Gospel Topics

The Sabbath Day

�Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy� (Ex 20:8).
The word Sabbath comes from the Hebrew word meaning day of rest. The Sabbath day commemorates God�s day of rest after he finished the Creation. We read in the book of Genesis that God created the heavens and the earth in six periods of time, which he called days: �And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it� (Genesis 2:2�3). The Sabbath day is every seventh day. It is a holy day ordained by God for us to rest from our daily labors and worship him.

The Purpose of the Sabbath Day

Jesus taught that the Sabbath day was made for our benefit (see Mark 2:27). The purpose of the Sabbath is to give us a certain day of the week on which to direct our thoughts and actions toward God. It is not a day merely to rest from work. It is a sacred day to be spent in worship and reverence. As we rest from our usual daily activities, our minds are freed to ponder spiritual matters. On this day we should renew our covenants with the Lord and feed our souls on the things of the Spirit.

History of the Sabbath

The seventh day was consecrated by God as a Sabbath in the beginning of the earth (see Genesis 2:2�3). Since earliest times, the tradition of a sacred seventh day has been preserved among various peoples of the earth. God renewed a commandment concerning this day to the Israelites, saying, �Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.� Keeping the Sabbath day was also a sign that the Israelites were his covenant people.

However, some Jewish leaders made many unnecessary rules about the Sabbath. They decided how far people could walk, what kind of knots they could tie, and so forth. When certain Jewish leaders criticized Jesus Christ for healing sick people on the Sabbath, Jesus reminded them that the Sabbath was made for the benefit of man.

The Lord�s Day

Until the resurrection of Jesus Christ, he and his disciples honored the seventh day as the Sabbath. After his resurrection, Sunday was held sacred as the Lord�s day in remembrance of his resurrection on that day. From that time on, his followers appointed the first day as their Sabbath. In both cases there were six days of labor and one for rest and devotion.

How Do We Keep the Sabbath Day Holy?

The Lord asks us, first, to sanctify the Sabbath day. In a revelation given to Joseph Smith in 1831, the Lord commanded the Saints to go to the house of prayer and offer up their sacraments, rest from their labors, and pay their devotions to the Most High (see D&C 59:9�12).

Second, he asks us to rest from daily work. This means we should perform no labor that would keep us from giving our full attention to spiritual matters. The Lord told the Israelites, �Thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle� (Exodus 20:10). Our prophets have told us that we should not shop, hunt, fish, attend sports events, or participate in similar activities on that day.

President Spencer W. Kimball cautioned, however, that if we merely lounge about doing nothing on the Sabbath, we are not keeping the day holy. The Sabbath calls for constructive thoughts and acts. What kinds of things may we do on the Sabbath? The Lord has told us to prepare only simple foods on that day, keeping the purpose of the Sabbath in mind (see D&C 59:13). The prophet Isaiah suggested that we should turn away from doing our own pleasure and should �call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable� (Isaiah 58:13). We should do righteous things.

We keep the Sabbath day holy by:

• Attending Church meetings
• Reading the scriptures and the words of our Church leaders
• Visiting the sick, the aged, and our loved ones
• Listening to uplifting music and singing hymns
• Praying to our Heavenly Father with praise and thanksgiving
• Performing Church service that we have been assigned to do
• Preparing family history records and personal histories
• Sharing our testimony and spiritual experiences with family members
• Writing letters to loved ones
• Fasting with a purpose
• Sharing time with children and others in the home

In deciding what other activities we should properly engage in on the Sabbath, we should ask ourselves: Will it uplift and inspire me? There may be times when we are required to work on the Sabbath. We should avoid this whenever possible, but when it is absolutely necessary, we should still maintain the spirit of Sabbath worship in our hearts as much as possible.

Blessings for Observing the Sabbath

If we honor the Sabbath day, we may receive great spiritual and temporal blessings. The Lord has said that if we keep the Sabbath day with thanksgiving and cheerful hearts, we will be full of joy. He has promised: �The fulness of the earth is yours, . . . whether for food or for raiment, or for houses, or for barns, or for orchards, or for gardens, or for vineyards; �Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart; �Yea, for food and for raiment, for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body and to enliven the soul.� -(D&C 59:16�19)

FASTING

Since the time of Adam, God�s people have fasted to help them draw near to him and to worship him. Jesus showed the importance of fasting by his own example when he fasted for 40 days (see Luke 4:1�4). Through latter-day revelation we learn that the Lord still expects his people to fast and pray often (see D&C 88:76).

How to Fast Properly

Fasting means to go without food and drink. Occasional fasting is good for our bodies and helps our minds become more active. The Savior taught us that purposeful fasting is more than just going without food and drink. We must also concentrate on spiritual matters.

We Should Pray When We Fast

Prayer is a necessary part of fasting. Throughout the scriptures, prayer and fasting are mentioned together. Our fasting should be accompanied by sincere prayer, and we should begin and end our fasting with prayer.

We Should Fast with a Purpose

Fasting can have many purposes. We can overcome weaknesses or problems by fasting and praying. Sometimes we may wish to fast and pray for help or guidance for others, such as a family member who is ill and needs a blessing. Through fasting we can come to know the truth of things just as did the prophet Alma in the Book of Mormon. He said: �I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit� (Alma 5:46).

We can fast for our nonmember friends to become converted to the truth. Fasting can help comfort us in times of sorrow and mourning (see Alma 28:4�6). Fasting can help us become humble and feel closer to our Heavenly Father (see Helaman 3:35). Our purpose in fasting should not be to impress others. The Lord counseled: �Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. �Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. �But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast� (Matthew 6:16�18). We should be cheerful when we fast and not advertise our fasting to others.

The Fast Day

One Sunday each month Latter-day Saints observe a fast day. On this day we neither eat nor drink for two consecutive meals, thus making a fast of twenty-four hours. If we were to eat our evening meal on Saturday, then we would not eat or drink until the evening meal on Sunday.

Everyone who can do so should fast. However, �many are subject to weakness, others are delicate in health, and others have nursing babies; of such it should not be required to fast. Neither should parents compel their little children to fast. We should encourage our children to fast after they have been baptized, but we should never force them. The fast day is a special day for us to humble ourselves before the Lord in fasting and prayer. It is a day to pray for forgiveness from our sins and for the power to overcome our faults and to forgive others. On fast Sunday, members of the Church meet together and partake of the sacrament. They strengthen themselves and one another by bearing testimony in fast and testimony meeting.

Fast Offerings

When we fast each month, the Lord asks us to help those in need. One way we do this is by giving through the proper priesthood authority either the food or the money we would have spent on food for the two meals. We should give as generously as we are able. Through our fast offerings we become partners with the Lord in administering to the needs of our less fortunate brothers and sisters.

We Are Blessed When We Fast

Isaiah, an Old Testament prophet, wrote of the Lord�s rich promises to those who fast and help the needy. We are promised peace, improved health, and spiritual guidance. Isaiah tells us that when we fast:

Fasting improves our lives and gives us added strength. It helps us live other principles of the gospel because it draws us nearer to the Lord.

Fasting Teaches Self-Control

Fasting helps us gain strength of character. This reason alone makes fasting important. When we fast properly, we will learn to control our appetites, our passions, and our tempers. Solomon said, �He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city� (Proverbs 16:32). Even fasting for only two meals can give us a feeling of success. We are a little stronger by having proved to ourselves that we have self-control. If we teach our children to fast, they will develop the willpower to overcome greater temptations later in their lives.

Fasting Gives Us Spiritual Power

When we fast wisely and prayerfully, we develop our faith. With that faith we will have greater spiritual power. For example, Alma (the Book of Mormon prophet) tells the story of meeting again with the sons of Mosiah many years after their miraculous conversion. He felt great joy when he learned that they had strengthened their faith and had developed great spiritual power. They had gained this power because �they had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation� (Alma 17:3).

The sons of Mosiah had been preaching for fourteen years to the Lamanites. Because the sons of Mosiah had fasted an prayed, the Spirit of the Lord increased the power of their words. This gave them great success in their missionary work. (See Alma 17:4.)
The Savior has said to those who fast properly, �Thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly� (Matthew 6:18).