The Sabbath Day is a Delight
Honoring the Sabbath Day
Why we do certain things on the Sabbath Day
and today we talked about How the Sabbath Day is a blessing.
We so appreciate Sister Joy and what she has taught us about the Sabbath. For the next 4 months she will be teaching us about the new Ministering Program.
As Sister Joy began her lesson today, she asked us to think about the following question: What Blessings have come to you from keeping the Sabbath Day Holy?
As we were to think about this, we divided up into 2 teams to play a game similar to Jeopardy. There were 6 scriptures hanging on the board and we were asked that when it was our teams turn we needed to help fill in the blanks.
#1 ~ Verily I say, that inasmuch as ye do this, the ___________ of the earth is yours, the beast of the field and the towels of the _______, and that with climbers upon the trees, and ________ upon the earth.
Answers:
#1 (D&C 59:16)
President James E Faust taught " And 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." Modern prophets and apostles have taught that the idea of keeping ourselves "unspotted from the world" is both an invitation and a promised blessing that work hand-in-hand. He also said, that as we avoid worldly distractions on the Sabbath day, we are blessed with protection from obsession with worldly things. "In this day of increasing access to and preoccupation with materialism, there is a sure protection for ourselves and our children against the plagues of our day. The key to that sure protection surprisingly can be found in Sabbath observance.
D. Kelly Ogden stated, "Here is a divinely inspired plan for protection against morality, rebellion, the deterioration of family structure and stability, and other spiritual dangers that threaten us: we can go to our meetinghouses each Sabbath and partake of the Sacrament, which involves regular repentance and covenant making to keep ourselves clean and unspotted from the world."
The Lord has said, "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 change our daily routine once every week and sincerely pay our devotions or dedicate ourselves and our energies to serving God and others we will be shielding ourselves from the evil around us.
#2 ~ And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself ______ from the world, thou shalt go to the house of ___________ and offer up thy ___________ upon my holy day.
Answer:
#2 (D&C59:9)
President Faust said, "This great commandment is culminated with a promise: "Verily I say, that inasmuch as ye do this, the fullness of the earth is yours, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and that with climbers upon the trees and walkers upon the earth." To have the benefit of all of God's creations is a very significant promise.
#3 ~ Therefore if any man be in __________ he is a _______ creature; old things are _________ away; behold, all things are become new.
Answer:
#3 (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Sister Neil F Marriott of the Young Women General Presidency said, "The effect of partaking of the sanctified bread and water gratefully and humbly is to make of us new creatures, spiritually reborn, as Paul taught in this scripture. Week after week as we strive to live the sacramental covenant, we change. We deepen our discipleship as we prepare to keep the Sabbath holy and offer up our vows in righteousness; we then receive the guidance of the Holy Ghost, even personal revelation, in our daily lives. When we commence each Sunday prepared and reverent, our depth of Sabbath understanding will be as spiritual food to all members of our family. Faith in the Lot will grow in our homes as we bring our Sabbath day reverence into our living places.
#4 ~ If thou turn away thy foot . . . from doing thy ______ on my holy day; and . . . _________ him, not . . . finding thine own pleasure, . . . then shalt thou delight thyself in the __________.
Answer:
#4 (1 Nephi 14:14)
President James E Faust said, "Over a lifetime of observation, it is clear to me that the farmer who observes the Sabbath day seems to get more done on his farm than he would if he worked seven days. the mechanic will be able to turn out more and better products in six days than in seven. The doctor, the lawyer, the dentist, the scientist will accomplish more by trying to rest on the Sabbath than if he tries to utilize every day of the week for his professional work. I would counsel all students, if they can to arrange their schedules so that they do not study on the Sabbath. If students and other seekers after truth will do this, their minds will be quickened and the infinite Spirit will lead them o the verities they wish to learn. This is because God has hallowed his day and blessed it as a perpetual covenant of faithfulness.
Sister Tammy Ward commented that the team she has in her mentoring practice have talked about this and she has encouraged them to not work on Sunday. She has told them that they need to have this day to rejuvenate their Spirits. She also said that we need to make this a different day and make it special.
Sister Shauna Larson told about how when she was in high school she had been taking hard classes, college level. She said that these studies were difficult, but she made the decision to not study on Sundays, no matter what. She said that she was truly blessed. That even if she had a test on Monday, if she didn't study on Sunday she was able to pass the tests and she did well in her classes.
Elder Charles Didier of the Presidency of the Seventy said, "Now is the time to ask ourselves: Is the Sabbath a holy day or a holiday? Shall I worship Him or worship pleasure or work?"
#5 ~ And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the __________ people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with _________ and with the power of God in great ____________.
Answer:
#5 (Isiah 58:13)
Elder John H. Groberg said, "Oh my dear brothers and sisters, there is power in keeping the Sabbath day holy - power to help others as well as ourselves. If we would have God's blessings and protection as individuals, as families, as communities, and as nations, we must keep His Sabbath day holy."
In D&C 84:88 it says, "I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angles round about you, to bear you up."
#6 ~ . . . that they may ________ unto thee, O God the Eternal Father, that they do always __________ him, that they may have his _______ to be with them. Amen.
Answer:
#6 (Moroni 5:2)
Elder David A. Bednar stated, "The ordinance of the sacrament is a holy and repeated invitation to repent sincerely and to be renewed spiritually . . . As we prepare conscientiously and participate in this holy ordinance with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then the promise is that we may always have the Spirit of the Lord to be with us. And by the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost as our constant companion, we can always retain a remission of our sins."
President Henry B. Eyring - Of all the blessings we can count, the greatest by far is the feeling of forgiveness that comes as we partake of the sacrament. We will feel greater love and appreciation for the Savior, whose infinite sacrifice made possible our being cleansed from sin. As we partake of the bread and water, we remember that He suffered for us. Ans when we feel gratitude for what He has done for us, we will feel His love for us and our love for Him.
Some of the blessings that Sister Joy found in searching out the scriptures related to keeping the Sabbath day holy are:
*Gratitude * A Greater appreciation for the Savior, * Feelings of forgiveness, *We will feel more loved, * Protection from preoccupation with worldly things, *protection for ourselves and our children from the plagues of this day, * A shield from the evils around us, * Protection from Spiritual dangers, * We can be Spiritually reborn, * We become changed, * We deepen our discipleship, * Our Faith will grow, * We can receive personal revelation, * Guidance from the Holy Ghost, * Power to help others, * Our minds will be quickened, * we will ride upon the high places of the earth.
In closing, H. Aldridge Gillespie said, The promises of the Lord to those who keep the Sabbath day holy are so wonderfully clear in the scriptures that they leave one asking, "Why would anyone throw away such blessings for the tawdry, temporary pleasures of the world?" Hear again the words of Jehovah as they roll down from Mount Sinai: "Ye shall keep my sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord."
L. Tom Perry - "I give you my witness that the greatest joy you can experience here in mortality is being obedient to the will of the Lord. May we always strive to keep His commandments, and may we keep His sacred day holy."
As we have studied about the sabbath, Sister Louisa summed it up perfectly when she said, "We have learned what not to do, but more than that, we have learned that there is so much more that we need to do to keep the Sabbath more holy.
Sister Joy's challenge to us all is: Strive harder to be better.
