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I am just curious about what folks here think about internet shopping on Sundays. I have met members who treat it the same as going out and shopping and others that are much more casual about it. Just wondering. I do anything I want on Sunday. I have little problem with Internet shopping on Sunday. That being said, my general sabbath practice is to not shop on Sundays. In my youth I worked in a retail outlet that required me to work Sundays, and I hated it. I like the idea of having one day set apart from the rest. So, as I would not choose to work on Sundays, I refrain from activities that would force others to work.
I think it is sad that it would ever be a topic discussed amongst mormons. But I understand why it is necessary to have the discussion. Up to you. I have internet shopped during church! To me, it’s close enough to a vending machine or buying gas and paying at the pump. I choose to avoid shopping on Sunday. Mainly, I want a day that is different from the rest. It’s nice to have one day a week where you withdraw from the world a bit. That said, I think everyone has to decide for themselves how best to “keep the Sabbath day holy”. As for Internet shopping, I don’t think it is a big deal and have bought some things occasionally that way. Up to you, in my opinion. I just posted out of curiosity. I personally don’t have a real issue with it and have done myself it from time to time. It came up in a quorum meeting recently and I was shocked at how heated the discussion became. I am always amazed at how passionate people get about their interpretation of “keeping the Sabbath day holy.” My DW who is pretty reasonable about TBM-type things used to be dead set against it but has since softened her stance on the matter. I do it occasionally, but I’m generally against it. Why? Because, if we encourage it, then we’ll soon find we’ll all have to work 24/7, 365 days a year. A lot of us are already near that stage. That’s what big business wants, and to Gehenna with what the employees think.
SamBee wrote:I do it occasionally, but I’m generally against it.
Why? Because, if we encourage it, then we’ll soon find we’ll all have to work 24/7, 365 days a year. A lot of us are already near that stage.
Ditto Sambee. My rule of thumb is that I don’t do anything on Sunday that requires people to work. I dislike working on Sundays, I dislike going to birthday parties on Sundays, and I *do* like spending time with my family. When traveling I don’t have a 2nd thought about purchasing on Sundays. I also find a true “down day” very refreshing.
When I was a student at BYU, Boyd K Packer gave a talk about keeping the Sabbath holy. My recollection of that talk is that perhaps BYU students are more prone than others about being overly strict about Sundays. He said that we shouldn’t make Sundays so burdensome that we don’t enjoy them and that we drive our children away from the church. I’ve always liked that thought…
As far as I’m concerned Sunday is the best time to go shopping in Utah. Personally I don’t worry that much about whether other people have to work on Sunday because the same stores or restaurants are going to remain open on Sundays regardless of what I do or not and I don’t think this is ever going to change. To me the main idea of a Sabbath day is simply to try to take a break sometimes to recharge and avoid feeling burned out and obsessing about what you should or should not be doing on your primary day off mostly defeats the purpose and makes Sundays worse than other days. Like Jesus pointed out the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:23-27). I don’t like to do “regular stuff” on Sunday, because I really do like the concept and principle of a Sabbath. Oxen sometimes get in the mire. I don’t try to push them into it, but I’ll get them out when they are there.
Having said that, I am with Cadence. I do what I want to do every day.
Old-Timer wrote:I don’t like to do “regular stuff” on Sunday, because I really do like the concept and principle of a Sabbath.
DevilsAdvocate wrote:Like Jesus pointed out the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:23-27).
I too love the concept of a Sabbath day and feel that observing a day of spiritual recharge can be beneficial for many people.
I am also convinced that the Sabbath that Jesus was referring to was Saturday. I do not believe that the case is very strong for the Sabbath day being authoritatively changed to Sunday. It is more plausible to me that this change was done as a result of the great Apostasy.
My point is not that we should worship on Saturday. I believe that God is probably not too much of a stickler on what day we recognize (this is also my understanding of the official LDS take on the subject). My point is that it is hypocritical for anyone to get too judgmental on the Sunday activities of others when Sunday may not the biblical Sabbath. How can I call someone else “Sabbath Breaker” for purchases made on a Sunday when they could just as easily (and with biblical justification) call me “Sabbath Breaker” for purchases I might make on a Saturday.
I’ve always tried to unplug and turn myself a different direction on Sunday. I’ll do anything in a pinch – shop, fly, etc. – but rarely do. We had an (almost) no TV custom growing up that I’ve kept as an adult. Then and now music and making music with others is important to us. I love the book “Sabbath World” by Judith Shulevitz. From the flyleaf: “Everyone curls up inside a Sabbath at some point or other. Religion need not be involved….The Sabbath is not just a holy day of rest. It’s also a utopian idea about a less pressured, more sociable, purer world. Where did this notion come from?…” It’s a really interesting history of time-keeping, Sabbath-keeping, her Jewish family, etc. DevilsAdvocate wrote:As far as I’m concerned Sunday is the best time to go shopping in Utah. Personally I don’t worry that much about whether other people have to work on Sunday because the same stores or restaurants are going to remain open on Sundays regardless of what I do or not and I don’t think this is ever going to change. To me the main idea of a Sabbath day is simply to try to take a break sometimes to recharge and avoid feeling burned out and obsessing about what you should or should not be doing on your primary day off mostly defeats the purpose and makes Sundays worse than other days. Like Jesus pointed out the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:23-27).
Indeed, but the Sabbath is there for Mankind. If we don’t take it on a regular basis, we don’t get a rest. Jesus was against the sabbatarian extremists in my view, and saw the sabbath as rest, not torture.
Quote:As far as I’m concerned Sunday is the best time to go shopping in Utah.
Not around here, it’s utterly horrible. The shops are packed with frantic throngs of shoppers on Sundays, especially Sunday mornings, and at Xmas it’s even worse. Why do they all have to go at the same time?!
Restaurants and cafes, I don’t have such a problem with…
I also like the concept of Sabbath. I don’t go anywhere to shop or eat etc. not even to buy gas at the pump (unless its an emergency) but I have never thought twice about an online purchase on sunday. I do buy many things online and sometimes Sunday is the only chance I get to sit in front of a computer with the time to think about something I need.
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