I’ve been meaning to write this since my previous blog on the Sabbath day three years ago. I can’t believe I let so much time pass before finally sitting down to get this out there! This entry today will not mean much if you haven’t read my previous entry, which I highly encourage you to read now before continuing:

REMEMBER the Sabbath (not that Sabbath).

Exodus 31:17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed (emphasis added).

Jeremiah 31:35 Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name:
36 If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. (See also Genesis 1:14-18 and Psalms 136:7-9).

The day of rest is a literal day of “cessation.” It is to cease from all labors and pay our devotions to our most High God. For about FOURTEEN consecutive centuries after Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, the Sabbath was calibrated by God using the full moon and thereafter thusly reckoned by the people to keep the legal commandment which served as a covenant sign between God and Israel with prohibitions against work, travel, etc. After the rejection and crucifixion of the Holy One of Israel, even Jesus Christ, the Jews fell into apostasy and destruction, giving birth to a burgeoning Christian movement. Pagan calendars altered the reckoning of time and consequently how many believers reckoned the day of rest.

Fast forward to August 7, 1831. The Lord gave a new revelation to a new covenant people who were given the Book of Mormon as a new covenant to them to redeem His people. Through Joseph Smith, the Lord declared in part the following:

D&C 59:9 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;
10 For verily THIS is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High;
11 Nevertheless thy vows shall be offered up in righteousness on all days and at all times;
12 But remember that on THIS, the Lord’s day, thou shalt offer thine oblations and thy sacraments unto the Most High, confessing thy sins unto thy brethren, and before the Lord.
13 And on THIS day thou shalt do none other thing, only let thy food be prepared with singleness of heart that thy fasting may be perfect, or, in other words, that thy joy may be full.
14 Verily, this is fasting and prayer, or in other words, rejoicing and prayer… (emphasis added)

If you read my other blog entry on the Sabbath and the New Moons, this revelation should come as no surprise. The revelation in D&C 59 was given to Joseph Smith on a Sunday as reckoned by our modern Pagan calendar. But this should not be the end of it. Despite THIS day falling on a Sunday, it was declared by the Lord and calibrated by none other than a full moon AND a total solar eclipse . There are many websites that attest to this, but here is one:

https://mooncalendar.astro-seek.com/total-solar-eclipse-leo-new-moon-day-7-august-1831

These two signs and wonders, these two celestial witnesses – despite coinciding on a Sunday – signified the new reckoning of this, the Lord’s Day to a new covenant people. But wait! There’s more. This was a new moon in Leo. The constellation Leo is a representation of a Lion. Jesus Christ is the Lion of Judah (Revelation 5:5). This is His creation and His law to give and His day to mark. The constellation and zodiac Leo may mean different things to different people, but these are God’s creations and He uses them for the greatest good and for the benefit of His people. The Jews and many others today reckon the Sabbath day according to an ancient reckoning. But the Lord’s new covenant people, namely members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were commanded to keep THIS day as the Lord’s Day holy.

How and when you choose to keep the Lord’s day according to your beliefs, religion, etc, is between you and our Most High God. After all, the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27). But the Lord made His mind clear to His Latter-day Saints. We are to keep His day holy and ourselves unspotted from the world.

Please take a moment to read the entire section of D&C 59:

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/59?lang=eng