As I thought about what to post on
today I decided to post on the topic of the sabbath, and what it
means to me and why.
We know to the children of Israel God
gave the command “Keep the sabbath day holy.” But do we
understand what it means to keep a day holy? Exactly how does one do
that? And for what reason are we given that instruction?
For me the way to keep the sabbath
day holy is to create and environment where the Spirit of the Lord
may be invited and maintained. But that's the thing, I have to
“create” that environment. It doesn't simply exist on it's own.
If it existed on it's own there would be no need for the command to
“keep” the day holy. The Gospel of Jesus Christ exists to teach
us how to be closer to Him and be more as He is.
It is not enough to simply keep one
day holy, but that command is to teach us the value of the habit of
keeping all of our days holy.
The Lord is aware we stand at
different points in our lives. He does not expect us to be on our
knees every moment of every day. His purposes for our coming to this
earth involved getting a family, and a spouse, and providing for
them, learning as much as we can both to develop ourselves and to
teach our families, and to learn more about Him and to grow closer to
Him.
There are many things that, while
spiritually non-conductive, are not exactly harmful either. Harmless
entertainment which we are free to enjoy. I for one like rock music,
and while much of it is inappropriate there is a lot of that is clean
and can also be motivating or uplifting, and it's the cleaner stuff I
stick to. Spiritually non-conductive things do not necessarily chase
the Spirit away if they are clean. They just won't built it up any
more. However, you do have to feed the Spirit. If you overindulge in
things of no spiritual value the presence of the Spirit will stagnate
and dissipate till you are left alone. And clearly avoid the things
that are of absolutely no spiritual worth that flat out chase the
Spirit away.
The Lord does not expect us to be
doing Gospel things 24/7, our lives are busy and we live in a world
full of secular things. We are instructed to live in this world but
to not be of the world. We are required to become familiar with the
world we live in and the worthy things it teachers, and we are free
to study our own interests. By giving us agency the Lord allows us to
seek after what we will. The only governing factor being what Joseph
Smith taught, “I teach them correct principles and let them govern
themselves.”
As time passes I am losing my desire
to play video games. It's simply fading. So is my interest in the
majority of the music I would listen to. But it's not the result of
nothing. It's the result of application. A man's nature will change
on it's own as a man applies the doctrines of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ in his life. If you know that you are craving or entertaining
yourself with things you really ought not to, then spend more time
not simply studying the scripture and lessons, and talks you hear at
church and in Conference, but spend time dwelling on them and
pondering them, and figuring out how you can apply those things in
your life. As you apply them, and work to change how you are
you will find your desires will start changing on their own. The
natural desires will begin to be replaced by a more spiritual set of
desires. Your mind will become Spiritual in it's own nature. Your
entire nature will gradually shift to one that is Spiritual.
To get back on the topic of the
sabbath: One cannot become more spiritual without also feeling an
increased desire to have the presence of the Spirit, and an
understanding of the value of His presence. The Lord knew this would
happen, and thus is one of the reasons the commandments of God have
been given to us. So that we may become more Spiritual in nature, and
seek the presence of the Spirit. To go from making one day Holy
before the Lord, to making all of the Holy by our own will and choice
because we desire and want it to be so so that we may feel the
presence of the Spirit, and the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and ultimately the love and presence of the Father.
As I work to become more like Jesus
Christ I find one of the most important things to me is whether or
not I can maintain the Spirit of the Lord in my lift constantly and
daily. I find myself making choices solely on whether or not the
result will increase or decrease the presence of the Holy Ghost with
me. I find myself growing far more unwilling to decrease that
presence, and unwilling to compromise in decisions I make that would
cause it to decrease despite what people may think about the choice
in question. I'm fine with that though: I would rather maintain my
honor, in knowing I kept my integrity before God and valued and
appreciated the Spirit He has placed in my life, and that I chose to
choose to keep it with me.
-Samuel
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