There have been many lessons and talks about the sabbath day. There are lists of things and people should and shouldn't do on Sunday from prophets to Sunday School teachers. Such lists ring familiar when we read about the Saducees and Pharisees in the New Testament. . . . you may take 421 steps on the Sabbath, you may not buy a cow on the Sabbath. There is much debate about appropriate activities on the Sabbath day because we all think that our definition of reverence in the correct definition. And it is. How you worship is between you and Heavenly Father, assuming that you consult Heavenly Father and follow the Spirit about your Sabbath activities. But whether you do or not, it is not up to me to judge what type of person you are by what you do on Sunday. Not judging others is a little difficult though, regarding Sabbath activities, because we have been given guidance from the Lord and some of he things He asks us to do is something that other people can see. Here are a few things that are more likely to be public knowledge:
- Go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day
- Do not do your usual labors, rest
- confess thy sins unto thy brethren
Here are the things that we can do on the Sabbath day (and other days) that are not public knowledge:
- How you pay your devotions to the Most High
- Offering your oblations and sacraments
- Confessing thy sins to the Lord
- Fasting and prayer
- Give thanks
How we do these things:
- With thanksgiving
- with cheerful hearts and countenances
- not with much laughter
- with a glad heart
Blessings we receive from doing these things:
- The fulness of the earth is ours (beasts of the field, fowls, herbs, good things from the earth, food, raiment, things for houses or barns, orchards, gardens, vineyards).
The whole point of these instructions is in verse 21:
"And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments."
All these things He has asked us to do, to show Him that we are diliberate in our reverence. That we are resting in his name, not just resting. That we are thankful for all things which come from Him, not just thankful that we've got things. He's asking us to have a whole different focus on the Sabbath Day. He recognizes that on all other days we are to support our families, educate ourselves, help others, etc. By focusing on Him on the Sabbath, we can have proper perspective about our weekly necessities.
No comments:
Post a Comment