I
was asked to speak about The Commandments.
A lot of the information from my talk comes from lesson 4 in the
missionary book called “Preach My Gospel.”
Since I will be able to go on a mission soon, it was good for me to study
from this book.
Since the beginning of time, parents have
been giving rules to their children. Rules like not playing in the street or
not playing with matches. Sometimes the rules seemed like a burden to kids,
like their parents must have invented them to keep them from doing the things they
really wanted to do—the things they thought would make them happy. As we grow
up we learn how important these rules are, how we could have been seriously
injured or even killed if we had not obeyed.
Like our earthly parents, God gives us
commandments to help keep us focused on what is most important and how to stay
safe. All of His guidance is meant to keep us safe, help us stay close to Him
and, in the end, to give us more freedom and happiness.
The word "commandment" might make us think of
the Ten Commandments—a list of "Thou Shalt Nots"—God does not only
tell us what we should not do, but He also tells us what we should do. His greatest hope is for our
eternal happiness, so we can be sure that His commandments are not restrictive
rules, but they are divine guidance meant to protect us from harm and lead us
to better ways of living.
Heavenly Father also gives us agency, or the
ability and opportunity to choose between good and evil. Obedience to the
commandments brings us peace in this life and eternal life in the world to
come. Obedience shows our love for God. Disobedience
brings us sorrow.
Heavenly Father knows our weaknesses and is
patient with us. He gives us commandments so we know what to do and what to
avoid. He blesses us as we strive to obey His commandments.
The “Thou Shalt Not” commandments from the 10
Commandments are:
·
“Thou shalt have
no other gods before me”
·
“Thou shalt not
make unto thee any graven image”
·
“Thou shalt not
take the name of the Lord thy God in vain”
·
“Thou shalt not
kill”
·
“Thou shalt not
commit adultery”
·
“Thou shalt not
steal”
·
“Thou shalt not
bear false witness against thy neighbour”
·
“Thou shalt not
covet”
The “Thou Shalt” commandments from the 10
Commandments are:
·
“Remember the
sabbath day, to keep it holy”
·
“Honour thy father
and thy mother”
The Ten Commandments are still valid today
even though society ignores a lot of them.
I will now share some of the commandments and
guidance that is listed in Preach My Gospel.
PRAYER - God commands us to pray to Him. You
can pray anytime and anyplace. The Lord has taught us to pray in the morning
and in the evening, as individuals and with our families. Our Heavenly Father
hears and answers our prayers. We can
express gratitude and love, and also ask for help, protection, and direction
according to our needs. As we pray, we
will see God’s influence in our lives. He will guide us and help us make good
decisions. He will comfort us and give us peace. He will warn us of danger and
strengthen us to resist temptation. He will forgive our sins. We will feel
closer to Him.
SCRIPTURES - We are advised to read the
scriptures. We show our faith by
studying, believing, and obeying things we learn in the scriptures. We
diligently search the scriptures to understand the truth and to learn about
Jesus Christ and His gospel.
SABBATH DAY - Our Sabbath-day behavior is a
reflection of our commitment to honor and worship God. By keeping the Sabbath
day holy, we show God our willingness to keep our covenants. Each Sabbath day
we go to the church and partake of the sacrament. We remember Jesus Christ and
His Atonement. We renew our covenants and show that we are willing to repent of
our sins and mistakes. As we attend
Church and worship together, we strengthen each other and our faith is
strengthened. We should set the Sabbath day
apart from activities of the world. As Church members try to keep the Sabbath
activities holy, their lives will be filled with joy and peace.
BAPTISM & CONFIRMATION - When we are
baptized and confirmed, we show our desire to follow Heavenly Father’s path. We
enter into a covenant with God that we will take upon ourselves the name of
Jesus Christ and that we will always remember Him and keep His commandments. We
also promise to stand as witnesses of God at all times and to assist those in
need. In return, God promises the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, a
remission of our sins, and being born again.
FOLLOW THE PROPHET - We are blessed to have a
living prophet on the earth who is a righteous man with great faith. We are to have faith and follow his guidance. We have the chance to sustain (or support)
our Church leaders. We are to prepare ourselves so that when the prophets and
apostles speak, the Holy Ghost can confirm the truths they teach, and we can
then determine to follow the counsel they give us. We have the chance to listen to our Church
leaders in two weeks during General Conference which will be great.
LAW OF CHASTITY - God wants us to be morally
clean. Chastity includes strict abstinence from sexual relations before
marriage and complete fidelity and loyalty to one’s spouse after marriage. We need to keep our thoughts clean and be
modest in our dress, speech, and actions. We must avoid pornography in any
form and treat our bodies as sacred. If
you keep the law of chastity you will be stronger because you use self-control.
You can feel more confident and be happier in your family relationships. You can
enjoy more fully the influence of the Holy Ghost in your lives and be free of the
burden of shame and guilt.
WORD OF WISDOM - The Lord revealed the Word
of Wisdom to the Prophet Joseph Smith. This law teaches us what foods and
substances we should and should not use to be healthy and to keep us free from
evil influences. The Lord promises blessings of health, strength, protection
against evil, and greater receptiveness to spiritual truths. The Word of Wisdom teaches that we are to eat
healthy foods. It teaches very specifically that we are to avoid harmful
substances, including alcohol, tobacco, tea, and coffee. We must also avoid
harmful drugs in any form.
TITHING - One of the great blessings of
membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the privilege
of contributing to the growth of the kingdom of God through paying tithing. The blessings we receive from tithing may be
temporal or spiritual, but they will come to those who obey this divine law.
FASTING - Great blessings are available to
those who obey God’s commandment to fast. Fasting and prayer go together. When we fast
and pray with faith, we are more receptive to receiving answers to our prayers
and blessings from the Lord. He promises us that He will guide us continually.
We should fast and pray for specific purposes.
We are also commanded to care for others and help them meet their
physical and spiritual needs. When we fast, we donate money as a fast offering
to the Church for the care of the poor and the needy. By caring for others, we help fulfill our
baptismal covenant and retain a remission of our sins.
LAWS OF THE LAND - We believe in obeying the
laws of the country that we live in. Yep, that means we shouldn’t speed. Members of the Church are counseled to be
good citizens and to render community service too.
In closing, I would like to bear my
testimony, that I know we can be blessed as we strive to keep the commandments.
I say these things in the name of Jesus
Christ, Amen.
________
Thank you to Zach for contributing this talk. Also click HERE to find the graphic that an awesome blogger is sharing for free.
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