April 2005 Ensign - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
April 2005 Ensign - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
April 2005 Ensign - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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MESSAGES FROM THE<br />
DOCTRINE &COVENANTS<br />
Honoring the Sabbath<br />
brings us closer to the<br />
Lord and enables us<br />
to feel His love more<br />
abundantly.<br />
<strong>The</strong><br />
Holy<br />
Sabbath<br />
BY ELDER C. ELMER BLACK<br />
Area Authority Seventy<br />
North America Southeast Area<br />
When my parents married and<br />
started their family, they faithfully<br />
observed the Sabbath, just as their<br />
own parents had done. But by the time my<br />
father returned from serving in World War II,<br />
several restaurants in our city had begun to<br />
compete for the patronage <strong>of</strong> servicemen and<br />
their families for Sun<strong>day</strong> lunch. My parents<br />
had not seen such practices in the farming<br />
communities where they grew up. In an<br />
effort to ease my mother’s burden <strong>of</strong> preparing<br />
Sun<strong>day</strong> meals, our family occasionally<br />
dined at one <strong>of</strong> the restaurants on Sun<strong>day</strong>.<br />
Eventually, as my parents gained a better<br />
understanding <strong>of</strong> <strong>Church</strong> doctrine, they<br />
decided we would no longer patronize<br />
restaurants on this <strong>day</strong>. As I grew<br />
into my youth, I too began<br />
to understand and accept<br />
the doctrine <strong>of</strong><br />
honoring the<br />
Sabbath.<br />
During my younger years, many commercial<br />
businesses were closed on Sun<strong>day</strong>. Over<br />
time, laws regulating commerce on Sun<strong>day</strong><br />
were changed, and one business after another<br />
began to open its doors every <strong>day</strong> <strong>of</strong> the week.<br />
It soon became commonplace not only for<br />
commerce but for recreation to be promoted<br />
and conducted on Sun<strong>day</strong>.<br />
I have heard many excuses given for such<br />
activities, but aside from emergencies and<br />
essential services, these activities are not justified<br />
according to the standards set by the<br />
Lord. In Doctrine and Covenants 59 we read:<br />
“That thou mayest more fully keep thyself<br />
unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to<br />
the house <strong>of</strong> prayer and <strong>of</strong>fer up thy sacraments<br />
upon my holy <strong>day</strong>;<br />
“For verily this is a <strong>day</strong> appointed unto<br />
you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy<br />
devotions unto the Most High; . . .<br />
“ . . . On this, the Lord’s <strong>day</strong>, thou shalt<br />
<strong>of</strong>fer thine oblations and thy sacraments<br />
unto the Most High, confessing thy sins. . . .<br />
“ . . . Let thy food be prepared with singleness<br />
<strong>of</strong> heart that thy fasting may be perfect,<br />
or, in other words, that thy joy may be full.<br />
“Verily, this is fasting and prayer, or in other<br />
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBERT CASEY