“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” – Mosiah 13:16
What do you do on Sundays? Do you go out to party with friends? Do you go and attend a football match, or simply watch it from home? Are you going to the mall for a massive shopping spree? I will tell you what I do on Sundays.
First of all, I go to church. I was taught in the beginning, as a young learner in my church, that on Sundays I should attend the church service. It starts at 9 am with the main worship service called Sacrament. There we sing sacred music and pray, but the most important thing we do there is the partaking of the sacrament (the bread and the water). This ordinance is very important because it represents the torn body and shed blood of Christ that was given for me. Because of Jesus Christ sacrifice and suffering, I can be healed and saved. There I make a promise to follow His teachings and obey His commandments. He promises me back that I can have His spirit (Holy Ghost) to be with me always. What an amazing promise!
After Sacrament, we hear inspiring talks given by any member of the congregation. Their talks include topics and principles of the gospel. Everything we speak and hear in that service is directed in some way to Jesus Christ. The second hour is usually Sunday school where we expand our gospel knowledge and learning. There we share our testimonies and read from the Holy Scriptures. We also have Priesthood meetings for men and Relief Society organization for women. Everyone, whatever their age, has their own respective group and organization to learn from and to strengthen one-another.
” 13. Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work:
14. 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, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. (Deuteronomy 5:13-14)
That’s it. Church service is over. Is there anything else we do on Sundays? Yes! We keep the Sabbath Day holy. How do we do that? Remember that going to church starts our Sabbath Day but it doesn’t end it. Its called Sabbath D-A-Y for a reason. I think some ways to keep the Sabbath day holy are: to remember Jesus Christ and His incredible life, to serve our neighbors, to spend quality time with our families and to do good things. Also, there is something we shouldn’t do on this day. As we are taught in the Bible:
Sunday is the seventh day. And as we read from the passage above, we learn that it’s a day where we rest from our labours. One reason I believe God has blessed us to rest on the seventh day is that we need it! We need to rest. All the work we have been doing from Monday until Saturday has exhausted and worn us out. But on Sundays, we refrain from work, school, worldly entertainment and shopping and take a deep breath. Now that we are relaxed, we can pay attention to things that matter the most. Unfortunately, because of the busy schedule during the week, we tend to forget about them. So we try to connect with God even more by going to Church and worshiping Him. After that, we return home and spend quality time with our family. We learn from the scriptures together. We make wholesome recreational activities to strengthen each other. We choose to explore and adore the beauties of nature. We visit and talk to our loved ones. There are so many good things we can do on the Sabbath!
The most important thing I believe that needs to be done on the Sabbath is to remember God and do the things that please him. This is His day. And I think he expects us to show a sign of devotion to Him, for at least a whole day. This scripture explains it better:
“…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.” -Exodus 31:13
I have been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for almost 8 years of my life. If my calculation is right, I have spent around 483 Sundays in which only a few days I missed church. The only worth calculation making is the counting of days we missed church. I know when every Sunday that I have tried to attend church and then keep the sabbath day holy it has truly blessed my life. There were many times that the adversary was working hard to put obstacles before me so that I couldn’t enjoy the blessings of the Sabbath day. I know it’s hard to come to church because of work schedule. I have been there. I also know it’s difficult to keep the sabbath day holy where there are so much distraction and entertainment drawing our attention. As hard and difficult those obstacles might be seen, I testify of the enormous blessings we can receive if we strive to obey this important commandment.
To me, there is no better day of the week. Sunday provides rest, peace, joy and adoration for God and my family. Its good to know that there is a day on the calendar that I can devote myself more fully to my Heavenly Father. I know I had a good week by realizing that I went to church on Sunday and I kept the Sabbath day holy. If it wasn’t for Sunday, no other day of the week would have any meaning. Whatever we do or don’t do, on this holy day, its a personal sign between us and God. If in this day, God chose to rest and Jesus Christ chose to be resurrected, what will you do, to keep the Sabbath day holy?
God and Me 