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.

Although this might not seem like that big of a problem, it actually can become one if developed into a habit. Doing homework on Sunday can possibly lead us away from the purposes of the Sabbath: distracting our minds from the things of God, taking away time to serve others through our callings, and keeping us from spending valuable time with family.

We don’t want to be like the Pharisees of old, and prescribe rules or put fences around the commandment to keep the Sabbath day holy. That is why the Lord and His prophets have left it to our judgment—for the most part—to determine what is and is not appropriate on the Sabbath day (see “Why Can’t I do X on Sunday?” http://ldswhy.com/qa/why-cant-i-do-x-on-sunday/). However, the Lord taught us in D&C 59:10 that one of the purposes of the Sabbath day is “to rest from your daily labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High” (emphasis added). It seems that these two purposes are connected: The more we are able to take a break from our daily work, the more time we have to give ourselves to worship God on the Sabbath. The less we rest from our daily work, the less time we seem to have to worship. That is one of the reasons why the prophets counsel, if possible, to “choose a job that does not require you to work on Sundays” (“Sabbath Day Observance,” For the Strength of Youth: Fulfilling Our Duty to God, 32).

One question for youth is, “What is my daily labor?” If the Sabbath asks me to rest from my daily labors, then what are they? The primary labor for most of us in our teenagers is school work. We spend more hours a day doing that work than any most any other. Perhaps, then, as this school year starts anew, to try to keep the Sabbath day more holy we should rest from our daily labor of school work—and therefore homework—on Sunday?

President James E. Faust gave this great promise for those who are willing to try to do avoid doing homework on Sunday:

“I would counsel all students, if they can, to arrange their schedules so that they do not study on the Sabbath. If students and other seekers after truth will do this, their minds will be quickened and the infinite Spirit will lead them to the verities they wish to learn. This is because God has hallowed his day and blessed it as a perpetual covenant of faithfulness” (James E. Faust, “The Lord’s Day,” Ensign, Nov 1991, 33).

What a great promise! Our minds will be quickened by the Holy Ghost to learn what we are studying if we give the entire Sabbath to the Lord, because it is His day (see D&C 59:12). One of the great blessings from not doing homework on Sunday is that we are able to give our time and our mind to the Lord because we are not worried about the homework we need to do. We don’t need to sit in sacrament meeting thinking about algebra that needs to be done this afternoon, instead of thinking about the atonement. We don’t need to spend the afternoon locked away in our rooms writing an English paper, instead of being with our families or serving in our calling.

Not doing homework on Sunday actually makes the day more restful, more enjoyable, more holy, and will prepare us better for the upcoming school week. Naturally, all of this implies that we do our homework before Sunday, on the weekdays. These takes discipline and, at times, sacrifice. But remember that “sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven” (Hymns #27). If we can show the Lord that we are willing to miss a weekend activity to do our homework so that we can keep His day more holy, He will undoubtedly bless us. With those principles in mind, and as we are getting ready to start another school year, we would like to invite all of us who are in school to try to do as President Faust taught and arrange our schedules to avoid doing homework on Sunday. We are confident as we do so the Lord will bless us.

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.

Does it look like a sacrament table to you?  Me too. See if you can find that same picture in the picture below:

Does that change how you see the Sacrament table and the emblems of the Savior’s flesh and blood?  Me too.  Can you see why how you feel about the Atonement is directly related to how you feel about the Sacrament?  Read this counsel from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland on what you could remember when you partake of the sacrament:
“We could remember Christ’s miracles and his teachings, his healings and his help. We could remember that he gave sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf and motion to the lame and the maimed and the withered…We could remember that even with such a solemn mission given to him, the Savior found delight in living; he enjoyed people and told his disciples to be of good cheer…On some days we will have cause to remember the unkind treatment he received, the rejection he experienced, and the injustice—oh, the injustice—he endured… To those who stagger or stumble, he is there to steady and strengthen us. In the end he is there to save us, and for all this he gave his life. However dim our days may seem they have been darker for the Savior of the world.” (Ensign, Nov. 1995)
Second, remember the covenants of your baptism and the role of the Holy Ghost in your life.
Think back to the day you were baptized.  Think of how the water felt.  How you feel about the covenants you made at your baptism is directly related to how you feel about the Sacrament.  Read this explanation from Elder David A. Bednar:
“As each of us was baptized, we entered into a solemn covenant with our Heavenly Father…The fundamental conditions of the covenant into which we entered in the waters of baptism are these: we witnessed that we were willing to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ, that we would always remember Him, and that we would keep His commandments. The promised blessing for honoring this covenant is that we may always have His Spirit to be with us (see D&C 20:77)… The Spirit of the Lord can be our guide and will bless us with direction, instruction, and spiritual protection during our mortal journey.”  (Ensign, May 2006)
As the role of the Spirit in your life becomes more and more important to you, the sacrament will become more important to you also.  I testify that the Spirit really does guide, direct, instruct, and protect us.
I don’t know about you, but I really hate sin. I hate how sinning makes me feel inside. Occasionally, a student will comment to me, “I wish I could be baptized again.  It would be nice to feel that clean again.” Mark these lines in your own copy of True to the Faith (p. 148):
You receive great blessings when you keep the baptismal covenant. As you renew it, the Lord renews the promised remission of your sins… If you approach the sacrament with the reverence and solemnity it deserves, it becomes a weekly opportunity for introspection, repentance, and rededication – a source of strength and a constant reminder of the Savior’s Atonement.
Isn’t that wonderful!  You can feel that clean again each and every week.
Lastly, how we behave during the Sacrament makes a big difference in how sacred and important it is to us.  Read this advice from Elder Dallin H. Oaks:
During sacrament meeting—and especially during the sacrament service—we should concentrate on worship and refrain from all other activities. Young people, it is not a time for whispered conversations on cell phones or for texting persons at other locations. When we partake of the sacrament, we make a sacred covenant that we will always remember the Savior. How sad to see persons obviously violating that covenant in the very meeting where they are making it. (Nov. 2008 Ensign)
As you partake of the sacrament, if you’ll concentrate on remembering the Savior’s Atonement, your covenants, and the role of the Holy Ghost in your life, you are going to feel the promised strength come into your life.   It really will become your favorite part of the week!

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?

Surfing the web
Buying something on-line
Buying something from the store
Playing a board game with your family
Playing a board game with your friends
Watching sports on T.V.
Watching a movie
Playing sports outside
Doing homework
Doing yard work
Doing the dishes
Going on a walk
Going on a hike
Going on a run
Taking a drive as a family
Going boating as a family
Reading a book
Taking a nap

Some of these might seem obvious to you, while others are not quite so clear.  Our internal thoughts could be like this: “Going on a walk? That’s fine!  But what if we go on a walk in the mountains?  No, that is not Sabbath worthy.  That’s hiking, and we hike on Saturdays because we get all sweaty. So, not being sweaty is the key to keeping the Sabbath day holy. Yeah, no hiking. That is, unless you live in the mountains and are hiking to church.  Then its fine!”

“Dad…there’s the church! Keep hiking!”

To alleviate some internal Sabbath difficulty, the following are a few principles found in D&C 59 by which to judge our Sunday behavior:

•    Does the activity keep me “unspotted from the world?” (D&C 59:9).  In other words, does it help keep worldly ideas, thoughts, images, and desires out of my mind and heart?
•    Does the activity help me “rest from [my] daily labors” (D&C 59:10)?  What are my daily labors that this day is designed to allow me to rest from in order to concentrate on more holy things?
•    Does the activity help me “pay [my] devotions unto the Most High” (D&C 59:10)?  In other words, does the activity help me draw nearer to God?  Does it allow me to worship Him, make covenants with Him (see D&C 59:9), understand Him and His purposes more, or help me become more like Him?
•    Does the activity allow me to “offer [my] oblations” of “time, talents, or means, in service of God and [my] fellowman?” (see D&C 59:12, footnote 12b).  In other words, does the activity help me to give of myself in selfless service to God’s kingdom and those around me?
•    Does the activity help me to repent of my sins (see D&C 59:12)?

When President Benson was in the Quorum of the Twelve he gave the following list of things NOT to do.  Don’t:
•    Stay up late Saturday [and be] exhausted the next day.
•    Fill the Sabbath so full of extra meetings that there is no time for prayer, meditation [and family].
•    Do gardening and odd jobs around the house.
•    Take trips to canyons or resorts, visiting friends socially, joy riding, wasting time, and other amusements.
•    Play vigorously and go to movies.
•    Engage in sports and hunting.
•    Read [things]…that do not contribute to spiritual uplift.
•    Shop (Ensign, May 1971, pp. 6–7).

When President Kimball was an Apostle he wrote about things we should do on Sunday:

“The Sabbath is a holy day in which to do worthy and holy things. Abstinence from work and recreation is important but insufficient. The Sabbath calls for constructive thoughts and acts, and if one merely lounges about doing nothing on the Sabbath, he is breaking it. To observe it, one will be on his knees in prayer, preparing lessons, studying the gospel, meditating, visiting the ill and distressed, sleeping, reading wholesome material, and attending all the meetings of that day to which he is expected. To fail to do these proper things is a transgression on the omission side” (The Miracle of Forgiveness, pp. 96–97).

It is significant that the Lord, nor his modern prophets, don’t give us lists of 100s of things we can’t do on Sundays. That may be because depending on the purpose of many Sunday activities, it changes whether it is or is not in harmony with keeping the Sabbath Day holy.  If we understand the divine purposes and doctrines of the Sabbath day, then our activities on that day will become increasingly clear as to whether they are appropriate or not.  We testify that as we keep this day pure, blessings flow (see D&C 59:15-19), and it truly becomes a holy day—the highlight or and best day of the week.

See also “Sabbath Day Observance,” For the Strength of Youth: Fulfilling Our Duty to God, page 32