Good Girls Three: A Commandment...

I was raised with lots of commandments. Not just the Main Ten (Exodus 20), or the Big Two (Matthew 22), but I'm a Mormon, right? So we have even extra- like the Word of Wisdom (no drinking alcohol, tea, or coffee; no tobacco; be healthy, etc.) for example. Of course not everyone knows about commandments, or if they do know, maybe they choose to not follow them. But I always assumed that, Christianity being a major world religion, a solid majority of people would have a basic working knowledge of the Ten Commandments and attempt to obey them. But... Every year that goes past I become more and more astounded at the overlooking I see of one in particular- Number Four.

Here it is in the version of the Bible I read (King James):
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

10 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:

11 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.

Here it is from the NIV:

⁸ “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. ⁹ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. ¹¹ For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

The New Living Translation:

8 "Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days a week are set apart for your daily duties and regular work, 10 but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to the LORD your God. On that day no one in your household may do any kind of work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; then he rested on the seventh day. That is why the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.

The Good News Translation:

8 "Observe the Sabbath and keep it holy. 9 You have six days in which to do your work, 10 but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to me. On that day no one is to work - neither you, your children, your slaves, your animals, nor the foreigners who live in your country. 11 In six days I, the Lord, made the earth, the sky, the seas, and everything in them, but on the seventh day I rested. That is why I, the Lord, blessed the Sabbath and made it holy.

Four different ways of saying it, but it comes down to the same thing. There are many schools of thought about what is appropriate to do on the Sabbath, but one thing seems certain to me: you shouldn't work, and you shouldn't do anything that leads others to work! So why!!??!?! Why is the bx parking lot packed on Sunday? Why is Sunday the Commissary's busiest day? What happened to the common consensus that Sunday was a day different from the others? I very much value the opportunity to take a rest! (Not that taking three small children to church and doing my best at whatever church duties I have always makes for the most "restful" of days...) How different would society be if people focused on their families and their relationship with God on at least one day a week?

Here are some quotes and scriptures...

“The manner in which we spend the Sabbath is a sign of our inner attitude toward God… Observance of the Sabbath is an indication of the depth of our conversion.”

- Mark E. Petersen, Ensign May 1975

“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, Miracle of Forgiveness

“The matter of Sabbath observance remains to this day as one of the great tests which divides the righteous from the worldly and wicked.”

-Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine

“We note that in our Christian world in many places we still have business establishments open… 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.”

-Spencer W. Kimball, Ensign, Nov. 1975

“Too frequently we come to worship and to leave our offerings without attempting to prepare our inner selves to the same degree of perfection that we achieve in our outward dress and grooming.”

-Robert L. Simpson, Conf. Rep. Oct. 1966

“The purpose of the Sabbath is for spiritual uplift, for a renewal of our covenants, for worship, for rest, for prayer. It is for the purpose of feeding the spirit, that we may keep ourselves unspotted from the world by obeying God’s command.”

-Ezra Taft Benson, God, Family, Country: Our Three Great Loyalties

Gen. 2:2-3

Ex. 16:29

Ex. 20:8-11

Ex. 31:16-17

Lev. 25:3-7, 20-22

Isa. 56:1-8

Isa. 58:13

Neh. 10:31

Neh. 13:15-22

Matt. 12:8, 10-13

Mark 2:27