Unspotted from the World: The Injunction and Blessing of Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy

This article was originally written by Robert L. Millet for Church News.

Among the many teachings Moses received from Jehovah on Mount Sinai were the Ten Commandments, the fourth of which is the injunction for the Lord’s people to “remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). It is sad to acknowledge that in today’s world, men and women far and wide who would never consider worshipping idols, murdering, or stealing have little or no difficulty ignoring or at least treating lightly the divine injunction to observe the Sabbath day. Even among believers in the Bible, particularly Christians, it is often difficult to find men and women, boys or girls whose attitudes or actions toward the Sabbath could be construed as being anything akin to “holy.”

What has happened in our world to disconnect people from faithful and worshipful Sabbath observance? Perhaps we can place the blame on such things as the “three-day weekend”; having children’s cultural or athletic events scheduled on the Sabbath; stores and eating establishments remaining open on Sunday; businesses that require longer hours from employees, including Sunday work; and a growing casualness in speech, dress, and religious practice in general. Whatever the causes may be, one thing is certain—the culture in which we find ourselves need not dictate to us how we will spend the Sabbath.

As Samuel the Lamanite reminded the wicked Nephites, “whosoever doeth iniquity, doeth it unto himself; for behold, ye are free; ye are permitted to act for yourselves” (Helaman 14:30). Clearly, certain forms of employment and responsibilities such as medical personnel and law enforcement officials must be carried out every day. This would represent, however, a relatively small percentage of our population. In our heart of hearts we each know that remembering and properly observing the Sabbath is a commandment and that the violation of that commandment constitutes a sin in the eyes of our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.

Read the full article at churchofjesuschrist.org.