Studying on a Different Day

Afton N., Oregon, USA

“There has to be a better way!” I thought to myself at 11:30 on Sunday night. Here I was again, trying to cram a whole weekend’s worth of homework into Sunday evening.

Each weekend I would find excuses to postpone my homework until the very last minute—Sunday night. I realized that stressing over homework was not the best way to keep the Sabbath day holy, but what was I supposed to do? Homework was a part of life.

Then that night, I felt inspired that I would be blessed if I stopped doing homework on Sunday. I wasn’t sure how I would make it work; I felt like I was already busy with school and that giving up one day of studying would leave me even less prepared than I already felt. Then I thought of the scripture, “I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise” (D&C 82:10), and since I’d felt prompted that changing my homework pattern could help me with my concerns, I decided to not do homework on Sunday.

The following weekend I finished my homework by Saturday afternoon. I spent the evening watching a movie with friends, and I found it even more fun than before, since I didn’t have homework hanging over my head.

Sunday was simply wonderful. I felt no stress from uncompleted assignments. I was able to enjoy my Church meetings and spend the day pondering the scriptures and spending time with family and friends. Best of all, I was able to get to bed at a reasonable time and was well rested in the morning.

Deciding to not do homework on Sunday allowed me to break my habit of procrastination, and my grades were better than ever. I know Heavenly Father blessed me for making a better effort to keep the Sabbath day holy.