The Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments  (Exodus 20:3-17) 

In Matthew 22:36-40 it reads:

36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

 38 This is the first and great commandment.

 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

From these verses we can identify that the Lord said the two “great” commandments were to “love God,” and “love our neighbors,” and “all” other commandments fall under these two “great” commandments. The list of the Ten Commandments is part of these two “great” commandments and fall under them as follows:

“love God”	“love neighbor”
“Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3).	“Honour thy father and thy mother” (Exodus 20:12).
“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image” (Exodus 20:4).	“Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13).
“Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain” (Exodus 20:7).	“Thou shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14).
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8).	“Thou shalt not steal” (Exodus 20:15).
	“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour” (Exodus 20:16).
	“Thou shalt not covet” (Exodus 20:17).

We can clearly see how the commandments the Lord has given us illustrate the importance of loving Him, and all mankind. By keeping and following the Ten Commandments we are following the Lord’s greatest commandments. Unfortunately, we know and see many of these commandments being broken or disregarded on a daily basis. From the Ten Commandments above, I feel that the most commonly neglected by the world are, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image,” “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain,” “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” These commandments are easily overseen by the world on a day-to-day basis. First, worldly obsessions of any type can be considered false idols, and we must be aware when we are placing these things before God. Second, we hear profanity all around us. The world disregards the commandment of not taking the Lord’s name in vain. We hear so many words that are not only offensive to others, ourselves, but to the Lord as well. This is so damaging to one’s soul. Lastly, the sabbath is not observed, as it should be. We see many working, traveling, playing, shopping, and many other things that are not in accordance with these commandment. It’s so easy to neglect this sabbath and to try and justify, but in reality it is a commandment that we should use this day to rest of worldly things, and to use it to worship, grow spiritually, and closer to the Lord.

If all God’s children kept these three commandments the difference it would make in the world would be enormous. It may not seem so, but when our minds are not focused on seeking worldly things, we will have more time to seek the Lord, and help others. If we all refrained from using vulgar language or profanity of any kind, we will be more blessed, and have a more loving spirit towards others, the Lord, and ourselves as well. Likewise, giving up our Sunday activities to worship, and come closer to the Lord will enlighten our minds, and bless our lives. This can help the many problems that we are seeing on this Earth today. By keeping these commandments we will be more engaged in doing the Lord’s work, and blessed for loving him, and those around us as well as we are commanded to do.  

A Contrast in Choices

 This week in Genesis 13-14, 19, we learn of Lot and Abraham's distinct choices, and what transpired because of them. 

First off, Lot’s choices:

•                      Lot was given the opportunity to choose where to live. In Genesis 13 verses 10-11, we learn that Lot chose to live in the plains of Jordan, near the land of Sodom. Now this was an interesting choice because the land of Sodom was known for having extremely wicked people, but Lot still decided to live near it. He was enticed by the beauty of the plains of Jordan, and how much water the land had. So ultimately, Lot chose what he though was the best land.

•                      At first we read that Lot lived “in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom” (Genesis 13:12), and later lived in Sodom itself (Genesis 14:12). Why would he pitch his tent “toward Sodom” being that it is a perverted city? In 2 Nephi 28: 7-9, it helps us understand why Lot would choose to pitch his tent facing Sodom. These verses state basically the idea of enjoying life to the fullest and having fun committing a “little sin,” since we will die, and God will pat us on the hand and forgive us, and we can still return to live with Him. This is the mentality that Lot had when he decided he would live near this wicked city.

•                      In Genesis 19: 2-11, we read that Lot offered his daughters to the wicked Sodomites in order to protect the men that were in his house.  The Joseph Smith Translation, however, teaches Lot refused several times to give them his daughters, to which the men replied, “We will have the men, and thy daughters also.” To fully understand this, we must again take in account the evilness that was occurring in Sodom. The people from Sodom, “had become extremely immoral, engaging in homosexuality and other abuses” (Institute Manual).  Lot refused to give in to the evil desires of the Sodomites.

Abraham’s choices:

•               ·     Abraham chose to give Lot the right chose which land he wanted to reside in. He then took whatever Lot had not picked, so he ended up living in the land of Canaan, and later moved to Hebron (Genesis 13: 7-12, 18). 

•                   When Abraham heard that the kings had captured Lot, he decided to gather his men and go rescue Lot. He ended up bringing back not only his brother Lot, but goods, women, and people (Genesis 14: 13-16). 

•                   In Genesis 14: 21-24, we read that Abraham refused to accept any type of exchange from the king of Sodom, even though Sodom was known for having wealth, abundance of worldly pleasures, and great wickedness. Abraham just did not want anything, not even a "thread" that came from the unrighteous king. Abraham had made a commitment to follow God and by it he was blessed. He didn’t want the king saying Abraham was "rich" because of him. 

So what is the take home message? How can we learn from Lot's and Abrahams contrast choices, and apply them to our lives? There are choices that we make today that are equivalent to pitching our tents “toward Sodom”. We may choose to associate ourselves with bad influences, or choose to commit small sins without thinking that they may have a big influence on us when in reality they do. We start believing that we can walk in this unrighteous path without getting tainted, but as we see with Lot that is not true. Lot lost his family, and many other valuable things because of his poor decisions. We each can learn from Lot’s experience by repenting of our current actions, and choosing to not partake or entertain the wickedness of this world. It is important for us to be more like Abraham and keeping ourselves free from sin, even when evil is all around us. We can be in the world but not of the world if we set our hearts on the things of the Lord and not the things of this world. The Lord will bless us for it, and in return those around us will be blessed also.

A Tower to Reach Heaven

Today's lesson is from Genesis 11:1-9. 

What was the stated purpose of building a tower? 

The stated purposes of building a tower were so that they could reach Heaven, and ultimately make a name for themselves.

Why do you think this angered the Lord?

I believe this angered the Lord because they were “trying” to reach Heaven in a way different that what the Lord has taught us. There is only one way we will make it to Heaven and that is through our Redeemer and Savior Jesus Christ. 

What did God do to scatter the people?

God decided to confuse the languages so that the people couldn’t really understand each other and communicate. He then went onto scattering the people for defiling and disbelieving in Him. 

How did the Jaredites from the Book of Mormon fit into this story? 

The Jaredites were righteous people who lived during the construction of the tower. They didn’t want their language to be confounded. Jared, knowing that his brother was a man of the Lord, asked him to pray to God on behalf of their families that they may be spared and not have their language confused so that they may be able to understand and communicate with each other. The Lord granted their desire by not confounding their language. Jared then asked his brother to plea to the Lord on behalf of their friends and their friend’s families that their language may not be confounded either. The Lord answered their prayer by not confounding their language. Then Jared knowing that they would be scattered, had his brother ask the Lord if they were going to have to move, and if so, where to. The Lord answered Jared’s brother by telling him to go and gather all of his family, friends, seeds of every kind, and his flocks, both male and female, and that he would guide them to a “land which is choice above all the lands of the earth.” The Lord blessed them for believing in him and praying unto him.

So what does this teach us? How can we receive a name for ourselves today?

This story clearly tells us that there is no other way to Heaven, except it be through the Lord and our Redeemer Jesus Christ. Sometimes we may be tempted to think that we can do it all ourselves. We rely on our own abilities and forget to counsel with the Lord and seek his strength. Sometimes we don't even want to rely on our families or friends. The Lord has told us that in order to return to live with Him, we must be baptized and make covenants with Him. We must take upon ourselves the name of Christ, which is the only name that will set us free and save us. To take the name of Christ upon us we must live righteous lives, and be obedient. We must be good examples, and seek to love and help our families, friends, and those around us. He will bless us with a "choice" spot next to Him in his kingdom if we do these things from here on out, "until the end of [our] lives".  I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

Additional Scriptures:

Helaman 6:28

Ether 1:3-4

Ether 1:33-43

Acts 4:12

Mosiah 3:17, 5:7-15

Doctrine and Covenants 18:21-25