Are You Ready for What the Sabbath Offers?

Are You Ready for What the Sabbath Offers?

Contributed By Sister Neill F. Marriott of the Young Women general presidency 25 JUNE 2015)

Sunday is a day for offering our cleanest and best self to the Lord. Spiritually preparing for this special day shows the Lord we hallow(할로) His Sabbath. (새버쓰)

 

Sister Neill F. Marriott said

“Our preparation for Sunday takes on holiness as we plan ahead, preparing our mental and spiritual focus; it shows the Father you love His day.” —

 

Reverencing the Sabbath can lead us to personal revelation, and this reverencing should begin well before the Sabbath arrives.

The Sabbath can truly become a delight if we are ready for what it offers. The Savior knew we needed to prepare our minds to fully participate in the sacred things of God.

In 3 Nephi 17, Jesus, knowing the people lacked understanding, told them to go home, ponder what He had taught, pray for understanding, and prepare their minds for the morrow(이튿날) when He would teach again. Studying and applying the Lord’s pattern of preparation as we ready ourselves for the Sabbath will greatly bless us.

 

A row of Sunday shoes

 Sister Neill F. Marriott said

My mother, a staunch(스타운치) Methodist, taught me a lesson about honoring Sundays without saying a word. Each Saturday afternoon Mother applied liquid polish to the shoes of my six younger brothers and placed them carefully in an open window to dry. The weekly sight of that long line of Sunday shoes drying on the windowsill spoke volumes to my young understanding. I could see that Sunday was a different day, a day apart from the scuffed shoes(스캅터 슈즈-때묻은 신발) of the week, a day for offering our cleanest and best self to the Lord.  Mother wanted to honor God appropriately, and polished shoes were a sign of her reverence for the Lord’s day. I learned on Saturday that the following day called for thoughtful preparation.

 

A love letter to Heavenly Father

Thoughtful preparation shows the Lord we reverence and hallow His holy day.

Sister Linda S. Reeves, second counselor in the Relief Society general presidency, said 

“When I take the time on Saturday to prepare for Sunday, it is almost like sending a love letter to my Heavenly Father telling Him that He is the most important person in my life. He has responded by sending me a feeling of love—letting me know that He appreciates my efforts as I take the time to prepare for the Sabbath day.”

The prophet Ezekiel(에즈기엘) counsels, “Hallow(할로) my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God” (Ezekiel 20:20). How do we hallow the Lord’s Sabbaths?

 

A quiet chapel

When we are prepared to worship, we bring increased reverence to the chapel.

Prepared to worship when Sunday arrives, we can bring a new reverence to the environment of the chapel itself. Think how you would feel if you entered a chapel filled with ward members sitting quietly and listening thoughtfully to the prelude music. In such a setting we can concentrate on the purpose of the meeting, feel the Spirit, and receive inspiration.

 

A witness of covenant

The heart of the Sabbath is partaking of the sacrament. In this holy moment we acknowledge our constant need of the Redeemer.

As the sacrament is passed, we allow the Atonement of Jesus Christ to enter into our being, individually and personally. Here is the heart of the Sabbath. We reach out to partake of the emblems of the Atonement, witnessing publicly that we enter this covenant with Heavenly Father to keep the commandments, to always remember the Savior, and to be willing to take His name upon us.

With our symbolic action we are saying to God and man that we reach out to the Atonement of Jesus Christ, take it into our souls, and desire His atoning blood to be applied in our lives. In this holy moment we acknowledge our constant need of the Redeemer, our desire for His forgiveness and blessing, and our commitment to live our covenants. 

Keeping the Sabbath continually throughout the day will reap great blessings from the Lord. The Sabbath is not just the three-hour block of meetings! We can think of each hour of Sunday as a sacred hour—employing the words “always remember Him” carefully throughout this holy day. Thus we would fill our home with the spirit of the day.

 

A deeper discipleship

Thoughtful preparation for and participation in the Lord’s day will surely make the Sabbath a delight at church and at home.

The effect of partaking of the sanctified bread and water gratefully and humbly is to make of us new creatures, spiritually reborn, as Paul teaches in 2 Corinthians 5:17. Week after week as we strive to live the sacramental covenant, we change. We deepen our discipleship as we prepare to keep the Sabbath holy and offer up our vows in righteousness (see D&C 59:11); we then receive the guidance of the Holy Ghost, even personal revelation, in our daily life.

When we commence(시작하다) each Sunday prepared and reverent, our depth of Sabbath understanding will be as spiritual food to all members of our family. Faith in the Lord will grow in our homes as we bring our Sabbath day reverence into our living places.

Just as at church, reverence for the divine in a home brings a spirit of truth and learning. Thoughtful preparation for and participation in the Lord’s day will surely make the Sabbath a delight at church and at home.

 

E. Jeffrey Hill said(20 JULY 2015)

1. Worship together as a family.

2. Make the Sabbath different.

3. Build family relationships.

4. Plan for family happiness.

5. Serve others.

 

1, Worship together as a family.
Get to bed early on Saturday night. A family can worship better on Sunday if its members have gotten enough rest the night before. Make it a priority to get young children to bed early and encourage teenagers to return home at a reasonable hour on Saturday night.

Pray and read together. Just because the Sabbath is different, do not get out of the weekday routine of family prayer and scripture reading. Read the scriptures at a pace family members enjoy.
Give priesthood blessings. The Sabbath is an excellent day for turning the hearts of fathers and children toward each other through father's blessings. Parents can also share their patriarchal blessings with their children and talk about the guidance contained therein.

Fast as a family. Before a fast Sunday, a family might eat a meal together Saturday afternoon or evening, discussing common purposes for the upcoming fast. Then they could remind each other of these purposes throughout the fast. Parents can encourage children to fast to the degree appropriate for their age. (Younger children might fast for only one meal.) Break the fast by praying as a family about the purposes of the fast. Ask children about their experience fasting and about any promptings they might have received.

Proclaim the gospel. Together decide to become friends with a family of another faith in the neighborhood and plan an activity with them. If the time is right, invite the family to go to church with your family. You could also have each family member write his or her testimony inside copies of the Book of Mormon to be given to personal friends and acquaintances. Or you might give the family one of the Church’s “pass-along cards.”

Redeem the dead. Sunday is a good day for focusing on family history. Help children learn their family history by reading or telling stories about their ancestors. Gather family conversion stories. on a large map place tacks and labels to indicate where ancestors were born, married, and died. Or make a dinner with food from the country of a particular ancestor. As you learn together about your ancestors, create a four-generation pedigree chart with each child.

Don't take a vacation from the Sabbath. When away on a family vacation, make the effort to clean up and go to Sunday meetings wherever you happen to be.

 

2,Make the Sabbath different.
As a day of worship, Sunday should feel distinct from other days of the week. By carefully controlling the home atmosphere, families can maintain reverence throughout the day.

 

Sunday should look different. Wearing nice clothes all day can help us keep the Sabbath. Girls might wear dresses and boys nice shirts and slacks.(느슨한 바지) Exactly what is worn is less important than that the clothes reflect the spirit the family wants for the Sabbath. These may or may not be the clothes worn to church, but they would be nicer than everyday clothes. Even meal preparation and clean-up has more of a “Sunday” look when the family wears nice clothes and aprons.

 

Sunday should sound different. Families can carefully select the music they listen to on Sundays. Appropriate music can set a tone of reverence for the home. Families may wish to refrain from playing everyday music on this holy day. Many quiet CDs with religious musical themes are available. Families can also sing hymns, primary songs, family songs, and other inspirational music.

 

Sunday should feel different. Young children need to play. They will not sit quietly on the couch all day. As parents you can help them select activities in harmony with the mood you want on the Sabbath day.

 

Sunday may not be the best day for children to play with friends. It may be a better day for children to play with their parents and siblings. And finally, to give the Sabbath a more sacred feel, a family may choose not to watch TV or play videos or computer games; if there is a TV program your family really would like to see, you can record it on video and watch it on a weeknight.

Sunday should taste different. “Sunday dinner” is a tradition that brings families together for a delicious meal and pleasant words. Too often this undertaking detracts from the Sabbath experience of the person responsible for the meal (often the mom). However, if everyone in the family helps with meal preparation and clean-up, this tradition can promote the spirit of the Sabbath. Eat the meal at a leisurely pace(여유있게) and feed the soul with conversation and thanksgiving, not just the belly with food.

 

In Moroni 10:32, Moroni wrote,

“come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ;

God is live. This church is the true church of God. and know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and that President Thomas S. Monson is the Lord's servant that is living.

I said all these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen