Shabbat Shalom

Shabbat Shalom - the peace of the Sabbath - is something we don't talk about too much any more.  Sunday has become just another day to many people.  For a long while, I have been trying to improve Sabbath day observance in my own life, as a show of respect to the Lord, and also to aid my own spiritual development.  In doing so, I have come across some ideas that have really changed my perceptions of the Sabbath, and what I need to do to more effectively keep it holy.

 My Local Ward Building

"The manner in which we spend the Sabbath is a sign of our inner attitude towards God."  That's a sobering statement!  What is your attitude towards God?  Do you love Him and wish to serve Him and his children?  Sobering questions in a frivolous world.

Anciently, the Lord’s people kept the Sabbath holy as a sign they were His covenant people. In our day, the Lord has told us that keeping the Sabbath day holy will also help protect us against the ills of a world that is degenerating spiritually. In a revelation to Joseph Smith, the Lord rephrased the fourth commandment: “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” (D&C 59:9; emphasis added).


Here is an inspired plan for protection against immorality, rebellion, the deterioration of family structure and stability, and other spiritual dangers that threaten us: each Sabbath we can partake of the sacrament, which involves regular repentance and covenant making to keep ourselves clean and “unspotted from the world.”

The Lord continues, “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 59:10). If we will use the Sabbath day to sincerely pay our devotions—dedicating ourselves and our energies to serving God and others—we will be shielding ourselves from the evil around us.

Great blessings are promised those who truly call the Sabbath a delight and make it a holy day: “Inasmuch as ye do these things with thanksgiving, with cheerful hearts and countenances, … the fulness of the earth is yours, … and the good things which come of the earth” (D&C 59:15–17).

Sometimes blessings may not be immediate; standing by our beliefs may even require difficult sacrifices. But as we fill our Sabbaths with activities compatible with the spirit of the day, we are promised joy and peace, all things eventually working together for our good (see D&C 98:3).

Observing the Sabbath, then, is not a restriction but a protection and a source of strength.

(Parts taken from a talk by D. Kelly Ogden, Liahona 1998)