In this world where so many activities happen on Sunday, what is a person to do? How are parents to raise children appropriately up unto the Lord?
One of the best ways to strengthen a child is to help them understand the wisdom behind the Lord’s commandments. While there are so many in the world who seem to seek destruction of all that’s good, I want my children to understand the Lord seeks only their good.
I once heard it said by John Bytheway, a popular Mormon speaker, that most youth will obey God’s laws when they understand the “why” behind those laws. In other words, when a person grasps the principle behind the “command” (the reason for it), obedience tends to quickly return. For after all, there is joy in Godly living – I’ve felt it myself.
Of course, children will make mistakes (we do, too, as their parents). So explaining principles behind commandments is not to imply that all willful decisions from children will be done away with. But honest heart-to-heart discussions will do more to help children obey God than any other approach.
The Lord Himself taught the importance of Sabbath-day observance. One of the most famous quotations in the scriptures about Sabbath-day observance is found in Exodus 20 (the famous “Ten Commandments” chapter).
The Lord teaches a truth to Moses and his people, a truth that brings eternal blessings:
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”
The Lord so expressly commanded this that He also said that nothing and nobody are to work on His Day:
“Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy 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 cattle, 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” (Exodus 20:8-11).
Some might ask, “What about nurses, doctors, and such – aren’t they needed at their places of work on the Day of the Lord?” This question, though, is not for me to answer. I only know and can only repeat what the Lord Himself expressed – to keep the Sabbath holy.
In fact, when my kids approach me with, “Mommy, can I do this on Sunday?”, I rarely respond with a yes or no answer.
Instead, I reply, “What is the purpose of the Sabbath?”
In an instant, their heart convicts them; they know whether or not the purpose for which they asked was sanctioned by the Lord or not.
Indeed, it is not for us to judge another’s decisions, whether regarding Sabbath-day observance or in any other category. Worship is a matter between a person and God, privately offered, even when done in a congregation on the Sabbath.
Yet it is one thing to teach our children the bold commandment of Sabbath-day observance; it is completely a different and deeper matter to help them understand the “why” of the commandment.
Did you know that lack of Sabbath day observance is linked with widespread drought? Did you know that lack of Sabbath day observance is linked with loss of war-time efforts? I could go on and on, but the examples are all found in the scriptures.
The point I desire my children to know is the following:
“Behold, the Lord esteemeth all flesh in one; he that is righteous is favored of God….” (1 Nephi 17:35, emphasis added).
Continuing on in 1 Nephi 17, we read:
“Behold, the Lord hath created the earth that it should be inhabited; and he hath created his children that they should possess it.
“And he raiseth up a righteous nation, and destroyeth the nations of the wicked.
“And he leadeth away the righteous into precious lands, and the wicked he destroyeth, and curseth the land FOR THEIR SAKES.
“”…this earth is his footstool.
“…he loved our fathers, and he covenanted with them, yea, even Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and he remembered the covenants which he had made; wherefore, he did bring them out of the land of Egypt” (1 Nephi 17:36-40, emphasis added).
With all my heart, I want my children to see that there are consequences for ALL choices: joyful blessings brought by God for good choices; sorrowful ones for disobedient choices. God is not vindictive; He simply works by and through eternal laws. As a result, the blessings that come for those who honor the Sabbath and treat it in holy fashion receive the greatest of all God’s blessings – for they demonstrate to Him that He comes first in all things.
The Day of the Lord is a holy one. How best to spend it? That can only be answered in individual honest communication with God Himself. But I hope to teach my children the wonders of God and His blessings for those who seek Him always. I hope my children discover the peace given to those who stop their weekly endeavors for just 24 hours – to contemplate the might and majesty of Him who loves them more than can be comprehended at this point!
[Here is excellent additional material to read more on the subject of the glory of Sabbath day observance and the Day of the Lord.]
