The Sabbath Day
February 28,
2016
A
Chinese Proverb says,
“They who know the truth are not so
great as they who love it; and they who love the truth are not so great as they
who live it.
I think Keeping the Sabbath day is
something we all know about. I think many of us love it, and most of us need to
improve our observance of Keeping the Sabbath day holy.
As
I did my research, study, and preparation, I came across a talk called “Unwanted
Messages” by President James E. Faust.
Sure enough the Sabbath Day, was one of these unwanted messages. Which made me think, why is the Sabbath day
such an unwanted message? Is it because
we as a society don’t like being told what to do? Is it because we don’t like
laws, which require effort and diligence? Is it because keeping the Sabbath is
not always black and white, but really a question of what is good, better or
best? Or is it because it is hard to put aside the things of the world for one
day, and focus primarily on the eternal?
I
had an experience when living in Albuquerque involving the Sabbath day. I was asked to play on the office Volleyball
team. The games were held every Sunday.
In a room of several people during lunch, all of which go to other
Christian based churches, I said I can’t it is on Sunday. Of course everyone
looked at me funny? I was asked why not? Is that just a Mormon thing? You could
tell everyone thought it was some strange belief. Until I pointed out it is one
of the 10 commandments. I was amazed that good church going people had never
been taught about the Sabbath day, which is one of the most basic teachings in
the Bible.
I
then realized that there are “Unwanted Messages” just like President Faust
said. I realized that plain and simple truths have been lost, just plain
ignored or glossed over due to the commandment just not being popular.
When
I first found out my topic would be on the Sabbath day, I thought that this
would be a very difficult subject. This
is a message that is unwanted, and a message that people have heard many times.
I jokingly told Brother Davies that I would be bringing the fire brimstone in
my talk. He seemed OK with this idea.
I
really don’t plan to be all fire and brimstone, but I do want to emphasize the
importance of this commandment. I hope
the spirit will be with me as I deliver an unwanted message, and that I will
bring something new to the table. I pray
that if anything, I can inspire you to be a little better at keeping the
Sabbath Day Holy, and remind you of the blessings that we will obtain. I hope my words can be bold, but not over
bearing.
It
is said, “A good example has twice the value of good advice.” In our homes, we
need to be an example of obedience to the Lord. Telling our kids is one thing,
but being completely faithful to a commandment is far more important.
Especially, on a commandment where there always room for improvement and self
evaluation.
I
was taught at a very young age about the Sabbath. In my family, we were very strict about our
sacrament attendance and making sure we treated the Sabbath as a special day. I had six kids in my family, so getting ready
for church was never easy. It always
seemed my Dad had Church meetings, and my Mom had to get us ready for
church. Also, our chapel was in the next
town over, so an additional 30 minutes was required for driving. Regardless if our church was at 9, 11 or 1,
my family would not be late. My Mother
believed that punctuality and being on time was showing respect for the
Lord. We had to be 30 minutes early,
because either me or one of my brothers was involved in the preparation of the
sacrament.
Brothers
and Sisters, I plead with you to work on not only being on time, but being
early to your Sunday meetings. You will
find that you will have stronger spiritual experiences and be more ready to
partake of the sacrament.
I
know that this is not an easy task. The
most stressful two hours of the week in the Christensen home are between 7 and
9 every Sunday morning. Just like my
family growing up, I am now the one with meetings, which puts extra stress on
my wife Sam. We have found the counsel
in the primary song, “Saturday is special day” to be inspired. When we plan ahead on Saturday our spiritual
observance on Sunday and overall experience is much improved and less
stressful.
The
Sabbath is a gift from God. It is a day which can bless our lives and be a
blessing to many other people.
In
Jesus’ day, the Sabbath day was not only a commandment, but it was also civil
law. The Sabbath day required strict
observance to strict technicalities, burdensome regulations and long lists of
does and do nots.
Christ
changed the meaning and spirit of the law.
In Mark 2:27 we read, “ And he said unto them,
The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:” Christ performed miracles on the Sabbath and
went about doing good. Christ taught of
a higher law. Not one of technicalities, but one of love and service. We
remember that the Pharisees were not a fan of Jesus’ Sabbath Day Observance. He
spent his time showing love, even for those who were the less desirables of
society and even Tax Collectors. He visited the poor, the sinful, and the diseased.
So
the divine mandate of Sabbath day observance in our day is now more of a manifestation
of individual devotion and commitment rather than a requirement of civil law.
So what should we be doing on the
Sabbath? And how do we avoid treating it like the Pharisees, who only worried
about the technicalities?
There are checklist items, which are
very easy to point out.
The
easiest answer would be attend Sacrament and other meetings. The next easiest
answer would be the Primary children answers: pray and read the scriptures. But
obviously it is not possible or practical that we would fill a 24 hour period
with just these things.
I
think the best activities for the remaining hours are the ones that both
strengthen us as individuals or blesses the lives of family, neighbors, and
friends.
Here
are a few things I thought of:
Sunday
is a great day for Home Teaching. As the Elder’s Quorum President you know I
won’t pass up an opportunity to plug for Home Teaching. Families tend to be home, and it edifies both
the home teachers and the families being visited. I have found Home Teaching is
even a great activity on Sundays that aren’t the last of the month. I truly believe Home Teaching can have a
great impact on families. Harold B. Lee said, “Home teaching is missionary work
to the member. Missionary work is home teaching to the non member.” Brothers
and Sisters please do whatever it takes to be home taught. Do not be afraid to
call your home teacher and help them do their duties. If you don’t know who
your home teachers are you can contact me or look on your LDS.org account. Sisters, please encourage your husbands and
sons to do their duty. Home teaching is missionary work, and in my opinion can
be life changing. Be proactive on
whatever end of it you are on. The Lord created us to act and not be acted
upon.
I
have recently figured out another truth, which is Sunday is a special day, it
is the day we get ready for Monday. What I mean by that is we can and should
prepare our Family Home Evening on Sunday.
I have noticed when my family plans ahead, we have much more edifying
Family Home Evenings. We are less
stressed, and they become more of a joy in our lives. If we don’t prepare on Sunday, Monday comes
and we are stressed about dinner and Home work.
We end up having a rushed, ineffective, and spiritually lacking Family
Home Evening. The Sabbath can be used
and should be used to prepare us spiritually for the week to come. D&C
88:19 says “Organize yourselves; prepare
every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of
fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of
order, a house of God.” The best day to do these things is on Sunday. We can get ready for the week, and have a
plan of attack to grow spiritually during the week.
One
thing the scriptures constantly bring up is visiting the sick and afflicted. I don’t always have people I know who are
physically sick, but I do know that every person has spiritual afflictions (Me
Included). We do not always understand
the difficulty others go through.
In
the second verse of the hymn “Lord, I would Follow Thee”, it says:
“Who
Am I to Judge Another When I walk Imperfectly?
In
the Quiet Heart is Hidden Sorrow Which the Eye Can’t See.
Who
Am I to Judge Another? Lord, I would Follow Thee.”
I
love this hymn, because it reminds us that there is much hidden pain we are not
aware of.
Sometimes
just stopping by to say you missed some at church can be a huge help and may
even be life changing. We need to listen
to these promptings and reach out. I
love a few general conferences back when Elder Holland Said, “We may not be our
Brother’s keeper, but we are our Brother’s Brother. The Sabbath provides an opportunity to reach
out to our Brother and Sisters here on earth. One of my favorite quotes is by
David O. McKay, which he said “True
Christianity is Love in Action”.
Sam and I had an experience when we
lived down in New Mexico. A lady the
missionaries were teaching, who lived in our Apartment complex, needed a ride
to work on Sunday Morning. We found this
out as we were walking to our car to go to church when we ran into her. I hesitated when she explained where she
needed to go, because I knew we would be significantly late to sacrament. I knew the right thing to do was to give her
a ride. She was extremely grateful for
our help. How would it have looked if we as members of the church turned her
away? Do you think she would have had a greater desire to learn more of the
Gospel? I know the Pharisees would not
have been happy with our actions, but I know Christ would approve. The greatest
argument for which we believe is how we treat others.
There are times when the proverbial
Ox gets stuck in the mire. I remember on my mission a ladies roof was blown off
her house on a Saturday Night. As soon
as our church meetings were over the whole branch went to help fix her roof.
But things that can wait until Monday should.
President Kimball said, “The Savior
knew that the ox falls in the mire, and one must pull the ox from the mire when
necessary. But no one deliberately puts the ox in the mire every week, or lets
him get in the mire with no effort to keep him out.”
Brothers and sisters lets do our
best to keep those “oxes?” or “oxen?” out of the mire, but when necessary we do
the work that is needed.
I
believe that the Sabbath is a great day to build relationships and friendships.
I think Sunday is a great day to have
family, neighbors and Ward Members over.
Obviously, the activities should be Sunday appropriate, but having
someone over for Dinner, or our favorite thing to do is Dessert, is a great
opportunity to get know our fellow brothers and sisters. The savior commanded Love one another.
It
is hard to love someone you don’t know, and in my opinion you don’t know someone
until you have been in each other’s homes.
The home is where you understand someone. Whenever I have someone in my home, I always
have the feeling of “Wow, what great people they are.” In a day of texts, emails, instant messages,
twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Skype, Periscope, Google hangouts,
Facetime and other forms of communications; nothing delivers the message that
you care about someone like having someone in your home.
The
Sabbath is a day of rest, but not a day of napping. It is a rest from our normal worldly routines
and our normal busy life. Our family
enjoys slowing down the pace of life. We
look for opportunities to spend time together.
One of our favorite Sunday activities is taking a walk outside, which we
haven’t done much recently do to the cold weather. Something so simple is very relaxing and
rests the soul. We always seem to run into someone on our walks, so they
usually take a little longer than planned.
We try to keep our meal preparation simple to avoid spending too much
valuabe time cooking and doing excesive amounts of dishes. We also play board games together, read
books, and other family activities, which encourage family interaction. We also always make the point of having
dinner together as a family. I truly believe Moments are the Molecules that
make up eternity. These little moments
are so important in building our eternal families, and giving the most
important thing to our kids: which is time.
The
next thing I want to talk about will be a very unpopular message. The subject
is screen time. I love sports, and especially football. I love the Seattle Seahawks, but I have
learned I need to trim down the time I focus on sports in general and especially
on Sunday. I have come to realize that me
watching a game has never impacted the outcome.
Even though I enjoy sports, I have come to the conclusion that there is
a better way to spend quality time with my family.
I
would emphasize the same point when it comes to movies or TV shows. There is nothing inherently bad about any of
these things, but there are much better ways to spend time together. My advice is to chose wisely, and be aware of
the amount of time we dedicate to whatever media we invest our time into. These are very personal decisions that need
to be visited frequently. These are the
gray areas of the Sabbath day, but they are the decisions that have the
greatest impact on spiritual growth.
There
are some things about the Sabbath day, which in my opinion are not a gray areas. One of those I would like to bring up is shopping
on the Sabbath. Brothers and Sisters, once again I go back to the “Saturday is
a Special Day” song. We can and should
plan accordingly. I had a friend growing up who called Fast Sunday, Fast Food
Sunday, because they would occasionally stop on the way home from church to
eat, which obviously showed a lack of understanding. There is no need to shop
on Sunday. Yes true emergencies happen, which require the purchase of medicine
or other essentials. This is not the norm, and we can avoid shopping.
DC 59 discusses the Sabbath day. It
also gives us the promise if we keep the Sabbath Day Holy, that “Thy Joy May be
Full” and “the fulness of the earth is yours”.
Unfortunately in life, the best
lessons learned are by mistakes made. I am no different in that way. A lot
times we think we are above a law or commandment, but there is always
consequences to our actions. Even if the consequences happen slowly over time.
When I was 18, I got a job at the
local Pharmacy. I would cashier, stock shelves, straighten products on shelves,
and whatever else was needed. It was a good gig for a guy doing some part time schooling
at the community college. My two older Brothers worked there before me, and the
boss knew not to schedule Christensen boys on Sunday. Then one week the schedule came out with me
working on Sunday. I thought it was a mistake and would not be the norm. I did not have the courage to tell the
manager that it had to be changed. I
thought this is no big deal. I worked the 2-10 shift, and with having 9 O’clock
Church I was done by 1, so I thought well as long as I go to my Church meetings
I would be Ok.
Looking back now, I thought I was
above the law and didn’t realize the consequences I would face. A month before
I got into this job, my mother passed away from cancer. So time with my Dad and
family felt very important to me. I
worked 2-10, so I would leave for work before he ever got home. Once I started
working Sundays I wouldn’t get any of that time with my family and be able to
participate in any of the family activities we did on Sunday. After months of
working on Sunday, not keeping the Sabbath was really wearing on me. I was not
getting that rest or spiritual growth.
Even though I was still attending my
church meetings, I was missing over half of the Sabbath. The funny thing about
commandments it is not like you get a shock or feel depressed instantly. If
that was the case, it sure would be easy to keep them. Many commandments the blessings or lack
thereof come from long term obedience or disobedience. My disobedience resulted
in me not feeling happy and fulfilled. Like DC 59 says, My Joy was not full.
After that experience, I vowed to never work on the Sabbath again. I knew if I
did I would not be receiving the full blessings available to me, and I would be
cheating myself knowingly if I did. I know many people do have to work on
Sunday due to circumstance. But I know
the Lord will bless anyone who makes an effort to make the change.
Brothers and Sisters the last year
or so, the Bretheren have been focusing on the Sabbath day. It is obviously
something that is on their mind. There have been various talks in general
conference and a worldwide training on the subject.
So obviously the commandment is
still important today. I think the key is to develop habits. Good habits are
the soul’s muscles. The more you use them, the stronger they grow.
I urge each one of you as President
Hinckley would say, “Stand a little Taller.”
Or remember how President Kimball
would say, “Lengthen your stride.”
I urge of you to be a little better
today than you were last week with your Sabbath observance. If you have changes
to be made, remember President Kimball’s famous saying. You know the one Nike
stole. Do it and Do it now. There is no reason to miss out on blessings, which
are yours. The only one keeping blessings from each one of us is ourselves.
Remember the Lord Said in DC 130:
20-21:
“There
is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world,
upon which all blessings are predicated – and when we obtain any blessings from
God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.”
I fully believe this Brother and
Sisters.
I want to end with a poem, before I
bare my testimony by - A Bag of Tools by
R.L. Sharpe
Isn’t it strange that princess and
kings
And clowns that caper in sawdust
rings,
And simple folks like you and me
Are builders for eternity?
To each is given a bag of tools,
A shapeless mass and a set of rules;
And each must make, e’re life has
flown,
A stumbling block or a stepping
stone.
Like the poems says Brothers and
Sisters we have the tools to make the Sabbath day a stepping stone to bless
your lives, and not a stumbling block.
Keeping the Sabbath day is a stepping stone for greater spiritual growth.
Do not let it become a stumbling block for we are the builders for eternity,
even the simple folks like you and me.
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