We Have Listened This Afternoon to Testimonies

We have listened this afternoon to testimonies of the truth of the gospel, also to advise, counsel and instructions dealing with our temporal and spiritual affairs. We have appreciated the wonderful music rendered by the choir, appointed for this meeting. One of the soloists sang the hymn, "Suffer little children to come unto me." The remarkable incident of the blessing of children occurred in the little village of Ephron, in the district (of Perea, on the east side of the Jordan valley, just before the Master started his journey to Jerusalem to be crucified. ¶

The speakers at the tabernacle session have urged us to obey the laws of the country, to sustain the constitution, and to observe the Word ¶

of Wisdom and the law of tithing. Our faith has been strengthened by marvelous stories concerning the Book of Mormon and the Prophet Joseph Smith. One of the brethren speaking in the tabernacle quoted the statement of Jesus : ¶

"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me ; for I am meek and lowly in heart : and ye shall find rest unto your souls." ¶

This thought occurred to me : Were the Master here today thousands in this building could say : "Master, we have come to thee. We have listened to the call of thy servants. We have obeyed the gospel. Testimonies have been given us of its truth. The burden of doubt concerning you has left us. We have found rest for our souls." The gospel of Jesus Christ will give rest and contentment to any person who will obey and live it. ¶

THE SABBATH DAY ¶

I want to use the remainder of the time allotted to me to call to your attention one subject that has not been spoken on during this conference, and that is, the observance of the Sabbath, or the Lord's day. During the last few years many changes have occurred in the social life of the people, caused by the automobile, motion pictures and the great world war, which has had a detrimental effect on the observance of the Lord's day of rest. In addition to these conditions, a habit is growing to hold football and baseball games, Sunday concerts with or without pay, Sunday railroad excursions, etc., and places of amusement and resorts are open on the Lord's day, and even some places of business. ¶

LAW OF MOSES ¶

The great law giver, Moses, at one time gathered the Hebrews around Mount Sinai so that they could see the manifestations of the power of the Lord. At that time there was delivered to him that remarkable series of laws known as the Decalogue, or the Ten Commandments. The opening of this remarkable series of commandments says: "I am the Lord thy God which hath brought thee out of the land' of Egypt; out of the house of bondage," and among those ten commandments he gave these : ¶

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. "Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work : ¶

"But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God : in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates." ¶

Later the Lord re-stated this law to Moses, and he said : ¶

"Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep; for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations ; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. * * * ¶

"Wherefore, the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever." ¶

To the credit of the Hebrew people they did observe the Sabbath. Even in their captivity and when in bondage to foreign nations they did their best to rest on the seventh day. Before the advent of the Messiah two great religious and political parties arose in Palestine. They added to the Sabbath day law many trifling and irritating restrictions. No Jewish army would attack on a Sabbath day ; no Jewish army would march on that day; the people were forbidden to bake or cook; to build a fire or to prepare food, etc., and they could only walk a certain distance with a friend on that day. Some of their restrictions were rebuked several times by the Master and at one time he said: "The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath." ¶

The Master was crucified on a Friday. He was hurriedly buried before the Sabbath day, which commenced on Friday at six o'clock. His body laid in the tomb until Sunday morning, the first day of the week, when he arose from the dead. On that day he was seen by several women, then by Peter, and then by Mary Magdalene. He accompanied two of his friends to Emmaus and then appeared to his disciples and their friends in an upper room, and on the following first day of the week he again appeared to his disciples and others, and from that time on the Christian church observed the first day of the week as the Lord's day in remembrance of his resurrection. ¶

The Lord has definitely placed the responsibility of the Latter-day Saints concerning the day of rest. On the 7th day of August, 1831, he gave a revelation to the Prophet Joseph known to us as section 59, Doctrine and Covenants. The part of the section which I wish to call to your attention is as follows : ¶

"And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day. For verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High. But remember that on this, the Lord's day, thou shalt offer thine oblations and thy sacraments unto the Most High, confessing thy sins unto thy brethren and before the Lord." ¶

President Brigham Young called the observance of the Lord's day to the attention of the Saints in his time, and these instructions can be found in the Discourses of Brigham Young, as follows : ¶

"All Latter-day Saints should observe the Sabbath by resting from all labor, except those who must be detained to take care of children or perform some work of mercy. Now remember, those who go skating, buggy riding, or on excursions on the Sabbath day are weak in the faith and gradually, little by little, the spirit of their religion leaks out of their hearts and their affection. When I see a man gathering in his crops, or cattle, or making repairs on the Lord's day, I count him weak in the faith. At least he has lost the spirit of his religion. We should devote our time as the Church requires it, on the Lord's day, for the express purpose of renewing our mental and physical powers and getting our spiritual food." ¶

The late President Joseph F. Smith was equally as emphatic on this subject as President Brigham Young, and in his writings contained in Gospel Doctrine, he has said : ¶

"Men are not resting from their labors when they plow, plant, dig or do work of any kind. Men are not resting when they work around the house all day doing odd jobs. Men are not honoring the Lord when they go to places of amusement. Men are not honoring the Lord when they loiter around ice cream places, go to ball games and witness these games. It is a reflection on any Latter-day Saint community to patronize a ball game on the Lord's day." ¶

LATTER-DAY SAINTS AND THE SABBATH ¶

No Latter-day Saint can feel in full fellowship with the Holy Spirit who uses the Lord's day for recreation and pleasure, who visits pleasure resorts, picture shows and theatres, who goes to baseball or football games, who goes on picnics, fishing or hunting trips, or on railway excursions on the Lord's day, or who uses that day in automobile riding for pleasure. ¶

Experience has shown that those who remember the Lord's day and keep it holy are in harmony with the spirit of the gospel. The keeping of this law will affect our 'lives for good, and, if we disobey it it will affect our lives for evil. The Lord has designed this day so that we may rest from our labors, attend to our religious duties in a spirit of thankfulness and appreciation for the gospel, and obtain spiritual comfort and spiritual food. I am wondering if, in the rush and whirl of life, we are overlooking some of the fundamentals of the gospel. Are we making this, day a day of rest and devotion or a day of recreation and pleasure? I hope the Latter-day Saints will follow the word of the Lord given to us in these latter days and that we shall strictly observe the day of rest. ¶

I testify to you that "Mormonism," as it is called, is true. That it is the power of God unto salvation to the believer. It is a living force which will make us better every day we apply its truth and principles, and will take us back to the presence of our Father in heaven from whence we came. Amen. ¶