Remember the Sabbath Day to Keep it Holy

When Moses ascended mount Horeb and spoke with God, he received many instructions, but the most famous guidance was in the form of the ten commandments.  (Exodus 20)

The ten commandments have been honored as a basis for western law and morality for centuries, however, in more recent years, there have been a number of conflicts regarding their value.  Litigation from organizations such as the ACLU has forced some communities to remove monuments, plaques, or other depictions of this.  Of course, even the most secular individuals typically do not take issue with sentiments about avoiding murder and theft.  The issues are mainly with the commandments that direct people to worship God.

One of these commandments that is frequently used to show that the ten commandments are no longer used as a basis for western society... that is the fourth commandment: "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy." (Exodus 20:8)

Certainly there is some merit to this argument.  I recall hearing a saying with some truth: "our grandfathers called it the Holy Sabbath... our fathers called it the Sabbath... our parents called it Sunday... we call it the weekend." (unknown)

Even in the most religious counties in Utah, the state where church attendance is reported to be highest, the parking lots of shopping centers and stores are filled with vehicles.  Of course, there is an understanding for the need of police, fire, and medical emergency services to be available on Sundays, and there are occasions when it is necessary to travel and use other services, much of the activity that is performed on Sunday could be handled on other days, but is not.  This provides strong evidence that at least some of the Ten Commandments no longer provide the foundation for American ethics... and if people can pick and choose which commandments are applicable, then they are not really commandments at all... As Barbosa said in Pirates of the Caribbean, "the code is more what you'd call "guidelines" than actual rules."

What benefit is there from spending a day "resting" or avoiding productivity every single week anyway?

God frequently offered as explanation for this commandment the events surrounding the creation of the world: "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." (Exodus 20:11)

This idea is certainly something that modern society seems to have mostly abandoned.  Because of evidence including carbon dating, fossils, and sediment analysis, the idea that God created the earth in six days is not discussed nearly as often as it used to be, even among religious individuals.  The consequence of this (intended or not) is that the seventh day (after the creation) is also frequently ignored.

The lack of this discussion is unfortunate.  Because God has all power, and cannot become exhausted or wearied from his works, the idea of him taking rest is significant.  Why would an all-powerful being rest?

He had all knowledge, and was not waiting to observe something unexpected.  He had the ability to travel to any place, and was not exploring something new.  He certainly had the power to move on to other tasks.  Why not do so?

Perhaps the answer lies back in the account in Genesis.  After each day of creation, God took note that the things he directed were "so" and in many cases that they were "good."  At the end of the creation, he noted that it was all "very good."  These observances did not bring new information to him, he knew exactly what would happen.  Still, he paused to observe and appreciate these creations.

The key here is that God found value in observing and appreciating what was there.  This act surely brought value to him, or else he would not have done it.  Perhaps this is a key to understanding the commandment to remember the Sabbath Day.

There is value is stopping and simply appreciating what is there.  Taking time to reflect on whether our productivity is "very good" or whether it needs improvement is also worthwhile.  Additionally, God is asking us to do things as he did them... the Sabbath Day is in a general sense, an invitation to be like he is (Matthew 5:48).

Voices in society who would ignore the importance of this observation dismiss an opportunity to be more divine.  No wonder God gave this counsel to Moses on Horeb: "remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy."



As a final though, Dennis Prager offered additional (and worthwhile) insights on the Sabbath Day, and the dignity that it gives to people.  I highly recommend watching his short video here.

Keep hands, feet, and personal experiences to yourself!

While many people fear public speaking, there is one huge advantage over a more interactive teaching approach: the public speaker controls every word.  A person giving a talk or a speech never has to worry about someone raising their hand in the congregation and interjecting unpredictable content.

In Mormon worship services, the first hour is devoted to the observance of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, and to the presentation of public speakers on various religious subjects.  The subsequent hours feature a more interactive style of instruction where teachers present material, and frequently invite class members to answer questions or offer comments and insight to complement the main subjects.  While this method can provide value to what might otherwise be a monotonous lecture, there is a risk in audience participation.

There are various offenses that occur when class members contribute:

1. The stupid question - There are some who believe there is no such thing as a stupid question.  They are wrong.  The off topic question may only be a distraction, but it can be much worse.  An instructor teaching about faith is not likely to be able to assist a class member decipher the mysteries of facsimile number 2.

2. Deep doctrine diving - Maybe Adam and Eve had belly buttons.  Maybe women will have hairy legs in heaven.  Maybe the class member that brings up subjects like these should have kept their mouth shut.

3. Redundant, repetitious statements that have already been said - Faith is important, but everyone understood that the first time it was mentioned.  It is OK to say 'never mind' if you had your hand raised and someone else gave your answer.

4. The Filibuster - It is not always easy to be concise, but the class member that takes ten minutes to get to a point can probably shorten their comment.  There may be on the rare occasion a person that is able to present a complicated and well-thought out point that takes some time to explain properly... but when class members are actively comparing their Angry Birds scores on their phones, take a hint and wrap it up.

5. What the? I Don't Even - Albuquerque; snorkel; lasers; tofu; steam rollers; concrete; purple; Sherlock Holmes.  See?  I can do it too!

As bad as all of these things are, perhaps the most annoying crime against humanity that occurs in the classroom is:

6. The personal experience - Perhaps somewhere in the personal experience, there may be a nugget of worth.  Finding it can be similar to finding the good chunk of meat in a slab that is crawling with maggots.  They are always filled with completely unnecessary details.  Here is an example of a hypothetical personal experience that represents the typical (perhaps slightly exaggerated) recitation with commentary in parenthesis:

So I actually have an experience with sharing the gospel.  (Please be short, please be short)
There's this guy I met who is actually from Minnesota...  (Hold the phone!!!  Minnesota!?!  I'm sure that is pertinent to sharing the gospel.)
...and he came here to go to school... (Perhaps you could also tell us about his application process.  What were his SAT scores?  How does the cost of tuition and living compare to those found in Minnesota?)
...and he's actually going to the University of Utah... (Yes, but where does he park his car?  I'm not sure I have enough details here.)
He's majoring in liberal arts... (Because major affects his eligibility for salvation apparently...)
...and he's really athletic, you know kind of a jock type?  Ha ha ha ha!  (I'm sorry, was that supposed to be funny?)
So I started talking to him about two weeks ago.  Well actually it was more like two and a half weeks.  Well, two weeks and three days... (I'm not sure I can appreciate this personal experience unless you tell me what time it was.)
Yeah, we work at the same place doing sales.  So he's really outgoing like me!  (Is he really outgoing?  We don't really know unless you give us his the results of his personality test, his horoscope, and the last three messages he had in his fortune cookies...)
So anyways, he saw me being all righteous, you know... not drinking Dr. Pepper... and he was like, "I want to be like you man, you're always so happy!"  (Yeah... who wouldn't want to be like you?)
So I didn't really think about it for a while, but a few days later I was eating lunch and I ran into him.  I was like "Hey what's up?"  Then we started talking about the weather and his school...  (I wonder if there's something more enlightening on Facebook.  Good thing I have a smart phone!)
And we were talking about how hard it is to go to school and work, and I told him about one way I deal with stress...  you know... drinking Coke and listening to Godsmack or actually hip hop, which is my favorite...  (That is a great tweet!  I'm glad I follow Adam Baldwin on Twitter...)
But the other thing I do to deal with stress is to read the Ensign magazine... because the prophets give me comfort and peace.  I don't mean they make me fall asleep though... Ha ha ha ha ha!! (Unlike your personal experience... I really wish I had a pillow...)
And anyway, it was a good talk, and I felt like I was being a good example to him, and I followed the promptings I received.  (Please be wrapping up, please be wrapping up)
So I haven't talked to him since, so I don't know what he thought about it.  So anyway, I'm still trying to do missionary work by my example... (So the story has almost no point?  Well at least he's done now...)
And so that's an important lesson I learned.  I learned that even in Utah County there are still people that need to learn about the Savior.  I learned that we can be examples everywhere we go.  I learned that... (Are you seriously still going on!?!?!  Unbelievable!!!)
...you've got to have that faith and that example.  You've got to have that spirit of missionary work.  You can't be afraid to open your mouth... (I really wish you would shut your mouth.)
You can make a difference, because you never know when you'll meet someone from Minnesota who needs to hear the gospel.  (As opposed to people from other states who I guess are OK?)
So anyway, I'll keep working with him, and who knows?  Ha ha ha ha! (.............)

All hyperboles aside, it may actually be possible to share a personal experience in a manner that is concise, appropriate, and positive.  This takes a degree of skill that few have achieved.  For the vast majority of class members, the following tips can help prevent you from ruining a lesson:

1. Be concise - Unless you have an accent or otherwise entertaining voice, most people probably do not want to hear the sound of you talking.

2. Stay on topic - Details that you think are important such as schools, occupations, hobbies, carpet colors... they aren't actually important.  Reinforcing universal general principals closely associated with the lesson topic should be the goal of all participants.

3. Think before you speak - In class, look to your left and right.  Realize that there are people there.  Would they be enlightened, uplifted, or edified by what you're thinking of saying?  Does your comment or question provoke thought, provide clarity, or enhance context?  Consider keeping your hand down and your mouth shut if in doubt. (Proverbs 17:28)

The Mediocre Mormon Talk

Many churches have ministers or pastors that perform their duties as a career.  The congregations of these churches typically benefit from the instruction of a speaker that is eloquent, passionate, and clear.  The storytelling skills of these individuals is typically quite impressive.  Successful pastors can hold the attention of large and even divers audiences for long periods of time.

Mormons do not have paid clergy.  The leadership of the church comes from the membership.  Our Bishops and High Priests must typically maintain separate jobs in addition to their ecclesiastical duties in order to support themselves.  While there are many advantages to the all-volunteer system, training in and passion for public speaking are not always among them.

Even in cases where leaders are gifted speakers the typical Sunday service provides speaking opportunities to members of the congregation.  This means that almost any person could be called upon to give a talk.  The result?  Mediocrity....

Many congregations will have a youth speaker that will give a 5-minute talk, followed by two adult speakers (often a married couple) that will each give talks between 10 and 15 minutes.

Frequently youth speakers will read a story from a periodical and perhaps a few applicable verses from the scriptures until their assigned time is expired.  This is not necessarily a bad technique for public speakers as young as 12, although forming a habit of just reading a few items that are probably related to the assigned subject is not good practice.

The true mediocrity appears more frequently in the adult talks.  Many times, the technique and even the content is identical to the youth speakers with the exception of lengthy and largely pointless introductions, and recitals of the moments when a member of the Bishopric contacted the speaker to give them the speaking assignment.  These recitals almost always involve the speaker talking about their loathing of public speaking and end with the phrase "but I'm grateful for the opportunity to speak to you today..."

Another popular technique of mediocrity is to share the process of talk preparation.  This method usually begins with the phrase "...as I was looking for what to talk about..."  The speaker then goes on to talk about how they looked in the dictionary, they searched for talks that other people had given, they looked in the scriptures, or they talked to someone they knew.  This type of speaking rarely amounts to little more than stalling.  In fact, most of the techniques used in speaking revolve around a central goal of filling the air with words for the requested duration of time. 

While it is good to have some sources and quote some scripture, speaking should never exclusively be recycling other peoples thoughts.  In between reading quotes from church leaders or other sources, the speaker inserts their "original" commentary of "I really like this quote/story/scripture."  This is especially a problem when the assigned talk subject is... a talk.  These produce the worst results and the greatest chance that the speaker will just read large portions of someone else's talk, with little passion, insight, and typically with average articulation.

No wonder so many LDS services are mediocre.

Would anyone imagine Jesus speaking to people using these techniques?  It might start something like this abbreviated hypothetical version of a sermon (no blasphemy intended):

Hello everyone... I hope you'll bear with me today as I have been asked to speak to you... I thought I would start by introducing myself.  I'm Jesus.  I've lived most of my life in Nazareth, but I was actually born in Bethlehem and even lived in Egypt for a while while Herod was... well... killing babies.  I have a lot of experience in carpentry.  So that's me!

I was asked by my Father to talk to you about the gospel... I thought a long time about it.  In fact, I've fasted and prayed for a long time, and even been to the temple as I thought about what I would say.  I think that this assignment is going to be tough, but I'm grateful for the opportunity to speak to you today.

The hypothetical sermon would then contain mostly quotes from the scriptures followed perhaps by the "I really like this scripture.  It means a lot." as the only original material.

The truth is that Jesus spoke boldly, passionately, and persuasively.  He wasn't just trying to 'get through' his sermons, or speak so as to fill an assigned interval of time.  He was speaking to persuade people to understand and to do what was right. (Matthew 5:17-19)  He was incredibly bold and taught ideas that were consistent with the law and the prophets, but with new and original insight. (Matthew 5:38-44)  He made it clear that his words were not simply to entertain, but his council was to be followed. (Matthew 7:24-27)  When he concluded, his audience was amazed by the power with which he addressed them.  Matthew writes "And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes." (Matthew 7:28-29)

The message of the Mormon church is bold.  Its purpose is not to fill a time interval in Sunday services, it is to change the world.  It represents the ultimate transforming power that makes bad men good and good men better.  There is no need to dilute the core truths with mediocrity.

Jesus Christ is the son of God.  He is alive and well, and he is guiding his church.  Joseph Smith saw him, and received power from him just as the apostles of old.  By his power, the Book of Mormon was translated, that we might have a purely prophetic book by which we can be made to understand faith, penitence, baptism, the Holy Ghost, and all important aspects of his unfailing kingdom.  He has given men the power to act in his name to spread his teachings and will to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.

With so much powerful and profound truth, it is a shame to see mediocrity in talks and lessons.  The purpose of any talk should be to persuade men to come to Christ and to do his will.  Next to that, the speaker's brief biography, their methods of preparation, their liking of scriptures, quotes, and stories, or any stalling techniques are trivial, boring, and mediocre.

While no one can teach or speak as well as Jesus did, it sure would help if more people tried.