How the Sabbath Was Honored

On the sixth day the people gathered two omers for every person. The leaders quickly told Moses what had been done. His answer was, “This is what the Lord has said, ‘Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath unto the Lord. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until the morning.’” They did this, and found that the manna did not spoil. And Moses said, “Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.”BOE 142.4

God requires that His holy day be kept as sacredly now as in the time of Israel. We should make the day before the Sabbath a day of preparation, so that everything may be ready for its sacred hours. In no case should our own business be allowed to infringe on holy time. God has directed that the sick should be cared for—the labor required to make them comfortable is a work of mercy and not a violation of the Sabbath, but all unnecessary work should be avoided. Work that is neglected until the beginning of the Sabbath should remain undone until after sundown at its close.BOE 142.5

The Israelites witnessed a three-part miracle to impress their minds with the sacredness of the Sabbath: a double quantity of manna fell on the sixth day, none on the seventh, and the portion needed for the Sabbath stayed sweet and pure.BOE 142.6