Keeping the Sabbath Day

To my son,

                A while ago I wrote to you about how you can prepare for your baptism when you are eight. I told you about the three letters KAT in Kit Kat that can help you remember what we promise to do when we are baptized: Keeping the Savior’s commandments, Always remembering Him, and Taking His name upon you. I want to write to you today about a specific way that you can do these three things as you continue to prepare for your baptism: keeping the Sabbath Day holy. This is one of the most important commandments He has given us. This is what the Lord said to parents: “And they shall also teach their children to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord. And the inhabitants of Zion shall also observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy” (Doctrine and Covenants 68:28-29). My job is to teach you to pray and keep the commandments, including the commandment to keep the Sabbath Day holy. This is a day that you can use to do really great things to help you grow close to the Lord and gain a testimony. So how can you keep it holy? The Savior’s example can help us see what kinds of things we should do on the Sabbath Day, and I want to suggest three s words that you can do each Sunday to follow Him.  

                The first is to study your scriptures. On one Sabbath Day the Savior did this: “And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written.” He then read the passage from Isaiah and taught the people about what it meant (Luke 4:16-17). So one thing He clearly did was to read in the scriptures. I want to encourage you to take time each Sunday to read in your scriptures on your own. Even if it is only a few verses, I know that the blessing He quoted that day from Isaiah will be yours as well: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me” (Luke 4:18). You can feel of His Spirit as you seek to read in the scriptures on Sunday, and this will help you to learn of His commandments and to keep them.  

                Another second important activity that the Savior did on the Sabbath was service. There are many accounts in the New Testament that show how He blessed others on the Sabbath day by healing them. Here is one: “And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed rom thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God” (Luke 13:10-13). Some of the rulers of the people were angry with Him because they thought it wasn’t right to heal people on the Sabbath, but Jesus showed that this is one of the best things we can do. I encourage you to look for ways that you can serve others on the Sabbath. That may be a note you write to someone, a toy you share with a sibling, or even food you help make for others. As you serve on the Sabbath, that will help you to prepare to take His name upon you and serve like Him.

                Finally, I want to encourage you to sing and participate in good, wholesome music on Sunday. On a special day called Passover, the Savior gathered together His apostles and gave them the Sacrament for the first time to remember Him. After He did this, we read, “And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives” (Matt. 26:30). Wouldn’t it be amazing to hear the Savior sing? After this the Savior performed His atoning sacrifice and died on the cross. While this Passover day wasn’t technically the Sabbath, it was a holy day like the Sabbath and was very similar to how we gather together for Church and take of the Sacrament on the Sunday. And when we do that, we too sing hymns as we seek to remember Him. I hope that you will try to sing as well when we are at Church as you try to remember Him. You can also listen to good music and play the piano on Sunday at home, and this uplifting music can help you to always remember Him and the night He sang before suffering for our sins. I hope that you will find ways to study the scriptures, give service, and sing uplifting songs on the Sabbath as you continue to prepare for your baptism. 

Love,

Dad