Why do I go to church every Sunday?
This blog post is as much for me as for any of you readers. Today in church, I spoke on how going to church every Sunday helps me live the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the week. While I've been living in China, I've lived further away from church than at any time in my life, and have felt the greatest need for church (though I always need it, I've just really begun to recognize it). The 2 1/2 hour trip is absolutely worth it. And the group is the smallest congregation I've met with - usually between 20-60 people. And we meet in the most unique building I've ever met in - a home of a family in the church branch. In a large family-room type area, there is a grand piano where usually I play the hymns for the Sacrament meeting. On a coffee table, the Priesthood brothers prepare and bless the Sacrament. During the 2nd hour, I have been teaching the Gospel Doctrine class, this year on teachings about Christ from the Book of Mormon. And during 3rd hour, sometimes I attend the sister's meeting - Relief Society, upstairs in a small room, or I help with the little children in nursery.
But WHY? Why do I want to go to church, why do I or does anyone need to go to church every Sunday?
God commands, "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor they daughter, thy manservant, nor they maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 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 20:8-11
The sabbath day is a reminder of a couple of things. First - the creation of the earth. Now the earth probably took more than 6 days to create-God's time is different than ours, so these "days" most likely refer to periods of time. But for us, we remember that time with a day of rest as he commands, as he rested for a period of time. The sabbath day reminds us of Jesus Christ's atonement, crucifixion and then resurrection, as he was resurrected on Sunday, and then the sabbath was changed to Sunday to always remind us. The sabbath day is a reminder to us of God's covenants with us. In Exodus 31 God says, "Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you...Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant." What does that mean? Elder Nelson gave a great talk about this if you want to learn more (here), and specifically for me all of these scriptures teach that the sabbath is a day to rest to remember God and his covenants - and that he keeps his promises. It is a sign that he is there, and we should consider what signs we will give to Him on this day to show Him that we love and remember Him and Jesus Christ. For generations and generations societies throughout the earth followed this commandment - but most do not now. In Preach My Gospel, A Guide to Missionary Service, it teaches: "When a community or nation grows careless in its Sabbath activities, its religious life decays and all aspects of life are negatively affected. The blessings associated with keeping the Sabbath day holy are lost." WOW. I've seen this in the United States, Haiti and China. I also feel that the sabbath reminds us that one day Christ will come again and that we will rest from sorrow, pain, temptation and so on.
As Latter-day Saints we are taught to set apart this day from normal days and keep it holy by refraining from work or making others work (unless of course it is a job like a doctor, firefighter, nurse and such where they are saving lives/doing work that is absolutely necessary), and also attending church each week to partake of the sacramental bread and water every week (not just a few times a year or monthly). There are many other good things to do on the Sabbath day to make it a delight and to rest from money-making/money-spending. But absolutely necessary is attending church. The Savior commands us many times throughout the scriptures to meet together oft and partake of the emblems of the sacrament in remembrance of him. One of my favorite places in the scriptures about Sundays and church attendance is in modern revelation give to the prophet, Joseph Smith.
Doctrine and Covenants, section 59:
"And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day; For verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High... Verily, I say that inasmuch as ye do this, the fullness of the earth is yours." What a promise! Even if you don't work on Sunday and earn that extra money, you will be OK! I've seen that in my life when I've told employers I won't work on Sunday. I've seen other people quit their Sunday jobs in faith so that they can attend church, not knowing if they will find a new job - but they ALWAYS find something better. God keeps his promises as we do our best to follow his commandments. And if you are a convert and worry that your family relationships will suffer if you don't continue going out to eat with them on Sundays, don't worry - God strengthens families more when we keep the day holy. Don't fear. An amazing spirit comes into your life as you attend church because you are taking the Sacrament - which promises that the Holy Ghost will always be with you. This Spirit blesses all around you to soften their hearts and strengthen relationships.
I want to end with this thought. Chad H Webb (Administrator of Seminaries and Institutes of Religion for the LDS church) recent devotional at BYU-Hawaii shares just exactly why going to church makes more of a difference in our lives that other things that may also bring the spirit or help us feel good.
He says the following:
"Elder Dallin H Oaks [one of the 12 Apostles] taught this principle brilliantly. He said:
'Because of our knowledge of [the plan of salvation] and other truths that God has revealed, we start with different assumptions that those who do not share our knowledge. As a result, we reach different conclusions on many important subjects that others judge only in terms of their opinions about mortal life...[We] will often be better off to respond by identifying the worldly premises or assumptions in the assertion [we] face and then by identifying the different assumptions or premises that guide the thinking of Latter-day Saints.'
This is a profound idea. If we begin with an eternal perspective, we will arrive at conclusions that reflect eternal truth. But if we begin with worldly assumptions, we are likely to arrive at worldly conclusions. So we may need to reframe some questions because we simply do not accept the premises on which they are based. Let me share an example of keeping an eternal perspective. Recently a series of newspaper articles reported that some millennials are choosing 'spirituality' over organized religion. Using this example, let's imagine that a friend says to you, 'you can feel close to God without being religious. Wouldn't you rather come enjoy His creations than sit in church meetings?'
If the question is 'Can you feel close to God while enjoying His creations?' the answer is absolutely yes. But let's reframe the real question, which is about spirituality and organized religion. What do you know about Heavenly Father's desire for His children? Is it just to feel close to Him, or is it to become like Him and for each of us to receive eternal life? And what role does attending Church play in whether we receive those ultimate blessings?
First, Jesus organized and then restored His Church in order to provide priesthood keys and revelation so that we might know how to follow Him. Secondly, His Church is the vehicle by which we can have access to saving ordinances and covenants. Appreciating Heavenly Father's creations and feeling close to Him is critically important, but our Heavenly Father wants us to have and be even more. He wants us to be forgiven, healed, and changed. He wants us to grow and to become like Him so that we may enjoy all that He enjoys. That can happen only through receiving the ordinances He has established-including regularly partaking of the sacrament-and keeping the covenants associated with those ordinances.
Do you see how reframing the question with an eternal perspective dramatically impacts our conclusion? If the question is 'Can we feel close to God in nature?' the answer is yes. If the question is 'Should we spend Sundays at the beach or in the mountains rather than attend our Church meetings?' the answer is 'Not without missing an opportunity to keep and renew sacred covenants that will allow us access to the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ in our lives. Not without missing the opportunity to seek forgiveness and healing. Not without missing an opportunity to claim the promised blessings of having His Spirit to be with us. Not without missing the opportunity to learn from priesthood leaders who hold keys to guide and direct us. And not without missing an opportunity to serve in the Lord's Church and kingdom, restored to this earth in the latter days.
Let's not let a question based on the wrong premise confuse us and cause us to listen to the wrong voices or to run the wrong way."
So friends, I don't travel to church 2 1/2 hours a way by bus, then train, then subway, then walking - because it is comfortable to be there and speak and teach, or because it's a party, or because I get to snack on crackers during nursery time or because I'm a really good person. I go to church because I love God and want to please Him, and because I desire to become like Him. I go because I need opportunities to serve despite my weaknesses. And I go because I'm weak and sin and make mistakes, so I need partake of the Sacrament and remember the Atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
But WHY? Why do I want to go to church, why do I or does anyone need to go to church every Sunday?
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The sabbath day is a reminder of a couple of things. First - the creation of the earth. Now the earth probably took more than 6 days to create-God's time is different than ours, so these "days" most likely refer to periods of time. But for us, we remember that time with a day of rest as he commands, as he rested for a period of time. The sabbath day reminds us of Jesus Christ's atonement, crucifixion and then resurrection, as he was resurrected on Sunday, and then the sabbath was changed to Sunday to always remind us. The sabbath day is a reminder to us of God's covenants with us. In Exodus 31 God says, "Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you...Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant." What does that mean? Elder Nelson gave a great talk about this if you want to learn more (here), and specifically for me all of these scriptures teach that the sabbath is a day to rest to remember God and his covenants - and that he keeps his promises. It is a sign that he is there, and we should consider what signs we will give to Him on this day to show Him that we love and remember Him and Jesus Christ. For generations and generations societies throughout the earth followed this commandment - but most do not now. In Preach My Gospel, A Guide to Missionary Service, it teaches: "When a community or nation grows careless in its Sabbath activities, its religious life decays and all aspects of life are negatively affected. The blessings associated with keeping the Sabbath day holy are lost." WOW. I've seen this in the United States, Haiti and China. I also feel that the sabbath reminds us that one day Christ will come again and that we will rest from sorrow, pain, temptation and so on.
As Latter-day Saints we are taught to set apart this day from normal days and keep it holy by refraining from work or making others work (unless of course it is a job like a doctor, firefighter, nurse and such where they are saving lives/doing work that is absolutely necessary), and also attending church each week to partake of the sacramental bread and water every week (not just a few times a year or monthly). There are many other good things to do on the Sabbath day to make it a delight and to rest from money-making/money-spending. But absolutely necessary is attending church. The Savior commands us many times throughout the scriptures to meet together oft and partake of the emblems of the sacrament in remembrance of him. One of my favorite places in the scriptures about Sundays and church attendance is in modern revelation give to the prophet, Joseph Smith.
Doctrine and Covenants, section 59:
"And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day; For verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High... Verily, I say that inasmuch as ye do this, the fullness of the earth is yours." What a promise! Even if you don't work on Sunday and earn that extra money, you will be OK! I've seen that in my life when I've told employers I won't work on Sunday. I've seen other people quit their Sunday jobs in faith so that they can attend church, not knowing if they will find a new job - but they ALWAYS find something better. God keeps his promises as we do our best to follow his commandments. And if you are a convert and worry that your family relationships will suffer if you don't continue going out to eat with them on Sundays, don't worry - God strengthens families more when we keep the day holy. Don't fear. An amazing spirit comes into your life as you attend church because you are taking the Sacrament - which promises that the Holy Ghost will always be with you. This Spirit blesses all around you to soften their hearts and strengthen relationships.
I want to end with this thought. Chad H Webb (Administrator of Seminaries and Institutes of Religion for the LDS church) recent devotional at BYU-Hawaii shares just exactly why going to church makes more of a difference in our lives that other things that may also bring the spirit or help us feel good.
He says the following:
"Elder Dallin H Oaks [one of the 12 Apostles] taught this principle brilliantly. He said:
'Because of our knowledge of [the plan of salvation] and other truths that God has revealed, we start with different assumptions that those who do not share our knowledge. As a result, we reach different conclusions on many important subjects that others judge only in terms of their opinions about mortal life...[We] will often be better off to respond by identifying the worldly premises or assumptions in the assertion [we] face and then by identifying the different assumptions or premises that guide the thinking of Latter-day Saints.'
This is a profound idea. If we begin with an eternal perspective, we will arrive at conclusions that reflect eternal truth. But if we begin with worldly assumptions, we are likely to arrive at worldly conclusions. So we may need to reframe some questions because we simply do not accept the premises on which they are based. Let me share an example of keeping an eternal perspective. Recently a series of newspaper articles reported that some millennials are choosing 'spirituality' over organized religion. Using this example, let's imagine that a friend says to you, 'you can feel close to God without being religious. Wouldn't you rather come enjoy His creations than sit in church meetings?'
If the question is 'Can you feel close to God while enjoying His creations?' the answer is absolutely yes. But let's reframe the real question, which is about spirituality and organized religion. What do you know about Heavenly Father's desire for His children? Is it just to feel close to Him, or is it to become like Him and for each of us to receive eternal life? And what role does attending Church play in whether we receive those ultimate blessings?
First, Jesus organized and then restored His Church in order to provide priesthood keys and revelation so that we might know how to follow Him. Secondly, His Church is the vehicle by which we can have access to saving ordinances and covenants. Appreciating Heavenly Father's creations and feeling close to Him is critically important, but our Heavenly Father wants us to have and be even more. He wants us to be forgiven, healed, and changed. He wants us to grow and to become like Him so that we may enjoy all that He enjoys. That can happen only through receiving the ordinances He has established-including regularly partaking of the sacrament-and keeping the covenants associated with those ordinances.
Do you see how reframing the question with an eternal perspective dramatically impacts our conclusion? If the question is 'Can we feel close to God in nature?' the answer is yes. If the question is 'Should we spend Sundays at the beach or in the mountains rather than attend our Church meetings?' the answer is 'Not without missing an opportunity to keep and renew sacred covenants that will allow us access to the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ in our lives. Not without missing the opportunity to seek forgiveness and healing. Not without missing an opportunity to claim the promised blessings of having His Spirit to be with us. Not without missing the opportunity to learn from priesthood leaders who hold keys to guide and direct us. And not without missing an opportunity to serve in the Lord's Church and kingdom, restored to this earth in the latter days.
Let's not let a question based on the wrong premise confuse us and cause us to listen to the wrong voices or to run the wrong way."
So friends, I don't travel to church 2 1/2 hours a way by bus, then train, then subway, then walking - because it is comfortable to be there and speak and teach, or because it's a party, or because I get to snack on crackers during nursery time or because I'm a really good person. I go to church because I love God and want to please Him, and because I desire to become like Him. I go because I need opportunities to serve despite my weaknesses. And I go because I'm weak and sin and make mistakes, so I need partake of the Sacrament and remember the Atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
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