourselves. We will find joy, blessings and strength, even as the challenges around us increase with great speed. We need to encourage and uplift our family members, friends and neighbors to do the same, in a kind, loving, patient nature or if nothing else, by example. I pray that we can all recommit ourselves to keeping the Sabbath Day holy with a power that will make the adversary cower in our presence. This is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.