Sabbath Day on the Farm

Working summers as a youth with a beloved uncle and aunt on the family farm was hard work! There was always work to do—machinery to fix, fields to plow, seed to plant, cows to herd, and grain to harvest. We took breaks for meals, but other than that, most days we were working.

Except on Sundays.

For our family, the Sabbath day really was a day of rest and worship, even with the constant needs on the farm. When I was younger, that didn’t always make sense to me.

You see, Sunday always seemed to me to have perfect weather for farm work like planting, fertilizing, and harvesting. I realized that the adversary wants us to think that Sunday is the very best day of the week for things other than worship and rest.

As we drove the miles to church, we’d often see our neighbors putting seed in the ground or harvesting the grain. And we were taking the whole day off! Sometimes it was really a trial of faith to look up at the sky and know that we were missing a day of perfect weather—especially when it might hail or rain the next day and destroy the crops.

But year after year, season after season, no matter how many perfect farming days we missed to keep the Sabbath day holy, we were abundantly blessed. Some might say our choice didn’t make sense, but I believe we were blessed for our choices. And a bounteous harvest wasn’t the only blessing. The blessings I have seen, and the blessings you will see, will be more than you can count.

Your life is full. Every morning you’re up early getting ready for school, finishing last-minute homework, and perhaps heading out for early-morning seminary. School, work, family, studying, sports, or band practice—whatever you happen to be interested in—can take every second of your day. You take a break for meals, but other than that, you’re occupied.

Except on Sundays.

I hope that, for you, the Sabbath is a day of rest.

There probably is a lot you could participate in on Sunday—sports, recreation, opportunities to make money, time to get caught up on schoolwork. The adversary wants you to believe that Sunday is the very best day of the week for doing whatever you want or need to do. But I promise you great blessings if you will make the Sabbath a day of worship, service, and rest.

As you walk, drive, or ride to church, you probably see lots of people who seem to be enjoying a leisurely or productive day. And you are taking the whole day away from things of the world! Sometimes it is really a trial of faith for you to look around and know that you are missing a day of fun or relaxation or studying—especially when your busy life begins again when the alarm goes off on Monday.

My young friends, just as I wasn’t missing out by not working or studying on the Sabbath, you are not missing out when you do what is right either, and great blessings will come from keeping this day holy.

We certainly should strive to live every day as a sign to Heavenly Father that we love Him and honor His laws (see Russell M. Nelson, Apr. 2015 general conference), but there’s something extra special about Sunday. We cease from our labors, we worship together, we serve one another and reach out to those in need, and we make an extra effort to give the entire day to the Lord.

Of course the greatest blessings from honoring the Sabbath day come from worthily partaking of the sacrament.

When I was your age, I began to appreciate more and more the promise of always having His Spirit with me. I knew, come Monday, and for the rest of the week, I would need the Spirit to be with me. Whether I was facing temptation at school or was distracted with the things of the world, I knew having the Spirit made everything easier. Great joy came as I recognized, listened to and followed the promptings of the Spirit.

To truly enjoy the blessings of the weekly ordinance of the sacrament, we don’t wait until Sunday to repent. Instead, we should always be repenting daily, even hourly. Repentance is meant to be a joyful process, not something we do only in the bishop’s office. As we partake of the sacred emblems of the Savior’s Atonement with a clear conscience, we can commit to be willing, to keep trying, to do better, and to become better.

Now is the season for important decisions for your future. As a young man, I chose to keep the Sabbath day holy and to dedicate my Sundays to Heavenly Father. That and other spiritual goals I set and kept as a teenager have made all the difference in my life, these many years later. As you keep the Sabbath day holy and keep the other commandments of the Lord, He will bless your life, just as He has blessed mine.