Improving Sabbath Day Observance

About a month ago, the bishop in my ward talked about how church leaders were counseled in recent leadership training meetings to encourage members to improve keeping the Sabbath day holy. One way our ward has striven to do this is to have a child in Primary stand before the congregation with their arms folded before Sacrament begins. They act as an example of what reverence should look like for those walking in and a reminder that we want to invite the Spirit into our day.

For those who want to hear more about this announcement, you can find it here.  

Personally, this was a bit of a wake-up call. Though I know better than to shop on Sunday or go out and spend money for other entertainment purposes, typically when we get home from church, we act like it’s any other day. Phil plays his video games, I browse the Internet, and Emma plays with her toys. We’re together, but we’re not together. We’re all doing our own thing and not really thinking about anyone else. That’s not exactly Christ-like.

Sunday should be all about the family and service, and I realized that I wasn’t focusing on that. So, I looked up ways on how to keep the Sabbath day holy. I found this awesome list of suggestions here. 

Some suggestions from the list include:

• Going home/visiting teaching
• Reading church magazines (Ensign, New Era, Friend, etc.)
• Planning the next FHE lesson
• Skyping with family who live far away
• Visiting the temple grounds with your family
• Having the ward missionaries over or writing to a missionary
• Watching a church video together (Meet The Mormons is on Netflix now!)
• Updating the family blog
• Making a meal for the sick or elderly

To make more time to be with loved ones, make a crockpot or freezer meal so you’re not spending so much time in the kitchen, and get all the cleaning done on Saturday - or wait until Monday - so you’re not distracted with a messy home. It’s going to be an adjustment, but we’re slowly working on it. I know this will improve our relationship with our Heavenly Father, as well as with family and friends.

How do you observe the Sabbath Day?