The Sixth Commandment

 In Exodus 20:13 we read "Thou shalt not kill."

It seems that this would be the easiest commandment to keep as, morally, we know killing is not a righteous behavior. Even the law of the land, most lands, punishes murderers.
However, every day, we hear of gratuitous killings: some are perpetrated in the name of religion, some because of greed, pride, selfishness, others because of overzealousness in defending oneself, others for no other reason than to prove we can do it, and the list can go on.

Why has our Father in Heaven given us the commandment "Thou shalt not kill?"

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we believe that, before coming to earth, we lived with our Father in Heaven. There, we discussed the plan to come to earth that we might receive a body, grow, learn, and return home to Him because of the choices we would make.

The key word is "choose." He wanted to give us the choice of what we would do, what we would believe in, what destiny we would create for ourselves. 
During this premortal discussion, there was one, Satan, who wanted to take away the possibility of choosing for ourselves. He wanted to just give us one road to follow, so that we would not go astray and be guaranteed a safe return to our heavenly home.
Heavenly Father and two thirds of His spirit children (all of us who came to earth) did not agree. We wanted the freedom to choose. Because of his rebellion, Satan was banished from His presence, along with his followers. 

Life is a gift, and it is sacred, just as the ability to choose is an equally sacred gift. 

Back to the question about the sixth commandment.
When a person is killed, his/her earthly life ends and so is the possibility of this person to grow, learn, and choose to return home to our Father in Heaven. 

President Harold B. Lee explained: "One of the most serious of all sins and crimes against the Lord's plan of salvation is the sin of murder or the destruction of human life. It seems clear that to be guilty of destroying life is the act of 'rebellion' against the plan of the Almighty by denying an individual ... the privilege of a full experience in this earth-school of opportunity ..." (The Sixth Commandment, Part 1, The Ten Commandments Today, p 88.)

Every person that has ever lived, is living, and will live on this earth sided with our Heavenly Father and our Savior when they presented this plan.

If we could just remember this, perhaps we would try a little harder to follow Them and, perhaps, we would treat life with more respect and with the sacredness it deserves. 

The Fifth Commandment

We are halfway through the Ten Commandments.

The fifth one is found in Exodus 20:12 
"Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee."

So far, the commandments we have been given have just been that: a command to do or not do something. 
This commandment is the first that comes with a blessing. 

But let's first see what honoring our parents means. Actually, let's first see who "thy father and thy mother" are.

Before we came to earth, we lived with all the other spirits and our Heavenly parents. There are multiple scriptures that testify we existed with God before we came to earth. The first one that comes to mind is in the Old Testament: Job 38:4–7
"4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"

During that premortal time, we decided that we were going to come to earth, show our willingness to walk by faith and follow His commandments and then, by doing so, return back to Him. Not all wanted this. Lucifer wanted all to be "forced" to do good so that we all would return back home, and he wanted His glory. One third of our spiritual brothers and sisters sided with him and all of them were banished from His presence. But I digress.

The fact that you are here on earth reading this means that you too accepted this plan, our Savior's plan. 

And here come our earthly parents. They are the ones who gave us the physical body we needed to be on this planet. Now, not everyone has been able to keep this family unit "intact." Some of us became orphans; some of us were raised by only one parent; some of us never even knew our parents and were raised by other individuals, although our biological parents were still around.
Whatever our family circumstances, we all had an adult, or more than one adult, help us grow, develop, and learn. These adults became our fathers and/or mothers.

Now that we have talked about our spiritual and earthly parentage, let's talk about ways we can show honor to them.

Our spiritual Father has explained to us the way we Honor Him. When we keep His commandments, we Honor Him. It is not always easy. We all make mistakes, even when we have the best of intentions. But He does not give up on us. He is always there with His hand stretched out to help us. As long as we truly repent and try our best, we honor Him. 

Our earthly parents, biological or not, didn't come with instructions. So, how do we honor them? 
Some of us have experienced heartaches and abuse by their hands. Are we still required to honor them?

I am not here to judge them, nor am I here to tell you what you must do for them and how you must feel towards them. The one thing I know, and I can suggest, is for you to turn to our Savior and ask Him to guide you and direct you in your own circumstances. This suggestion goes for all types of parent/child relationships. 
For example: one way to honor would be to care for them in their late years instead of taking them to a nursing home. However, your circumstances may be such that this is an impossible task, either because of finances or because the parent needs a level of care that cannot be given in a regular home. 
Bottom line is that you need to decide, with the help of our Savior, in what ways you can honor your earthly parents. 

Now to the blessing: "...that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee."
No, this does not mean that if we honor them, we will be immortal on this earth. I wish it were that way; I have so much I still need to learn that, honestly, one lifetime is not enough.

So, if earthly immortality is not the promise, what does this mean, especially knowing that there are many children who die very young?
Well, I feel that we all have a certain time to spend here on earth. We don't know our return date, but He does. To me, this promise means that if I honor my parents, I will be able to live whatever days I have on this earth to their fullest and receive all the blessings that are tied to each commandment I obey. 

It is not always easy to follow the fifth commandment. Sometimes, our parents do things that hurt us, and we find it impossible to love them and honor them. This is when we need our Savior even more. He knows how to succor us, heal us, and help us obey even those commandments that seem impossible to obey. 

The Fourth Commandment

 In the KJV (King James' Version) of the Bible, Exodus 20: 8-11, we read:

8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

The part we memorize is verse 8: Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Then follow the reasons given for this commandment. 

Verse 10 tells us the things we should refrain from doing in order to keep the day holy.

I feel that these "do nots" were given because the Lord knew we needed to rest and recover from the labors of the week. We needed a day to recover not only physically, but also spiritually. 

So, we have read what we should refrain from doing on the Sabbath day, but what about the things that we should do? What are the things that lift us and feed us spiritually?
The answer is simple: we should do anything that brings us closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ, and we do this when we follow His example.

When we participate in our worship services, visit the sick and the lonely, study the scriptures, comfort someone in need of comfort, we are going to fill our spiritual vessel; we are coming closer to our Savior.

After all, in Matthew 25: 35-40, we read:

35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Now, are these things to be done only on the Sabbath? No, of course not. We should strive to serve others every day. However, these are things that we could incorporate in the day set aside by the Lord to help us physically and spiritually. These are things that can help us "remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy."

What things do you like to do to obey the fourth commandment?

A Mess of Pottage - Genesis 25

I know I said I was going to talk about the commandments for the next few Sundays, but today I heard a talk in Sacrament Meeting that really touched my heart and made me think. In a way, this post does connect to the commandments, as you will see.

In Genesis 25:23-31, we read of the story of Esau and Jacob. Esau was the firstborn and thus he had the birthright which, at the passing of the father, meant he would inherit most of the father's possessions and the duty to care for the family. 

In the scriptural account, Esau returned from his hunting expedition and was famished. His brother Jacob had just cooked some pottage (whether it was stew or lentils or something else is not important to know) and Esau asked for a plate. Jacob agreed in exchange for Esau's birthright. Esau figured that if he was not going to eat, he was going to die and, therefore, the birthright would not do him any good anyway.

In the talk, Monica explained that the mess of pottage represented the immediate gratification and what lost Esau his birthright. She then posed the question: "what is your mess of pottage?"

In today's world there are many "mess of pottage." There is greed, lust, covetousness, evil speaking against others, so on and so forth. If you look at the commandments, all these "mess of pottage" are mentioned. See? I did say this post was going to connect to the commandments. 

So now, I am going to ask the same question, "what is the thing, or things, that take precedence over following Christ and His teachings?
What is (or are) your "mess of pottage?"
What thing(s) do you choose for instant gratification over the final reward, which is life eternal after following God's plan for you?
Are you going to be like Esau and give up your blessings and responsibilities for something that is of secondary importance, or are you going to follow the Savior?
Do you, like Esau, think that if you do not gratify yourself with your "mess of pottage," you are going to die?

I challenge each of us to look at what we daily choose and evaluate if our choice brings us closer to our Lord and Savior, even Jesus Christ, or if it takes us farther away from Him.

Please, Don't trade your birthright for anything!

Next Sunday, I will resume with the commandments. I wish all a great week.

The Third Commandment

 Exodus 20:7 gives us the third commandment: "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain."

If we truly believe in Him, we will display a reverent attitude towards Him and anything that belongs to Him, including His name. What belongs to Him? EVERYTHING! I feel that the only thing that belongs to us is our agency. 

Having said that, to me, this commandment means that we should show respect towards Him, His name, His attributes. It means that we should not use His name and anything else that describes Him in a profane way, not even in a joke that is meant to be funny.
How many of us are guilty of using His name in a derogatory way when angered? And sometimes not even when angered, but just out of apathy or ignorance and without giving it a second thought? How many of us are guilty of speaking of Him lightheartedly? 

These questions bring the following questions: how can we profess to believe in Him and pray to Him, when we use His name in vain? How can we call upon His name to help us and a moment later show Him disrespect?

Elder LeGrand Richards shared the following, in "The Third Commandment", The Ten Commandments Today: "Profanity is incompatible with reverence. Surely at this critical time in our nation's history, when we need the sustaining help of God, we should see that we do not offend him by reason of our language."

Elder Richards passed away in 1983. I am not sure when he wrote the above-mentioned work, but it was at least 42 years ago. Isn't his statement just as valid today?

So now I am going to ask ourselves a few last questions to ponder upon:
In what other ways do we take His name in vain?
What things can we start doing (or stop doing) to follow this commandment?
How are we going to use our agency in regard to this commandment?

Each question has multiple answers. It is up to each and every one of us to discover them and apply them in our lives. 

The Second Commandment

 The shortened version, the one most of us memorize, says, " Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image"

The full text says, "4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me: 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments." (Exodus 20:4-6)

Phew...that was a long one. What does all this mean? Is He only talking about something like the golden calf of the Israelites? Or does this go deeper? 

I believe it goes deeper. In today's world, many of us take time away from our Heavenly Father and our Savior and direct it to a myriad of other things: career, money, fame, personal body image, possessions, ... 

In Deuteronomy 6:5 we read, "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." Yet, when we take our worldly pursuit to an extreme, we enlist all our heart, soul, and might, to reach those "idols". In short, we are worshipping any likeness of anything "that is in the earth beneath" and moving away from God. 

Do we want to be so involved with pursuing and worshipping our worldly achievements that we put aside our pursuit of a relationship with our Heavenly Father and with our Savior? 

All of our worldly pursuits will have an end, but our relationship with our Heavenly Father and with our Savior will stand and continue through the eternities. In Matthew 6:19-21 the Savior tells us (and I paraphrase) to not accumulate things here on earth but to "lay up for [ourselves] treasures in heaven... for where [our] treasure is, there will [our] heart be also."

What takes up all of your heart, soul, and mind?

The First Commandment

 In Exodus chapter 20, the Lord reveals to Moses the Ten Commandments that the children of Israel were to follow. 

The first commandment is "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:3)

What does this mean? And why did God give us this commandment?

To me, this means that I am to love Him and serve Him the very best way I can. 
In Deuteronomy 6:5 it says, "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." 

Why does He give us this commandment? Does He really need us and our love and service?
I believe that NO, He does not need us, but we need Him.
Each and every single person that has lived, is living, and will yet live upon this earth is His child and He wants us to have joy.
To help us, He has given us the commandments. All He has done, does, and will do in the future is for our benefit, our growth and progression, that we might return to His presence. 
Thinking again about this first commandment, when we choose to love and serve Him, our hearts change. We find that we no longer have disposition to think or act in opposition to His commandments, and to the directions He gives us.
And when we follow Him, with all our heart, soul, and might, we will be able to return to His presence.

I am not perfect. I am far from perfect, and I think I have made this statement before.
However, I also know that because of Him, and His commandments, my heart has changed and is changing. My desire to have Him as my God has increased. My desires to follow Him and serve Him, by serving others, have increased.

Will you join me in renewing our commitment to love Him and serve Him?