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.
I recently was hired to work as a mentor and my schedule is on the weekend, including Sundays. It’s come down to this question: Should I work on Sundays anyway so that I can get an income since nothing else is open for me to change my schedule, or not have a job because it’s against God to work on Sundays?
My dad is a police officer and has had to work on Sundays quite a bit earlier in his career. In fact he had to go investigate an accident today that killed 4 people. I use to work in a hospital that required me to work Sundays. If you must work on Sunday to be able to provide for yourself I think it all depends on where your heart is that day. What can you do during work, on breaks, or other spare time to keep it a holy day? That is between you and the Lord.