I know, that sounds like a dumb question — when does the day begin? — does it begin at midnight, 12:00 a.m., or does it begin when you wake up? Or at sunrise — or sunset? Today, when we speak of the “day” of the week, we refer to a 24 hour day — starting at 12 am-midnight and ending 24 hrs later at 11:59 pm.

I still wear a watch. And I carry my iPhone. I acknowledge I am very time-dependent. When my daughter was a little girl, she used to repeat jokes she heard. We would hear the same ones over and over. Her favorite was to ask, “What time is it when an elephant sits on the fence?” [Time to get a new fence.] She would substitute elephant and fence for other items — completely missing the joke. But to this day, when someone asks me what time it is? I often pipe back — “Time to get a new fence.” (especially when it’s my daughter or granddaughter who asks.)

It was not that long ago that people did not use watches and timepieces. The day was divided more naturally — by the sun and the moon. They had lunar calendars and solar calendars. I’ve always been somewhat envious of the Jewish calendar that starts a day at sunset — requiring you to look at your environment and the sky. Instead of sunset being the close of the day, it is the beginning. I’ve done some fasting, starting at sunset and ending at the next day’s sunset — I felt more connected to God.

We’ve come indoors so-to-speak and disregard the reminders that the heavens provide. It’s probably a sign of the times that we have taken over the time of day (with daylight saving time and beginning the calendar day at midnight.)

I read that the Jewish tradition of beginning the day at sunset is based on the account in Genesis when God divided the dark from the light: He began with the evening, and thus that is when the date starts:

King James Bible
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Young’s Literal Translation
and God calleth to the light ‘Day,’ and to the darkness He hath called ‘Night;’ and there is an evening, and there is a morning — day one.

Looking at what Joseph Smith gave us in his inspired look at the Book of Moses:

And I, God, called the light Day; and the darkness, I called Night; and this I did by the word of my power, and it was done as I spake; and the evening and the morning were the first day. (Moses 2: 5)

I also heard Avraham Gileadi explain that creation begins with chaos — or darkness so that the day is based on this creative process and begins with darkness. The Gods form the earth from the chaos where darkness exists:

And the earth was without form, and void; and I caused darkness to come up upon the face of the deep; and my Spirit moved upon the face of the water; for I am God.  And I, God, said: Let there be light; and there was light. (Moses 2: 2-3)

And then the Lord said: Let us go down. And they went down at the beginning, and they, that is the Gods, organized and formed the heavens and the earth. And the earth, after it was formed, was empty and desolate, because they had not formed anything but the earth; and darkness reigned upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of the Gods was brooding upon the face of the waters. And they (the Gods) said: Let there be light; and there was light. And they (the Gods) comprehended the light, for it was bright; and they divided the light, or caused it to be divided, from the darkness. (Abraham 4: 1-4)

As I was reading in the Book of Abraham, I felt that there is a natural division between day and night, light and dark:

And the Gods called the light Day, and the darkness they called Night. And it came to pass that from the evening until morning they called night; and from the morning until the evening they called day; and this was the first, or the beginning, of that which they called day and night. (Abraham 4: 5)

Throughout the creative process, the seven steps are marked by the time called night and day, and it begins with the evening:

And it came to pass that it was from evening until morning that they called night; and it came to pass that it was from morning until evening that they called day; and this was the second time that they called night and day. (Abraham 4: 8)

And it came to pass that they numbered the days; from the evening until the morning they called night; and it came to pass, from the morning until the evening they called day; and it was the third time. (Abraham 4:13)

There is a great division between night and day — between dark and light. Every morning we have a reminder of this division. Maybe we should become more aware of dark and light in all areas of our life. And the signs they invoke. Out of chaos comes order.

The symbolism of going to sleep, the darkness, like death, and the morning, is the awakening, resurrection, light. The Egyptian hypocephalus facsimile shows this process of chaos and darkness of the underworld and the light and immortal life.

Now, I’m just waiting for the time change so we can get off daylight saving time — since it is not really saving time or power.

 

*Updated. Originally published October 2015