If We Were Looking For Some Program...

• If we were looking for some program to cure all of the problems that presently beset our world, we might well find it by properly observing the Sabbath day. The importance of the Sabbath is prefigured in the account of creation. In programming the seven creative periods, God set aside the seventh day as his Sabbath. And then in our interests he especially blessed and hallowed this one day out of each week, which he ordained to be our Sabbath day. And what a magnificent day it is when it is used as he intended. ¶

It is probable that our civilization would never have survived for half a century if it had not been for this one day in seven that we call Sunday. This is the day when we put on our best clothes and think our best thoughts and read our best books. This is the day when we associate with the people that we like the most. This is the day for which we usually reserve the best meal of the week. This is the day when we lay aside the cares that usually concern us during the other six days and go to the house of prayer and let our minds reach upward and try to understand the real purpose for which this day was set apart. ¶

Remember the Sabbath

Some people have performed miracles of accomplishment when over a period of a few years they have set apart even 15 minutes a day for regular study and special self-improvement. And we can bring eternal exaltation upon ourselves by using the Sabbath day as the Creator intended. Some 3,460 years ago God came down onto the top of Mount Sinai in fire, and to the accompaniment of lightning and thunder said, "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy." (Exod. 20:8.) Then in the meridian of time, the Son of God established his church upon the earth with the expectation that we should belong to it. Just suppose that we should each make up a thoughtful list of those things that we could do to really make this a holy day. The church of which we should be an important part was given the responsibility for proclaiming the principles of eternal truth, and within the framework of the Church we are supposed to individually sponsor those laws on which the blessings of mankind are predicated. William James has said, "That which holds our attention, determines our action." And if we don't pay attention, we lose the blessing. ¶

The Sabbath day gives us a time to study the scriptures and to think about life's eternal purposes. "The mind is made up by what it feeds upon." And the Sabbath day is a time for spiritual feasting, mental stimulation, righteous activities, ennobling worship, and pleasant Christian fellowship. Anciently the followers of Christ assembled themselves together on the first day of the week to hear the gospel discussed, partake of the emblems of his atonement, and renew their covenants of faithfulness. And in our own day the Lord has said, "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." (D&C 59:9-10.) ¶

A Command of Opportunity

That is one of our greatest commands of opportunity. And we bring all sorts of serious problems upon ourselves when we use this day for pleasure, worldliness, and evil. We sometimes make the Sabbath our least important day by putting on our most unsightly clothes and doing our most ordinary jobs. As a consequence of what we do, many of our churches remain empty and the holy scriptures remain on the shelf unopened. When we lose the Sabbath day spirit, we are likely to build bars in our homes instead of altars. And sometimes we can get more interested in horse races and baseball games than in the celestial kingdom. ¶

Someone has said that the mind like the dyer's hand is colored by what it holds. If I hold in my hand a sponge full of purple dye, my hand becomes purple. And if I hold in my mind and heart great ideas of faith and ambitions of righteousness, my whole person is colored accordingly. ¶

Paul's Prediction

The apostle Paul saw our day and indicated that we were holding in our minds many of the wrong kind of ideas. He said, ". . . in the last days perilous times shall come. ¶

"For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 'Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, "Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. . . ." (2 Tim. 3:1-5.) And he indicated the change that we should make when he said, ". . . be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind." (See Rom. 12:2.) Our whole lives can be transformed by having a holy experience on the Sabbath day. ¶

Benefits of Sabbath

The other day while walking down the street I met a good friend of mine. ¶

We shook hands and engaged in a little pleasant small talk. We laughed, visited, joked, and had a pleasant few minutes together. Then as I went on my way I thought how much better I felt than I had previously done. But one of the best ways to feel the faith and enjoy the friendliness of our fellow human beings is in church. In church the talk is very important, and we can shake hands, feel the Spirit of God, and be uplifted by each other as we listen, pray, and sing together out of the depths of worshiping hearts. ¶

The Lord is pleased when we honor him and bring this benefit upon ourselves by keeping the Sabbath day holy. He has said, "For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads." (D&C 25:12.) ¶

Renewal of Covenants

It is also in the house of the Lord that we partake of the sacrament and renew our personal covenants to serve him. ¶

On that memorable last evening of the Lord's life, the scripture recalls that "he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. ¶

Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you." ¶

(Luke 22:19-20.) And, "For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come." (1 Cor. 11:26.) ¶

Rewarding Associations

This is not only a way to have a vitalizing spiritual experience with our Redeemer, but it is also a way that we can have a rewarding association with our fellowmen. Next to God, the most inspiring creation in the universe is a great human being formed in God's image. And one of the reasons that we have been endowed with his great attributes is that with them we might inspire each other. It has been pointed out that when the veils of our mortality are drawn aside, the most ordinary individual that we know may be the kind of person that we would feel like falling down and worshiping before. ¶

If we could have visited with Abraham as he herded his sheep on the deserts of Palestine, we may not have been greatly impressed. But if we could have been at his side as he stood among the noble and great in the antemortal councils of God, or if we could be with him now as he serves in God's heavenly kingdom, the experience would likely be a much more memorable one. And what wonderful people we might discover each Sabbath day if we could see our brothers and sisters in the light of their real identity as children of God. The Prophet Joseph Smith said that "if we could look into heaven for five minutes we would learn more than by reading all of the books that have ever been written on that subject." But all of our brothers and sisters were themselves in heaven just a few years ago, and we may shortly see them there again. ¶

It is helpful for us to remember that God, angels, spirits, and men are all of the same species in different stages of development and in various degrees of righteousness. And the apostle Paul says that we should not be "forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." ¶

(Heb. 13:2.) ¶

What Is Man

But who are these with whom we worship? King David asks a helpful question where he exclaims, "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? ¶

and the son of man, that thou visitest him? "For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. ¶

"Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet." (Ps. ¶

8:4-6.) One Bible translation says, "Thou hast made him for a little while lower than the angels." (Italics added.) In some ways even Jesus was made lower than the angels temporarily. And what a thrill it ought to be for us each week to properly honor God and our fellow human beings as he has directed. And we are sure that someday when we come to stand before God, we will find that those who have effectively kept his commandments will be different kind of people than those who have ignored or disobeyed him. And so in imagination we might go again to stand before the fires of Mount Sinai and hear the thrilling command wherein God said, "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy." And may he help us so to do, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶