The entry for the "Sabbath" goes into the history of the Lord's Day. A Sabbath day has always been in existence, except perhaps during the dark ages. But even then, there were days of worship. The Sabbath day became an easy target for jots and tittles of the law. The Lord's expectations of the day were rather simple compared to what the Pharisees made it out to be. I think it is the same today. The expectations are rather simple, the problem is that there are so many more options to choose from, ways to spend our time that are completely different from the Lord's commandments and leader's suggestions, but nevertheless, those ways to spend time are before us.
Here is the defining paragraph from the BD:
The importance of a sacred day for man to rest from his temporal labors,
contemplate the world of the Lord, and assemble for public worship is a major
item in a person's spiritual development. Furthermore, a decay in the
national religious life always follows any tendency toward carelessness in the
matter of Sabbath observance. The existence of a weekly holy day is a most
important safeguard; it leaves a constant reminder to the individual of his need
for spiritual sustenance and his duty before God, and serves as a witness to the
world that there is such a thing as revealed religion.
I just don't know if there is anything I can add to that which would explain the importance of the Sabbath day any better than that.
The next paragraph explains that the change from worshipping on the seventh day of the week to the first day of the week is not so important. It's just important that we have that day to remember the works of God. But the first day of the week does commemorate the resurrection of the Savior and it is symbolic of the creation of the earth and the deliverance of Israel from Egypt.
I think I'll talk about the sacrament tomorrow.
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