The Sabbath - Robyn's Talk

These are talks we wrote in an effort to improve our understanding of the Sabbath, and have not actually been given in Sacrament meeting. 

Saturday is a special day,
It's the day we get ready for Sunday.
We clean the house, and we shop at the store,
So we won't have to work until Monday.
We brush our clothes, and we shine our shoes,
And we call it our get-the-work-done day.
Then we trim our nails, and we shampoo our hair,
So we can be ready for Sunday!

This simple primary song teaches kids what to do on Saturday, implying not to do these things on Sunday to make it a special day. (But does anyone really never shampoo their hair Sunday morning before church?) The list of Sunday don'ts is a good start to helping us make the Sabbath a special day, and I think it's perfectly legitimate to have some personal "I don't do this on Sunday" items, but I want to focus on some dos that go beyond the obvious Sabbath activities, like church attendance and spending time with family. My three "do" suggestions to enhance Sabbath day observance and worship are supported by three passages in the Old Testament. These suggestions are:

1. Reflect on creation
2. Remember our deliverance
3. Look forward to equality and resist materialism


1. Reflecting on creation, at first glance, is probably a more obvious suggestion, since the Sabbath was instituted following the six days that God created the earth.

 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it. (Exodus 20:11)

On the Sabbath, I think it is good to remember the story of God's creation of the earth, but I also think there is great value in reflecting on our own creations. I don't mean only the creation of human beings, because we are not all in a stage of birthing babies or parenting or shaping human life. We all create every single day. The Sabbath invites us to reflect on the creative, efforts of our lives, just as God did. We create attitudes, we create art, we create insights, we create love. We create some things that are good and beautiful, and we create some ugly things as well. That's to be expected because, news flash, we are human.

I think that in reflecting upon our own creations we are demonstrating that we are trying to be like Him, since He rested and reflected on the 7th day. We can reflect on the good and the bad we created each week. This is particularly relevant as we participate in the ordinance of the sacrament. It’s a pretty basic and simple principle that we take a personal spiritual inventory as we sing the sacrament hymn, listen to the sacrament prayer, and take the bread and water, but I like the image of that reflection mirroring God’s first Sabbath when He reflected on what He had accomplished and created.

I love this song from Children of Eden that affirms we take after God and have an innate drive to create:

I've got feeling that the Father who made us
When he was kindling a pulse in my veins
He left a tiny spark of that fire, smoldering inside

The spark of creation, is flickering within me
The spark of creation, is blazing in my blood
A bit of the fire that lit up the stars
And breathed life into the mud, the first inspiration
The spark of creation

Where there was nothing let there be something, something made by me
There's things waiting for me to invent them
There's worlds waiting for me to explore
I am an echo of the eternal cry of
Let there be!


2. Second, the Sabbath is a day where we can remember the liberation that permits new life. In Deuteronomy, Moses reviews the 10 commandments, and when he gets to the Sabbath Day, he writes this:

15 And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day. (Deut. 5:15)

This passage juxtaposes the commandment to keep the Sabbath day holy and the deliverance of the children of Israel. What better day than Sunday to think of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and remember how we have spiritually been delivered?

The sacrament celebrates the spiritual deliverance and rest that God offers to us. The sacrament is a primary part of the Sabbath. We reflect on what we have done during the week, or our creations, in partaking of the sacrament, and we also reflect on the gift of grace made possible by Jesus.

When I was a teenager, I remember trying really hard to focus 100% on Jesus during the sacrament. It was hard to prevent my mind from wandering, so I’d force myself to picture Jesus on the cross, or Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, and not let that image leave my mind. I got kind of bored with that replay after a while. That sounds terrible, but the scene seemed so far removed from me that it became routine and uninteresting, and therefore I no longer felt touched by the most important gift of all time. I’m not saying that thinking of Jesus suffering for us is a bad idea--just that it might be helpful to think of specific ways Jesus has delivered us personally, beyond the abstract, “He atoned for my sins.” We all know that. But it is so hard to wrap our minds around how that works and why it works, and what that actually means. It’s sometimes too vague, at least for me, to be touched and inspired by.

So sometimes I try to think about how God has delivered or liberated me personally, like when I felt His love envelop me unexpectedly as I hiked the ridge of a mountain, just after I had been chattering to Him inside my head about my current thoughts, concerns and worries. Or like when He helped me to overcome postpartum depression. Sometimes it is something simpler, like asking for and receiving help finding my lost keys, but I think that still counts.

It's easy to forget these personal deliverances. The Sabbath, a day of rest and reflection, invites remembrance of these events that turn us to God.


3. This last suggestion has two facets, the first of which I borrowed from a Christian scholar named Walter Brueggemann: the Sabbath encourages us to look forward to a day of equality, love, and peace. It also helps us to resist materialism.

Brueggemann quoted a verse in Amos, which reads:

4 ¶Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,

5 Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?

6 That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat? (Amos 8:4-6)

He argues, based on this passage, that ‘the Sabbath is a day when commercial activity stops, when the routines of the exploited are brought to a halt’. It reminds me of how in the temple, we are all dressed similarly and there are very few to no signs of socioeconomic status. The Sabbath is like an equalizer and a unifier. Ideally, everyone would take a break from work, from purchasing, from being entertained, and instead have the common purpose to worship God and work together to become more like Him. The sacrament memorializes the day when all shall have bread and water to drink. It anticipates the end of economic inequality.

Our goal is to be Zion: unified, with no poor among us.
18 And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them. (Moses 7:18)

We have been counseled with some Sabbath don’ts by our prophets in recent years, such as avoiding shopping, entertainment, and work. These activities are not inherently unworthy or bad, but they are signs of our relative wealth, and the focus is on materialism and our own gain, rather than helping others. We are distracted by fun and remain self absorbed. We forget the poor and our cause to establish Zion.

By abstaining from at least some of our usual "fun" or affluent activities on Sunday, we are more likely to remember those who don't have what we have. We are more likely to recognize that we in no way deserve what we have. The Sabbath is a day to practice selflessness and gratitude.

President James E. Faust taught that as we avoid worldly distractions on the Sabbath day, we are blessed with protection from obsession with worldly things. “In this day of increasing access to and preoccupation with materialism, there is a sure protection for ourselves and our children against the plagues of our day. The key to that sure protection surprisingly can be found in Sabbath observance” (“The Lord’s Day,” Oct. 1991 general conference).

I work as a contractor and am paid based on the amount of work I do, rather than a salary or hourly wage. Sometimes when I don’t have much going on on Sunday, I am tempted to work and earn a few more bucks. I don't need to do it then; I just want to, and I'm motivated by greed, a want for more money. Sundays are not a day to get ahead in the world, to keep up with the Joneses. It’s a day to learn to see each other as equals and sisters and brothers, not competitors.


CONCLUSION
So I did mention some Sunday don’ts in my talk after all, didn’t I. The Hebrew word for Sabbath actually means “cease,” so I presume that that is appropriate. But I think actively trying to think of these three things: reflecting on creation, remembering our deliverance, and resisting materialism in an effort to be unified with our sisters and brothers will enhance our Sabbath day worship.

The Sabbath - Dallin's Talk

These are talks we wrote in an effort to improve our understanding of the Sabbath, and have not actually been given in Sacrament meeting. 

I’ve learned a lot from my father, and these lessons have occurred in a variety of circumstances. One of the most memorable lessons came when he was my freshman seminary teacher and he brought gallons of ice cream and all sorts of toppings to class the Friday before the Superbowl. As the class began he asked “who want’s an ice cream sundae?” Even at 6:00 AM, everyone in the room perked up. So he began to make the first one. As he scooped out the ice cream, sliced in the banana, layered on the whipped cream and drizzled the fudge, you could hear the hungry stomachs churning and the saliva glands getting revved up. But just when the first student thought he was going to get his treat, my dad pulled a surprise topping out of his bag: yellow mustard. He smothered the sundae and handed it to the student, who’s face quickly turned from eager anticipation to surprised disgust.

“Ew, no thank you,” he said.

“Why not?” my dad replied. 

“Because you put mustard on it!” 

“But isn’t mustard good? Don’t you like it? 

“Yes, but not on a sundae!” 

“Exactly,” my dad said. The student had unwittingly played his part perfectly. 

My dad’s point was about Sundays (d-a-y-s), not sundaes (d-a-e-s). He was teaching us that there are many things in this life that are fun and good and worthwhile that are probably best left for other days of the week. If you’re a member of this church or even just talked to the missionaries a few times, you’ve probably heard a list of some of those things we shouldn’t do. Such a list, however, will not be provided by me. Providing an extensive list is neither practical nor is it always helpful. And there are often exceptions. For example, I remember when, as a teacher, the Bishop sent me running to the grocery store next to the chapel in order to buy bread for the Sacrament. 

There is one point about inappropriate Sabbath day activities that I do wish to make, however. For me, and I think for many others, it is easy to judge others who keep the Sabbath differently than you. But spending the Sabbath feeling self righteous because you're not studying like your classmates or watching the big game with your friends is probably not honoring the Sabbath either. Our attitude matters. In fact, I would argue that it is with our attitude, that is  to say with our thoughts and feelings, our minds and our hearts, that we truly honor or dishonor the Sabbath day. 

Here’s another example of how attitude matters, this time from my personal life. I love the weekend. The busier I get in work or school, the more precious my weekend time becomes. It’s my only opportunity to sleep in, to spend more than a few minutes with my family, or to get caught up on a good book. I usually think of the weekend as “my time.” While I don’t think this is necessarily abnormal or inappropriate, I’ve noticed that when I include Sundays in “my time,” I have a very different attitude towards the Sabbath. Going to church and worshipping on Sunday can easily become an inconvenience or annoyance when we view Sundays as our time.

It is true that the Sabbath was made for man. It is a gift from God, a day of rest and refreshment. However, to get the true blessings of the Lord’s day, we need to do things in the Lord’s way. 

Isaiah expressed this idea much better than I can:  "If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath  a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:  Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it” (Isaiah 58: 13-14). 

There are a lot of paradoxes in the gospel of Jesus Christ. To find our lives, we have to lose them (Matthew 16:25). The Prince of Peace came to bring the sword (Matthew 10:34).  The first shall be last (Matthew 20:16). Here we find another: If we avoid doing our pleasure on the Lord’s day, we will find delight. 

I believe that by studying the doctrine of the Sabbath, and what the Lord intended, we will have more motivation to put aside our pleasure and do the Lord’s will, and by so doing be better able to find the promised delight. In the remainder of my time today, I will discuss four principles about the Sabbath with this goal in mind.

I The Sabbath is a Day of rest. 

God Himself set the first example of observing the Sabbath.  In Genesis, we read that after the six-day work of creation, "on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day … And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had  rested from all his work which God created and made” (Genesis 2:2-3). 

The Lord taught Joseph Smith that the Sabbath is “a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay your devotions unto the most high.” (D&C 59:10) What does that mean? At least in part, I believe it does literally mean rest. Taking a Sunday afternoon nap can be refreshing and invogorating. Similarly,  Elder Nelson has described how during his career, he "needed a breather from the burden of a demanding profession [and] Sunday provided much-needed relief” (Ensign May 2015). While some work is necessary and good on the Sabbath day, one way in which we rest is by taking a break from our daily toils. 

The “rest" of the Sabbath day goes far beyond taking naps or taking the day off from work, however. Studying the way God and His prophets use the word “rest” in the scriptures can provide insight into the deeper purposes of the Sabbath day. For example, Doctrine and Covenants 84:24 defines his rest as “the fullness of His glory.” Alma 40:12 provides several synonyms for the rest we find in the Celestial Kingdom, including “peace” and “happiness.” And 3 Nephi 27:19 teaches that entering into the eternal rest of the Lord is only possible for those “who have washed their garments in [Jesus’] blood.” These descriptions of rest are much more profound than simply refreshing our energy. This higher level of “rest” occurs when we seek that Jesus who makes that rest possible. This type of rest involves meaningful meditation, passionate prayer, heartfelt hymns, and serious study. 

This leads to my second point: 

II The Sabbath is a day of worship 

Church attendance is an important part of Sabbath day worship. I remember in high school, when I was laying the foundations of my own testimony and forming my opinions about the world, one of my friends asked me why I went to Church every week. “Can’t you be spiritual on your own?” he asked. “Isn’t being out in nature a great way to feel close to God?” While the answer to both these questions is a definite yes, I now understand that attending church is about much more than just seeking spiritual feelings. 

The reasons that attending church is important can be summarized in two points: They are commemorating the Atonement of Jesus and emulating the love and sacrifice of Jesus. I will discuss the second point first. 

Emulating the sacrifice of Jesus.

In their book, The Crucible of Doubt, Terryl and Fiona Givens share the following insight: 

“The power to unite, to sanctify, and to perfect ... is rooted in Christ’s sacrifice and its emulation by His disciples. To put this more simply, the purposes for which we go to church should be to reenact, in microcosm, the motivations and objectives that Jesus had in laying down His life for us. By coming together in community, serving and ministering to each other, sacrificing selflessly and loving unfailingly, we grow united, sanctified, and perfected in the family of Christ. … What if we saw lessons and talks as connections to the sacrament rather than as unrelated secondary activities? What if we saw them as opportunities to bear with one another in all our infirmities and ineptitude? What if we saw the mediocre talk, the overbearing counselor, the lesson read straight from the manual, as a lay member’s equivalent of the widow’s mite?… wards and stakes thus function as laboratories and practicums where we discover that we love God by learning to love each other.”

What a powerful idea! The very reasons that it is sometimes hard to go to church—the members who we have a hard time getting a long with—are perhaps the most important reasons why we should go. We grow closer to God’s perfection as we learn to love and learn from imperfect humans. 

This ties into another point that the Givens make in their book, that true worship is not about getting gifts from God, but offering them. After all, the first use of the term in the Old Testament referred with appalling import to Abraham’s sacrifice (Genesis 22:5), and the first usage in the New Testament refers to the gifts of the wise men (Matthew 2:2). So we worship at church as we sacrifice our pride, our desire to be right, our need to be entertained as we learn to not just tolerate or endure, but love those members of our ward family who, on our own, we may not have chosen to associate with. 

A second important aspect of attending church is commemorating the sacrifice of Jesus. It is at Church on Sundays that we are able to partake of the Sacrament. The importance of the Sacrament is a topic that deserves a dedicated talk of its own, but no talk on Sabbath day worship would be complete without some discussion. 

Sister Cheryl Esplin once answered the question of what she wish she would have known as a young woman by saying “I wish I had understood [that] the sacrament... [should be a] truly spiritual experience, a holy communion, a renewal for the soul” (Ensign Nov 2014). In the same General Conference,  Elder James Hamula of the 70 stated, "The ordinance of the sacrament has been called “one of the most holy and sacred ordinances in the Church.” It needs to become more holy and sacred to each of us” (Ensign Nov 2014). I believe that one of the best ways to improve our Sabbath day experience is to improve our undersanding of and attitude towards the Sacrament.

Partaking of the Sacrament is fulfilling the commandment Jesus gave at the Last Supper to partake of bread and wine (or water) in remembrance of Him (Luke 22:19). It is an opportunity to remember His body, broken for us and His blood, shed in the Garden and on the Cross. As one of my favorite hymns says, when we partake of the Sacrament,

"Our thoughts are turned to thee,

Thou Son of God, who lived for us,

Then died on Calvary.

We contemplate thy lasting grace,

Thy boundless charity;

To us the gift of life was giv'n

For all eternity.

(Hymns #169, "As Now we Take the Sacrament")

The Sacrament provides an opportunity for us to spiritually and physically internalize Christ’s sacrifice (Brad Wilcox, The Continuous Conversion, Pg 173-175) . It is an opportunity for us to “watch with Him one hour,” even when we might feel like sleeping (Matthew 26:40, see also  "An Hour to Watch with Him,” Ensign Jan 2015). It is an opportunity for self reflection, a time that the apostle Paul said was so that “a man [should] examine himself” (1 Cor 11:23-32), and a time where we, like the Lamanite king, recommit ourselves to giving away all our sins in order to know God and His salvation (Alma 22:18). 

We often say that the Sacrament is an opportunity to renew our baptismal covenants. Elder Anderson recently taught us that, while this is not inappropriate to teach, it is not scriptural, and the Sacrament is really so much more (as seen in Leadership Training Video on the Sabbath from April 2015). It is a chance to reflect on all of our covenants, including those made in the temple. More than simply remembering a past, stagnant promise, it’s promises are all forward-looking.

 

Partaking of the sacrament is a chance for us to freshly offer our broken hearts and contrite spirits to God (3 Nephi 9:20). The sacrament is very personal. After all, it is the only ordinance that we repeat for ourselves (from Elder Holland inLeadership Training Video on the Sabbath from April 2015). I love that thought. We are not just remembering our baptism, but being rebaptized in the blood of the Lamb. The Sacrament is therefore an opportunity to reinvigorate our Spirits and renew our peace and optimism. As Elder Hales taught,  "More than just thinking about the facts of the Savior’s suffering and death, [the Sacrament] helps us to recognize that through the Savior's sacrifice, we have the hope, opportunity, and strength to make real, heartfelt changes in our lives" (Hales, April 2012). 

The third principle of the Sabbath day is The Sabbath is a day of Covenant 

We have already discussed the covenants we make on the Sabbath day in the context of our discussion of church worship, so I will make just one additional point on this subject. 

Observance of the Sabbath is itself the sign of a covenant. In the Old Testament, we read that God taught His people through the prophet Moses that "Verily my  sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the   Lord that doth sanctify you… Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed” (Exodus 31:12-17) In other words, one of the purposes of the Sabbath is to remind us and our families that we can become sancitifed through the Lord! 

IV The Sabbath is a day for doing good 

Jesus taught that the Sabbath is a day for doing good. The Pharisees were upset when Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath and told him to carry the mat that had been his bed for 38 years (John 5:1-16). Healing a man with a withered hand in the synagogue on the Sabbath led them to plot His assasination (Matthew 12:9-14). Through these actions, Jesus was teaching that “it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day” (John 5:1), a concept that was new and even offensive to the Pharisees, but should not be to us.  Surely what James calls “pure religion”— visting widows and orphans in their afflictions—is an appropriate Sabbath day activity (James 1:27). This includes things like attending the sick,  visiting the lonely, and feeding the hungry and afflicted. 

Serving in our church callings is also a good thing to do on the Sabbath day. Visiting families we are assigned to visit or home teach, preparing lessons, meeting with group leaders are all worthwhile activities. We should be sure that we don’t become so busy that we lose sight of the true purpose of the Sabbath, however. And we should remember an important principle taught by Elder Nelson, who said that "Too few [leaders in the church] remember their responsibilities at home. Yet priesthood offices, keys, callings, and quorums are meant to exalt families. Priesthood authority has been restored so that families can be sealed eternally. So brethren [and sisters], your foremost priesthood duty is to nurture your marriage… Be a blessing to [your spouse] and your children (Ensign May 2006).

That is a very important principle. Our families come first. The Sabbath day is a great day for family time. It is a time to focus on relationships. We can go for a family walk, do family history together, read journals of when mom and dad fell in love, or when the children were born, video chat with extended family, write to missionaries or far away relatives. It is a day to eat together, worship together, learn together, and simply enjoy being together. 

Many of the resources I explored when researching for this talk suggested family councils, as well as budgeting and planning sessions as good activities for Sunday. Although this is something Robyn and I regularly do, it gave me pause. Why is something so mundane as planning and so temporal as budgeting not only acceptable on the Sabbath but even recommended by many church leaders and religious scholars? I think unity has a lot to do with it. When we meet as a family to discuss our goals, to complement each other and to give suggestions for improvement, we work on building Zion in our home. When we review the past week and prepare for the upcoming week, we make sure that we are on the same page. We pray and council together to seek God’s will for our family and our individual lives.  I think these activities, like most, can be taken to an extreme where they become overextenstive and distracting from the purposes of the Sabbath,  but used appropriately they can help our homes be places of peace, purpose, and unity. When Robyn and I were engaged, we decided that we wanted to apply the principles we learned from weekly planning as missionaries to our marriage, and we still do, every Sunday (see Preach my Gospel Chapter 8). There are few things that have contributed more to our unity as a couple than that. 

Practical Suggestions 

While some elements of Sabbath day worship apply to everyone, we each have our own ways of making it holy. The following are a few practical suggestions. These are things that I have found helpful in my own life, but may not be for everyone. 

1. Start the day before. 

      For Jews, both biblical and modern, the Sabbath started at sundown the day before. I have noticed in my own life that my Saturday night activities can make a big impact on my Sunday. Unfortunately, most of these experiences have been negative. It is hard to have a meaningful worship experience at church when I am tired and cranky because I stayed up too late the night before, for example. I believe we can improve our Sabbath experience if we start on Saturday by applying the Savior’s council to the Nephites when he appeared to them after His resurrection, advising them to “prepare [their] minds for the morrow” (3 Nephi 17:3) 

   

2. Be judicious with technology. 

      I believe that technology has incredible potential to supplement our worship at Church. Phones, tablets, or other devices can help with singing the hymns, looking up scriptures, or providing audio/visual aid for lessons. There is also the potential for distraction, however.  Referring to texting and gaming during Sacrament Meeting, Elder Oaks made the strong statement that “ When we partake of the sacrament, we make a sacred covenant that we will always remember the Savior. How sad to see persons obviously violating that covenant in the very meeting where they are making it” (Ensign Nov 2008). Personally, I have found it helpful to keep my phone on airplane mode during church. I don’t always do that, and I understand that some people need to be able to be contacted.  We should be sure to refrain from judging those who use technology different than us. But in general, the fewer distractions we have, the easier it is to focus on our worship. 

3. Make Sunday different. 

     The Sabbath day should be unique. Helping ourselves and our children remember that Sundays are different than the other days of the week encourages to remember why they are different. There are many ways to make Sundays different. One article on LDS.org suggested that Sunday should different in the way it looks (what we wear), feels (what we do), tastes (what we eat), and sounds (what we listen to). The specifics of how you can make Sunday feel different are up to you. For me, having hymns and other songs of praise as a soundtrack to my Sunday is helpful, which leads to my next suggestion:

4. Use music in your worship. 

     Music has great power. Many of my most spiritual experiences have been connected to music. Through hymns, we praise God, remember Jesus, seek guidance, and feel the comfort of the Spirit. Singing the hymns at church and thinking about the words is a great way to have more meaningful experiences. Arriving early and listening to the prelude, having family singing time at home, or just putting on a pandora station featuring the Mormon Tabernacle Choir or other uplifting music have made big differences in my Sunday. 

5. Learn from other faith traditions. 

     Occasionally visiting other churches has greatly added to my Sabbath day worship. I have gained insight into my own faith as I learn from the example of others, and hearing shared truths expressed slightly differently has helped me ponder and grow. Similarly, seeing how my Seventh-day Adventist friends growing up honored their Sabbath day (on Saturday) inspired me to take keeping the Sabbath more seriously. 

6. Take responsibility 

       Elder Nelson taught, “Each member of the Church bears responsibility for the spiritual enrichment that can come from a sacrament meeting” (Ensign, Aug. 2004, 28). This applies to the entire day. Ultimately, it us up to us how meaningful our Sabbath day worship is. One of my friends once said to me that rather than being guilty of idol worship (i-d-o-l), he feels he is often guilty of idle worship (i-d-l-e). In other words, it is easy to go to church and expect to be uplifted without putting forth effort to sing or participate or fellowship or forgive. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, I want to express my gratitude for the Sabbath. When I really try to make it a holy day, it makes a difference, not just for that day, but throughout the week. 

I hope my talk today has helped you in pondering what you can do personally to make the Sabbath more meaningful in your life. 

I bear my testimony that the blessings of keeping the Sabbath day are real. We find them as we make the Sabbath a day of rest and a day of worship, a day of covenant, and a day of doing good. There are so many promised blessings, ranging from being “unspotted from the world”  and protected against materialism  to delight, peace, and even a fullness of the earth (Leveticus 26:2-12, D&C 49:9-10, 13, 15-16, President Foust, Ensign Nov 1991). 

Modern Pioneers - Robyn's Talk

We spoke in church today on the topic of modern day pioneers. Today's two posts are our talks. 

You don’t have to push a handcart,

Leave your family dear,

Or walk a thousand miles or more

To be a pioneer.

You do need to have great courage,

Faith to conquer fear,

And work with might

For a cause that’s right

To be a pioneer.

We were asked to speak last week about modern-day pioneers. Maybe you were expecting the usual 1850s Mormon pioneer stories the Sunday before July 24th, or Pioneer Day, but that’s not what you’ll get from me. As the primary song teaches us, that is actually a very narrow view of what a pioneer is. Few of us will be the first to settle a city or town. Few of us will make some huge breakthrough in research. And I’m willing to venture a guess that none of us will have to walk across half of the country pushing our few belongings in a handcart. But pretty much all of us will have opportunities to show courage, moments where we’ll need to muster up the faith to overcome our fears, and occasion to participate in righteous causes.

COURAGE

So I wanted to talk about some modern-day pioneers who exemplify courage. One that immediately came to my mind is Malala Yousafzai. When she was only 11, she spoke out against the Taliban and wrote about the importance of girls getting an education. At the time, Taliban militants were taking over the Swat Valley in Pakistan where she lived, banning television, music, and girls' education, so speaking against them was very dangerous. They blew up more than a hundred girls’ schools. Malala knew that she might be targeted, but she continued to attend school, and she continued to write for the BBC about what life was like under Taliban control. When she was 15, she was riding a bus home from school when a member of the Taliban boarded it and shot her in the head. Miraculously, she survived. She recently became the youngest ever to receive the Nobel peace prize, and she is still fighting for girls’ education.

Malala is a pretty impressive and obvious modern-day pioneer. Other modern-day pioneers are less obvious--just regular old joes who aren’t risking their lives, but who are showing courage nonetheless. There are brave pioneers among us, in our ward. Two weeks ago, a woman stood right here in front of everyone during sacrament meeting and declared herself an atheist. Think how scary that must be, to stand up during testimony meeting and tell everyone you don’t have a testimony, but that you’re open to searching and seeking and finding? She really opened herself up in admitting this and asking for our help as a ward family. It was not the typical “I know…” testimony, but I definitely felt the Spirit. I think many of us felt a lot of love for her and were touched by her courage.

Then last week in Relief Society, the lesson was about temples. One woman raised her hand toward the end and admitted that she has a difficult time loving the temple. That was a tough thing to do. I’m sure she didn’t want to seem contrary, and perhaps she worried what others would think of her, but she did want to be honest about her experience with the temple and provide a different perspective. I personally appreciated her speaking up because I have occasionally felt confusion, not peace, when in the temple. It is comforting not to feel alone or like something is wrong with you when you are different from the norm.

Having the courage to speak up or take a stand when it is frightening, when you risk ridicule or in some cases, even your life, is difficult. I'll admit that having courage, and especially speaking up, is often hard for me. So I'm grateful for the courageous modern day pioneers I can look to as examples.

FAITH TO CONQUER FEAR

The second attribute of pioneers is that they have faith to conquer fear. The scriptures frequently command us to be of good courage, and often in the same breath we are told to “fear not but be believing.” Peter’s experience walking on water was a back and forth battle between faith and fear. At first, all the disciples were afraid when they saw Jesus walking towards their boat, thinking he was a spirit.

But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. [So faith wins out for a moment] And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him.. [I assume at this point Peter’s faith was restored] (Matthew 14:27-31)

I mentioned earlier that I have a toddler. About a month after I gave birth to her, I noticed I was having a really hard time sleeping. It wasn't because my newborn was keeping me up--she was already sleeping through the night around two weeks. It took me hours to fall asleep and then I'd wake up and not be able to go back to sleep. I sometimes only got two hours of sleep a night and was exhausted. I soon began experiencing other awful things. I was overwhelmed and paralyzed by simple tasks, like putting a load of laundry in the washer. I felt anxious and my throat would constrict, making it difficult to breathe. I lost my appetite and had to force myself to eat. I was ridiculously and unexplainably afraid to be alone. I felt like I resented my baby and wanted to give her away, and of course I felt an enormous amount of guilt for feeling that way. I sometimes dreamed of dying. I.. felt... terrible. I had postpartum depression and anxiety. I had a lot of fear and sadness to overcome in that very dark time. I wanted to read you something I wrote during that experience:

“Thankfully, even though just a few months ago my tunnel of depression seemed interminable, I now see an end to that tunnel, and that there is also light. Now more than ever, I believe that Jesus is the light of the world, shining through darkness, like the scripture in 2 Corinthians states. Although I couldn’t feel that very often in my darkest moments, my heart wanted to believe it, and held on to that hope. I think that on the stormy seas of life’s difficulties, Jesus is our lighthouse shining through the blackest nights. Our faith in Him is essential.”

I'm not trying to tout myself as some great faith-filled pioneer, but I wanted to give you a real world example of faith helping to conquer fear. We have all gone through tough times like this. Maybe visualizing Jesus stretching forth his hand as you start to sink into the sea helps you make an effort to reach out for Him. That reaching out might be trusting that He will help you find a job after recently being laid off. It may be holding on to what you know is true and right when in the midst of a faith crisis. It may be putting your confidence in Him when you go through a divorce or your spouse dies, and you have no idea what the future holds. The world and its experiences are full of scary things, but in Him we might have peace. “In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer: I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

WORK WITH MIGHT FOR A CAUSE THAT’S RIGHT

Lastly, modern day pioneers work with might for a cause that's right. Our common cause as members of the church is in the missionary purpose: invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. My mission president once told us to think of that purpose and end on “helping them.” Then it’s simply,  invite others to come unto Christ by helping them.

It is so easy for us to get involved in worthy causes today, in and outside of the church. With the internet we can research non-profit organizations that do a lot of good and donate our time or money. I think these specific causes are worth mentioning because they center on helping others, and thus help us in our common cause to invite others to come unto Christ.

One organization a friend told us about recently is called Kiva. Their mission is to connect people through lending money to alleviate poverty. Through a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, you can lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world. It is a really simple and easy way to help people escape poverty. We loaned one woman in El Salvador some money to buy maize and firewood to make tortillas. We loaned some money to a woman from Kyrgyzstan to buy calves for breeding. They are already paying back their loans, which we can then loan to somebody else who needs a jump start.

Another organization called Operation Underground Railroad is a nonprofit group started by an LDS man who rescues children from slavery, particularly from sex trafficking. He works to put the perpetrators in jail. We just got an email a few days ago that they had rescued 3 children in India and captured 7 traffickers.

Then there are well known causes like Malala’s: fighting for girls’ right to education. Or the Church’s humanitarian aid program following severe natural disasters.

These examples of causes are pretty major ones. Smaller or personal crusades are just as important and worth fighting for. I try to look out for new moms and ask them how they are doing a few weeks and months after giving birth. I feel like it’s one of my missions in life to help and encourage other women who experience postpartum depression. An LDS member, Ardis Parshall, is working on a project called “She Shall Be an Ensign,” a Mormon history narrative with women in the foreground. Maybe your cause is helping new converts feel welcome at church. Maybe your cause is speaking up in an effort to prevent abuse. Maybe your cause is family history. Maybe your cause is helping those with addictions to drugs, alcohol, or pornography. Maybe your cause is going green and trying to conserve Earth’s precious resources. There are so many causes that are worthy of our time and effort.

CONCLUSION

I hope I have helped expand your view of what a pioneer is: someone who has great courage, someone with faith to conquer fear, and someone who works with might for a cause that’s right. I invite you to think of ways you can be more pioneer-like, which is essentially doing what God has asked of us: Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. Joshua 1:9

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Modern Pioneers - Dallin's Talk

We spoke in church today on the topic of modern day pioneers. Today's two posts are our talks. 

I. Pioneers of the past

Those among us who are new or visiting may find us unique. One of many peculiar characteristics of our faith is our interest in pioneers. Children learn to sing songs about pioneer children who "walked and walked and walked and walked". As youth, we go on pioneer reenactments where we get to have our own experience as we walk and walk and walk and walk. And now we’re having a Sacrament Meeting dedicated to the theme of pioneers, where you get to hear the Rowley family talk and talk and talk and talk. 

So why this peculiar fascination? The group of people commonly known as the “Mormon Pioneers” are an important part of the heritage of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Although my talk today will focus on modern pioneers, I wish to start by briefly telling the story of one of these Mormon Pioneers. 

Anne Jewel Rowley is my triple-great grandmother, Anne and her husband and children were baptized in England around the time of the westward migration of the pioneers. Heeding the call of the prophet, even after the death of her husband, Anne emigrated to America and began the trip to Utah with her seven children and one stepdaughter. At the start of their journey, in Iowa city, she was forced to abandon all but 17 pounds of personal luggage. She had a prized feather bed that she had brought from England and had hoped to bring with her to Utah. But, as she said, "a feather-bed is a feather-bed, and when it came to choosing between Zion and a feather-bed, well it was a little too late to turn  my back on Zion, so I ripped it open and emptied the feathers on the ground and used the tic to cover the supplies on the handcart" (Olsen, The Price We Paid).

Anne and her children faced a difficult journey. They experienced frostbite and starvation. They were exposed to the elements during bitter storms. Most of the cattle they had brought with them for food were lost in a stampede. Some of her children passed away on the journey. Through it all, she wrote frequently in her journal about her motivation to get to Zion and to get the temple work done for her family. Despite the many difficulties Anne and the other pioneers faced, there were also many miracles. 

Here is an account from Anne’s journal about a miracle that occured: "It hurt me to see my children go hungry. … Night was coming and there was no food for the evening meal. I asked God’s help as I always did. I got on my knees, remembering two hard sea biscuits that … had been left over from the sea voyage. They were not large, and were so hard they couldn’t be broken. Surely, that was not enough to feed 8 people, but ... with God’s help, nothing is impossible. I found the biscuits and put them in a dutch oven and covered them with water and asked for God’s blessing…. When I took off the lid a little later, I found the pan filled with food. I kneeled with my family and thanked God for his goodness.” (Olsen, The Price We Paid).

I always feel inspired when I hear that story. While it is a powerful story, most of us won’t experience anything like what Anne did. We probably won’t ever be starving, and we probably won’t ever see food miraculously multiplied. But we will experience hard times and there will be times when we are in need of miracles. As we face these experiences, there is much to be learned from men and women like Anne. By studying their lives, we can discover the attributes of a pioneer and the principles that guide them. There are also pioneers all around us today who we can learn from.  In the remainder  of our time today, I will build on the foundation of the past pioneers to discuss the pioneers of the present as well as the pioneers of the future. 

There is one point about the pioneers of the past that I wish to make, however. While being literal descendants of the Mormon Pioneers is something to cherish, those who are not should feel not left out. No one should feel like pioneer stories are merely someone else’s heritage. I think that every faithful disciple can claim as ancestors all of the pioneers of every past age and dispensation—including the great heroes and heroines of the scriptures.  After all, by joining the Church and keeping our covenants, we become “the children of the prophets” and “of the house of Israel” (3 Nephi 20:25). We can all feel like President Deiter F. Uchtdorf, who said "I have no ancestors among the 19th century pioneers. However, since the first days of my Church membership, I have felt a close kinship to those early pioneers who crossed the plains. They are my spiritual ancestry, as they are for each and every member of the Church, regardless of nationality, language, or culture. They have established not only a safe place in the West but also a spiritual foundation for the building of the kingdom of God in all nations of the world” (Ensign Nov 2002). 

II. Pioneers of the Present (“modern pioneers") 

The definition of “pioneer" focuses on being the first to go to an area or to do a certain thing. Pioneers are leaders who explore previously unknown lands and prepare the way for those who will follow. In The Church, the connotations of “pioneer” include many attributes. Elder Oaks summarized the attributes of a pioneer as “integrity, inclusion, cooperation, unity, unselfishness, sacrifice, and obedience” (Ensign Oct 1997). President Uchtdorf, in this month’s home teaching message, focuses on the attributes of compassion, work, and optimism (Ensign July 2015). 

In one way or another, each of us is a pioneer. Perhaps you are the first member of the Church in your family. Or the first to serve a mission, go to college, or be in the military. Perhaps you’re the first to be sealed in the temple. At the very least, you are the first to face your particular circumstances at this particular time and place. In the new, uncharted territory of the digital age and a rapidly changing social and technological landscape, are we not all pioneers?

This week, The Church announced an online campaign to share stories of past and present pioneers using the hashtag #IAmAPioneer. In that spirit, I would like to give some examples of modern day pioneers. These examples are all based off of real people I either know personally or have read about. As you think about these examples and consider the ways in which you yourself are a pioneer, I invite you to think about what you are doing to be a leader and to prepare the way for those who will follow. How are you developing the attributes of sacrifice, obedience, unselfishness, unity, cooperation, work, and optimism? 

Consider the following examples: 

- My mother, who’s parents left and became antagonistic towards The Church when she was a young teenager, making it difficult for her to stay faithful. But she kept her faith, married in the temple, raised a family in the Church, and set an example for her younger sister to do the same. 

- The man who grew up abused by an alcoholic father, but, through the grace of God, broke the cycle of alcoholism and abuse in his family. 

- The couple who moved to a new ward and found there to be a division between those who had lived there for years and the transient students, and sought ways to build unity among all ward family members. 

- My wife who, after having a baby, rather than feeling the joy and satisfaction that others had  foretold, found herself facing the darkness of post-partum depression but somehow managed to make it through that terrible storm by focusing on the Light of Christ. 

- The woman I taught on my mission, who, before meeting the missionaries, literally worshiped death, but when she felt the Spirit bear testimony to her soul she made the decision to abandon that false tradition. 

- The many people I met on my mission who had many good traditions passed down through their culture who learned to keep the good while adding the further light of the gospel. 

- My cousin, who served as a missionary for a few months and then was honorably released because of anxiety, coming home to face the stigmatism that awaits an early returned missionary. 

- A young man I know who, when his high school class had a debate on a moral issue, had the courage to be the only person defending the conviction he held. 

- My wife’s good friend who has felt belittled and misunderstood at times in church because of her gender, even to the point of shedding tears, but who has kept following God as her first priority and refused to leave the Church. 

- My classmate and his wife, who’s young son is diagnosed with leukemia and who have to watch their precious child suffer and spend weeks at a time living in the hospital, but who manage to keep a positive attitude and find comfort in the plan of Salvation. 

-  A family friend who has unexpectedly gone through life without the opportunity to marry that she had hoped for, but who became a great role model for many children and youth, including myself. 

- My missionary companion who overcame additions to both drugs and pornography to serve an honorable mission and has helped teach many people about the power of repentance. 

- The young military recruit who leaves home for the first time and not only has to deal with the stresses of basic training but also is constantly surrounded by offensive language and stories, but still manages to find a quiet moment to pray each day. 

- My close friend, who discovered his same sex attraction as a teenager and had to face the incredibly difficult choice between romantic love and the teachings of his religion, but decided that really "being true to himself” was remaining active in the Church. He now is determined to use his voice to convey both his compassion for his gay and lesbian brothers and sisters as well as the committed discipleship and love he has for God. 

- The woman who Sister Wixom told us about this last General Conference, who faced sincere questions and deep doubts about some of the Church’s history and doctrine and struggled mightily as she held on to her testimony. 

That last example is one that I personally identify with.  For me, these doubts are hard to put on a shelf and kept out of site and out of mind. Rather, they are a frequent load that I carry with me. Perhaps you too can identify with one or more of these examples.  Like the handcart pioneers, we all have burdens that we must push and pull through life. But going through hard times does not make us less worthy to be called a pioneer. The Utah Pioneers experienced hardship. Many felt like giving up. It is persevering along the painful path that makes us pioneers. 

III. The Greatest Pioneer 

How, can we be like these pioneers of the past and present who kept their faith despite the challenges, who faced extreme sacrifices with optimism, who sought for unity when it would have been easier to focus only on themselves? 

The answer can be found in a hymn written and sung by pioneers, “Come Come Ye Saints.” The first verse of this anthem begins: 

Come, come, ye saints, no toil nor labor fear;
But with joy wend your way.
Though hard to you this journey may appear,

Grace shall be as your day.

(Hymns #30) 

“Grace shall be as your day.” The enabling power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ will be what gives us light and life and power to continue on. It was Jesus that sustained the pioneers in their journey west, and His grace that sustains us in our journey through life today. 

Listen to this powerful testimony from Elder Holland about Jesus, the Greatest Pioneer: "Brothers and sisters, one of the great consolations of [the] Easter season is that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so. His solitary journey brought great company for our little version of that path—the merciful care of our Father in Heaven, the unfailing companionship of this Beloved Son, the consummate gift of the Holy Ghost, angels in heaven, family members on both sides of the veil, prophets and apostles, teachers, leaders, friends. All of these and more have been given as companions for our mortal journey because of the Atonement ofJesus Christ and the Restoration of His gospel. Trumpeted from the summit of Calvary is the truth that we will never be left alone nor unaided, even if sometimes we may feel that we are. Truly the Redeemer of us all said: “I will not leave you comfortless: [My Father and] I will come to you [and abide with you].” (Ensign May 2009)

Jesus blazed the trail we are to follow and He accompanies us on that trail, pushing our load. In fact, He is the trail (John 14:6). We are not the first to traverse it, nor are we alone on our journey. We are not comfortless (John 14:18). It is through Him that we can develop the optimism, the diligence  the faith and sacrifice we need as pioneers. 

IV. Pioneers of the Future 

Another hymn that I associate with pioneers is “Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel." It begins with the following statement and invitation: 

The world has need of willing men [and women]

Who wear the worker's seal.

Come, help the good work move along;

Put your shoulder to the wheel (Hymns #225)

I believe that need for pioneer men and women will only increase. Listen to this recent statement from Elder Dallin H. Oaks: “[in the future] we may incur accusaitions of bigotry, suffer discrimination, or have to withstand invasions of our free exercise of religion. If so, I think we should remember our first priority—to Serve God—and, like our pioneer predicessors, push our personal handcarts forward with the same fortitude they exhibited” (Ensign, Nov 2013). 

^{As we face the future and the daunting tasks that lie ahead, let us remember the power of optimism. Let us sing with pioneer all around the world:} 

Gird up your loins; fresh courage take.

Our God will never us forsake;
And soon we'll have this tale to tell-

All is well! All is well!

(Hymns #30) 

I bear testimony with Anne and other pioneers of the past and present that God is good. His grace is sufficient for us as we journey through this life and will be even in the uncharted paths that lay ahead. I pray that we can be optimistic, inclusive, faithful, and willing to sacrifice as we look to the examples of pioneers of the past, the pioneers of the present, and the Greatest Pioneer as we become the pioneers of the future.