Joy of the Sabbath

Two weeks ago while I was studying some conference talks, I felt inspired to do more to keep the Sabbath. I have always tried to keep the Sabbath but more as a duty or responsibility and at times I felt restricted by it. I was touched when a general authority said in his talk that he found so much joy on the Sabbath that he didn’t have to worry about what he could or couldn’t do. It came naturally.

To keep from feeling too restricted on the Sabbath I had always reserved and few hours to do something that I wanted to do like play a game or watch a television program. Last Sunday I decided to just follow the Spirit. As a missionary it’s not too hard to keep the Sabbath most of the day because we are quite actively involved in the Lord’s work. It really boiled down to the those few hours that I had previously reserved for myself.

It was like crossing a barrier when at the end of the day, I searched for a few things to do. Surprisingly it was very easy to find something. I first opened the scriptures and reread a chapter of The Book of Mormon which I had read that morning. The Spirit opened up the words of that chapter and in Alma’s few words to his wayward son, I saw the whole purpose and meaning of life. His words were true, I felt them to the very depths of my soul, so strongly that I used the same chapter later in the week to teach a newly baptized member of the church. Next I opened the Liahona, the Church magazine to the rest of the world, and found an article about marriage. Again the Spirit touched me and opened my eyes. In this wonderful article centered around “The Proclamation” I found new understanding and meaning about my own relationship with my wonderful companion. I was so touched by it that I asked her to read it again with me.

I read other articles, feeling the same spiritual power. At end of the day, I realized that I found the joy in the Sabbath that the general authority had talked about. I looked forward to the next Sabbath day, the feeling of restriction gone, replaced by a greater understanding of this wonderful gift that the Lord has given me.