D&C 59: Sabbath, Fasting, and the Fullness of the Earth
I have a piece of walnut sitting on the bench in my shop that I picked up from a mill last spring. It's eight feet long, five inches thick on one end, and has been air drying for about a year and a half. The grain runs straight for most of the board but takes a hard turn near a knot about two feet in, the kind of grain you have to follow if you want the piece to hold together. I go out and look at it sometimes without touching it, just checking to see if it's ready, if the moisture has come down enough to start cutting. There is something about working with wood that teaches patience. You cannot rush the cure and you cannot force the grain. You wait until the material tells you it is time.
D&C 59 reads like that kind of instruction, a set of rhythms and disciplines that don't force growth so much as create the conditions for it. The section is short, only twenty-four verses, but it covers a remarkable amount of ground: the Sabbath, the law of the fast, the goodness of the earth, and the quiet reward of a life lived with the right kind of attention.
What Does D&C 59 Teach About the Sabbath
The section opens with a promise to those who come to Zion with an eye single to the glory of God, that they shall inherit the earth. This frame matters. The Sabbath instructions that follow are not presented as an arbitrary list of restrictions. They are part of a larger covenant where obedience and blessing are linked, building on the principle of being anxiously engaged that runs through D&C 58.
Verse 9 says the Sabbath is a day appointed for rest and devotion. The language is direct: you shall rest from your labors and pay your devotions to the Most High. I have found over the years that rest is harder than it sounds. It's easy to keep moving, to fill every hour with something productive and to call it diligence. But the text draws a distinction between labor and devotion, and the Sabbath is the boundary that keeps them separate.
Thou shalt offer a sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in righteousness, even that of a broken heart and a contrite spirit.
(D&C 59:8)
That verse lands in the middle of the Sabbath instructions, and what the Lord is asking for on that day is a broken heart and a contrite spirit, something internal rather than the animal sacrifice that belonged to a different covenant. It requires setting the work down long enough to remember who you are and whose you are.
I have seen what happens when I keep a Sunday the right way, stepping away from the anxieties that carry through the week and letting a different set of concerns take the foreground. It's not always comfortable though it is always needed.
Meaning of Eye Single to the Glory of God in D&C 59
The phrase "eye single to the glory of God" appears in verse 1 and connects directly to the command to establish Zion at the center place the Lord designated. It means having a focus that is not split, a gaze that is not pulled in two directions at once.
In the shop, when I am setting up a cut on the table saw, I don't look at the fence and the blade and the material and my hands at the same time. I pick one point and keep my attention on it, and the rest of the work follows. The same principle applies to a life. When you divide your attention between God and money, or between service and status, you end up serving neither well. The single eye is about knowing which direction you are facing rather than about perfection.
How to Fast and Pray According to D&C 59
Verse 14 says that on the day of the fast, you shall offer your fast with prayer and rejoicing. I think that last word is often overlooked. Fasting isn't supposed to be a grim endurance exercise. It's supposed to be done with a glad heart and a cheerful countenance.
Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly.
(D&C 59:11, 13)
Verse 15 draws a line between a glad heart and much laughter. I have always read that as a distinction between joy and noise. A glad heart is something settled and genuine. Much laughter can be a way of avoiding the interior work that devotion requires. The fast is meant to quiet things down and bring the heart into focus, not to put on a performance of any kind.
I have had fasts that felt thin and mechanical and others that felt like they pulled some obstruction out of the way. The difference was usually in how much I actually stopped and listened rather than just going through the motions.
Difference Between a Glad Heart and Much Laughter
The verse in question is verse 15, and it creates a contrast between a glad heart and much laughter. The glad heart is allowed and the much laughter is warned against. I think the distinction is easier to feel than to define. A glad heart is warm, and much laughter can be brittle sometimes.
I have been in rooms where people were laughing hard and something inside me knew it wasn't real. And I have been in rooms where nobody was laughing at all but the glad heart was there. Joy is welcome in this chapter. What it warns against is the kind of noise that drowns out the quiet signal.
Blessings Promised in Doctrine and Covenants 59
Verses 16 through 20 list the things the Lord has given: the beasts of the field, the fowls of the air, herbs in their season, the fruit of the orchard, all made for the benefit and use of man. I read that list and think about the smell of a cedar board just after I have ripped it on the saw, the first ripe tomato from the garden in late July, and the way the light looks at five in the morning through the window of the shop.
The text adds a condition: use these things with judgment, not to excess, neither by extortion. The earth is good and the gifts of God are real, but they are not an invitation to consume without thought. A man who takes more than he needs is missing the point of the provision.
Verse 21 says that the only way to offend God in the context of these gifts is to fail to acknowledge his hand in all things. That is a low bar and a high one at the same time. It just means remembering that none of it came from us. The wood came from the tree that came from the ground that came from the one who made it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean to have an eye single to the glory of God in D&C 59?
It means having an undivided focus on serving God without letting competing loyalties pull you off course. The image comes from the Sermon on the Mount and describes a person whose spiritual attention is not split between God and something else. It is less about perfection and more about knowing where you are looking.
How does D&C 59 describe the correct way to fast?
The section says to offer your fast with prayer and rejoicing, with a glad heart and a cheerful countenance. Fasting shouldn't be a miserable ritual. It's meant to draw the heart closer to God with a spirit of joy, not a spirit of grinding through the hours.
What is the warning about much laughter in D&C 59:15?
The verse distinguishes between a glad heart, which is genuine and rooted, and much laughter, which can be shallow or performative. The real concern is the kind of noise that fills the space where devotion ought to sit, not happiness itself.
What are the blessings promised to the faithful in D&C 59?
The section promises that the faithful will inherit the earth and enjoy all the beasts, fowls, herbs, and fruits that God has provided. These blessings come with the condition that we use them with judgment and moderation, acknowledging the hand of God in all things.
I walked back out to the shop after reading this section. The walnut was still there, still curing, still teaching me the same lesson it has been teaching for a year and a half. You cannot rush the good things. You can only create the conditions and wait.
The Sabbath is one of those conditions, along with fasting and gratitude as the thread that ties them together. The Lord built a rhythm into the week that mirrors the rhythm of the earth itself. Six days of labor. One day of rest. A cycle that keeps the soul from running on empty.
-- D.