REMEMBERING THE SABBATH— AS A SIGN
And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to the people of Israel, You shall keep my sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you.”Exodus 31:12–13
I have thought a lot about the Sabbath and how keeping it holy— is a sign. How it points us to a truth that we are never to forget. The truth is that God (and not we ourselves) has set us apart. He has chosen us and commanded us to be peculiar. Knowing this, I recently have wanted our home to reflect this sign even greater. However, I wasn’t sure what we could do more of as we had already made so many changes over the years. The movies we watched on Sundays (If we did) were the cleanest and only viewed to teach—never to entertain, music was only the best (no sloppy, casual, backbeat, etc), we read and studied, and we gathered the family often for beautiful family dinners, and gospel discussion, etc.
However, an idea came to us on how to consecrate our Sabbaths even greater after reading an article from Joseph F. Smith. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/teachings-joseph-f-smith/chapter-26?lang=eng
! It would take some adjusting, and I wasn’t sure my family could do it.
SATURDAY NIGHTS!
We decided to begin the consecration of our Sabbaths — on Saturday nights. We thought “why not try it”— see if this makes a difference. To me as a mother, Sundays have always been rushed and before you know it it’s midday before you think about “worshipping”, let alone as a family doing something sacred. By then we are usually competing with family lunch, grandchildren, and naps (sigh).
The first thing we did to practice consecrating (like, it needs to be practiced, not!) was to make sure all of the chores and activities were finished by dinner. After, when the kitchen was cleaned, and everything was prepared for the Sabbath — we gathered in the living room for singing and family prayer. We lit a few candles, then each of the four of us brought a hymn or song to be sung (and yes, we sang the entire song, all the verses!), and then following the singing, we knelt for prayer specifically with the focus to start our worship, each vowing to do better. Each family member was given the opportunity to pray if desired, which sometimes is one, sometimes all. The remainder of the evening was then spent with hymns played, personal scriptures, or an uplifting movie from the Joseph Smith Foundation.
IS THE SABBATH A BURDEN?
Many people feel that Sunday is a burden mostly because we have so much leisure, we don’t feel the importance of Sabbath rest; but more importantly, is the fact that not many families really enjoy what God intended us to enjoy on the Sabbath, which is God Himself. Many of us enjoy our recreation, sports, television, and secular books and magazines and recreation and hobbies and games far more than we enjoy direct interaction with God. In fact, for many Sundays are now called Sunday-Fundays.
Therefore, automatically people whose hearts are set more on the pleasures of the world than on the enjoyment of God will feel the sabbath command as a burden, not a blessing as it should be. For most of us, the Sabbath command to keep it holy is really a demand to repent. It is an invitation for us to enjoy what we don’t enjoy and shows us the evil in our hearts, and our need to repent and be changed.
THERE IS STILL A SWEET SONG
The results of consecrating now for months have made a HUGE difference in our home. Many of us fast on Sundays — and this simple act has helped to set the tone for the spirit with this sacrifice. We have also woken up to peace, and many times a hymn in our head from the previous night’s hymn fest. This has also allowed more time in the morning for us to read scriptures, and to spend valuable time together at the breakfast table — as my husband likes to cook breakfast. The spirit that has come from obedience in truly setting aside the Sabbath as something “different and unique” has been rewarding. It has also set for an environment for the rest of the week, I have noticed. Usually, come Monday there is still a sweet song being sung from Saturday’s choices, and a sweet spirit all by just simply adjusting our time to allow a few more hours of worship in. It has become a day now meant as it should have been, a day “to separate from a common to something even more sacred.”
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