Topic: Laws and Commandments

Romans 13:9-10 > Matthew 22:36-40 > Galatians 5:14 > John 14:15 > Moses 1:39 > Psalms 19:7-8 > Doctrine and Covenants 89 > Doctrine and Covenants 41:5 > Deuteronomy 12:32 > Doctrine and Covenants 29:35 > 1 Nephi 3:7 > Doctrine and Covenants 58:26-27 > Psalms 119:165-168 > Proverbs 4:4 > Proverbs 6:23 > Proverbs 19:16 > Proverbs 13:13-14 > Proverbs 29:18 > Mosiah 2:22 > Mark 10:17-22 > The Acts 2:44; 4:32-37 > Alma 39:12 > Matthew 28:19-20 > 1 Nephi 3:4 > 1 Nephi 7:2 > Isaiah 51:4, 7 > John 13:34 > Galatians 6:2 > Mosiah 18:8-10 > Doctrine and Covenants 119:4-5 > Malachi 3:8-12 > Doctrine and Covenants 64:23 > Doctrine and Covenants 121:41-46 > Mark 7:7-9; 8:15

What is a law? A law is the entire body of rules. For example, we often talk about the Laws of Nature. Laws of Nature are factual truths; we know that water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit and freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Laws of Nature are true every time and every place in the universe. We cannot expect to violate a Law of Nature and get away with no consequences. That is just the way it is. I cannot expect to jump into the air and not have gravity pull me back to earth. A man cannot fly nor live without oxygen. If we do not live in harmony with these natural laws then we will suffer the consequences.

God has given us laws to live by. Anciently God gave His people a law to live by it was called the Law of Moses. Within this law were 10 commandments. When Christ was born upon the earth and as He fulfilled His mission, He fulfilled the Law of Moses and instituted what we call the Law of the Gospel. There are many laws within the over arching Gospel Law; for example, the Law of Tithing, the Law of the Fast, the Law of Works, the Law of Faith, the Law of Grace and so forth. Associated with each of these laws are commandments. We might liken these commandments to rules that parents give their children to help them live in harmony with the Laws of Nature. For example, with the Law of Gravity, a parent would teach a child not to climb up a high object. Other rules parents may have might be, “Don’t touch the fire”, or “Don’t play in a pool of water without a parent to supervise”. So the rules parents give their children assist them in learning to live in accordance with law. They are taught that breaking the rule may cause serious injury or death. Sometimes children learn the hard way, they learn that there are consequences in breaking rules; eventually most of us learn to live in harmony with law. So it is with the Laws of God.

The commandments that God gives us are designed to protect us from the harm that comes by violating the law. They are also given to make it possible for us to receive blessings that come from obeying the law. The harm that comes from violating God’s law may not be physical harm or physical death, but rather Spiritual harm or Spiritual Death, which brings unhappiness and misery. The blessings that come by obeying God’s laws bring Spiritual Life, which brings joy, happiness, peace and love. Obeying the commandments of God brings order to life.

Let’s examine Romans chapter 13 verses 9 and 10; Paul gives a brief review of several commandments and then ties them directly to the commandment to love thy neighbor as thy self. He teaches us that the 10 commandments will be well kept if we love each other; if we love each other, we will fulfill the law, meaning the Gospel Law. The teaching of Paul was learned from Jesus in Matthew chapter 22 verses 36 through 40: Here Jesus teaches that all the commandments and all law rest on the commandment to love, which if we do we will learn to live in harmony with the Law of the Gospel. This fact is also taught by Paul in Galatians chapter 5 verse 14; love is so important, we could state this as the “Law of Love”.  No wonder that Christ states in John chapter 14 verse 15 that if we love Him, we will do as He commands. Can we reverse this and state, “God loved us so He gave us commandments”. Yes! These commandments were given to us by a loving Heavenly Father; He desires to bring to pass our immortality and eternal life. See Moses chapter 1 verse 39. What greater love can He show us than to make it possible for us to receive such a gift as immortality and eternal life.

We have learned thus far a few of the purposes of commandments and why we need to keep them. Psalms chapter 19 verses 7 and 8 gives us a wonderful piece of instruction and a few more excellent purposes of commandments; 1. The commandments are perfect, 2. They convert the soul, 3. They are sure, 4. They turn the simple among us into people of wisdom, 5. They are right, 6. Commandments make our hearts rejoice, 7. They are pure and enlighten our eyes. The commandments are perfect! Does that instill confidence in our hearts? It most assuredly does! We can trust them completely and know that we will be blessed as we keep them. Not one of them will ever hurt us. All the commandments of God are given to help us in some way or another. If we keep them they will convert us to the truths of God. We can be sure they will fulfill their intended purposes. Also, as we keep them, we will learn great truths and as we apply them, we will become wise. They are always right; we can trust completely that if we keep them we will be blessed. Many times, listed with the commandments, are the promised blessings that will come to us. Those who accept the commandments and keep them will do so with rejoicing for they know they are a source of tremendous blessings. Section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants is a perfect example of this truth. Finally, as we struggle from day-to-day in our efforts to keep them, we will be purified.

As we make the study of scripture a daily habit, we will continue to learn greater principles and truths about laws and commandments. We grow to learn how commandments are a blessing in our lives and that God gives them to us because He loves us. In Doctrine and Covenants section 41 verse 5, we learn that commandments define who and who is not a disciple of Christ. Disciples will keep the commandments of God. In Deuteronomy chapter 12 verse 32, we learn that commandments are not to be added to or subtracted from. Remember, as they come from God, they are perfect and right. In the Doctrine and Covenants section 29 verse 35, we learn that the commandments or the laws of God make us agents unto ourselves, He gives them to us and expects obedience, but we can choose not to obey; we have our agency. We also learn that all commandments are spiritual, meaning that they are designed to bless us spiritually and not just temporally, though many do that too. In 1 Nephi chapter 3 verse 7, we learn that God gives no commandments that we cannot keep. God will prepare a way for us to keep all His commandments. Remembering the grace of God, we remember that through His grace we can receive the strength to keep them. The fulfillment of this promise will bring us treasures of wisdom, testimony, enlightenment, purity and greater faith and trust in God. In the Doctrine and Covenants section 58 verses 26 and 27, we learn that the commandments lead us to do good, therefore God does not need to command us in all things. Rather, He expects us to be anxiously engaged in doing good, letting the commandments train us to learn to live within the law and to be a guide unto us. He cannot command us in all things; this would rob us of our agency, keeping us from doing good by our own free will and choice. Therefore, the commandments lead, guide and nurture us into learning to do good, to act within the law by our own desires, free will and choice; this is exactly what we need to learn to become like God. In Psalms chapter 119 verses 165 through 168, we learn that we can love the commandments of God; they will never offend a true disciple.

Next, we read some choice pieces of wisdom from the Proverbs. In Proverbs chapter 4 verse 4, chapter 6 verse 23, chapter 19 verse 16, chapter 13 verses 13 and 14, chapter 28 verse 18 and chapter 29 verse 18, we learn the following truths: Life and wisdom is obtained by keeping the commandments. Commandments are the lamp and the law is the light. Commandments keep us from evil, sin and unhappiness. Keeping the commandments will save your soul from spiritual death. We need to chasten those of our family who do not keep the commandments. When we reverence the commandments, we are rewarded with spiritual life. Keeping the commandments will bring salvation and happiness.

What, then, does the Lord require of us? Mosiah chapter 2 verse 22 has the answer: Keep His commandments! Let’s examine a few of the commandments other than the 10 commandments, which we have already discussed. These are divided into personal and general commandments; personal being those given to an individual and general being those given to all.

First, let’s examine commandments given to individuals or a confined group of people. In Mark chapter 10 verses 17 through 22, we see an excellent example of this. A rich man came running to Jesus asking what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus repeats a few of the 10 commandments, but the rich man replies saying that he has always kept these since his youth. Jesus, therefore, first tells the man that He loves him; then He says that there is yet one thing he needs to do, “Go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven:”.  Even though this commandment is given to a single individual, it is in harmony with the Law of Consecration as outlined in The Acts chapter 2 verse 44 and chapter 4 verses 32 through 37 and contains significant instruction to all of us. Jesus gives us commandments because He loves us, not to bind us down or restrict us in the enjoyment of life. He loved this young man so much that He wanted Him to be with Him in His kingdom. He knew that this young man had kept the commandments all his life, but yet he lacked one thing and that was to learn to sacrifice, to put the kingdom of God first. He needed to learn for himself that which is most important to him: His riches or his salvation. We learn that the commandments are for us, to perfect us, protect us and to guide us back to God. We also learn that all of God’s commandments, whether given to one or all, are always in harmony with His laws and that commandments support the law.

The next verse of scripture to examine is found in Alma chapter 39 verse 12. Alma was a leader among his people, the Nephites. Here he repeats, to his son, a commandment given by the Lord telling him to command his children to do good. The Lord knows the power of example, whether it be good or bad. He wants those who are in the public eye to be good examples of His gospel. Therefore, God gives a personal commandment to Alma concerning his sons. Do we remember the example of the sons of the prophet Eli in The First Book of Samuel? This individual commandment is also in harmony with the Law of Good Works and in harmony with the commandment to parents to teach their children.

Our next scripture is found in Matthew chapter 28 verses 19 and 20. Christ, before His ascension into heaven, commands His apostles to go into all the nations of the world, and teach the people and baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. He also instructs them to teach these new converts to keep the commandments. All of us should be willing to share the gospel with family, friends, neighbors, and so on, but these brethren received the commandment to take the Gospel into all the world.

We will next examine 1 Nephi chapter 3 verse 4. Prior to this time in the story, Lehi had been commanded of the Lord to take his family and flee into the wilderness to protect their lives. A few days after they left Jerusalem, the Lord comes to Lehi and commands him to send his sons back to Jerusalem and retrieve some records, what we will come to know as, “The Plates of Brass”. We learn in later chapters that these records contain the record of the seed of Joseph, who was sold into Egypt by his brethren. They are scripture given to his seed. Without these scriptures, Lehi and his family would be without the Word of God, and their seed would eventually lose their knowledge of God and His commandments. A few chapters later in 1 Nephi chapter 7 verse 2, the Lord again comes to Lehi and commands him to send his sons back to Jerusalem a second time, this time to bring back another family. This family is a family of many daughters, which would give Lehi’s sons wives to marry. In these examples, we see how the Lord instructs and commands to bless the one, which will eventually expand to bless an entire nation.

Can you imagine the ramification if these commandments had been ignored by those receiving them? In our first example, the commandment of Jesus to the rich man; it appears that it was ignored. Can he expect to be saved in the kingdom of God while ignoring this important commandment from Jesus, Himself? What about his posterity? Will they follow the example of their father? In the next example, we called upon the story of Alma and his sons. Previously in the story, one of his sons had deserted away from his duty and because of his bad example, many people would not believe in the teachings of his father and other missionaries. If Alma had not listened to and obeyed the Lord’s commandment to him, and his son had continued on in his bad example, could Alma expect to receive salvation with God and Christ? What about his son? What about the people they were expected to teach? Would they have accepted the gospel midst such a poor example of a missionary preaching the gospel?

Our next example is where the Lord commands His Apostles to take the gospel to all nations; what if these men ignored their Master? Then many thousands of people would have never had the opportunity to receive it. They would never have had an opportunity to believe in and come to know their Savior. In the stories found in the first book of Nephi, if Lehi had not taken the commandments to his sons, or if Nephi and his brothers had ignored their father, then they would never have had scripture, or the Word of God, they would never have had wives to marry; thus the posterity of Lehi would have come to an end. From these stories, we can easily see how important it is to keep God’s commandments. They are given not only for our own benefit, but to bless all mankind and they are always in harmony with Law.

The next sets of scripture we will examine are commandments given to all. In Isaiah, we read commandment after commandment for the children of Israel to repent and turn back to God.  In chapter 51 verses 4 and 7, we read the command of God for all Israel to Hearken unto Him. Hearken means to listen and obey. So not only does the Lord wants us to hear Him and listen to Him, but He wants us to obey Him. We know the children of Israel were eventually destroyed as a nation because they did not “hearken”. Also in verse 7, we read the commandment to fear not the reproach of men and to not be afraid of their reviling. Who do we fear more, God or man?

Next in John chapter 13 verse 34, we read God’s command to love one another. You will recall that it is upon this commandment that all commandments are founded and the teachings of all the prophets are grounded; for if we loved each other would there be a need for a commandment to not bear false witness, to not commit adultery, to not steel and so forth? In harmony with this commandment to love each other, we find in Galatians chapter 6 verse 2, the commandment to bear one another’s burdens. Alma teaches us in the book of Mosiah chapter 18 verses 8 through 10 that bearing each other’s burdens, mourning with those who mourn, comforting those who need comfort are expected attributes of disciples of Jesus Christ.

In the Doctrine and Covenants section 119 verses 4 and 5, we read the commandment to pay a tithe of 10 percent of all our interest annually. Interest, in this case, is defined as increase or income. This commandment is in harmony with the teachings found in Malachi chapter 3 verses 8 through 12 and Doctrine and Covenants section 64 verse 23. It would not be impossible for the Lord to inspire His prophet where to find a great gold mine by which He could finance His church and kingdom. Therefore, there must be a purpose, a reason for financing His kingdom through the tithing of the members of His church. We know that He has given us this beautiful earth with all its abundance. He has blessed us with talents, gifts and abilities whereby we are able to sustain ourselves and our families. So is it possible that He wants us to give a little in return? Does He want us to learn to sacrifice, to be unselfish and to remember that our blessings come from Him and that all that we are and ever could imagine of becoming is only possible because of Him? This is what the commandment of tithing teaches us.

In the following verses of the Doctrine and Covenants section 121 verses 41 through 46, we read beautiful counsel given by our Lord teaching us the proper way to handle authority. Often when authority is granted unto men they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion. They forget that with authority comes the responsibility to use the authority wisely and appropriately. These verses are a great example of how God gives us wise counsel and advice and then tells us what our blessings will be if followed. Although God does not say, “I command you,” or “Thou Shalt,” we should always treat His word as a commandment, if we do we will never go wrong.

Finally, in Mark chapter 7 verses 7 through 9 and chapter 8 verse 15, our Savior warns us of the commandments of men, or the teachings of men that are not inspired or given from heaven. There are men who will teach their own doctrine as if it came from heaven leading them away from the teachings of God. As a result, men and women begin to hold to the tradition of men rather than to the commandments of God. All teachings that come to us, by whatever means, should be in harmony with the revealed Word of God as found in scripture.

From these several verses of scripture, we learn that all God’s commandments are in harmony with Law, which is given to lead us back into His presence. They will keep us from evil and sin; they will keep us from spiritual and physical harm; they will lead us back to Him and His kingdom.