Dancing on Sundays?

In Boston, you can go out dancing pretty much any day of the week. I usually go dancing on Fridays and Saturdays, and occasionally on a Tuesday or Wednesday. When I have to work at 8am the next day, going out can be hard, but I can do it if I take a nap before I go out. The only day I’ll turn down dancing is on Sunday, unless it is a special occasion. In general, I make an effort to keep Sundays as a day to focus on church and family.

Mormons try to “keep the Sabbath day holy” and leave certain tasks or activities (laundry, shopping, going to the movies, etc.) for the other 6 days of the week. I’ve prayed over it, and my gut feeling is that if I started going dancing on Sundays (on a regular basis, like I do on Fridays or Saturday), Sunday would go from ‘church day’ to ‘dance day.’

In the Meet the Mormons movie, one of the characters was a headfootball coach for the US Navel Academy. He made the decision to not hold any meetings or practices on Sundays, which in the football world is considered crazy. He told his team and coworkers that if they feel like they need to prepare for the games by practicing on Sunday, they were free to do it on their own. But spending his Sabbath at church and with his family was his way of preparing. That really hit home for me because I also feel like Sundays are a day to refocus my mind and prepare for the week.

As a Mormon I also try not to spend money on Sundays. The concept of that is to prevent other people from having to work. (Obviously some people, like doctors or police officers, need to work every day.) If I’m not going out on Sunday, not spending money is not that hard to do.

Like I said, there are some special occasions where I feel it’s ok to break the rule. By “special occasion,” I mean something that comes up once in a while, such as a Salsa Festival or performing. As long as it’s not preventing me from going to church and it’s not a regular occurrence. However, each circumstance is different and I always pray for guidance. Keep in mind that not all Mormons would handle each situation in the same way, but it's up to each individual person to decide for themselves what is right. 

This Sunday my friend is performing and I want to go to cheer him on. I feel like it’s ok to go because I’m still able to go to church and supporting a friend is a good thing to do. I have a good feeling about it.  

Whenever I explain a “Mormon rule” to someone I get nervous and brace myself for judgment or a series of questions. But when I told my salsa friends that I try not to go out on Sundays I was surprised at how accepting they were about it. Luckily, they are a very understanding group of people and it hasn’t been a big deal at all.