In 1831 the Lord called some Saints to move to Jackson County, Missouri, to establish Zion. While the Prophet Joseph Smith was with these Saints, he received instructions from the Lord about keeping the Sabbath day holy. This lesson can help students honor the Lord by choosing to keep the Sabbath day holy.
Possible Learning Activities
Decisions about the Sabbath day
Help students think about some of the blessings and challenges of obeying the commandment to keep the Sabbath day holy. You might use the following experience shared in general conference. Thinking about someone else’s situation can help prepare students to consider their own thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Elder Larry Y. Wilson of the Seventy shared the following experience:
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Elder Larry Y. Wilson
Our daughter Mary was a standout soccer player growing up. One year her team made it to the championships and, wouldn’t you know it, that game was to be played on a Sunday. As a young teen, Mary had had years of teaching that the Sabbath was a day of rest and spiritual regeneration, not recreation. But she still felt pressure from her coaches and teammates to play, as well as a desire not to let her team down. (Larry Y. Wilson, “Only upon the Principles of Righteousness,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2012, 104–5)
Why might some people view this as an important decision in Mary’s life while others might not?
If you were Mary, what do you think would be important to consider before making this decision?
Think for a moment about decisions you make about the Sabbath day. What do you typically do to guide your choices? As you study today, seek inspiration from the Holy Ghost to help you know why to keep the Sabbath holy and how you might do that.
Although her health was failing at age 55, Polly Knight left her home in Colesville, New York, determined to obey the Lord and come to Zion. Polly made it to Zion (Jackson County, Missouri) and died a few days later. On the day of her funeral, a Sunday, the Prophet Joseph Smith received the revelation recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 59. In this revelation, the Lord taught truths that could comfort Polly’s family (see verses 1–2). He also spoke of His commandments, with an emphasis on the Sabbath. The Lord promised great blessings to those who keep the Sabbath day holy.
Consider making two columns on the board with the titles Instructions and Blessings. Invite students to study the following verses in small groups and to list in the columns on the board what they find. They could also create similar lists in their study journals.
Read Doctrine and Covenants 59:9–20, and make two lists, one of instructions the Lord gives for our actions and attitudes on the Sabbath and another of blessings He offers us.
Invite students to share what they learned. Also, give them an opportunity to ask questions they might have, and discuss students’ questions together. It might be helpful for students to look up definitions of difficult words as needed. Students might discuss and discover what it means to “pay thy devotions unto the Most High” (verse 10) and “offer thine oblations and thy sacraments unto the Most High” (verse 12). You may help guide the student discussion with questions such as the following:
What truths can we identify from these verses about the purpose of the Sabbath?
Invite students to share any truths they discovered. You could ask students to discuss why they think the truths they identified are important. Along with other truths that students share, help class members identify and discuss that the Sabbath is a day for us to show our devotion to God (see verse 10).
How can having a day to focus on your love and devotion to God help you in your life?
Honoring the Lord on the Sabbath
The following activity can help students understand how they can honor the Lord through their choices on the Sabbath day. You may want to write the temple recommend question below on the board.
During temple recommend interviews, you will be asked:
“Do you strive to keep the Sabbath day holy, both at home and at church; attend your meetings; prepare for and worthily partake of the sacrament; and live your life in harmony with the laws and commandments of the gospel?”
To help you think about how you can obey the commandment to keep the Sabbath day holy, write down ideas in your study journal about how you can honor the Lord by keeping the Sabbath day holy.
The following resources can help students identify more ways to keep the Sabbath holy at home and at church. Consider displaying them and giving students time to study and add to their list of ideas.
Read the following scriptures to discover what Jesus Christ did on the Sabbath:
After students have had sufficient time to study, consider inviting them to share what they learned. You could have them write some of their findings on the board. Consider also asking the following questions to help students share their own experiences.
What has helped you show devotion to God on the Sabbath? What difference have these behaviors made for you?
Students might be interested to learn more from Mary’s experience introduced at the beginning of the lesson. You could give students the rest of the story by showing the video “Only upon the Principles of Righteousness” from time code 5:24 to 6:26, available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Make a plan
Consider displaying the following invitation. You could invite a few willing students to share their plans after they have finished making them.
Make a plan in your study journal about how you will strive to honor the Savior on the Sabbath day. You could identify ideas of what you will start doing, continue doing, or stop doing, either at home or at church.