Set a note of calmness and pleasantness. Avoid strife and contention.

- Attend our meetings, and be alert and worshipful. Truly seek the spirit of the meeting. Find out what our ecclesiastical leaders want us to get out of our meetings.- Meet together as families. Have devotionals, hold family councils, praise the Lord with song, read scriptures and other good books together.

- Prepare lessons for Church, home and visiting teaching, and family home evenings.

- Extend a hand of fellowship to non-LDS and less-active friends. Invite them over. Maybe even invite the missionaries.

- Reach out to the shut-ins and the chronically ill. We can bring great joy into their lives and into ours as well.

Speaking to the fathers of the Church: meet with your children, talk with them, find out where they're at in life.

These activities help us develop a reverential awe for our Heavenly Father and our Savior. The Sabbath gives us the chance to take a day off from our worldly labors. We'll never be able to enjoy the peace and contentment in the Sabbath day unless we make it a special day. It's incumbent upon us to make the effort, to take time out and enjoy the blesings of the Spirit. - Mathew Keusch, South Bend, Ind.

*****

What we did:

Think about Savior

These are some things I have done to make the Sabbath day more meaningful:

- Attend all my meetings.

- Think about Jesus Christ and His Atonement during the passing of the sacrament in sacrament meeting.

- Prepare meals with simpleness.

- Listen to uplifting music.

- Wear comfortable Sunday clothes all day.

- Avoid shopping on the Sabbath.

- Refrain from physical activity that takes my mind away from this being the Lord's day.

- Abstain from watching TV unless it is appropriate Sabbath material.

- Write in my journal; write letters; read Church publications.

I believe that by doing these things each Sunday, it is easier to remember, keep holy and enjoy the Sabbath day. - Shiree P. Sandall, Richfield, Utah

Do good

Do good on the Sabbath day. Make it a special day to visit Grandma in the rest home or go on splits with the missionaries. Do some genealogy. Bring your journal up to date. Read Church books and publications.

But more important, don't do anything you wouldn't want the Savior to see you do. - Cheryl Robinson, Mission Viejo, Calif.

Prepare ahead

Prepare ahead by studying the lesson material that will be presented each Sunday. Make Saturday a preparation day by finalizing preparation for your lessons or Church callings, making sure clothing is ready and preparing food ahead of time.

In addition, I suggest the following:

- Arrive a few minutes early so you and your family can be settled before the meeting starts.

- Be attentive to what is being said.

- Be truly worshipful during the sacrament, renewing the covenants you have made.

- Have your scriptures available in case the speaker asks you to look a scripture up.

- Be willing to participate by saying prayers, answering questions or taking part in the lesson.

Remember to keep the Sabbath day holy, only doing those things that will be appropriate and Sabbath-enriching.

This is a wonderful day to prepare for next Sunday and to do things you may not have time for during the week such as family history, letter writing, etc. Sunday can be a wonderful day. - Mary S. Alder, West Jordan, Utah

Sabbath worship

When speaking with people about fun activities, I discover that the Sabbath day always seems their day of choice for these activities.

I respond by saying, "The Lord gives me six days, Monday through Saturday, in which to do what I wish. The Lord, in turn, only asks of me one day, the Sabbath day. Of this day, I freely give."

Upon sharing this insight, I reaffirm to my friends, associates and to myself the need of Sabbath worship. - Edward A. Vasquezperez, Valparaiso, Ind.

Prayer, scriptures

Following my knee replacement and other problems, I was home-bound for several months. I attended Church only four times. It would have been far too easy to let the Sabbath slip by as the other days of the week. Since the Sabbath day has always been special to me, I could not let that happen.

After thinking and planning, I developed the following as a means of remembering the Lord's day:

- Begin with a personal prayer.

- Listen to the Tabernacle Choir broadcast and other Church TV programs.

- Enjoy an afternoon reading scriptures and Church publications or listening to scripture tapes or hymns, and watching a Church video.

- Spend a couple of hours in the evening writing to a special grandson on a mission in New York.

I am looking forward to the day when I can attend all my meetings as I have done throughout my life. In the meantime, I feel that I am better prepared for the challenges of the week ahead by honoring and enjoying the Lord's day. - Cleo Price Mollinet, Midvale, Utah

Youth gathering

When we ride back and forth to Church, we encourage our six children to talk about Church and lessons. We often have other youth staying with us between various Church meetings and functions to cut down on travel time for some families. We feed them, and I usually have them make phone calls to less-active friends. This is a big push in our town. We have 12 towns in our ward, so we try really hard to keep the teenagers together. We want the youth to be familiar with other Church members.

We often use Sundays to plan youth temple trips to the Washington Temple. I help them do their family history research in preparation for these trips. - Patricia Groves, Madison, Conn.

*****

How to checklist:

1 Prepare ahead; have clothes, meals ready on Saturday; arrive at Church early.

2 Be worshipful during sacrament; think of the Savior.

3 Remember whose day it is; listen to uplifting music, read scriptures, do family history.

4 Reach out; visit the home-bound, write missionaries.

*****

WRITE TO US:

March 21 "How to rear children in light and truth."

March 28 "How to begin family history research."

April 4 "How to use general conference messages to solve personal, family problems."

April 18 "How to help an overly dependent friend."

April 25 "How to plan an inexpensive family vacation."

May 2 "How to help a loved one addicted to prescription drugs."

May 9 "How to help young people avoid movies of questionable content."

- Also interested in letters on these topics: "How to supplement your regular income," "How to build a strong work ethic in children," "How to avoid greed," "How to be more resilient in day-to-day life."

Had any good experiences or practical success in any of the above subjects? Share them with our readers in about 100-150 words. Write the "How-to" editor, Church News, P.O. Box 1257, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110, send fax to (801) 237-2524 or use internet E-mail: forum@desnews.com. Please include a name and phone number. Contributions may be edited or excerpted and will not be returned. Due to limited space, some contributions may not be used; those used should not be regarded as official Church doctrine or policy. Material must be received at least 12 days before publication date.