How do you hallow the Sabbath day?

[The Nehor]

16 hours ago, bluebell said:

Or, what was useful in the past in different generations is not always useful today. 

Brigham Young’s counsel on how to care for pigs and cows is, of course, timeless.

Edit: I just remembered I read a Brigham Young talk where he gave his recipe for really good bread. I should try and find that.

Edited February 8, 2023 by The Nehor

[telnetd]

19 hours ago, bluebell said:

Or, what was useful in the past in different generations is not always useful today. 

How was "Our prophets have told us that we should not shop, hunt, fish, attend sports events, or
participate in similar activities on that day” useful in the past (1998/2009 versions of Gospel Principles)
but not useful today?

[ksfisher]

8 minutes ago, telnetd said:

How was "Our prophets have told us that we should not shop, hunt, fish, attend sports events, or
participate in similar activities on that day” useful in the past (1998/2009 versions of Gospel Principles)
but not useful today?

It sounds useful to me. 

[Pyreaux]

3 hours ago, telnetd said:

How was "Our prophets have told us that we should not shop, hunt, fish, attend sports events, or
participate in similar activities on that day” useful in the past (1998/2009 versions of Gospel Principles)
but not useful today?

What might still be true and wise advice, say if you wanted to know more methods and customs for being more in tune with the Spirit on that day, but it's another thing if it brings new members pressure or older members condemnation from peers if they personally fall short of the ideal. There is a lot of shifting and fine-tuning core truths with intentions, venues, word choices, times and shifting demographics and such factors that converts truth into wise counsel.

[telnetd]

16 hours ago, Pyreaux said:

What might still be true and wise advice, say if you wanted to know more methods and customs for being more in tune with the Spirit on that day, but it's another thing if it brings new members pressure or older members condemnation from peers if they personally fall short of the ideal. There is a lot of shifting and fine-tuning core truths with intentions, venues, word choices, times and shifting demographics and such factors that converts truth into wise counsel.

I have seen this too in my church.  Some refer to it as "watering-down" the gospel.

[InCognitus]

On 2/8/2023 at 10:50 AM, telnetd said:

How was "Our prophets have told us that we should not shop, hunt, fish, attend sports events, or
participate in similar activities on that day” useful in the past (1998/2009 versions of Gospel Principles)
but not useful today?

I posted about this a moment ago in a different thread, and bluebell already mentioned part of what I'm about to say earlier in this thread, but this is the direction the prophet has been taking us recently, away from the letter of the law and toward a spiritual application of the principles of the gospel that we follow because we look to the Savior as our strength and our guide.

Since I know how much you love to compare different editions of our manuals and pick apart the differences , you'll really like the changes to the new For the Strength of Youth guide.  Last fall, the church published a new edition, titled:  For the Strength of Youth: A Guide for Making Choices.  Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf spoke about it at the October 2022 General Conference.  

But there was also a good podcast on the purpose of the new guide on the Church News website:  Episode 106: The Young Men general presidency on how the new ‘For the Strength of the Youth’ guide helps youth choose Christ. 

"This episode of the Church News podcast features the Church’s Young Men general presidency, President Steven J. Lund and his counselors, Brother Ahmad S. Corbitt and Brother Bradley R. Wilcox. The presidency talks about the new guide, Latter-day Saint For the Strength of the Youth conferences, and the Church’s 2023 youth theme, 'I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.'"

Some of the comments below are relevant to your question:

Quote

President Steven J. Lund:  ... When people first look at it [the 2022 edition of For the Strength of Youth], they can see that there are some major differences. And of course, if there weren’t going to be differences, we wouldn’t have done a new guide, but those differences come around a theme that we should be used to in the Church, by now, and that is that we’re moving to a higher and holier way, where the guidance that we receive from the brethren, from the Church, from each other, is less prescriptive and more spiritually-based. We’re being asked to, you know, not look to somebody else to decide what our standard should be, but recognizing the weight of membership and the weight of holiness that belongs to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will by itself prescribe how we behave and how we are, how we dress and how we comport ourselves.

Brother Bradley R. Wilcox: We’ve seen this same shift in other things, like ministering, in the way that we are being taught to keep the Sabbath day holy. We’re seeing this same shift in the missionary handbook. And over and over, you can see that President Nelson and the others who lead us are trying to lift us from a law of Moses, preparatory situation, into something that allows us to live a higher law.

Brother Ahmad S. Corbitt: And I think it’s just natural. I mean, President Nelson said, you know, “My dear younger brothers and sisters, you are among the best the Lord has ever sent to this world.” He said, “You have the capacity to be smarter and wiser and have more impact on the world than any previous generation.” And this is a natural result of that. 

In Elder Uchtdorf's General Conference talk, he said "Jesus Christ is the strength of youth.  So the purpose of For the Strength of Youth is to point you to Him. It teaches you eternal truths of His restored gospel—truths about who you are, who He is, and what you can accomplish with His strength. It teaches you how to make righteous choices based on those eternal truths."

So, if we are taught to make choices based on these eternal truths and based on our love for the Savior, then we don't need to be told not to "shop, hunt, fish, attend sports events, or participate in similar activities on that day".  It's already in our heart.

[bluebell]

On 2/8/2023 at 10:50 AM, telnetd said:

How was "Our prophets have told us that we should not shop, hunt, fish, attend sports events, or
participate in similar activities on that day” useful in the past (1998/2009 versions of Gospel Principles)
but not useful today?

I don't think the prophet's counsel has changed, but now we have to find it in other places than the GP manual.  In the past the church was more interested in spelling out things.  Now it seems to expect us to begin graduating to new spiritual grades, and needing less handholding to come to similar personal conclusions.

Edited February 13, 2023 by bluebell

[telnetd]

On 2/11/2023 at 12:23 AM, InCognitus said:

In Elder Uchtdorf's General Conference talk, he said "Jesus Christ is the strength of youth.  So the purpose of For the Strength of Youth is to point you to Him. It teaches you eternal truths of His restored gospel—truths about who you are, who He is, and what you can accomplish with His strength. It teaches you how to make righteous choices based on those eternal truths."

Thanks. I'll have a look.

[telnetd]

On 2/12/2023 at 11:57 AM, bluebell said:

I don't think the prophet's counsel has changed, but now we have to find it in other places than the GP manual.  In the past the church was more interested in spelling out things.  Now it seems to expect us to begin graduating to new spiritual grades, and needing less handholding to come to similar personal conclusions.

Okay. But I still don't understand when "should not" has changed to "it's okay" to shop, hunt, fish, or attend/watch 
sporting events on the Sabbath.

Or maybe each person's spiritual grade will reveal his own truth; saying shopping for clothes on the Sabbath is fine
with the Lord but hunting is a no-no.

[bluebell]

18 minutes ago, telnetd said:

Okay. But I still don't understand when "should not" has changed to "it's okay" to shop, hunt, fish, or attend/watch 
sporting events on the Sabbath.

Or maybe each person's spiritual grade will reveal his own truth; saying shopping for clothes on the Sabbath is fine
with the Lord but hunting is a no-no.

It hasn't changed to "it's okay".  Like I said, the prophet's counsel hasn't really changed any.

[telnetd]

On 2/14/2023 at 1:09 PM, bluebell said:

It hasn't changed to "it's okay".  Like I said, the prophet's counsel hasn't really changed any.

I looked at For the Strength of Youth like @InCognitus suggested and found some mention
about the Sabbath.

Page 11-12 states

Show love for God by keeping His commandments. For example, by keeping the Sabbath 
day holy, including by faithfully preparing for and partaking of the sacrament, you show
God that you are willing to dedicate one day a week to Him. As you fast and pay tithes and
offerings, you show God that His work is more important to you than material things.

Page 14 (repeated again on pages 20 and 37) states

Do you strive to keep the Sabbath day holy, both at home and at church; attend your 
meetings; prepare for and worthily partake of the sacrament; and live your life in harmony
with the laws and commandments of the gospel?

The thought of keeping the Sabbath day holy is still unclear in this training manual so I
would say the counsel of LDS prophets (to not shop, hunt, fish, or attend sporting events),
mentioned in Gospel Principles, still provides more guiding light on how Latter-day Saints
are to keep the Sabbath day holy.

Edited February 16, 2023 by telnetd

[bluebell]

54 minutes ago, telnetd said:

I looked at For the Strength of Youth like @InCognitus suggested and found some mention
about the Sabbath.

Page 11-12 states

Show love for God by keeping His commandments. For example, by keeping the Sabbath 
day holy, including by faithfully preparing for and partaking of the sacrament, you show
God that you are willing to dedicate one day a week to Him. As you fast and pay tithes and
offerings, you show God that His work is more important to you than material things.

Page 14 (repeated again on pages 20 and 37) states

Do you strive to keep the Sabbath day holy, both at home and at church; attend your 
meetings; prepare for and worthily partake of the sacrament; and live your life in harmony
with the laws and commandments of the gospel?

The thought of keeping the Sabbath day holy is still unclear in this training manual so I
would say the counsel of LDS prophets (to not shop, hunt, fish, or attend sporting events),
mentioned in Gospel Principles, still provides more guiding light on how Latter-day Saints
are to keep the Sabbath day holy.

The GP manual definitely provided more structure and less wiggle room for those of us who are apt to choose poorly when left to our own devices.  As you've pointed out, though the guidance hasn't really changed, the reason for a member to choose to follow that guidance has shifted.

Now instead of not shopping on Sunday because the prophet said it was wrong, we can not shop on Sunday because of our personal relationship with Christ and our desire to treat the Sabbath day as holy and different than all other days of the week, for example.

[telnetd]

On 2/16/2023 at 5:24 PM, bluebell said:

As you've pointed out, though the guidance hasn't really changed, the reason for a member to choose to follow that guidance has shifted.

The reason shifted from what to what?

[Pyreaux]

51 minutes ago, telnetd said:

The reason shifted from what to what?

Where one's reason might have been since it was written in a book, it could be sited as a set of rules without exception and used to gossip and condemn a Soccer Mom whose son is trying to earn a scholarship and while she sometimes runs out of gas on the way to Sunday practice, when it could rather stay unwritten but still kind and wise guidance of leaders, encouraging but less seemingly legalistic to involve, say a Bishop, from intervening too much in their choices, and leave it between them and the Lord. Removing it from a manual intended for new converts is hardly equated to mean we, or the Lord, has given everyone permission. Unless you are simply wanting to see it that way, and this is just a gotcha question.

Edited February 18, 2023 by Pyreaux

[Navidad]

When I was a boy, we could not watch TV on a Sunday until my father (a pastor) discovered What's My Line, and I've Got a Secret. Then in the evening after evening service he would cook a big pot of macaroni and cheese and stewed tomatoes and we would sit around the TV and watch those shows. One of the few things in a week we did as a family. All their lives they had a rule that they would not go to a restaurant if it served liquor any day of the week.

When I was a youth pastor in the very early 70s in Texas it was the custom for the Baptist and the Methodist boys to meet on the front lawn of the local high school on Sundays for absolutely brutal touch football games. It was good for the boys to get together and I supported it. I even played in the games. Brutal! There was no such thing as "touch." Those big country boys were all going to Baylor or A&M to play football. No pads? No matter!

Then I was the English pastor at a Chinese Baptist Church in Los Angeles. People came from as far as 50 to 60 miles away. We had morning services, then a big church family Sunday dinner in the basement that was cooked on huge restaurant woks. Then all afternoon the folks rested, read and played ping pong. We had about eight tables in the fellowship hall. Then Sunday evening we had leftovers and the evening Bible Study service. In the Chinese communities only the men cook. I learned to make some great Chinese food dishes, especially Cantonese style.

Now here in Mexico there are rodeos (lazadas to be exact) and baseball games on Sundays. Those are the two principle sports in our area. Baseball is huge. My wife and I have sponsored our village's baseball teams every year since 2010. Sincerely, it is a wonderful form of ministry. Many LDS, Mennonite, and LeBaron men are almost professional lazada team roping enthusiasts. I better not make any comments on whether the LDS men participate in the rodeos! I know nothing! Since we have stopped regular attendance at the ward, we watch Brett Fuller on the internet and pray and have Bible study together. It is very relaxing and we learn a lot. So there is the history of my Sundays from childhood to tomorrow! As I noted on another thread, we lived in Asbury Park, NJ for a few years. No driving cars on Sunday in Ocean Grove, the beach town just south of us. You had to park and walk!
 

[InCognitus]

On 2/18/2023 at 12:30 PM, telnetd said:

The reason shifted from what to what?

The reason shifted, in the approach of the For the Strength of Youth manual, from "follow this list of rules" because we are spelling everything out for you, to "I will choose to keep the Sabbath holy because I love the Savior and desire to follow the Spirit", having the law written in our hearts.

[telnetd]

On 2/19/2023 at 6:43 PM, InCognitus said:

The reason shifted, in the approach of the For the Strength of Youth manual, from "follow this list of rules" because we are spelling everything out for you, to "I will choose to keep the Sabbath holy because I love the Savior and desire to follow the Spirit", having the law written in our hearts.

Do you believe that shopping or attending/watching a sporting event on Sunday shows one
is violating the law to keep the Sabbath holy, which is written on their heart?

Edited February 21, 2023 by telnetd

[InCognitus]

11 hours ago, telnetd said:

Do you believe that shopping or attending/watching a sporting event on Sunday shows one
is violating the law to keep the Sabbath holy, which is written on their heart?

Your question goes contrary to the concept of what it means to have the law written on our hearts if it has to be spelled out for you that way.  What would Jesus say to those questions?  If the law is written in our hearts, that's all we need to know.

[telnetd]

On 2/21/2023 at 11:42 PM, InCognitus said:

Your question goes contrary to the concept of what it means to have the law written on our hearts if it has to be spelled out for you that way.  What would Jesus say to those questions?  If the law is written in our hearts, that's all we need to know.

Then maybe the questions for a temple recommend will follow the same path...

[InCognitus]

1 hour ago, telnetd said:

Then maybe the questions for a temple recommend will follow the same path...

They already do:

Quote

Do you strive to keep the Sabbath day holy, both at home and at church; attend your meetings; prepare for and worthily partake of the sacrament; and live your life in harmony with the laws and commandments of the gospel?

Do you see anything about sports, or hunting and fishing, or shopping in that question?

[Pyreaux]

1 hour ago, InCognitus said:

They already do:

Do you see anything about sports, or hunting and fishing, or shopping in that question?

I don't. Hmm, it's as if, "it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is a compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward. Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; (Doctrine and Covenants 58:26-27)

[telnetd]

On 2/23/2023 at 11:27 PM, InCognitus said:

Do you see anything about sports, or hunting and fishing, or shopping in that question?

No. I would assume the counsel of the prophets, mentioned in GP, still stands though.

[InCognitus]

3 hours ago, telnetd said:

No. I would assume the counsel of the prophets, mentioned in GP, still stands though.

Their prior council fits in with the Spirit of the law, but it doesn't need to be spelled out when the law is written in our hearts.