Sunday, January 18, 2009

Now 'BE' Sunday.

Sabbath

The Sabbath is the Lord's day, set apart each week for rest and worship. In Old Testament times, God's covenant people observed the Sabbath on the seventh day of the week because God rested on the seventh day when He had created the earth. After the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, which occurred on the first day of the week, the Lord's disciples began observing the Sabbath on the first day of the week, Sunday (see Acts 20:7).

"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, thy 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 20:8–11).

The Lord told Moses that Sabbath observance was a sign between the Him and His people of the covenant between them (see Exodus 31:13).
In the latter days, the Lord commanded His people to continue observing the Sabbath. He has promised that if we obey this commandment, we will receive "the fulness of the earth" (see D&C 59:16–20).
Because the Sabbath is a holy day, it should be reserved for worthy and holy activities. Abstaining from work and recreation is not enough. In fact, those who merely lounge about doing nothing on the Sabbath fail to keep the day holy. In a revelation given to Joseph Smith in 1831, the Lord commanded: "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). In harmony with this revelation, Church members attend sacrament meeting each week. Other Sabbath-day activities may include praying, meditating, studying the scriptures and the teachings of latter-day prophets, writing letters to family members and friends, reading wholesome material, visiting the sick and distressed, and attending other Church meetings.

A challenge to ME: Be more Sunday.

9 comments:

Becky said...

I'll take that challange as well. I can always BE more Sunday. Thanks Jen.

Michael Stokes said...

And thus said the Lord, have meetings from dawn til dusk; that will teach them.

Book of Michael 1:1

:-)

LL said...

GREAT challenge, I'll take it and try a little harder to be a little better :)
Enjoy your Sabbath!

LL said...

OK and Bro. Stokes, THAT was funny!!!

ellen said...

It was nice to SEE your mom in our snowy ward today!

shirlgirl said...

Here is a "reading" from Guideposts, a book that my friend Alice gives me every year. The verse for January 18, 2009 is from II Timothy 3:16 "All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness". The article that this woman wrote was about a friend who was teaching a male adult who was 35 years of age to read. His wife had just given birth to their first child which motivated him to learn to read. A question asked was why do adults who do not read decide they want to--one answer was to fill out job applications or read newspaper employment ads. The top answer was "so they can read the Bible." What better lesson to hear on a Sunday. Have a wonderful snowy Sunday. Love, Aunt Shirley

Jo Jo said...

Okay, we had no church today so it was nice to get a lesson from you. We wrote on our chalk board things that were okay for them to do being home all day. They loved the visible list, and would tell us, "Mom, I'm doing #3 now and next I'll be doing #7."

smart mama said...

so true- I love a good sabbath (especially when meetings get shortened and you get to be together as a fam!)

ChefTom said...

It is much easier being Saturday, can I trade two Saturdays for a Sunday?