Are Mormons allowed to play on Sunday?

Answer 1

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that the ten commandments given to Moses are still in force today. As such, they try to "Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy". This is generally viewed as a command to rest from the routine labors of daily life and give special attention to spiritual matters, including worship services, but may also include visiting the sick, study of the scriptures and other uplifting material, fasting for special spiritual guidance, spending "quality time" with family, etc. Each member of the Church has the freedom (and obligation) to prayerfully decide what specific activities do or do not violate the spirit of that commandment and will be held accountable before God for their observance (or lack thereof). We also respect the rights of others, both inside and outside of the Church to make those decisions for themselves. Our 11th Article of Faith states: "We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may." So I suppose the real answer to your question is, some may choose to while others do not. I suppose you'd have to get into a lengthy debate or description of the nature and purpose of specific "play" activity to determine whether or not it would be in harmony with God's commandments. Playing a board game with my children on a Sunday afternoon seems fine to me, but we probably would not go play Basketball or swimming. But again, there aren't "Sabbath Police" running around to enforce any LDS doctrine. Joseph Smith said: "I teach them correct principles and they govern themselves."