Why have we been focusing on the Sabbath Day for three years?
"The Lord's commandment to hallow the
Sabbath day and to keep it holy is a charge that we take very
seriously and literally. If we can really do that...if we can really
do that, we will help our members to build faith in the Lord and
deepen their conversion to Him and to His church. As we learn
better how to hallow the Sabbath day, faith will increase across the
world."(Pres. Nelson)
"We've determined that elevating the spirit and power of the Sabbath day would be most influential in drawing members and families closer to the Lord Jesus Christ..." (Elder Ballard)
"It's our purpose now to turn to the scriptures and seek a better understanding of what the Lord intends for the Sabbath, what it should mean, and what it should achieve in our lives and what we can do to make that happen at home." (Elder Christopherson)
?Have you taken a "very serious approach to improving the Lord's day?
Foundational Scripture: Isaiah 58:13-14
?What is the importance of a foundation??The Savior used "rock" and "sand" as examples of two kinds of foundations and
the consequences of using one over the other. Who is the "rock" upon which we are told to build our foundation?
?What is the consequence of building on any other foundation than Jesus Christ?
13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
?How does your understanding of the importance of "foundations" add to the importance and meaning of this being a "foundational" scripture for our understanding of the Sabbath day?
?Does the promise associated with this scripture being a "foundation" motivate you to want to improve your Sabbath day?
?What are we to turn away from on the Sabbath?
?Are there any specific examples given in church publications?
- First Presidency Message, Pres. Kimball
- New Era Q&A
- Church News
- Faust, "The Lord's Day"
- Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy
"It's not a question of doing 'good' things but about doing 'God' things."
?Who's holy day is it? ("It's Not Our Time")
?How do you honor your loved ones on their birthday, Mother's/Father's day?
- Do you seek to do things that they like or what you like?
- Do you give them gifts they would like or ones that you would like?
?Would you feel honored on your birthday if -
- you were ignored or were given attention?
- your loved ones said "Happy Birthday" and then planned a day of activities that they liked and
didn't include you or - if they asked you what you'd like to do and did that with you?
- If your loved ones talked only of themselves and politics, sports, tv or movies, etc - or if they told
you and others why they were grateful for you and tried to learn more about you?
?How can you honor the Lord using this analogy?
?Has He told us what He would like us to do to honor Him?
?What are the promises for keeping the Sabbath as the Lord would like?
- what does it mean to call the sabbath "a delight"?
- what does it mean to "ride upon the high places of the earth"?
See Moses 1:1; 7:2; 1 Nephi 11:1; Ether 3:1; Isaiah 2:2
- what does it mean to "feed thee with the heritage of Jacob"?
The Temple - His Holy House The Sabbath - His Holy Time
Elder Bednar made the above comment in a General Conference Leadership Training in April 2017 and followed it up with a General Conference talk in October 2017, "Exceeding Great and Precious Promises" where he said:
"The Sabbath day and the holy temple are two specific sources of divine help instituted by God to assist us in rising above the level and corruption of the world. We may initially think that the overarching purposes of keeping the Sabbath day holy and attending the temple are related but distinctive. I believe, however, that those two purposes are precisely the same and they work together to strengthen us spiritually as individuals and in our homes...
The Sabbath is God’s time, a sacred time specifically set apart for worshipping Him and for receiving and remembering His great and precious promises.
The Lord has directed in this dispensation:
“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.”18
Thus, on the Sabbath we worship the Father in the name of the Son by participating in ordinances and learning about, receiving, remembering, and renewing covenants. On His holy day, our thoughts, actions, and demeanor are signs we give to God and an indicator of our love for Him.19An additional purpose of the Sabbath is to elevate our vision from the things of the world to the blessings of eternity. Removed during this sacred time from many of the regular routines of our busy lives, we can “look to God and live”
Please note that the Sabbath day and the temple, respectively, are a sacred time and a sacred space specifically set apart for worshipping God and for receiving and remembering His exceeding great and precious promises to His children. As instituted by God, the principal purposes of these two divine sources of help are exactly the same: to powerfully and repeatedly focus our attention upon our Heavenly Father, His Only Begotten Son, the Holy Ghost, and the promises associated with the ordinances and covenants of the Savior’s restored gospel...
Now, importantly, a home should be the ultimate combination of time and space wherein individuals and families remember most effectively God’s great and precious promises. Leaving our homes to spend time in Sunday meetings and to enter the sacred space of a temple is vital but insufficient. Only as we bring the spirit and strength derived from those holy activities back with us into our homes can we sustain our focus upon the great purposes of mortal life and overcome the corruption that is in the world.
The Sabbath and the temple can help us to establish in our homes “a more excellent way” as we “gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him.”
What we do in our homes with His sacred time and with what we learn in His sacred space is pivotal to becoming partakers of the divine nature."
(Click here to review my more in depth study of this talk)
Elder Holland reinforces the importance of the home as the "ultimate combination of Time and Space where we most effectively overcome the corruption of the world":
Now, importantly, a home should be the ultimate combination of time and space wherein individuals and families remember most effectively God’s great and precious promises. Leaving our homes to spend time in Sunday meetings and to enter the sacred space of a temple is vital but insufficient. Only as we bring the spirit and strength derived from those holy activities back with us into our homes can we sustain our focus upon the great purposes of mortal life and overcome the corruption that is in the world.
The Sabbath and the temple can help us to establish in our homes “a more excellent way” as we “gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him.”
What we do in our homes with His sacred time and with what we learn in His sacred space is pivotal to becoming partakers of the divine nature."
(Click here to review my more in depth study of this talk)
Elder Holland reinforces the importance of the home as the "ultimate combination of Time and Space where we most effectively overcome the corruption of the world":
Closing Thought:
"The Apostle Peter reminds us that for disciples of Jesus Christ, “his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
“Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”2 (Elder Bednar's talk)
GROUP DISCUSSION:
? Why are the “exceeding great and precious promises” associated with our covenants so important to remember ?? What are you learning about the Sabbath Day?
? How has your feeling about the Sabbath Day been elevated?
? How might this improve your Sabbath Day next week?
? How will you share this with your family?
CHALLENGE:
Will you accept the prophetic invitation to take a very serious approach to improving the Lord’s day – that which you do at church and at home?
OTHER THOUGHTS:
? What is the Hebrew definition of the word "rest"?
? Does "resting from our labors" allow us to enter the "rest of the Lord"?
? Does "resting from our labors" allow us to enter the "rest of the Lord"?
In the temple we enter the Celestial Room, to symbolically enter into God's presence, which is another definition of the "rest of the Lord"
? God "blessed" the Sabbath day. To "bless" is to "favor". Why does God "favor" the Sabbath day?
?"Holy" means "different, separate, cut out, a cut above, different from the common". How do you make the Sabbath "holy"?
?"Holy" means "different, separate, cut out, a cut above, different from the common". How do you make the Sabbath "holy"?
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