When Mormons are small Mormon children in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, they learn a song that goes something like this: “Saturday is a special day – it’s the day we get ready for Sunday…”
I, myself, learned that song when I was small Mormon child. I got a kick out of learning new good songs at church on a weekly basis. I remember how much I loved being a church-goer as a little kid, and I am wholly confident that my fondness of church has increased exponentially since those golden youthful years.
Almost needless to say, I attended church again this past Sunday, which was Easter Sunday 2014. While at church, my friends and I discussed a talk that was given by an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, in October 2006: “Sunday Will Come,” by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin.
Elder Wirthlin’s talk was largely about the contrast between the dismally dark Friday when Christ was crucified, and the beautifully bright subsequent Sunday when Christ came back to life, to forevermore live, never again die, and pave the way for all of God’s children to receive the same resurrectionary (not a word, but it is now) blessing. But the wonderful thing about talks (and scriptures) is that the words may be originally said in a certain way, but the Holy Ghost can use those inspired and truthful words to teach a whole ‘nother thing in a whole ‘nother context. Because this is true, we friends, while gathered together last Sunday, were able to discover interesting ways the talk applied to various aspects of our lives, and our discussion ended up being a very uplifting one. All in the room were edified.
Gearshift here; I’m about to change the subject. Loopholes…particularly a loophole related to Elder Wirthlin's talk. I’m not saying there is a loophole in it, because in my eyes (and ears) it was an impeccably prepared and delivered speech. But if another subtopic were to have been addressed within the talk, I imagine one option could have been the mood of the Saturday that was situated betwixt the dark Friday and bright Sunday. I reread the talk since last Sunday, online. And just to feed my curiosity, I pressed “Ctrl + F” and searched for “Saturday,” so I could see if Saturday was mentioned anywhere, but it wasn’t. Which is OK. If Saturday were mentioned, perhaps I wouldn’t have been prompted to therapeutically ponder and write out my thoughts.
What happens on the Saturday that lies between your troublesome Friday and your curative Sunday? How do you cope on Saturday? Are you in despair, thinking tomorrow will not come? Or do you maintain a hopeful heart, counting on Sunday morning’s sun to rise n’ shine?
On Friday, you enter a state of gloom. The gloom may seem intolerable; or, it may seem workable enough that you can still function properly as person, for the most part, but you’re still blue, and you still would rather feel better. On Friday you somehow just “make do.” Depending on how rough your situation is, by the time Saturday rolls around, you may have surprised yourself that you made it through the night.
So yeah, Saturday’s here. What are you going to do today? Yes, your trial is still probably glaring at you. But does the knowledge that “Sunday will come” help you deal with it? Sunday has not quite arrived yet, but may I suggest that you can carry bits of Sunday in your pocket, before Sunday even happens?
Gearshift again; I’m going to swivel my attention to face my fellow young single adults. Dear friends, I’m going to talk about us for a sec. I think a lot of us feel like we’re in some sort of limbo land. This limbo is a big “Saturday” of ours. This limbo is often one in which we’re seeking the “Sunday” of finding the person we should marry. This limbo can also be the “Sunday” of finding a good job, figuring out what to study in school, or deciding where in the world to move and continue to build a life.
May I expound further on what I said about carrying “bits of Sunday” in our pockets? What if the Sunday we want to find—the exit from limbo—isn’t the prime Sunday we should be most concerned about? The Sunday we can constantly tote around with us in our pockets, no matter what day of the week of life we’re currently in, can very well be our faith in God. Our trust in God. We can continually trust that He will guide our paths and lead us along to our upcoming life stages, if we will but lean on His ample arm, be the best people we can be, and be the best disciples of Jesus Christ we can be.
I love how the “Sunday” in Elder Wirthlin’s talk was all about our triumphant and resurrected Savior Jesus Christ. Now that I have revisited the talk, I like to think of the “Sunday in my pocket” as my Savior’s love that I feel inside of me and sense surrounding me every day. It is my hope and prayer that we all can feel that love, nourish our faith in God, and diligently keep a replenished stock of Sunday bits in our pockets.
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