Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy—Physically and Virtually

“Countless other Filipino Latter-day Saints find their own ways to keep the sabbath day holy, like cheerfully welcoming everyone in face-to-face meetings or making sure they dress up in their Sunday best even if they are attending worship services virtually.”

Through His prophets, the Lord has commanded us to keep the sabbath day holy. For the past two years, following the counsel of the Area Presidency, Church members in the Philippines Area have striven to observe the Lord’s day, despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the government has already started adjusting restrictions for religious gatherings, there are still some limitations on factors such as physical presence and age groupings.

In view of such conditions, how can families keep and honor the sabbath day? Here’s what we can learn from the following Latter-day Saint households.

Keep every family member focused and involved

For units where face-to-face meetings are allowed but not yet advisable for Primary-age children, President Rizaldito and Sister Josette Castro of Davao 1st Ward, Davao Stake advise parents to find ways to help keep their young ones focused on Sunday as the Lord’s day. “We have our two younger children watch Church videos for children while they wait for online Primary,” says President Castro, who serves as stake president. “We also teach them reverence for the Lord by having them wear Sunday best clothes,” he adds.

Sister Castro also has her two boys Boyd, 11, and Kiel, 6, make the most out of Primary online resources such as the Activity Pages and the Children’s Guidebook, which are both available online (www.churchofjesuschrist.org) and in the Church’s Gospel Library app. “We also adjusted our family home evening schedule to Sunday night so that the whole family can focus on the gospel more on the sabbath,” she reveals.

Make the most out of limited physical activity

“Given the situation, we conduct ministering via Facebook Messenger, by call, or by virtual meeting,” shares Sister Maria Criselda “Love” de Jesus of Sumag Ward, Bacolod South Stake. “But we also try to minister personally by going out and keeping proper distance,” she also says. For several Sundays, Love’s husband Neil visited his assigned brethren and was able to commit several Young Men to attend virtual sacrament meeting. The couple also encouraged ward members to seek out senior-age members who might need spiritual support.

When religious gatherings at 30% capacity was allowed, the De Jesus family, as much as they wanted to resume full fellowship, decided to sacrifice and give up their “seats” so that families without priesthood holders at home could go to church instead. “We conducted sacrament meeting at home,” Sister de Jesus says, “but amazingly, it helped our 11-year-old daughter Samantha participate more as she offered prayers, conducted the hymns and bore her testimony.”

Find ways to support missionary work

As returned missionaries, Brother Dante and Sister Liaa Nicolas of Camiling 2nd Branch, Camiling Stake were concerned about missionary work during the pandemic. The family decided to help by inviting the full-time missionaries and their investigators to attend sacrament meeting with them. They also helped invite the Spirit of the Lord as they gathered to worship by playing prelude hymns and eliminating distractions like mobile phones.

“The people the missionary sisters were teaching had no wifi connection or gadgets to access church meetings, so we had them experience the Lord’s day right inside our house,” Sister Liaa relates. The Nicolas family continues to host the missionaries, investigators and new converts until conditions improve and face-to-face worship services can resume fully unhampered.

Countless other Filipino Latter-day Saints find their own ways to keep the sabbath day holy, like cheerfully welcoming everyone in face-to-face meetings or making sure they dress up in their Sunday best even if they are attending worship services virtually. What about you?

For Sister Jane Rio Garcia of Tarlac, the family tricycle symbolizes her faithfulness in keeping the sabbath day holy. Growing up, Jane, her siblings and their parents all piled up inside their humble vehicle to make it to sacrament meeting, where her father, who served as the bishop, taught them the importance of honoring the Lord’s day.

As Jane matured, her strong testimony helped her make firm moral choices, such as declining to join weekend school marathons, which miraculously did not affect her grades. More recently, during the pandemic, Jane also found quality time to deepen her spirituality every Sunday. “My parents really helped us children to appreciate the Lord’s day,“ she proudly affirms, “and their teachings are now our guide.”