Lehi tells his sons to "arise from the dust, my sons, and be men" (2Ne. 1:21). Alma explains that the fathers of the people of Zarahemla were "awakened [by God] out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God" (Alma 5:7). These are figurative examples of sleep depicted as an enemy. The real thing can also be adversarial, a hindrance to spiritual and temporal progression.
"...cease to sleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated" (D&C 88:124). That is the commandment regarding sleep. It is an easy one to break, and I am glad it is not part of the Temple interview questions.
My father told me that each day is like a miniature life. We die when we go to bed at night, and are reborn each morning. Life is given to us in convenient sixteen hour segments, interrupted by about eight hours of unconsciousness, instead of one long stretch. We do not go to bed poor and wake up rich somewhere else; each day is the result of yesterday. Yet somehow, yesterday's problems are not as aggravating the next day. It is like having a clean emotional slate, even if we still have to deal with the consequences of yesterday's decisions. Babies sleep eighteen hours a day; I have wondered about the connection between brain development, memory formation, and sleep. Yet depression can also lead to an emotional thirst for sleep, a desire not to get up despite a full compliment of eight or nine hours.
Sleep may knit what worries unravel, yet it also resets testimony. It is like any other carnal indulgence, only more so. It causes forgetfulness of the miracles and testimony building experiences of yesterday. In an institute class I attended, Jack Chrisitiansen taught that if you wake up every morning and study the gospel (especially the scriptures) for one hour, you can overcome an addiction. (He recommended 5 am.)
Alma tells his son Shiblon to "bridle all your passions, that ye may be filled with love" (Alma 38:12). I once thought this was a reference to sex. But "passions" is plural. Any bodily appetite, when unbridled, can drive us away from God. I believe this includes sleep.
Satan will try to get our sleep patterns out of sync with sunrise and sunset. To a man, every addict I have known who was struggling was also getting to sleep at 2 am and waking up at 10 am, unless he had a family and a job. Satan wants to mess up our sleep cycle so that we commit "time-acide." Instead of ending our lives instantly, we commit a slow suicide by wasting each precious day, hour, minute, and second. Instead of waking up early, and being ready to face the day when the sun is up, Satan gets us to wake up at 10 or 11 am, and spend lunch time bathing and eating breakfast. No one can really hold down a job on a schedule like that, unless it is a graveyard shift, and it effectively precludes interaction with others. We stay awake til 2 am pursuing useless or sinful activities. In short, we have forsaken the opportunity the day afforded to go out among people, make a difference in their lives, be effective, share, love, work, exercise, learn, teach, grow, etc. It is almost as if we never really lived that day.
Resisting any sort of appetite or temptation during a given day is always easier for me when I have awakened early that morning and studied the scriptures (I prefer Jack Christiansen's one hour rule). An hour of walking or other exercise is also helpful in improving my mood, and the day just plain flows better.
I believe it is no coincidence that the commandment to "cease to sleep longer than is needful" is preceded immediately by the commandment to "cease to find fault one with another." If that command against fault-finding were not there, this verse would become the odious mantra of those who need less sleep than others (Mozart needed only 4 hrs of sleep per night to function), a ready-made missile of accusation in the tone of self righteousness. Peter left his career and followed Jesus; why was the rich young ruler so unwilling to follow suit? But we all have our particular vices, weaknesses, and all need a measure of allowance. "Cease to find fault one with another" turns "cease to sleep longer than is needful" into a personal battle, rather than an opportunity to accuse each other for a crime we all commit at some point.
Sleep is a blessing if used properly, and a curse when abused. It is the same with all things given by God.
There is no indication of sleep in heaven or hell. God "rests" on the seventh day of creation, but in Psalm 121:4 we read, "Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep." "When ye are weary [the Lord God] waketh morning by morning. He waketh mine ear to hear as the learned" (Isaiah 50:4). He is always awake, and who would want to go to sleep in heaven, if it is a place of perfect joy? Children who need to be pulled from their beds to go to dreaded school in the morning wake up in the wee hours on Christmas morning without any alarm clocks. (They become alarm clocks themselves.) Similarly, hell is hell because there is no remission of agony. Guilt, regret, remorse, are all perpetually present, with no chance to forget the "perfect knowledge" of guilt (2Ne. 9:14), and no way to sleep ("they cannot die" (Alma 12:18)).
As the agony of the Atonement came onto Jesus' shoulders in the Garden of Gethsemane, he sought comfort in company with his three most senior disciples:
"Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners" (Matt. 26:38-45).
"...cease to sleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated" (D&C 88:124). That is the commandment regarding sleep. It is an easy one to break, and I am glad it is not part of the Temple interview questions.
My father told me that each day is like a miniature life. We die when we go to bed at night, and are reborn each morning. Life is given to us in convenient sixteen hour segments, interrupted by about eight hours of unconsciousness, instead of one long stretch. We do not go to bed poor and wake up rich somewhere else; each day is the result of yesterday. Yet somehow, yesterday's problems are not as aggravating the next day. It is like having a clean emotional slate, even if we still have to deal with the consequences of yesterday's decisions. Babies sleep eighteen hours a day; I have wondered about the connection between brain development, memory formation, and sleep. Yet depression can also lead to an emotional thirst for sleep, a desire not to get up despite a full compliment of eight or nine hours.
Sleep may knit what worries unravel, yet it also resets testimony. It is like any other carnal indulgence, only more so. It causes forgetfulness of the miracles and testimony building experiences of yesterday. In an institute class I attended, Jack Chrisitiansen taught that if you wake up every morning and study the gospel (especially the scriptures) for one hour, you can overcome an addiction. (He recommended 5 am.)
Alma tells his son Shiblon to "bridle all your passions, that ye may be filled with love" (Alma 38:12). I once thought this was a reference to sex. But "passions" is plural. Any bodily appetite, when unbridled, can drive us away from God. I believe this includes sleep.
Satan will try to get our sleep patterns out of sync with sunrise and sunset. To a man, every addict I have known who was struggling was also getting to sleep at 2 am and waking up at 10 am, unless he had a family and a job. Satan wants to mess up our sleep cycle so that we commit "time-acide." Instead of ending our lives instantly, we commit a slow suicide by wasting each precious day, hour, minute, and second. Instead of waking up early, and being ready to face the day when the sun is up, Satan gets us to wake up at 10 or 11 am, and spend lunch time bathing and eating breakfast. No one can really hold down a job on a schedule like that, unless it is a graveyard shift, and it effectively precludes interaction with others. We stay awake til 2 am pursuing useless or sinful activities. In short, we have forsaken the opportunity the day afforded to go out among people, make a difference in their lives, be effective, share, love, work, exercise, learn, teach, grow, etc. It is almost as if we never really lived that day.
Resisting any sort of appetite or temptation during a given day is always easier for me when I have awakened early that morning and studied the scriptures (I prefer Jack Christiansen's one hour rule). An hour of walking or other exercise is also helpful in improving my mood, and the day just plain flows better.
I believe it is no coincidence that the commandment to "cease to sleep longer than is needful" is preceded immediately by the commandment to "cease to find fault one with another." If that command against fault-finding were not there, this verse would become the odious mantra of those who need less sleep than others (Mozart needed only 4 hrs of sleep per night to function), a ready-made missile of accusation in the tone of self righteousness. Peter left his career and followed Jesus; why was the rich young ruler so unwilling to follow suit? But we all have our particular vices, weaknesses, and all need a measure of allowance. "Cease to find fault one with another" turns "cease to sleep longer than is needful" into a personal battle, rather than an opportunity to accuse each other for a crime we all commit at some point.
Sleep is a blessing if used properly, and a curse when abused. It is the same with all things given by God.
There is no indication of sleep in heaven or hell. God "rests" on the seventh day of creation, but in Psalm 121:4 we read, "Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep." "When ye are weary [the Lord God] waketh morning by morning. He waketh mine ear to hear as the learned" (Isaiah 50:4). He is always awake, and who would want to go to sleep in heaven, if it is a place of perfect joy? Children who need to be pulled from their beds to go to dreaded school in the morning wake up in the wee hours on Christmas morning without any alarm clocks. (They become alarm clocks themselves.) Similarly, hell is hell because there is no remission of agony. Guilt, regret, remorse, are all perpetually present, with no chance to forget the "perfect knowledge" of guilt (2Ne. 9:14), and no way to sleep ("they cannot die" (Alma 12:18)).
As the agony of the Atonement came onto Jesus' shoulders in the Garden of Gethsemane, he sought comfort in company with his three most senior disciples:
"Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners" (Matt. 26:38-45).
Several thoughts occur to me as I reflect on this scene. I wonder if the disciples' "heavy" eyes were the result of emotional tiredness. They were used to seeing Jesus as the unflappable leader, calm even in a boat that was about to capsize. Now they were seeing Him in genuine distress for the first time, and their confusion about this contradiction might have driven them to seek escape in sleep. They were not used to comforting Him, but that is exactly what He needed them to do—to be present, awake, and with Him. Jesus warns that sleep can be an avenue for Satan to tempt them, and this warning echoes down to our time largely unheeded by the world. Having a willing spirit muted by weak flesh is a common lament in life, but giving in to one temptation of the flesh primes us to fall prey to others. If we need sleep, what makes it bad or good? Timing is the answer here. When Jesus was praying, they should have been awake; when Jesus was arrested, He told them "Sleep on now, and take your rest..." They could have been beneficial to Him at one point, and were useless to Him at the other. Yet Peter was completely awake, sword in hand, when the soldiers came to take Jesus, and asleep when Jesus needed him for companionship. That phrase, "What, could ye not watch with me one hour?" cuts me to the core at times when I find myself drifting of to sleep in Church, or especially when I manage to ignore my alarm clock in the morning. While no one could carry Jesus' burden for Him, it was appropriate for His disciples to keep Him company. Their failure to do so was compensated for by the arrival of an angel who came, "strengthening him" (Luke 22:43). How sad that no earthly servant was available to play that role.
The greatest irony here was that Jesus was refusing stubbornly to give in to the demands of His exhausted flesh to atone for His disciples' failure to exhibit that same strength by comforting Him while He atoned for that very failure. I hope that we all can succeed in getting out of bed early, not because sleep is sinful, but because sleep at the wrong time can preclude so much goodness, and potentially open doors for Satan to get at us. We are told to put on the whole armor of God (D&C 27), and the best time of day to do this is early in the morning.
