The Sabbath

President Kimball taught how we might observe the Sabbath: “The Sabbath is a day:

• on which to take inventory—to analyze our weaknesses, 
• to confess our sins to our associates and our Lord. 
• on which to fast in ‘sackcloth and ashes.’ 
• on which to read good books, a day to contemplate and ponder, …
• to study the scriptures and to prepare sermons, 
• to nap and rest and relax, 
• to visit the sick, 
• to preach the gospel, 
• to proselyte, 
• to visit quietly with the family and get acquainted with our children, 
• for proper courting, a day to do good, 
• to drink at the fountain of knowledge 
• of instruction, 
• to seek forgiveness of our sins, 
• for the enrichment of our spirit and our soul, 
• to restore us to our spiritual stature, 
• to partake of the emblems of his sacrifice and atonement,
• to contemplate the glories of the gospel and of the eternal realms, 
• to climb high on the upward path toward our Heavenly Father” 

(Teachings, 216).

This Spiritual Food

Melvin J. Ballard:
"...There is a spirit attending the administration of the sacrament that warms the soul from head to foot; you feel the wounds of the spirit being healed, and the load being lifted. Comfort and happiness come to the soul that is worthy and truly desirous of partaking of this spiritual food".
(Crusader for Righteousness)

Conference Learning Pt 2 - The President of the Church is here

I think it would bless our lives immeasurably if we had the kind of attitude about the words of prophets that is shared by Jeffrey R Holland in the story below:

“I was recently in Vavau, Tonga. It is a little island that is 1-1/2 hours away from Nuku’alofa by plane and twenty-four hours away by boat. By boat is the worst trip that can be made. (If you don’t believe that, ask Elder Gordon B. Hinckley, who went there recently to organize a stake and couldn’t get a plane.) When the Area Conference was announced for Tonga, it was determined that only one boat would be available for the Saints from Vavau. The boat held 150 people. If you stuffed bodies into every possible corner of the ship, you could get close to 300 people. Eight Hundred Tongans jammed onto that boat and stood up for twenty-four hours without sleep, without food, without drink, without anything—because they knew that a prophet of God was going to be in their islands and they were not going to miss him for anything in the world.

“Do you want to go to conference that badly? Do you care that a prophet of God is speaking in the neighborhood? Do you care enough to flip on a television set, a radio, or to come to [a] building to watch a priesthood meeting? Eight hundred people stood up for twenty-four hours to get to conference . . . “The President of the Church is here,” they said.

“That’s our prophet, and we may not see him again soon.” And they came.”
(“Remembered and Nourished by the Good Word of God,” Jeffrey R. Holland, BYU, Sept 26, 1976

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If an announcement came that the Savior himself would speak in General Conference today, would our attitude and preparation for the event change at all? Of course He will. He had made his will abundantly clear in this matter. “What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.” (D&C 1:38) Not “almost the same,” or “very similar.” or “nearly identical.” It is the same. We are under divine directive to treat the inspired words we hear from the Lord’s servants as we would treat his words. Thus we can honestly ask ourselves. “What did the Savior ask me to do in this past Conference?”

If the Savior was going to speak and the program was going to be broadcast to your television, what other events or considerations would be significant enough to cause you to skip the opportunity? What if an announcement came that the lead article in next month’s Ensign was to be written by the Lord himself? How difficult would it be to convince you not to read it?

The Lord emphasized this point in a revelation given the day the Church was organized. “For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith.”

It is not enough to talk about conference. It is not enough to come to conference or to sit and listen to conference or to hear the words spoken in conference. We must make application to our own lives. We must be different because of the conference experience. We must do something".
(Ted Gibbons)

I hope today brings you closer to the Saviour.

Conference Learning Pt 1 - Turning and Looking

Nephi and Lehi were travelling to the land of Nephi when they were captured by the Lamanites and thrown into prison. Whilst in prison they were encircled by fire, but unharmed, the Lamanites couldn’t kill them and the prison walls then began to shake, but did not tumble. The sky then changed, and the land was overshadowed with a cloud of darkness, and they heard a voice coming from above the darkness that said:

“……Repent ye, repent ye, and seek no more to destroy my servants whom I have sent unto you to declare good tidings.
“And it came to pass when they heard this voice, and beheld that it was not a voice of thunder, neither was it a voice of a great tumultuous noise, but behold, it was a still voice of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper, and it did pierce even to the very soul—
“And notwithstanding the mildness of the voice, behold the earth shook exceedingly, and the walls of the prison trembled again, as if it were about to tumble to the earth; and behold the cloud of darkness, which had overshadowed them, did not disperse—
(Helaman 5:29 - 31)

They heard the voice a further two times, but still the darkness did not disperse.

“Now there was one among them who was a Nephite by birth, who had once belonged to the church of God but had dissented from them.
“And it came to pass that he turned him about, and behold, he saw through the cloud of darkness the faces of Nephi and Lehi; and behold, they did shine exceedingly, even as the faces of angels. And he beheld that they did lift their eyes to heaven; and they were in the attitude as if talking or lifting their voices to some being whom they beheld.
“And it came to pass that this man did cry unto the multitude, that they might turn and look. And behold, there was power given unto them that they did turn and look; and they did behold the faces of Nephi and Lehi.
(Helaman 5:35 - 37)

I thought about these verses in relation to General Conference. The Lamanites had obviously witnessed the miracle of fire encircling Nephi & Lehi, and them being unharmed, and they heard the voice of God from Heaven also, but the darkness which had come upon them still didn’t lift. They were directed to “turn and look” upon the faces of the prophets, and only as they did this and followed their teachings, developing faith in Christ, did the cloud disperse.

My prayer is that as we go to Conference this weekend that we will “look” for the 'still voice of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper,' that we will “turn” to the Prophets and Apostles and hear the words the Lord wishes to speak to us, that any clouds of darkness we may be experiencing may also be lifted.

How blessed we are to have the technology that allows us to hear the Lords words, firsthand, from the lips of our Prophets.

How do You Come Out of Bed on Monday Mornings?

Elder L Tom Perry:
"Let's first look at Genesis 2:23.
And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

Six days of labor are to be followed by a day of rest. It seems to me that the judge should be how we come out of bed on Monday morning. If you just crawl out, feeling tired and weary from a heavy weekend, probably the Sabbath-day observance has not been appropriate. You see, I believe you should come up out of those covers on Monday morning more refreshed, more alive, and more enthused than on any other day of the week. If this is not the case, we had better examine what we are doing on the Sabbath day. Test yourself tomorrow morning and see how you come out of bed."
(BYU speeches – “Choose ye this day”)

Don't Push the Cow in Today

One of President Lee’s favorite sayings was:

“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.”

Boring Sunday Meeting?

This is from a talk given in the Spring 2005 Open Houses for Sunday School, given by the Sunday School General President, and I thought I'd take a peak at it. It begins with this experience, which really gave me some food for thought. Hope you like it too:)
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"Someone once asked President Spencer W. Kimball,"What do you do if you find yourself caught in a boring sacrament meeting?" President Kimball thought a moment, then replied, "I don't know; I've never been in one" (in Gene R. Cook, Teaching by the Spirit[2000], 140). With his long years of Church experience, I'm sure that President Kimball had been to meetings where people had read their talks, spoken in a monotone, or given travelogues instead of teaching doctrine. But I suspect that President Kimball was teaching that he did not go to sacrament meeting to be entertained; he went to worship the Lord, renew his covenants, and be taught from on high. If he attended with an open heart, a sincere desire to be "nurtured by the good word of God," and a prayer—rather than judgment—for the speakers, the Spirit would teach him what he needed to do to be a more effective and faithful disciple. President Kimball was teaching the principle of learning by the Spirit."-
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I hope your Sabbath day is one of learning and of feeling the Spirit.