---
title: Improvement Era
description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930.
authors:
  - Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations
collections:
  - periodicals
tags:
  - magazine
  - improvement-era
periodical: Improvement Era
volume: 33
number: 10
published: 1930-08
publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations
publisher_place: Salt Lake City
language: en
type: magazine
reference: "Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations, “What Is Sunday For?,” *Improvement Era* 33, no. 10 (August 1930): 672–673."
source:
  url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera3310unse
  transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers.
  identifier: improvementera3310unse
start_page: 672
end_page: 673
rights:
  status: public-domain
  basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1930-08)
  source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera3310unse
  publication_year: 1930
  note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1930, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright.
---

# What Is Sunday For?

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What is Sunday For? NOT a few people think that Sunday was designed for pleasure, for baseball matches, fishing parties, or excursions of various kinds. There are others who think the day should have some religious signifi- cance. One can scarcely fail to observe the great number of accidents and tragedies which occur on Sunday. In our scriptural references in this article, we will use Sunday as being synonymous with the Sabbath, and Church as meaning the same as synagogue in Bible times, without endeavoring to make any compar- ison or trace the origin of either the Sunday or the Church. ALL are ready to admit that the greatest and best Teacher the world ever had, declared that "the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath." What did he mean by this? Let us see what he did on the Sabbath. On one such occasion he entered the church and taught many things pertaining to the soul's need. There he met a man whose right hand was withered — useless and a handicap to him physically — Jesus restored this useless member so that it was as sound as the other. This was an act of mercy. The man was cured, because he was where Jesus was, and at Sunday service. Near by, was the best fishing in that part of the world, but he wanted to hear Jesus teach. After the service many gathered around the Savior to tell him of their ills and ask his blessing upon them. He healed them, every one. The crowd became witnesses. So it has always been, that those who meet him for a blessing at Sundsy serv- ice, never go away disappointed. On another Sunday he taught in the church and the people were astonished at his doctrine. He had wonderful wisdom about sin and human nature and human infir- mities and human needs. Teachers and preachers with the Christ Spirit are doing the things Christ did, in By THOMAS WEIR Mining Engineer his name. No one with a soul hunger ever goes to Sunday service for help, and goes away disap- pointed, if some one with Jesus' Spirit is conducting the service. ET us go with the crowd to -*-' church where Jesus taught on another Sunday; where there was a man, forty years old, who was born blind. This man prayed for sight and received it. He and his parents testified that it was Jesus who gave him sight. At first he said, "he saw men as trees walk- ing." There were many scoffers at that service and there were many church officers and members who did not like Jesus and who became intolerant and abusive, because this man testified that Jesus had not only given him physical sight, but had come into his soul and given him a sight of sin and the cure of it. The enemies of Jesus would not permit this cured man to enter the church or become a member because he insisted that it was Jesus who had healed him. But he knew whereof he spoke and became a follower of the Savior. Many others who thought they saw the matter clearly were blind to all spiritual truth and intolerant and bitter toward those who believed The Author on Christ. All this experience is being repeated today, here and there over the world. Let us search for the origin of our Sabbath. It was out on the desert away from any church or permanent home. God command- ed the people through Moses, their leader, to "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy" — (not to keep it a holiday). The people and their servants were to refrain from such work as was common on other days. How shall we keep Sunday holy? By doing holy or worth-while things on that day. Let us return to Jesus' teaching. On a Sunday, he said: "What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much, then is a man better than a sheep?" As we would rescue a sheep or brute beast, let us try to rescue boys and girls, and men and women who are so enam- ored of questionable pleasures and associations, that they neglect the spiritual and become scoffers at Christian teaching and Christian teachers and leaders. V\ THY are so many absent from VV our Sunday Schools and Sunday services? Largely, because they are not striving to keep Sun- day holy, but rather trying to make the day one for pleasure, sport or questionable association and conduct. There is nothing that purifies home life and tends to build up Christian character, hon- esty, reverence for God and par- ents, more than a proper use of the Sunday. It turns the minds of par- ents and children God-ward and helps them to resist temptation and choose proper companions, pure things, instead of the undesirable. By forming the habits of attend- ing Sunday School and church service, we avoid much temptation and , cultivate fellowship and friendship with the best of our ac- quaintances and gradually build up Christian character, and a hunger

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The Improvement Era for August, 1930 673 for the best and purest in life is cultivated, choose and keep choos- ing, but always choose the best. God bless you all and help you to choose right. Sunday the World's Rest Day 'T'HIS is a title of a book issued by 1 the New York Sabbath Com- mittee. In it appears an article, "Sunday Rest in Mining" by Thomas Weir, from which these excerpts are taken: A mining town is often a new settlement; is born and reaches maturity in a remarkably short time. At first there are no families, schools or churches. It is simply a community of men, and mostly single men. Almost every man has on his working clothes when Sunday comes. The prospector generally continues his prospecting on Sunday as on other days. The miner works because there does not seem to be anything else to do. The merchant keeps his store open because he gets as much business on that day as on other days, and "because all the rest do it." ' A FTER a while a Sunday School ^^ is started, ancl later a church is organized. The Sunday School is usually composed of one or two men, a few Christian women, and those children who can be per- suaded to come. The church has a small membership mostly women. The attendance at service is small, because the men work on Sunday as on other days. The financial support is poor. The missionary minister is dis- couraged. He goes to the mine manager for financial help, and to plead that the miners be allowed to rest on Sunday. He may get a semi-annual contribution, but usually the minister is told that the church is not doing much good, hence he (the mine manager) does not care to give anything. Re- garding "Sunday rest" for the miners, the minister is informed that it is all nonsense to think of it, because the miners would all get drunk on Sunday if they were not working and they would not be fit for work on Monday; conse- quently, the miners are better off working than resting on Sunday. The mine could not stand the expense of keeping all the machin- ery in repair and the pumps run- ning, with the miners resting and no work being done. The missionary then goes to the merchants, to see if they will not close their places of business on Sunday; and they all with one con- sent begin to make excuse. "CINALLY, the missionary visits ■*• the miners, to see if they will not use their influence in favor of "Sunday rest." A few, because of their early training, or convictions, or other reasons, are in favor of "Sunday rest." A majority are opposed to it. Some of them claim they have families to support (either in camp or elsewhere) , and that they cannot (support them without working on Sundays. But a great many miners claim (and truthfully) that their man- ager is unwilling to close the mine on Sunday, and that they would be discharged if they refused to work. Let us investigate some of the excuses given for "Sunday work." One reason is to enconomize min- ing expenses. It is a noteworthy fact, many of the leading copper and iron mines of this country ob- serve "Sunday rest." They have to drain and operate deep work- ings, still their expenses are much less per ton than those which re- quire "Sunday work." We never hear it suggested that "Sunday work" is going to be inaugurated to reduce the cost per ton. The average miner cannot do good work seven days in the week any more than any other class of labor can. He becomes tired out, and works like a tired man. The writer knows of many instances in the mines formerly operated seven days in a week, which afterward observed "Sunday rest," and the result was a large saving in the cost of production, though depth and quantity of water increased. 1 HOMAS WEIR is a retired mining engineer who has been em- inently successful. He is withal a fine Christian gentleman. He oper- ated mines in Colorado and Mon- tana, in Tintic and in Bingham, Utah. Mr. Weir opened the High- land Boy and the Boston Consoli- dated, now a part of the Utah Cop- per. From his own experience he is thoroughly convinced that not only is Sunday work a violation of a command of the Almighty but it is wasteful. While too modest to say so the cost reductions mentioned in his article were his own personal achievp^ients. ONE case (used as an illustra- tion) is a shaft that was sunk two hundred feet (below a depth of one thousand feet) . The miners worked every day from the time the work began until it was fin- ished. A few months later sinking was again resumed, and the shaft sunk a further distance of two hundred feet. While sinking the last two hundred feet the miners observed "Sunday rest" (by stop- ping work for twenty-four hours on Sunday) . The same miners sunk the last two hundred feet that sunk the former two hundred feet. The rock showed no change. The progress per day was better, though the general conditions were less favorable than they were above one thousand feet. The total cost per foot was reduced twenty-one per cent. The only work done on Sunday was to pump water. As to the claim of some of the miners, that they could not afford to lose Sunday wages, we will give one of many instances that we know of. A certain miner, whom we will call Scotia, worked oyer three years in a Colorado mine, had good physique, was about twenty-one years old, and in good average health. He worked Sundays, and kept a diary which showed the actual time worked during the year. After Scotia had been working in the mine three years "Sunday rest" was adopted. All other conditions re- mained the same, except that the depth and amount of water in- creased. When "Sunday work" was discontinued, Scotia was among the first of the miners to complain that he would lose one day's pay each week, and he asked to be allowed to continue "Sunday work." His request was not granted. He continued to work in the same mine, and kept his diary as usual. One year after "Sunday rest" had become the custom, Scotia told the Manager that he found upon examination of his diary that he worked more days and received more pay during the year of "Sunday rest" than during any of the years when "Sunday work" was the custom. TTPON being asked for an ex- ^ planation, he said, that while "Sunday work" was the custom, he lost more days on account of sickness than offset the number of Sundays for the same time. This experience of Scotia was related (Continued on page 676)