RS Recap: Sept 16th

Chapter 16: "Offer up thy sacraments upon my Holy Day"

Sara was garden yesterday afternoon and she could hear her neighbors over the fence singing. As a conservative Jewish family, they were observing their Sabbath.

As a young adult she was able to spend a semester abroad in Jerusalem. There are three Sabbaths in Jerusalem for the 3 major religions. On Friday afternoons if you were in the Jewish part of town there was a bustle to prepare for the Sabbath. It was a wonderful feeling to be in a place where all people kept the Sabbath and she was able to observe the parrallels with the Jewish Sabbath and our Sabbath.

Jewish concept of the Sabbath as joy. To miss the joy is to miss it all. Centered in the creation story (then repeated as law in the 10 commandments). God himself rested. Jews say God still created on the Sabbath, he created “tranquility”. The Sabbath is the reward for all creative endeavor. It is what all creation was designed for. “The Sabbath has kept the Jews”, through out their history: loss of prophets, temple, land, dispersal across the globe---they have retained the tradition of the Sabbath and they have retained their identity. “To make a man forget he is a son of a king is a great evil”. On the Sabbath we remember we are sons and daughters of a king. Your ability to work the other six days of the week is enhanced by not working on the Sabbath. Even Pharoh let the slaves rest. The Jews have several concepts of the Sabbath we can learn from: It is a sanctuary in time. It takes discipline to prepare for it. It requires special dress, tablecloth, food.

mother is responsible for an atmosphere of reverence in the home, to create a mood of joy. Husband and children help, but she does most of thepreparation. Covering her head with a scarf, the mother lights the Sabbath candles within a few minutes of sundown and waving her arms to welcome in the Sabbath---a beginning of sacred time in She makes a special woven bread called challah. The two strands symbolizes the law and the prophets or again, remember and observe.

One the Sabbath the family attends services and the return to the center of the Sabbath - the home. They bless and pass the bread on the Sabbath. They then fill a cup with wine to overflowing, as a symbol of God's blessing and pass that. The Father may read scriptures or give blessings on the Sabbath. They discuss the week, share stories and sing. 

If we think about the time of the Savior, there is a lot of trouble over the Sabbath. He was often caught up in discussion about doing incorrect actions. He taught the Sabbath was for man not man for the Sabbath, to miss the joy is to miss the meaning of the Sabbath. It takes discipline to prepare of the Sabbath. It is a day when heaven and Earth unite and we can relate with our Father in Heaven. The Sabbath is a feast, the best meal of the week, the poor are welcome to share as is the stranger. By
resting on the Sabbath, we are reminded that we are free-- the Sabbath frees us from our weekly concerns and schedules. During the week we are slaves to our jobs, creditors, to providing for our needs.

In class we discussed the traditions that we have for the Sabbath. One sister shared that growng up in her famly women didn't wear pants on Sunday or in other words they wore Sunday clothes all day to help to remember that it was the Sabbath. Some keep electronics off or only use devices to help us remember the Lord. There is a time to prepare a meal together. It may be a simple meal but it is a time to spend time together and talk with family. Some discuss what they learned in church that day. Some play sacred music all the time. It is a sacrifice to not play sports or attend parties on Sunday, but others see how important it is to us.

1. The Sabbath is a Hallowed, Holy day. To hallow is to : respect, honor, greatly revere, to set apart as holy. To be holy is to be sacred, whole, solemn, set apart, to sanctify, pure.

Ezekiel 20:20 “… hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you,
that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.”

Isaiah 58: 13-14 “…turn away from doing thy own pleasure on my holy day and call
the Sabbath a delight….”

George Albert Smith's mother taught him, “you will be happier if you do not do that”. He  wanted to play ball with his friends on Sunday after church. Rather than say “no you can’t do that”, his mother
encouraged him to think of the Sabbath as a blessing, not a burden and keep it holy.

2. Attending church is an important part of keeping the Sabbath holy.

Moroni 6:5-6---names are taken and we meet to be nourished by the good word of God and to speak of the welfare of our souls.

Matthew 18:20---where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them. We need to be together to strengthen and serve each other.

D&C 59:9-15: to keep thyself unspotted from the world, rest from labor and go to house of prayer and pay thy devotions to God. Do it with cheer and a glad heart.

3. Partaking of the emblems of the sacrament is a sacred privilege.

3 Nephi 18:1-12: “if ye do this ye are built upon my rock”

4. Partaking of the sacrament worthily renews and increases our spiritual strength. George Albert Smith  observed that men and women who go from year to year without taking the sacrament “gradually lose the Spirit”

1 Corinthians 11:23-30 reminds us that the sacrament is a time for “a man to examine himself”. George Albert Smith counsels us: hands should be clean, hearts pure, divested of all enmity toward our associates, be at peace with fellow man, have within our hearts a desire to do the will of God and keep his commandments. Take the sacrament with humility.

Thought Questions:

What can you do in your home to show greater reverence for the Sabbath?
How can we help our families see the Sabbath as a blessing (not a burden)?
How would all society benefit from honoring the Sabbath?
What are the benefits you gain from worshipping together each week?
How do you make the ordinance of the sacrament more meaningful?
How can you help your children do this?
What qualifies you to take the sacrament worthily?
How does this increase your spiritual strength each week?