My stake held conference a week ago, and by far the best talk of the afternoon was delivered by Asher Litchfield, a teacher:

Shortly after April Conference this year, Elder Oaks made an unexpected visit to our ward. When he sat in on our Sunday School class, we were sharing the things which had impressed us from General Conference. One of my classmates shared part of Elder Nelson’s talk about the Sabbath Day. When he finished, Elder Oaks said that we would be hearing a lot more about the Sabbath Day in the near future. He was right. And today you get to hear more about it from me.

In an ultra-orthodox community in Jerusalem, a Muslim man named Abu Ali has been hired as a “Shabbos goy.” He arrives at his small shed at sundown on Friday and stays until sundown on Saturday. If anyone in the community needs a light switch flipped, an air conditioner turned on, or a ride to the hospital, he’s the guy that does it – because for those in the Orthodox community to do any of these things, along with a long list of other things, would be breaking the Sabbath.

We don’t have a guy like that in our neighborhood, although sometimes we do borrow an egg from our neighbor on Sunday. There are lots of things we don’t do on the Sabbath Day, but I want to talk about the things we should do.

Last General Conference, Elder Russell M. Nelson said,

In my much younger years, I studied the work of others who had compiled lists of things to do and things not to do on the Sabbath. It wasn’t until later that I learned from the scriptures that my conduct and my attitude on the Sabbath constituted a sign between me and my Heavenly Father. With that understanding, I no longer needed lists of do’s and don’ts. When I had to make a decision whether or not an activity was appropriate for the Sabbath, I simply asked myself, “What sign do I want to give to God?” That question made my choices about the Sabbath Day crystal clear.

So here’s a question: What sign did Jesus Give as he kept the Sabbath? Jesus didn’t follow the list of things that his community said were appropriate on the Sabbath. He did what was right, but people got really upset about it.

Three things that Jesus did on the Sabbath were eating, healing and teaching.

So, eating is one of my favorite Sabbath activities. Matthew recorded that “Jesus went on the Sabbath Day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungered, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.” Another time, he “went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath Day.”

So eating is appropriate on the Sabbath Day.

Jesus also healed on the Sabbath Day, and that made people mad.

One time, some of his enemies saw Jesus in the synagogue along with a man with a withered hand. They wanted to see whether Jesus would heal the man so they could accuse him of breaking the commandment.

And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? but they held their peace. And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.

Another Sabbath, Jesus healed a man who had laid on a bed next to the pool of Bethesda hoping to be healed. Jesus said, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.” And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed and walked. And then the Pharisees were all like, “Hey, you can’t carry your bed on the Sabbath!” And when they figured out it was Jesus who had healed the man on the Sabbath, they were so mad that this was when John said they started to persecute Jesus.

Another Sabbath, Jesus healed a blind man by putting mud on his eyes. And on another Sabbath, he healed a woman who had been bowed over for 18 years. The ruler of the Jews indignantly said that miraculous healing should only happen on one of the six work days, but Jesus responded: “Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?”

So healing is appropriate on the Sabbath Day.

Jesus also taught on the Sabbath day.

Mark recorded, “And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the Sabbath Day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.” A few chapters later, Mark wrote, “And when the Sabbath Day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?”

So teaching is appropriate on the Sabbath Day.

Jesus taught, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.”

And Elder Nelson explained, “He wanted us to understand that the Sabbath was his gift to us, granting real respite from the rigors of daily life and an opportunity for spiritual and physical renewal.”

Eating, healing, and teaching. These are appropriate things to do on the Sabbath Day. They are things I’m going to do and I hope you do, too. When we follow the example of our Savior, the Sabbath Day will be a delight that will renew us physically and, especially, spiritually.

In the name of Jesus Christ, AMEN.

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