Bringing Sabbath Worship Back

The way we keep the Sabbath day holy is an outward manifestation of our covenant

to always remember Jesus Christ.

To many people, Sunday is just another day in the weekend for additional relaxation and entertainment. However, ancient and modern revelation has taught the importance of keeping the Sabbath day holy. In the January, 2014 New Era, Larry M. Gibson, first counselor in the Young Men general presidency, discusses the important role of Sabbath day observance. Brother Gibson says, “The way we keep the Sabbath day holy is an outward manifestation of our covenant to always remember Jesus Christ.”

The Sabbath day should become the foundation for our remembrance of Him for the other six days of the week.

Sunday is a day to slow down, pause, and remember. 

We attend our Church meetings; reflect on our blessings, strengths, and shortcomings; seek forgiveness; partake of the sacrament; and ponder the Savior’s suffering on our behalf. We try not to be distracted by anything that would prevent us from worshipping Him, for “on this day,” as the Lord has said, “thou shalt do none other thing” (D&C 59:13). Any activity we participate in during the Sabbath should be in keeping with the spirit of remembering Christ. If anything we are doing on any part of the Sabbath takes us away from remembering the Savior and ministering on the Sabbath as He would minister, then perhaps we should reconsider what we are doing. Remember, the Sabbath is a day appointed not only “to rest from your labors” but also “to pay thy devotions unto the Most High” (D&C 59:10).

We must plan our lives in such a way that there is no excuse for taking away from the sanctity of any part of the Lord’s day. It is a day to be about His business, a day on which our whole lives can be blessed and renewed by having sacred experiences individually and with our family. It is a day for the enrichment of our spirit.

Spend some time today creating a thoughtful plan of things that you will do to really make the Sabbath day a sacred and holy day in your life. Then act on your plan.

Remember the Lord’s wonderful promise to those who properly honor the Sabbath: “And inasmuch as ye do these things with thanksgiving, with cheerful hearts and countenances, … the fulness of the earth is yours” (D&C 59:15–16). Can we afford to forgo these blessings in our lives and in the lives of our family members?

I believe in honoring the Sabbath day.

I boldly but humbly bear witness that observing the Sabbath day is a commandment of our God, who lives and loves each of us. I testify that if we will follow and live the divine mandate to keep the Sabbath day holy, the Lord, in turn, will bless us, direct us, and inspire us in solving the issues that confront us.

Exodus 31: 12-1712 ¶And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.
16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.

Jesus Christ
Savior of the World and Jehovah of the Old Testament