“Remember the Sabbath Day,” Friend, Nov. 2004, 38

Poster Article:
Remember the Sabbath Day*

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (Ex. 20:8).

The children of Israel received manna from heaven to eat while they lived in the wilderness on their journey to the promised land. Manna was a special food that the Lord prepared for them to eat. Each morning they woke up and found manna on the ground, ready for them to gather. Usually, they had to gather and eat the manna on the day it fell or it became wormy and smelly. The day before the Sabbath, twice as much manna fell, and the Lord told the children of Israel to gather enough for two days. On the Sabbath day they did not receive any manna, but the manna they gathered the day before did not go bad. The Lord preserved it for His people (see Ex. 16:16–24).

Like the Israelites, our families will be guided and blessed when we keep the Sabbath day holy. President Gordon B. Hinckley teaches: “Gather your family about you, teach them the gospel, enjoy yourselves together on the Sabbath Day, come to your meetings, participate. You will know that the principle of the Sabbath is a true principle which brings with it great blessings” (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [1997], 559).

Activities and Ideas

Cut out the picture of the Israelite family on page 39 and mount it on heavy paper. Fold the tab along the dotted line to make the family stand up. Then cut out the basket and fold in along the broken lines. Glue tab A to side A on the family cutout, with the basket pattern facing out. Glue tab B to bottom B and tab C to side C to make a pocket. Cut out the manna and put them in the basket.

Illustrated by Dilleen Marsh
For a family home evening activity, give pieces of manna to each member of your family. Take turns thinking of activities you can do as a family. Together decide if each activity is a good one to do on the Sabbath day. If it is, put a piece of manna in the basket. Try to fill the basket with all the manna.
For a family home evening lesson or Primary talk, read and discuss the statement by President Hinckley. Can you think of ways your family has been or could be blessed by keeping the Sabbath day holy?

Note: If you do not wish to remove pages from the magazine, this activity may be copied, traced, or printed out from the Internet at www.lds.org. Click on Gospel Library.