Summer is often the time when people tend to grow a little lax about attending Church and keeping the Sabbath Day holy. The sun is high in the sky and the beaches, lakes and rivers look incredibly inviting as the temperatures climb. The mountains, resplendent in their majesty, seem to beckon one and all to enjoy their shady canyons and meadows. But it would behoove us to remember that Jesus Christ created this world, was born into this world, suffered the Atonement that He might appease the cause of eternal justice, died and was resurrected so that you might repent of your sins, overcome your weaknesses and gain eternal life. Is it really so much for Him to ask you to set aside one day a week from your labors and entertainments to spend that day in quiet worship of He who has made everything possible for you?
Number four of the Ten Commandments states:
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. (Exodus 20:8)
A great promise comes to those who keep the Sabbath Day Holy:
Verily I say, that inasmuch as ye do this (keep the Sabbath Day holy), the fulness of the earth is yours, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and that which climbeth upon the trees and walketh upon the earth;
Yea, and the herb, and the good things which come of the earth, whether for food or for raiment, or for houses, or for barns, or for orchards, or for gardens, or for vineyards;
Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart;
Yea, for food and for raiment, for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body and to enliven the soul.
And it pleaseth God that he hath given all these things unto man; for unto this end were they made to be used, with judgment, not to excess, neither by extortion.
And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments.
Behold, this is according to the law and the prophets; wherefore, trouble me no more concerning this matter. (See D&C 59:16-24)
Those are pretty powerful promises God has made to His children. Even God Himself rested on the seventh day and has asked us to use Sunday as a day of rest and restoration of our spirits, minds and bodies. And in return, God will make certain all our temporal needs will be met.
Sunday is the day in which we can strengthen our defenses against a corrupt and destructive world. It is the day where we nourish that spark of divinity within us, and are reminded of who and what we are, as well as what the Father expects of us. It is a time of sacred worship, of fellowship with those who also worship God the Father and His Son, of renewal in all things which pertain to righteousness.
God considers it so important, that it was included in the Ten Commandments which Moses received for the Israelites when he came down off Mount Sinai (see Exodus 19). Remember the commandment and then remember the promise. For when you keep the Lord’s commandments He is bound to deliver on His promises (see D&C 82:10). And He never lets us down.
