Judah’s Sabbath
in the seventh day.
Missionary: Leviticus, 26th chapter,
in the Old Testament, tells Israel of the blessings which come through
obedience, and the misfortunes which follow disobedience. “Ye shall keep my
sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary. I am the Lord.
“If ye walk in my statues and keep my
commandments, and do them, I will walk among you, and be your God, and ye shall
be my people; I am the Lord your God, which brought you forth out of the land
of Egypt.
“If ye will not hearken unto me, but walk
contrary to me, then will I walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I,
will chastise you seven times for your sins.”
My Holy Day: The day of the Lord. God
has given His children the law of the sabbath, in order that they might
manifest their love for Him by observing that day. (D. & C. 59:9.) On the
Sabbath the saints should be in the house of prayer and offer up their
sacraments; that is: present their devotion before the Lord.
The observance of Sunday as the
sabbath has caused great confusion in the world on the subject.
Doctrine and Covenants
Commentary, page 356, gives great detail on this
subject. A part is given here.
When traveling around the world, one
crosses the International Date Line. Supposing it is Friday on one side and on
the other side it would be Sunday. Isn’t that right?
Mors. Rosen: That’s right.
Missionary: All right, then what about
Saturday? When would your Sabbath be?
Mrs. Rosen: In that case it doesn’t
matter.
Missionary: That’s right, it doesn’t
matter. The Sabbath law does not, primarily, set apart either Saturday or Sunday
as the Sabbath, but a seventh part of the week. “Six days shalt thou
labor, but the seventh is the sabbath of the Lord thy God.” It is immaterial
where you begin counting, so long as the rule of working six days and resting
on the seventh is observed. The rule is the same as that which governs tithe-paying.
One dollar out of ten belongs to the Lord. Which one?
Mrs. Rosen: Any of them.
Missionary: Which day of the seven belongs
to the Lord?
Mrs. Rosen: Any of them.
Missionary: That’s right, but as the
Sabbath is for the entire community, one day must be agreed upon for the good
of all.
. . .
(Mrs. Rosen reads.)
“It is not known which day of the week
was observed before the exodus of Israel from Egypt, but whichever it was, at
the time of the exodus some change must have occurred, for a new reckoning
began with the event (Ex. 12:2). The month of the exodus became the first month
of the Jewish ecclesiastical year and the Sabbaths were rearranged. From the
fact that the Hebrew festivals seem to have been observed on fixed dates, as
our Christmas, and were not movable holidays, like Easter, it has been thought that
the weekly Sabbaths also were celebrated on fixed dates. If that is correct,
the Hebrew Sabbath must have fallen on every day in the week in rotation, as
does our New Year’s day.
“Before the Mosaic dispensation, the
Sabbath was observed in memory of the creation; Israel celebrated it in memory
of the exodus, and the followers of our Savior hold the day sacred to the
memory of His resurrection. No matter what the day, the Sabbath is necessary
for the maintenance of free institutions and morality. No one living in a
Christian community has the right to undermine these by his conduct, no matter
what his personal views may be.” (Rose Marie Reid, Suggested For Teaching
the Gospel to the Jewish People [Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, n.d.],
194-95)
