A Sabbath Prepared
From Sabbath Solutions
by Trina Boice

Here are some ideas on Sabbath worship to help your family start off the new year the right way.

One way to more effectively keep the Sabbath day holy is to organize and prepare our homes and families in advance. Primary children sing a song which teaches that Saturday is a day to undertake certain chores so that they can be avoided on the Sabbath. If we think ahead we will buy our groceries, fill up our gas tanks, and complete other necessary tasks on other days of the week, leaving the Sabbath day to rest form our labors. A simple song and a simple principle, but it sends and important message to our father in heaven that “we do always remember Him.”

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! (Children’s Songbook, p. 196)

While it may be possible for an individual to have a restful Sabbath day filled with quiet reflection and thoughtful service, it requires a lot more preparation when children are in the home! Many families spend their time on Sundays searching for lost Church shoes and scriptures, and then race around from meeting to meeting throughout the day, praying their car will continue to function on gas fumes since no one bothered to fill the tank the day before. Families need to spend a little bit more time coordinating tasks before Sunday, perhaps during Family Council or Family Home Evening. The question could be raised “What can we do this week to prepare for a better Sabbath Day?”

President Spencer W. Kimball explained “Sabbath” observance is characterized as a matter of sacrifice and self-denial, but it is not so. It is merely a matter of scheduling and choosing seasons. There is time enough, particularly in our era of the world’s history, during the six days of the week in which to do our work and play. Much can be done to organize and encourage weekday activities, avoiding the Sabbath.” (Tambuli, July 1978, 1)

President Spencer W. Kimball also counseled student when he said, “I hope students will use the Sabbath for studying only as an emergency. … I believe that generally, with careful organization of time through the week, most studying can be done on weekdays, leaving the Sabbath for worship. There might be times when one would feel forced to study, when he might feel that it was an ox in the mire. I am expressing only my personal opinions on this matter, but since we are talking to students, it would be my home that your studying could be done in the season thereof and not as a cramming process just before you go on Monday mornings.” (Teachings, pp.227-229)

On February 1, 1980, when the First Presidency announced the consolidated Sunday meeting schedule, the following counsel was given: “A greater responsibility will be placed upon the individual members and families for properly observing the Sabbath day. More time will be available for personal study of the scriptures and family-centered gospel study.

“Other appropriate Sabbath activities, such as strengthening family ties, visiting the sick and the homebound, giving service to others, writing personal and family histories, genealogical work, and missionary work, should be planned and carried out.

“It is expected that this new schedule of meetings and activities will result in greater spiritual growth for members of the church.” (Church News, 2 Feb. 1980, p.3)

Spring Creek Book Company