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Changing
the Family's Sundays to Sabbaths
Contents:
Our strength for
the future, our resolution to grow the Church across
the world, will be weakened if we violate the will of
the Lord in this important matter.
He has so very clearly spoken anciently and again in
modern revelation.
We cannot disregard with impunity that which He has
said.” When I was a young girl, Saturday was the day that we got ready for Sunday. In the 1960's it was very rare in Utah to find a business establishment open for business on Sunday. Because nothing was open, the temptation was not there to run to the store for that carton of eggs or for the treat that had been promised to the Sunday School class the week before. There were no curling irons or electric curlers so it was critical that Saturday night my hair was washed and rolled with those cute little pink, soft curlers that gave me a kink in my neck the next morning from trying to sleep on them all night. My mother rolled her hair with the hard, stiff, black, prickly rollers.....I don't know how she ever slept. Today, it is so different. I only live 5 miles from the home that I grew up in and there are more gas stations and grocery stores than I can count in a 10 mile radius. Of those many businesses, I only know of 2 grocery stores that close on Sunday. I shop at those stores to show my support for the choice the owners have made. I am sure that those owners have financial concerns about being closed on Sunday while the competition remains open...but I respect them for the decision they have made. We all have that decision to make. The Sabbath to us is a special day of opportunity and blessing. Its spirit is not one of limitation and containment. Its purpose is not to teach and enforce various no's. It is a day of spiritual freedom and joy for the Saints. It is the Lord's day, given to man for his spiritual development and joy and for his physical rest and peace. I believe the Lord has reserved his Sabbath day for the Church, for the individual, and for the family. Through His day, He has given each of us stewardship over it and the great blessings and opportunities that it holds. My guess is that great Sabbaths are made possible by what we as parents do on Saturday night to prepare. Is the diaper bag ready? Are the clothes laid out? Is dinner something simple or in the crock pot? Have I given some thought to what gospel principle I want to focus on tomorrow with my children....what song I want to teach them....what activity I want to do with them....what stories I want to tell them? Even more than that, it must be about prayer....praying for the Spirit, so that no matter what obstacles and challenges come our way, we can still have the Spirit in our homes. I love what Sister Coleen K. Menlove, Primary General President, said in a conference talk: "The key to accomplishing effective gospel teaching in the home is to invite the Spirit of the Lord to be with us. Some of the best counsel my husband and I received during some turbulent times of raising our children was to do all that is possible to invite and keep the Spirit in our home. Children cannot learn spiritual things and have spiritual feelings without the guidance of the Spirit."If we can have the Spirit in our homes on Sundays, I think we will be on our way toward teaching our children, and ourselves, about our Father's ways. (Submitted by Deb Cox)
SATURDAY
Sabbath FHE, Lesson or Mini-Class Idea Activity: Explain that we need to feed our brains before class so we will be having ice cream sundaes before class will begin.Refreshment table will be prepared with bowls of ice-cream ready for people to make their own sundaes with toppings of hot fudge, fruit sauces, whipped cream, cherries, and nuts. Have other toppings such as pickles, mustard, tomatoes, salt, butter, onion, etc. available for them to choose from. Discussion: After all have had time to choose their toppings and sit down, begin a discussion similar to this: Were you surprised at some of the things I put out for you to put on your ice cream sundaes? What did you put on your sundaes? Why didn’t you leave your sundae as just plain ice cream? Is that really a sundae? Why didn’t you put onions on your sundae? Don’t you like onions? What about the tomato? Don’t you like tomatoes? Is salt good? Why didn’t you put that on your sundae? Sundaes are like day-of-the-week Sundays. Lots of things are available to do with our Sundays. We can leave it plain like the plain ice cream... we can choose not to do much with it at all. What do you think that means? (Sleeping all day, sitting around being lazy) If we leave it plain, is that really a Sunday? Is that really keeping the Sabbath day? What are some things that are like the toppings that you didn’t choose things that are GOOD, but don’t “taste good” on Sundays? (Listening to popular music that is clean, shopping, going to good movies, paying the bills, getting gas in the car, watching mindless TV, going out to eat, going to ball games, playing sports, going to work unless absolutely necessary, etc. ––these are examples.) Families should make their own decisions about what is appropriate and inappropriate on Sundays. We should let the spirit guide us to what is appropriate. Even ask ourselves if we would be ashamed if suddenly Jesus was at our door on any given Sunday. Does that mean that sports are bad or that we shouldn’t go shopping? No. Not at all. But, there is a time and a place for sports, just like there is a time and a place for pickles or tomatoes. On a hamburger, they’re great, but they taste awful on ice cream. So next Sunday, think about what you’re putting on your Sunday..... mustard or chocolate sauce. Hand out the Sabbath 101 Manual....and discuss the 101 ideas for family activities to keep the Sabbath Day Holy. Discuss ways that the MOM in the home can keep the Sabbath Day Holy such as: resist the temptation to do light housekeeping, preparing simple meals in advance, etc. (Recipes for make-ahead meals, casseroles, and crock pot cooking are found in the Sabbath 101 Booklet.)Discuss what the blessings will be if we, as families, will keep this commandment in our homes. Stake President Hacking of the Lindon Utah West Stake said in a stake meeting, “It is our responsibility as mothers in the home, to save the souls of our children.” We must be examples and teachers about the Sabbath. |
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and selling
in our stores and markets.
Are we moving to mainstream America as some observers
believe?
In this I fear we are. What a telling thing it is to
see the
parking lots of the markets filled on Sunday in
communities
that are predominately Latter-day Saints.