Living According to the Plan of God

It is a wonderful privilege to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and to enjoy the fellowship of men and women whose standards of life are noble and uplifting. I appreciate the opportunity I have to live in this choice land of Zion and be guided and directed by the teachings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and by the revelations given to the prophets of these latter days. I am thankful I have faith in the immortality of the soul, in divine revelation, in the restoration of the Gospel and in the blessings of the holy priesthood. In this Conference we have listened to words of inspiration, encouragement and helpfulness, which help prepare us for the battle of life and give us a greater desire to continue in this work in which the Lord has called us to labor. ¶

Marvelous changes have taken place in the last thirty years because of the development of the automobile, the radio, motion pictures and sound pictures. Not only have amusements and recreation changed the ¶

general attitude toward life, but modern commercial life has also affected us. We are still suffering from the effects of the World war, which has changed some of our ideals and habits. I feel that these changes have had a serious effect upon the attitude of the Latter-day Saints, particularly toward the Lord's day of rest. Our own exacting requirements have made it necessary for railways, street cars, and other forms of transportation to be carried on even on the Lord's day. ¶

I have been thinking concerning the Lord's day, mentioned briefly by Elder Joseph Fielding Smith, and I wish to call attention at this time to the important commandments of the Lord which he has given to his people in the past and in the present day concerning his day of rest. Let us briefly remind ourselves what the Lord requires of us. ¶

While the Children of Israel were traveling in Sinai preparing to enter the Promised Land, an incident of great importance took place. Moses was commanded to prepare the people to behold the face of God. They gathered around Mount Sinai, but when the ground shook and the mountain rocked and was covered with smoke and fire, the people were afraid and said unto Moses, "Speak thou with us, and we will hear : but let not God speak with us, lest we die." Then the Lord spake unto Moses, giving him the decalogue, or the Ten Commandments. Among those commandments is one that refers to the Sabbath day, as follows : ¶

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. ¶

"Six days shalt thou labour, 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 : ¶

"For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." ¶

The Lord required the seventh day as a day of rest. It was to be holy unto the Lord. Even in the daily collection of manna, a double portion fell on the sixth day, the day before the Sabbath, so there would be no necessity for gathering food on the seventh day. Not only was it a day of rest, but the Lord said that the Children of Israel should observe that day and sanctify it. The observance of the Sabbath day was a distinctive badge of membership in the Hebrew community. No law given to the Hebrew people was more strictly observed. ¶

In the days of the Savior the Jews had made so many restrictions concerning the Sabbath day that the Master himself stated, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." The Jews looked upon the observance of that day as a covenant, as indicated in the word of the Lord to Moses, contained in Exodus 31, verses 13, 16 and 17, as follows: ¶

"Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, 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, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. ¶

"It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever : for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed." ¶

In commemoration of the resurrection of our Redeemer and the fact that he appeared to his disciples and others on the first day of the week, this day was observed by the early Christians as a day of rest, which was known as the Lord's day. ¶

To us the first day of the week is the Lord's day. The Lord has not left his people in doubt as to the use and purpose of his day. On Sunday, the 7th day of August, 1831, a few days after the land of Zion had been dedicated for the gathering of his people, there was given to the Prophet Joseph Smith a revelation known as Section 59 of the Doctrine and Covenants, part of which is as follows : ¶

"Behold, blessed, saith the Lord, are they who have come up unto this land with an eye single to my glory, according to my commandments. . . . ¶

"Thou shalt offer a sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in righteousness, even that of a broken heart and a contrite spirit. ¶

"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 ; ¶

"Nevertheless thy vows shall be offered up in righteousness on all days and at all times ; ¶

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. ¶

And on this day thou shalt do none other thing, only let thy food be prepared with singleness of heart that thy fasting may be perfect, or, in other words, that thy joy may be full." ¶

This is the way the Lord intends the Latter-day Saints to observe the Lord's day. He intends that we shall cease from our labors and pay our devotions to the Most High, live restfully and quietly during the day, and attend the house of worship and offer up our sacraments to our Father in heaven. It is obligatory upon every Latter-day Saint to observe this day both in its spirit and meaning. ¶

President Brigham Young in his day called attention to better observance of the Lord's day. He said : ¶

"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 affections. 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." ¶

President Joseph F. Smith frequently called attention to the lax ¶

observance of the Sabbath day among the Latter-day Saints, and spoke as follows : ¶

"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 to patronize a ball game on the Lord's day." ¶

Quite recently President Heber J. Grant and his counselors, noting the trend among the Latter-day Saints, made the following appeal : ¶

"The Lord's day is a holy day — not a holiday. It has been set apart as a day of rest and worship. A sacred Sabbath begets reverence for God. It is not pleasing in his sight that the day be given over to pleasure-seeking in places of amusement or elsewhere. Sunday schools and meetings have been so arranged as to meet the convenience of the people and leave a considerable portion of the Sabbath day without Church appointments. We earnestly appeal to the people to keep their meeting appointments faithfully and to utilize that portion of Sunday not appointed for meetings in promoting family association in the home, with the purpose of stimulating and establishing greater home fealty, a closer companionship among parents and children, and more intimate relations among all kindred. We believe that it is unnecessary for families to go beyond their homes or those of their kindred for the relaxation and association which are proper for the Sabbath day, and we therefore discourage more traveling than is necessary for this purpose and attendance upon appointed meetings. Let all unnecessary labor be suspended and let no encouragement be given by the attendance of members of the Church at places of amusement and recreation on the Sabbath day. If Sunday is spent in our meetings and in our homes, great blessings will come to our families and communities." ¶

No person can disregard the Lord's day without suffering serious spiritual consequences. If we neglect to observe it, we shall become sick spiritually. The Sabbath-breaker will lose faith in this great work, for faith can only be developed by service and obedience to the commandments of the Lord. The Lord is not pleased with Latter-day Saints who attend Sunday shows, Sunday ball games, who play golf on Sunday, go on canyon trips, or visit places of amusement ; .nor is he pleased with those who do unnecessary labor on the Lord's day. ¶

When we observe the Lord's day and carry out the spirit of the instructions of the Lord, as I have quoted in Section 59 of the Doctrine and Covenants, we shall grow in spiritual power and usefulness, great faith will come into our souls, and our minds and bodies will become rested. This observance will have a refining influence in our homes and on our families. Sabbath observance will teach our children the great lessons of obedience they so much need. ¶

The commandment to keep the Lord's day holy is always binding upon the Lord's people. Let us get in harmony with the word of the Lord concerning the proper observance of his day and make it a day of rest and devotion to the Most High. Amen. ¶