LDS WHY

Ah, it is that time of year. The sun rises later and sets earlier each day, and the mornings and evenings are a little crisper. Clothing stores have their fall lines out, and there are sales everywhere. Yes, school is about to start. Unfortunately for some, this also means that homework is about to start, probably on the first day of school for a few. And, if you’re like most people, with homework also comes a little procrastination. If something isn’t due until next week, we naturally say, “I’ll do that this weekend.” Then, on Friday we are out with our friends, on Saturday we sleep in a little and maybe go to work or to a game, then perhaps on Saturday night we go out on a date or watch a movie. All along the way, that nagging homework is in the back of our mind, going off like a blinking light to let us know it isn’t finished yet. We finally resolve that Sunday afternoon or evening will be the perfect time to do some homework for a few hours and to get things ready for the next week.

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Special thanks to Hank Smith for this guest blog post!

Why should I take the Sacrament each week?
I’ll never forget that day in Sacrament meeting.  I was in high school and was sitting on the same bench with a family that lived next door to me.  They had a daughter about my age and she and I were good friends.  Occasionally this girl liked to keep her sacrament cup after the sacrament had been passed; this was one of those days.  She had the sacrament cup in her mouth, quietly popping it with her teeth, when she had to cough.  When she breathed in, the sacrament cup had nowhere to go but straight down her throat.  Her eyes bulged when she realized what happened and she quickly left the meeting with her dad.  Fortunately, the cup didn’t cut off her airway completely and after a few tense (and afterwards, funny) moments, she was just fine.   The real tragedy of the day was my attitude.  I thought to myself, “If only every Sunday could be this cool.”  How was it that I had completely missed the true meaning of the Sabbath and the Sacrament week after week?
Read carefully the following quote from the Prophet Joseph Smith:
“…the Atonement of the Only Begotten Son of God in the flesh is the …greatest expression of divine love this world has even been given.  Its importance in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints cannot be overstated.  Every other principle, commandment, and virtue of the restored gospel draws its significance from this pivotal event. “ (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, p. 9)
Since the Atonement is the greatest expression of divine love this world has ever been given, then it shouldn’t be a surprise to us that, “the ordinance of the sacrament makes the sacrament meeting the most sacred and important meeting in the Church.” (See Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Nov. 2008 Ensign)
But how can I make sure that Sacrament meeting is a sacred and important meeting to me personally?
I’m going to offer two ways to help:
1.    Remember the Savior’s life and Atonement.
2.    Remember your baptismal covenants and the role of the Spirit in your life.
First, remember the Savior’s life and Atonement.  How you feel about the Atonement is directly related to how we feel about the Sacrament. As the Atonement becomes more and more important to us, the Sacrament will become more important to us also. The question “Why should I take the Sacrament each week?” will change to “Why can’t I take the Sacrament every day?!”
Take a look at the picture and see if you know what it is.

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Although one of the chapters in our book Why? is “Why Should I Keep the Sabbath Day Holy?” we still get many questions wondering why this or why that is or is not in harmony with the commandment to keep the Sabbath Day holy.  Since there are literally thousands of things that we could do on the Sabbath, and since answering whether each one is appropriate or not would be impossible, we feel it best to do as Joseph Smith counseled and teach some correct principles so we can better govern ourselves on Sunday.

Below are some activities that might be questionable if done on a Sunday.  Take a look at the list and ask: which of the following activities is breaking the commandment to keep the Sabbath day holy?

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