Someone above mentioned they didn’t understand why using vending machines might be considered breaking the Sabbath.  Given the choice with my ox in the mire, I would definitely prefer to use a machine than interrupt someones Sabbath.  However, the problem is these machines track usage and the operators react to the usage patterns.  If everyone always buys gas (pay at the pump) on Sunday, the fuel tank for the service station may need to be refilled on Sunday.  This has the side effect of causing the fuel transport to work on Sunday, the station management to be present to allow fueling, etc.

Same with soda/candy machines.  If the machine sells out on Sunday, the vending company is going to send someone out to refill it.

In summary, use good judgement and planning and you will avoid all financial transactions and activities that you do the rest of the week on the Sabbath.

I suggest that you look at II Sam 12:9, where the Lord sent Nathan unto David, to tell him, “thou has killed Uriah with the sword”. Actually, David told his military leaders to “set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, that he may be smitten and die.” Some enemy man actually killed Uriah with his sword, but the Lord said that David was guilty of the crime of murder. Likewise, some Indians may have killed the people in the Fancher Wagon Train, but the Mormons will be held responsible. Just last year, the First Presidency went to that area and stated that the Mormons were responsible for the unfortunate incident. It was reported in both the Church News and the Ensign. The Church Historian wrote an excellent article on it in the Ensign last year. I commend it to everyone.

But, my favorite is a family in our ward in California. They had pizza delivered every Sunday. Why? Because the husband felt it was breaking the sabbath for the wife to cook. (Wallow in the irony for a while, huh?) Of course, this was the same guy who, when he was exec.sec., brought fresh doughnuts to a Sunday morning bishopric meeting.

The bishop always wrote it off with, “Well, John’s a convert, you see.”

Really? I wonder what the Fanchers would have said about this, you know, assuming they had survived.

Q: Who tried to kill you?

A: Oh, just some people, most of whom happened to be Mormon, though their religious identity and convictions were a mere coincidence.

I live in an area now, where most of our kid events are on a Sunday. Also, for a time, we sent our kids to a Seventh Day Adventist school. They worshiped on Sat so Sunday was the day for birthday parties and the sort. We just started sending them.
Things I’ve done.
Gone to, attended, participate in horse shows. Actually taking care of the animals is a very common Sunday activity.
Gone to swimming and Martial Art competitions. Spent money to get in, stay there, and cheered when my kids did well.
Recently I’ve started treating Sunday as a fairly normal day. Today (Sunday) I took my wife to breakfast for our anniversary and then came home and mowed the lawn. Following that, we took our kids to be in the play they are in for the Christian Youth Theater group they are part of.

We are heathen. Hear us roar….

The Pharisee’s 614 ‘thou shalt’ and ‘thou shalt nots’ did a very good job of replacing the true intent of religion with a set of manageable tasks. If we allow our thinking to be such, we stand to miss out on the original intent of the gospel, to bring people to Christ.

Absolutely true. I have a friend who really likes to chop wood on Sunday. It’s often his best opportunity to have a block of time free to do it, and to him it isn’t a chore, but a relaxing outlet. He claims that he does a lot of his best thinking, and most of his spiritually focused thinking as he wails away at the logs. My last bishop was pretty horrified to learn of this Sunday activity and said something like “I can’t believe he thinks that’s okay.” So I said something like “He probably feels the same way about watching NFL games after church.” (we sometimes watch them together. Perspective can be fun to provide He has had ample opportunity to return the favor.

“So the pharisees (with the scribes) didn’t have Jesus killed. Maybe I read the wrong bible.”

Perhaps so, but the scriptures may say “The Pharisees” but being the largest Jewish sect, it could have been any number of people but probably not all. Some of those who conspired against Jesus may have been Pharisees and Scribes, but not all Pharisees and Scribes were involved.

I’d be like saying The Mormons killed the people of the Fancher Wagon Train. too general to be true.

When I asked the first question while on my mission, my leaders were not happy and I was sent to the bowels of the mission to learn to be “humble.” You have no idea just how much work can get done when you are that far away from the boss…

I currently live in a suburb of Utah. Any of you who have traveled know that the church is very different outside of the “corridor” than in. Here, very little outside of church service is considered ok. Where I grew up in the midwest, it was defined as uplifting and edifying activities. You should see the looks I’ve gotten from the locals here when I’ve made comments on this and other topics.

In my prideful, arrogent, and borderline antisocial opinion, I believe that activities that help you bond with your family, get you closer to our Heavenly Father, and help you be the best person you can possibly be are OK. If you work ridiculus hours and want to play ball with your kids on Sunday, it should be OK. If you’re at a rare family get together, bond with them.

Strict observance to the letter of the law is spiritually counterproductive. Embracing the spirit of the law leads to spiritual growth.

So the pharisees (with the scribes) didn’t have Jesus killed. Maybe I read the wrong bible.

I once sat in a stake conference where Thomas Monson was presiding. We were instructed to remain in our seats after stake conference, so that Thomas Monson could leave immediately after the meeting to catch a flight.

Do you know where GA’s go between conference sessions on Sundays? They are served meals by people who are working on Sundays.

We can make Sabbath Day obervance ridiculous, rather than a day where we do things “differently” than the rest of the week and spend quality time with our family. Lists of do’s and don’ts are inappropriate. How we spend the time is between us and God and I don’t believe the same activities have the same meaning to everyone.

It makes a difference for others to see that, and it is entirely possible to communicate your sabbath observance in matter-of-fact, non-preachy terms. I just wish I really believed that my ass was in the pit when my 3on3 team makes it to the finals on Sunday. (They won, by the way. does that make it a blessing or a punishments for me?)

And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy. And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go; And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?

Luke 14:2-5.

if you “google” it, all references are LDS.

The Romans killed Jesus. i am a defender of the Pharisees. they weren’t that bad. See my earlier post on the subject.

Classic, I’ll be using this soon I’m sure.

Pres McConkie addressed this while I was at Ricks College in a devotional. He pointed out you need to be realistic and pick your best choices for the day. He encouraged us to watch football on TV if that was better than the alternative. He did hope we could find better things to do but you get the drift. There is a reason we do not have mandatory lists of do’s and don’ts. I personally have found a long afternoon drive to help bring the family together and talk and joke with each other. Going for a hike after church or bicycle ride are wonderful Sunday activities. To sit around and read scriptures all day for me is 30 minutes of reading and 4 hours of napping and that is the real thing that people do. I sit at a desk all week and need something physical to do or I start the week in bad way.

This is one of those bad Sunday lessons I usually leave early from. Way to many extremists when it comes to this issue. I highly recommend having some fun with your kids on Sunday whatever you feel is fun (even fishing). Clearly there is a line that you shouldn’t go over like force others to work but lets not go to extremes remember this was one of the excuses that the Pharisees used to kill Jesus over. He healed the sick and a whole list of things that the pious leaders tried to enforce to show everyone how important they were. I truly believe that is where a lot of the more extreme don’ts come from a need in ourselves to feel superior.

Fun post. One quibble, a general observation, and a couple of specifics:

Instead of liberal and orthodox in regards to a practice, I would prefer the terms observant and non-observant, which are more equivalent. Reform Jews may not be orthodox according to the Torah, for instance, but many observe the Sabbath…

It is my general observation of my own life, family members, friends, mission companions, roommates, etc. that our Sunday behavior is learned and for the most part varies only somewhat from the Sunday behavior we learned as kiddos.

For instance, I was raised with the notion that it was kosher to watch TV on Sunday after 5pm. On the other hand, it was not kosher to listen to mainstream popular music, and even Saturday’s Warrior may be pushing it a bit. We would never have dreamt to go to a restaurant unless we were traveling.

I noticed a division growing in my extended family with this issue as a symptom. Family get-togethers on Sunday as I got older would involve some cousins who would relax by shooting hoops or playing touch football. I got the sense from my parents this was not approved in our immediate family, so I abstained. When I got into high school, the family fractures were more intense, and I began to see it was a bit silly to have a religious rule get in the way of my relationships with the family I saw more rarely. So to the chagrin of my parents I began to join in the outdoors fun.

Today Sunday observance is an area where I am more observant than some who are more orthodox in matters of belief than I, although once in a while I will skip a multi-stake conference broadcast to take the family up into the canyon for a barbecue.

I do like the sense that Sundays are different than Saturdays somehow, I just don’t like when I feel sanctimonious for observing them.

An added bit of weirdness…I’m a professional classical musician, and so I actually avoid (secular) classical music on Sundays, as the way it works in my mind, it gets me thinking of “work.” So while one person might, say, listen to a Beethoven Symphony on a Sunday (as a foil to Coldplay or Metallica during the week), I wouldn’t. Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis is a different story, of course.

Ultimately I think it’s useful to not become overly litigious about this, trying to find ways or excuses to not keep yourself unspotted. But as we’re judged according to our own light and knowledge, I think how well we keep the Sabbath will be determined in a relative, rather than fixed or absolute, way.