Have you ever taken time to think about why we fast, as a church, on the first Sunday of every month? After reading Howard W. Hunter’s talk on “Fast Day,” in the Sunday afternoon session of the October 1985 General Conference, I began to think about it seriously.
I hate to admit it, but I’ve always struggled with Fast Sunday. When I was a little girl, my family started fasting on Saturday, missing dinner and skipping breakfast on Sunday. We’d come home from church ready to eat lunch/dinner. We only really had one big dinner on Sundays, typically, and snacked throughout the rest of the day. That was back when church was four hours long with a break for lunch in the middle. With my own family, we start our fast at bedtime, Saturday night, and fast until 5:00 pm, for dinner on Sunday.
Fasting is mentioned in all of our scriptures. And from each mention, we can gather that there are two specific reasons to fast.
- To sacrifice what we have (food) to feed and take care of the poor.
- To call upon the powers of heaven for specific aid or moments of absolute gratitude.
To Feed and Take Care of the Poor
Fast Offerings came about as a donation to the poor and was attached to Fast Sunday for its regularity. Regarding fast offerings, President Harold B. Lee said,
“Let me promise you here today that if the Latter-day Saints will honestly and conscientiously from this day forth, as a people, keep the monthly fast and pay into the hands of their bishops the actual amount that they would have spent for food for the two meals from which they have refrained . . . we would have all the money necessary to take care of all the idle and all the poor.”
That’s a pretty bold statement. As we are often urged to pay a generous fast offering, I can’t help but wonder what our world would look like if people took that request seriously.
To Call Upon the Powers of Heaven
I can think of several stories in the scriptures where a people fasted together and prayed mightily for the Lord to help them in some way. In our personal fasting, are we bold in our own prayers believing that God’s power will be shown? Maybe the reason why I struggle is simply that my belief in His powers is weak. I’m going to change that, starting now.
Throughout church history, members from every corner of the world have used that first Sunday to fast all together as an entire congregation in petitioning to the Lord. In 1918, members held a special fast “for the arrest and speedy suppression by Divine power of the desolating Scourge that is passing over the earth,” during a flu epidemic. In 1946, there was a gratitude fast when Japan surrendered, ending WWII.
We have also held church-wide fasts, specifically sending our fast offerings to relieve the suffering in war-torn Europe in 1947, victims of famine in Ethiopia, in 1985, and survivors of the South Asia tsunami in 2005. Eleven million dollars were sent to Ethiopia, an astounding amount of money, donated through fast offerings. It was after this the church formed LDS Charities, which to date, has donated over 2 billion dollars, all from fast offerings and generous donations by members of the church.
In Matthew 17:21 it says, “Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.”
Learning more about the benefits of fasting has really made me think. I lead a pretty comfortable life. I can certainly be generous as I offer what I have to those who are in such dire need. And perhaps my prayers of faith will bring down the powers of heaven to help those who suffer, including my own household. My prayers of gratitude may reach heaven more sincerely as well.
I’m pretty sure I can go without food for several hours knowing that the blessings that come from that simple sacrifice literally go so much farther.
You’re not the only one to struggle with fasting. In the past few years I’ve worked harder at fasting with full purpose of heart so I could claim the blessings promised. It is still a work in progress, but I like the changes I see and feel in myself. One thing that makes it difficult for me is that my husband refuses to fast, claiming he can’t, that he gets sick if he misses a meal. But I’m determined to conquer the natural woman so I keep at it. Over the years I’ve increased the amount of fast offering I’ve given and you know, I’ve never missed it, in fact, I believe my grocery money goes further than ever the more generous I am. It’s one of the principles that you have to live in order to see it in action.