Is the LDS observance of the Sabbath on Sunday based on revelation?
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There is in fact a revelation in the Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that affirms Sunday as the "Lord's day":
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.
(Doctrine and Covenants 59:9–12, emphasis added)
According to the section heading, section 59 of the Doctrine and Covenants was given to Joseph Smith on August 7, 1831, which was a Sunday.
For Latter-day Saints, this clears up a lot of the uncertainty based on limited historical evidence for an authorized change, and brings the commandment to the present day. It is clear that, at least, the Lord approves of his saints observing Sunday as the holy day instead of Saturday.
That, combined with the points @kutschkem makes about LDS observance of the Sabbath in the middle east and surrounding areas (which, it's important to note, was authorized by the prophet and president of the Church so is authoritative) – leads to the conclusion that, for Latter-day Saints, the day itself isn't as important as setting aside one day each week to rest from our regular work and worship Christ.
Upvote:1
According to LDS.org, the observance of the Sabbath on Sunday is based on Acts 20:7
And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached into them. . .
so apparently the early disciples met on Sunday (at least that time they did)
Upvote:3
According to fairmormon.org:
Latter-day Saints do not base their worship practices on an analysis of early Christian history, or on the comments of scholars in Biblical commentaries, though these sources can confirm Church teachings. Rather, the Saints follow the guidance of a living prophet. However, it seems clear that the Latter-day Saint practice of observing the day of rest and worship on Sunday—like most of the Christian world—is consistent with the earliest Christian practice of which we have record.
See Brian's answer
Interestingly, however, the most important aspect of Sabbath worship for the LDS seems to be the worship, and not the day on which it is held. Most LDS worship occurs on Sunday. General Authorities, who must often travel on conference assignments on Sunday, fast and receive the sacrament weekly on Thursdays. Church branches in Israel worship on Saturday. Branches in Muslim countries, such as Egypt, meet on Friday, the Muslim holy day. Wrote one account of the Church in Israel:
Jerusalem is home to three major religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. None of the three shares the same day of worship. Islam recognizes Friday as a holy day, Judaism celebrates the Sabbath on Saturday, while Christianity generally adheres to a Sunday day of worship. These differences posed significant challenges in the lives of the Saints living in the Holy Land, and David Galbraith posed questions regarding this matter to President Lee during the Prophet's visit to Jerusalem [in September 1972].
Following President Lee's visit, branch president David Galbraith wrote a letter to the First Presidency wherein he outlined four major concerns and formally recommended that the day of worship for Latter-day Saints in the Holy Land be changed. The four concerns were as follows: First, for the Jews, public transportation ceases on Saturday, stores and places of entertainment are closed, and in Jerusalem the streets are full of families going to and from their synagogues. Second, Sunday, on the other hand, is a normal working day. Those attending the universities have classes, many of the children have school, and, in fact, everyone except those in the diplomatic corps have other obligations on that day. Third, the members were scattered throughout the country, and the majority relied on public transportation. It would be impossible to hold late afternoon or evening services on Sunday. Fourth, the members of the Church had been holding their meetings on the Jewish Sabbath rather than Sunday for some time with at least the tacit approval of the mission.
Two months after President Harold B. Lee's visit to the Holy Land, he authorized President David Galbraith to conduct worship services in Israel on the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday). This authorization is dated November 20, 1972. This decision in Israel served as a precedent to include Friday observance as a day of worship in countries of primarily Islamic populations, such as Egypt and Jordan.
Note that this is not an official source, but I have no real reason to doubt that this event happened as reported.
To finish, it seems like there is no clear commandment in Doctrine and Covenants to hold the sunday as Sabbath, but we do hold the sunday as Sabbath because the prophets have taught us so - and it seems to be consistent with the NT, or in other words, that has been the prophets' understanding of the scriptures so far (see Brian's answer).
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