“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 thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy 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.” (Ex. 20:3, 8–11.)

How do you view the Sabbath? Is it a day of deprivation, of can’ts and shall nots? Or is it a day of “rejoicing and prayer,” a day of “cheerful hearts and countenances” or as Isaiah says, a delight?

Pres. Spencer W. Kimball taught, “The Sabbath is a holy day in which to do worthy and holy things. Abstinence from work and recreation is important, but insufficient. The Sabbath calls for constructive thoughts and acts, and if one merely lounges about doing nothing on the Sabbath, he is breaking it. To observe it, one will be on his knees in prayer, preparing lessons, studying the gospel, meditating, visiting the ill and distressed, writing letters to missionaries, taking a nap, reading wholesome material, and attending all the meetings of that day at which he is expected.”

Pres. Kimball also said, “Sometimes Sabbath observance is characterized as a matter of sacrifice and self-denial, but it is not so. It is merely a matter of shifting times and choosing seasons.”  I think that is key in teaching children to keep the Sabbath Day holy. It is a day to shift our focus away from the world and onto the Lord. Senator Joe Lieberman is a good example of one who shifts his focus when the Jewish Sabbath rolls around. He and his family turn of all cell phones for that day. He also brings home flowers to grace the Sabbath table, a visual reminder of the specialness of the day about to start.

It can be difficult at first to teach little ones {and older ones too} to keep the Sabbath Day holy. Difficult but not impossible.

If major changes need to be made start with teaching this family home evening lesson on Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy. It is a simple and effective visual all will be able to understand.

Here are other activities we do or will be doing with little ones to help them focus on the Lord, keeping the Sabbath Day holy all day long with cheerful hearts.

☀ watch church produced videos – there are TONS!
☀ listen to specials on the Mormon Channel – all of the illustrated Scripture Stories are on there as well as a special called Scripture Stories. Each episode features children sharing their insights from and favorite experiences with the scriptures, along with music and readings of great stories from the scriptures. The Mormon Messages videos, History of the Hymns, Legacy, Youth Voices, and For the Youth episodes are excellent for older children and teens. Actually all of the programs are appropriate to listen too!
☀ read books or church magazines – by books I mean good gospel directed books. I use these to read to the nursery kids at church too. When we reserve these just to read on Sunday they stay special and become part of our Sunday worship. We stay away from any cartoony type books. Some of our favorites are:

• My First Book of …..a whole series done by Deanna Draper Buck
• House of the Lord Pop Up Book
• I Know that my Savior Loves Me – the nursery children REALLY love the pictures in this one!
• Sacrament Time
• I Believe in Jesus Too
• I Walked to Zion

☀ We take walks together.
☀ Flannel board stories from the Friend and the Distribution center. Do a search at store.lds.org for “Visual Aid Cutouts.” There are 10 packs, each is $6.20. They are lovely! You would think these would be just for younger children but somehow they attract the attention of all ages.
☀ Create gospel lapbooks, like this one centered on The Family Proclamation, for use only on Sundays.
☀ Sing hymns or primary songs
☀ Listen to beautiful music. Some of our favorites are anything by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Lamb of God by Rob Gardner, Joseph Smith the Prophet by Rob Gardner, and Tender Mercies by Steven Sharp Nelson.
☀ Write letters or draw pictures to send to faraway relatives.
☀ Skype with grandparents
☀ Visit others

Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley has promised: “If you have any doubt about the wisdom, the divinity of observing the Sabbath Day, … stay home and gather your family about you, teach them the gospel, enjoy yourselves together on the Sabbath Day, come to your meetings, participate. You will know that the principle of the Sabbath is a true principle which brings with it great blessings.”

What do you do to help your children keep the Sabbath Day holy?

The idea for this post came from a reader who sent an e-mail asking what our family did to keep the Sabbath day holy, especially with little ones.