Commandments


Pray

I put prayer first in line because it is one of the first steps we should take to know for ourselves that the rest of these commandments come from God and are for each and every one of us.  Heavenly Father has commanded us to pray daily and always have our hearts drawn out in prayer to Him.  This will help us recognize Him in all our doings, and He has promised blessings for doing it.

Read Scriptures

Scriptures second because that is a place we can and must look for answers.  The scriptures are writings of prophets inspired by God.  If we will read them and apply what we learn in our lives we are promised that we will come closer to our Heavenly Father and come to know our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Attend Church

When we go to church we can feel the comforting power of the Holy Ghost confirming to us that what we are doing is right.  We have been given the organization of church -

  • 12For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
  •   13Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
  •   14That we henceforth be no more achildren, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of bdoctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

Be Baptized


We can all have the opportunity to be baptized.  We can and must follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by the priesthood authority of God.  It is a blessing that we can all enjoy.  It includes a remission of our sins, and a receiving of the Holy Ghost afterwords!  Who wouldn't want these blessings?




Follow the Prophet


If there was a man who God called to be His liaison with all mankind, wouldn't you want to listen to him? The President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is Heavenly Father's prophet on the Earth today.  He is called to lead mankind to the truth. We are all imperfect, but Heavenly Father has revealed that He will not allow His prophets to lead His people astray so we can have complete confidence in what our prophet speaks.


  • "God’s revelation to Adam did not instruct Noah how to build the ark.  Every generation has need of the ancient scripture plus the current scripture from the living prophet. Therefore, the most crucial reading and pondering which you should do is of the latest inspired words from the Lord’s mouthpiece” (in Conference Report, Korea Area Conference 1975, 52).




Keep the 10 Commandments

The Savior Jesus Christ fulfilled the law of Moses, and gave new commandments.  He said that we must do even more than just obey the 10 commandments.  In the Sermon on the Mount He spoke of how we must be as far away from committing sins against the 10 commandments as possible.  Jesus Taught:
  • 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. (Matthew 5:48)

Live the Law of Chastity

The power to bring one of His children into this world is sacred, and He has asked us to use it only within marriage.  Living this commandment is along the path to true happiness.  A family unit - Father, Mother, Children - is the perfect situation to learn and grow closer to God.  Heavenly Father wants this blessing for us, and wants us to use our power to choose and choose the right.

Live the Word of Wisdom

It is easy to view this commandment as a restrictive and hard one, but in the end it is a commandment to be healthy and in control of ourselves.  Self control and respecting the body that houses our spirits and the Holy Ghost are two of the main reasons why we obey this law.  Most of all we obey it because God has asked us to, and when we truly trust in Him, we will do what He has asked.  We obey because we know that everything he asks us to do will be for our benefit in the long run.  He asks us to abstain from: alcohol, tobacco, tea, coffee, and illegal and addictive substances.

Live the Law of Tithing

  • 10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. (Malachi 3:10)
The Lord asks us to experiment on this commandment.  Try living the law of the Tithe and just see if He will 'open the windows of heaven, and pour... out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.'

When we look at it from the begging to the end we see that it is really (as all commandments are) a commandment to be ultimately happy (which I think we all want).  He commands us to  reach out (do the actions/commandments necessary) and accept this great gift he is offering us.

Live the Law of the Fast

Throughout the bible and the Book of Mormon, we learn that when we fast we are blessed.  When we go without food, we show Heavenly Father that His will for us is more important than our desires for us.  We show Him that we are ready to receive help.  He has revealed that the money we save from fasting should go to the poor and help people.

Obey the Laws of the Land

The Savior never broke the laws of Jerusalem.  He has taught that we should follow his example and obey the laws of the land in which we live as well.
We are commanded to be perfect, even as our Father in Heaven is perfect.  Right now, none of us are perfect, but as we do our best and accept the Savior's Atonement and help, we can become perfect in him.
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