Sabbath Quotes 2
"It is a day of worship, a day in which the spiritual life of man may be enriched....A proper observance of the duties and devotions of the Sabbath day will, by its change and its spiritual life, give the best rest that men can enjoy on the Sabbath day."
Gospel Doctrine, 1971, p. 242
(We always joke about busy Sundays being a "day of rest"—ha!——-this explanation of the word "rest" gives new insight into the meaning of the word.)
Robert L. Millet:
"The scriptures often speak of rest in other ways as well. The Sabbath is a day of rest in the sense that it is a day wherein we seek to enter the 'rest of the Lord,' that is, 'rest from doubt, from fear, from apprehension of danger, rest from the religious turmoil of the world.' (Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, 1971, p. 58)"
The Ten Commandments For Today, edited by John G. Scott, 71-72
To observe the Sabbath, President Spencer W. Kimball wrote:
"The Sabbath is a holy day in which to do worthy and holy things. Abstinence from work and recreation is important but insufficient. The Sabbath calls for constructive thoughts and acts, and if one merely lounges about doing nothing on the Sabbath, he is breaking it. To observe it, one will be on his knees in prayer, preparing lessons, studying the gospel, meditating, visiting the ill and distressed, sleeping, reading wholesome material, and attending all the meetings of that day to which he is expected. To fail to do these proper things is a transgression on the omission side."
Spencer W. Kimball, The Miracle of Forgiveness [1969], pp. 96-97
"Sunday is more than a day of rest from the ordinary occupations of the week. It is not to be considered as merely a day of lazy indolence and idleness or for physical pleasures and indulgences. It is a feastday for your spirit bodies."
President Harold B. Lee The Teachings of Harold B. Lee, 1996, p. 210
"We note that in our Christian world in many places we still have business establishments open for business on the sacred Sabbath. We are sure the cure of this lies in ourselves, the buying public. Certainly the stores and business houses would not remain open if we, the people, failed to purchase from them. Will you all please reconsider this matter. Take it to your home evenings and discuss it with your children. It would be wonderful if every family determined that henceforth no Sabbath purchase would be made."
President Kimball Gen. Conf. Oct. 1975, Ensign, Nov. 1975. p. 6
"Now I know it's hard, particularly for our young people, to choose to observe the Sabbath Day when athletic teams on which they so much want to participate regularly schedule games on Sunday....... But I also know that remembering to keep the Sabbath day holy is one of the most important commandments we can observe in preparing us to be the recipients of the whisperings of the Spirit."
Bishop H. David Burton, the Presiding Bishop Oct. 1998 Gen. Conf.
"I wonder if many of us are not hasting to be rich. Are we making compromises in order to accumulate? I wonder if money earned upon the Sabbath, when it is unnecessary Sabbath earnings, might not also be unclean money. I realize that some people must work on the Sabbath; and when they do, if they are compelled, that is, of course, a different situation. But men and women who will deliberately use the Sabbath day to develop business propositions, to increase their holdings, to increase their income, I fear for them. I think the Lord was speaking to them when he said: "Woe unto them that call evil good, . . . " (Isa. 5:20) Sometimes we salve our consciences by saying that the more we get the more we can give to the worthy causes, but that, of course, is a subterfuge. (p. 950)
Spencer W. Kimball, "Keep Your Money Clean", Improvement Era, Dec. 1953
"But I say we do not go to Sabbath meetings to be entertained or amused; we go there to worship the Lord. It is an individual responsibility, and regardless of what is said from the pulpit, if one wishes to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth, he may do so by attending his meetings, partaking of the sacrament, and contemplating the beauties of the Gospel. If the sacrament meeting is a failure to you, you are the one that has failed. No one can worship for you, you must do your own serving of the Lord."
Spencer W. Kimball "Conference Report", April 1944, p.145
"It's all right to pull the cow out of the mud on Sunday, provided that you don't push him in on Saturday night."
Harold B. Lee (Quoted by Eldred G. Smith, January 1974 Ensign, page 63)
"Teach your children to set apart one-seventh of their time to learn of Him, to take their minds from the burdens of daily work, and to remember Him. As we dedicate this time to Him, it concentrates our hearts and our minds on the real purpose of our existence and takes us out of the world. It is a day to become as He is, to worship Him, and to minister to others as He did. We don't need rules for the Sabbath day when we understand and live its purpose."
Lynn A. Mickelsen
"Eternal Laws of Happiness"
"Ensign," Nov. 1995, p. 79
"No matter where we live or in what position we serve, all of us need to determine which way we face. God's commandments serve as a standard against which priorities can be measured. Our respect for the first commandment fashions our feelings for all the others. Consider the commandment to keep the Sabbath day holy, for example. We live in a time when many people throughout the world have transferred their allegiance on the Sabbath from places of worship to places of amusement. Again I ask, 'Which way do you face?'"
Russell M. Nelson
"Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods,"
"Ensign," May 1996, 14-15
"In this day of increasing access to and preoccupation with materialism, there is a sure protection for ourselves and our children against the plagues of our day. The key to that sure protection surprisingly can be found in Sabbath observance: 'And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day.' (D&C 59:9.)"
James E. Faust "The Lord's Day" - "Ensign," Nov. 1991, p. 35
"President George Albert Smith said, ". . .that much of the sorrow and distress that is afflicting and will continue to afflict mankind is traceable to the fact that they have ignored his [God's] admonition to keep the Sabbath day holy."
Conference Report, October 1935, p. 120
"The Sabbath is such a precious thing. It represents the great culmination of the work of Jehovah in the creation of the earth and all that's found therein. When that was completed, He looked upon it and saw that it was good, and He rested on the Sabbath day. Now, I make a plea to our people to refrain from shopping on Sunday. You may say, 'The little bit that I do doesn't make a bit of difference.' It makes all the difference in the world to you and to your children who will see your example. Let there not be among us the kind of Sunday shopping which we have had in some areas."
Gordon B. Hinckley, Charlotte, North Carolina, regional conference, priesthood leadership meeting, 24 Feb. 1996