Sacred Fireworks

Thoughts on observing a Sabbath Independence Day (Part 2)

Lost Boy doesn’t work on Sundays, so we were able to spend the Fourth of July evening together. I had been looking forward to watching a big fireworks show with him. I like the big thunderings that come with some of the explosions, like a giant drum corp. But when I realized that the Fourth was on the Sabbath and felt that a fireworks show was not reverent, I was a little disappointed. I wanted to do something special because it was a holiday and we were together!

After some thought we settled on a special, reverent, patriotic activity for the evening: we decided to take a picnic blanket to Temple Hill and sit in the grass on the temple grounds. We would be in a sacred place, a place we could have and freely visit because of our country’s independence and freedoms, and from there we could watch the firework shows from a distance. Temple Hill overlooks several communities in our area, from the river in the west almost to the foothills in the east.

We watched at least five of the big firework shows in our area. The explosions weren’t thunderingly loud, but we were in quiet, sacred place far from the rowdy crowds. Together. I thought maybe we would read some scriptures while we were there, like the part about Captain Moroni, the Standard of Liberty, and the conflict between the free-men and the king-men. But we didn’t read scriptures – it was too dark and we were watching for where on the horizon the next firework would appear. We sang a hymn together and talked. There were only two or three other couples scattered on the hill. We didn’t stay late; the Groundskeeper was ready to lock the gate soon after the last firework. There were no crowds and no traffic to interrupt our peaceful mood. It was the most reverent and reflective Fourth of July I’ve ever had.


Thoughts on observing a Sabbath Independence Day (Part 1)
Thoughts on observing a Sabbath Independence Day (Part 2)