My mom had to go to work last Sunday for a special training. Her manager apologized greatly and explained to my mom that it could not be moved to another day. My mom was proud of the example she had set and that her co-workers had no doubt as to how she spends her Sundays.
When God created the earth, He "blessed the seventh day and sanctified it." The word sanctify means "to make holy". If you think about the sacrament prayer, the same wording is used, that the bread and the water are blessed and sanctified. We believe that in this action, this ordinary snack is transformed into a substance that has the power to cleanse our sins.
So why do we not feel the same way about Sunday? That because it is blessed and sanctified it is truly a transformed day. We may think it is an ordinary day that has been given an extraordinary purpose, but in fact it is an extraordinary day with an extraordinary purpose.
He mentions the scripture Doctrine and Covenants 59: 9-10, 13:
"And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up they sacraments upon my holy day;
"For verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay they devotions unto the Most High....
"And on this day thou shalt do none other thing."
Wow, these verses are very specific and clear. You go to church, you rest, and praise God -- that's it. Now does that mean we should sit around and do nothing? Absolutely not! What better way to praise God than to spend time with our families?
However, it does cause me to think and will cause me to pause on the Sabbath and check to see if what I am doing fits into one of these categories.
And lastly, Perry said we need to "honor the Sabbath all day long." I know this is something I also need to work on.
I know the Sabbath is a special day and I need to treat it as such. The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath, so we all need to take advantage of the gift that the Sabbath is.
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