Scripture of the Day

Exodus 20:8-11

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all they work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy catlle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 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.

Mosiah 18:23

And he commanded them that they should observe the sabbath day, and keep it holy, and also every day they should give thanks to the Lord their God.

“Chapter 24: The Sabbath Day,” Gospel Principles, 159

What kinds of things may we do on the Sabbath? The Lord has told us to prepare only simple foods on that day, keeping the purpose of the Sabbath in mind (see D&C 59:13). The prophet Isaiah suggested that we should turn away from doing our own pleasure and should “call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable” (Isaiah 58:13). We should do righteous things. We keep the Sabbath day holy by—

1. Attending Church meetings.
2. Reading the scriptures and the words of our Church leaders.
3. Visiting the sick, the aged, and our loved ones.
4. Listening to uplifting music and singing hymns.
5. Praying to our Heavenly Father with praise and thanksgiving.
6. Performing Church service that we have been assigned to do.
7. Preparing family history records and personal histories.
8. Telling faith-promoting stories and bearing our testimony to family members and sharing spiritual experiences with them.
9. Writing letters to loved ones.
10. Fasting with a purpose.
11. Sharing time with children and others in the home.

In deciding what other activities we should properly engage in on the Sabbath, we should ask ourselves: Will it uplift and inspire me?

There may be times when we are required to work on the Sabbath. We should avoid this whenever possible, but when it is absolutely necessary, we should still maintain the spirit of Sabbath worship in our hearts as much as possible.