The Fourth Commandment

Sabbath observance allows us to keep ourselves unspotted from the world. Without the Sabbath, we could become so immersed in the world and its temporal concerns that we would fail to see the eternal nature of life's blessings around us. Keeping the Sabbath Day holy reminds us to keep an eternal perspective and allows us to reflect on how it is we're spending the other six days of the week. We are promised both temporal and spiritual blessings by simply keeping the command to keep the Sabbath Day holy.

The Bible is full of examples of what the Israelites could NOT do on the Sabbath and today we often think of Sunday in those terms as well. Our focus should be on what we can
do to make Sunday feel different than any of the other days of the week. We dont need anyone to give us a specific list of Do's and Dont's. When Joseph Smith was asked how he goverened his people so well, he replied "I teach them correct principles and they govern themselves."

The Sabbath provides us rest from our labors for both our mind and our body. Robert J. Matthews reminds us that "rest does not mean idleness; it signifies rather a change of emphasis. In plain terms, "keeping the Sabbath Day holy" means to cease or to rest from the secular labors of the week and to use the specified day in worshiping God and doing good to our fellow beings. It is a day for spiritual works and refreshment." It is a day we give to the Lord.

(Sabbath Solutions by Trina Boice)