Why study the 10
Commandments?
D&C 130:20-21 would be one
good reason!
Exodus 20
“The most important of all the
commandments of God is that one that
you’re having the most difficulty keeping
today. If it’s one of dishonesty, if it’s one
of unchastity, if it’s one of falsifying, not
telling the truth, today is the day for you
to work on that until you’ve been able to
conquer that weakness. Then you start
on the next one that’s most difficult for
you to keep” (Church News, 5 May 1973,
3).
Perhaps the greatest indication of
the importance of the Ten
Commandments is that they are
found in three of the four
standard works of the Church.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Mosiah 13:12-24
Deuteronomy 5:6-21
D&C 42:18-29; 59:5-9
Matthew 5:17-37
These sixty-seven words can be read in less than
thirty seconds, and yet if they were followed, they
would quickly transform our earth into God’s paradise.
But we not only disobey these important laws; many
people don’t even know what they are. One man
once said to his friend, ‘I will give you five dollars if
you can repeat any one of the Ten Commandments.’
His friend accepted the challenge and proceeded to
demonstrate his knowledge by saying, ‘Now I lay me
down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I
should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to
take.’ His friend said, ‘Here’s the money. I didn’t
think that you could do it’” (Sterling W. Sill, “Thou
Shalt Not,” Ensign, Dec. 1971, 93).
These Commandments Show Man The
Three Great Priorities Of Our Life:
1.
The first four commandments show him his proper
relationship to God.
2.
The fifth commandment establishes the importance of the
family and proper family relationships.
3.
The last five commandments regulate man’s
relationships with his fellowmen.
A man who has committed himself to the perfecting of his
relationships with God, family, and fellowmen is well on his way
to perfection in all things.
“Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods
Before Me” (#1)
This commandment gives mankind their first
priority in life. If God is not first, then all other
things are affected.
God will not favor us if we put him in second
place in our lives and if we follow worldly things
regardless of what they may be.
We must have an eye single to the glory of
God.
God is the fountain of happiness,
and no intelligent creature can be
happy but through him….The very
first commandment of the whole
series is divinely calculated to
prevent man’s misery and promote
his happiness, by taking him to
God himself, the fountain of all
good (Clarke, Bible Commentary,
1:402-3).
“Thou Shalt Not Make unto Thee Any
Graven Image” (#2)
“Modern idols or false gods can take such
forms as clothes, homes, businesses, machines,
automobiles, pleasure boats, and numerous
other material deflectors from the path to
godhood.
Brigham Young said I would as soon see a man
worshipping a little god made of brass or of
wood as to see him worshipping his property
(JD, 6:196).
Degrees and titles can become idols.
Some neglect Church service through their college
years, feeling to give preference to the secular
training and ignoring the spiritual covenants they have
made.
Many people build and furnish a home and buy the
automobile first – then find they “cannot afford” to
pay tithing.
Young married couples who postpone parenthood
until their degrees are attained might be shocked if
their expressed preference were labeled idolatry.
Many worship the hunt, the fishing trip, the
vacation, the weekend picnics and outings.
Others have as their idols the games of sport,
baseball, football, the bullfight, or golf.
Still another image men worship is that of
power and prestige.
These Gods of power, wealth, and influence are
most demanding and are quite as real as the
golden calves of the children of Israel in the
wilderness (Miracle of Forgiveness, 40-42).
What Is Wrong With Searching For “Many
Riches?”
President Brigham Young said, “The worst fear I have about
this people is that they will get rich in this country, forget God
and his people, wax fat, and kick themselves out of the Church
and go to hell. This people will stand mobbing, robbing,
poverty, and all manner of persecution, and be true. But my
greater fear for them is that they cannot stand wealth”
(Brigham Young, cited in Preston Nibley, Brigham Young, 12728).
I Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some
coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced
themselves through with many sorrows.
“Thou Shalt Not Take the Name of the
Lord Thy God in Vain” (#3)
It is implied that His children must have a deep and reverential
attitude about God and his name.
This precept not only forbids all false oaths, but all common
swearing where the name of God is used, or where he is
appealed to as a witness of the truth.
It is difficult to understand how a person may truly and
sincerely approach God in prayer, seeking a blessing at his
hand, at the same time be so disrespectful as to take his name
in vain.
Profanity is incompatible with reverence.
“Remember the Sabbath Day” (#4)
The commandment is to labor six days and rest the seventh.
The Hebrew word Shabbat means “rest,” or cessation of labor.”
Under the Mosaic dispensation, the violation of the Sabbath
was a capital crime.
The death penalties attached to the violation of the Sabbath in
the Old Testament era convey two very obvious assumptions:
First:
the Sabbath is so important that the violation
of it is a capital offense.
Second:
that the violation of the Sabbath laws
involved a kind of death in and of itself.
Concerning the Sabbath, the Star offered
this advice:
“The Lord is not well pleased with a disciple
that does any thing on that holy day that
should be done on a laboring day. Nor should
a disciple go to meeting one Sabbath here, and
another there; let all that can, be strict to
attend meeting in their own place….Neither
should the children be allowed to slip off and
play, rather than meet where they may be
trained up in the way they should go to be
saved (The Star, 1832, 5).
Doctrine and Covenants 59:6
Anything like unto it!
Sabbath Day
— Holy Day or
Holiday?
Look at what you can do, not what
you can’t.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow0lr63y4Mw&feature=related
Anciently, a sacrament was a ceremony in which a
soldier swore an oath of allegiance to his king.
So it is in the realm of spiritual things; a sacrament is
a ceremony associated with a covenant in which we
pledge loyalty to Christ and the standards of the
gospel.
Thus a sacrament is a formal expression of
commitment and loyalty to our divinely sent King.
Not one Sabbath day should pass without
making the wrongs of the week right.
Most sins would not be grievous, if attended to
immediately.
“There is,” said David O. McKay, “no more sacred ordinance
administered in the Church of Jesus Christ than the
administration of the Sacrament.”
Doctrine and Covenants 59:9
“The true test!”
The true test is here given.
That which keeps us “unspotted from the world” is in harmony
with the law of the Sabbath; that which does not so distinguish
us is not in harmony with the spirit of the day.
Our dress, our speech, and our behavior on this day should
be such that it attests that we are a covenant people
who love and honor the Lord.
Anything less than this is less than the standard which ought to
be ours.
“I mention the Sabbath Day”
The Sabbath of the Lord is becoming the play day of
the people. It is a day of golf and football on
television, of buying and selling in our stores and
markets.
Are we moving to mainstream America as some
observers believe? In this I fear we are. What a telling
thing it is to see the parking lots of the markets filled
on Sunday in communities that are predominately
LDS.
Our strength for the future, our resolution to grow the
Church across the world, will be weakened if we
violate the will of the Lord in this important matter.
Homework on Sunday?
“Over a lifetime of observation, it is clear to me that the farmer
who observes the Sabbath day seems to get more done on his
farm than he would if he worked seven days. The mechanic
will be able to turn out more and better products in six days
than in seven. The doctor, the lawyer, the dentist, the scientist
will accomplish more by trying to rest on the Sabbath than if he
tries to utilize every day of the week for his professional work.
I would counsel all students, if they can, to arrange their
schedules so that they do not study on the Sabbath. If
students and other seekers after truth will do this, their minds
will be quickened and the infinite Spirit will lead them to the
verities they wish to learn. This is because God has hallowed
his day and blessed it as a perpetual covenant of faithfulness
(Elder James E. Faust, Ensign, Nov. 1991, 34). (Exodus 31:16)
Doctrine and Covenants 59:12
Isaiah 58:13-14
Oblations – in the highest sense giving full devotion to
the Lord of offering him a broken heart and contrite
spirit (M.D., 541-42).
Doctrine and Covenants 59:13-14
Why fast?
(Isaiah 58:5-11)
Fasting without prayer is hardly more than a period of
irritating hunger. With prayer it is spiritual strength
and hunger.
Doctrine and Covenants 59:13
“Fasting may be perfect”
Let it be remembered that the observance of the fast day by
abstaining twenty-four hours from food and drink is not an
absolute rule, it is no ironclad law to us, but it is left with the
people as a matter of conscience, to exercise wisdom and
discretion.
Many are subject to weakness, others are delicate in health,
and others having nursing babies; of such it should not be
required to fast.
Neither should parents compel their little children to fast.
(Gospel Doctrine, 243-44, President Joseph F. Smith).


Toward the end of the century, economic changes in the
working world made it difficult to attend a daytime Thursday
fast meeting. In 1896 Hyrum M. Smith, then a missionary in
England, wrote to his father, President Joseph F. Smith, then
second counselor in the First Presidency, about the difficulty
members faced getting excused from their jobs to attend
Thursday fast meetings. Workers had no paid leave, and “when
these came from the pits, they had to go home, bathe, and
change their clothes” (Joseph Fielding Smith, “Prayer and
Fasting,” Improvement Era, Dec. 1956, 895). He asked if
Sunday would be a more appropriate day.
The First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve prayerfully
discussed the question and felt guided to change fast meeting
to the first Sunday of each month. In announcing the change,
President Wilford Woodruff and his counselors said they
recognized the need to make the meeting more accessible to all
members throughout the world. The change became effective
on 6 December 1896.
Each Sabbath is a day of fasting, abstaining from the
things of the world, including the good things of the
world.
The Sabbath is a day to refrain from worldly activities
regardless of how wholesome they may be.
To justify participating in worldly activities on the
Sabbath because they are good activities is to have an
imperfect fast.
“Not with much laughter, for this is sin.”
Activities that lead to excessive laughter are not
appropriate on the Sabbath (Galatians 5:22-23, D&C
88:69, D&C 88:121).
Fasting is sometimes thought of as going without food and
drink. Smith and Sjodahl pointed out “upon the Sabbath, even
the food should be prepared ‘with singleness of heart’; that is
to say, in simplicity.”
Our hearts our desires, on that day, would not be elaborate
feast, whereby some are prevented from having a Sabbath.
A simple meal should suffice. To that extent every Sabbath
should be a fast day, one bringing perfect joy.
“Let thy food be prepared with singleness of heart”
This is not a commandment precluding nice meals on the Lord’s
day, but rather that those that prepare meals and those that
receive of the bounty of the Lord recognize the hand from
whom all blessings flow.
Doctrine and Covenants 59:12
Isaiah 58:13-14
Oblations – in the highest sense giving full devotion to
the Lord of offering him a broken heart and contrite
spirit (M.D., 541-42).
Doctrine and Covenants 59:13-14
Why fast?
(Isaiah 58:5-11)
Fasting without prayer is hardly more than a period of
irritating hunger. With prayer it is spiritual strength
and hunger.
“Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother”
(#5)
When parents are righteous, God-fearing people, children have little
problem understanding the commandment to honor them, although they
may have difficulty doing it.
Anytime a child lives righteously he brings honor to his parents, whether
those parents are themselves righteous or wicked. The opposite is also
true. Anytime a child lives wickedly he brings shame to his parents,
whether or not the parents are righteous.
A parent may fail miserably in their calling, even to the point where a child
cannot follow their example. The child still has the obligation to honor the
parent because of the parent’s standing as a representative of God.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie stated this principle as follows:
“Children come into mortality with the inborn requirement, planted in their
souls by that very Being who gave them birth as spirits, to honor their
parents and to obey their counsel in righteousness” (DNTC, 2:521).
“That
Thy Days May Be Long”
“Paul interprets the promise as a personal one.
Obedient and faithful children are to have long
lives upon the earth. That is, in the generality
of instances, temporal life is prolonged by
obedience to gospel laws; but, more
particularly and in the ultimate sense, those
who are god-fearing and righteous – meaning
the meek – shall live upon the earth again in its
final or celestial state” (D&C 86:16-20, DNTC,
2:521-22).
“Thou Shalt Not Kill” (6)
It is in the same category as the rebellion
of Satan and his hosts and therefore it
would not be surprising if the penalties to
be imposed upon a murderer were to be
of similar character as the penalties meted
out to those spirits which were cast out of
heaven with Satan (Harold B. Lee in “The
Sixth Commandment,” Part 1, The Ten
Commandments Today, 88).
“Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery” (#7)
There should be no sex relationships outside of marriage.
D&C 42:24
Thou shalt not commit adultery; and he that committeth
adultery, and repenteth not, shall be cast out.
But he that has committed adultery and repents with all his
heart, and forsaketh it, and doeth it no more, thou shalt
forgive.
But if he doeth it again, he shall not be forgiven, but shall be
cast out.
D&C 59:6
“Nor do anything like unto it”
As dramatic as the brave
passage through the Red Sea
was, those in our time who
make their way through a sea of
filth and still keep the seventh
commandment will be even
more victorious and deserving of
praise (Neal A. Maxwell, That Ye
May Believe, 125).
“Thou Shalt Not Steal” (#8)
When a man seeks to reap the benefits of
another’s labor without adequate
compensation, it is theft.
To all thieveries and dishonest acts, the Lord
says, “Thou shalt not steal.”
“Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness”
(#9)
To bear witness is to testify to or to pass along
reports, insinuations, speculations, or rumors
as if they were true, to the hurt of a fellow
human being.
Bearing false witness centers in the destruction
of character or its defamation. It reaches the
ruin of reputation.
“Thou Shalt Not Covet” (#10)
All the commandments are so intertwined that none
can be broken without weakening all the others.
The earth holds plenty for all – and the urge to
acquire for ourselves such good things as other men
have is a productive quality of character – provided
that we acquire them by honest effort, by lawful
means, and by keeping life well-balanced.
The danger comes when mere “things” begin to
matter too much (Richard L. Evans, in “The Tenth
Commandment,” Part 1, The Ten Commandments
Today, 142-44).
The Ten Commandments Now!
Commandment
1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy
God in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
5. Honor thy Father and Mother.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness
10.Thou shalt not covet
Now:
D&C 76:1-4
D&C 1:15-16
D&C 63:61-62
D&C
D&C
D&C
D&C
D&C
D&C
D&C
59:9-13
27:9
42:18-19, 79
42:22-26, 74-81
42:20, 84-85
42:21, 27, 86
19:25-26
The Prophet Joseph Smith said:
“Happiness is the object and design of our
existence; and will be the end thereof, if we
pursue the path that leads to it; and this path
is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness,
and keeping all the commandments of God.
But we cannot keep all the commandments
without first knowing them, and we cannot
expect to know all, or more than we now know
unless we comply with or keep those we have
already received. That which is wrong under
one circumstance, may be, and often is, right
under another” (Teachings, 255-56).
Doctrine and Covenants 59:5-9
“The New 10 Commandments”
This revelation not only re-establishes the law of the
Sabbath for this dispensation but also reinstates the
Decalogue, affirming that the Ten Commandments as
given to Moses on Sinai were part to the higher law
rather than the law of carnal commandments.
As given in this dispensation, these
commandments are as follows:
1. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart, with all thy might, mind, and strength.
2. In the name of Jesus Christ thou shalt serve
him.
3. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
4. Thou shalt not steal.
5. Neither commit adultery.
6. Nor kill.
7. Nor do anything like unto it.
8. Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all
things.
9. Thou shalt offer a sacrifice unto the Lord thy
God in righteousness, even that of a broken
heart and a contrite spirit.
10. And that thou mayest more fully keep thy self
unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to
the house of prayer and offer up thy
sacraments upon my holy day.