Do the Ten Commandments Still Apply?

[Spaced_Out]

Idolatry is the worship of an idol or image as a god... Moses made a brazen serpent that represented Christ and any person looking at it were healed from snake bites. Only many years later the people began to worship the brazen snake so the snake was taken down and destroyed. God uses symbols and commands as such - get over it already.

Everything in the temple is symbolic, the ancient Jewish temple had hundreds of artefacts and images that represented various aspects of the atonement all commanded and sanctioned by God. There has never been any commandment not to have symbolic items, the Jews under the law of Moses had phylacteries and many symbolic items in their houses as commanded by God. The worshipping such items in place of God is where sin creeps in.

There are many talks by current prophets about idolatry and what it means to us today, as a people we have moved past worshipping idols but worship money, education and worldly goods like cars etc..... We have been instructed to have picture of the Temple in our houses etc.... To go about teaching another doctrine without even the slightest understanding of the Law of Moses is folly. Go talk to a Jewish Rabbi about how they see symbolic items commanded by God in the old testament.

Follow the prophet he knows the way!! To do otherwise is very dangerous.

[marc]

Idolatry is the worship of an idol or image as a god...

An excellent piece by Avraham Gileadi on the Twelve Diatribes of Modern Israel:

http://publications.mi.byu.edu/fullscre ... 9&index=12

[Spaced_Out]

It is like saying anyone who has accumulated wealth is evil because he has money - where the scriptures are clear it is the love of money that is evil not money in itself.
The same with having images is a no issue it is bowing down and worshipping them that is the evil.

[Yod]

Well, if you keep money back from others when they ask for it, you love the money more than you love them, and you love the money more than you love God.

That's the test of idolatry.

And it isn't just the bowing and worshipping or doing the bidding of images. The commandment says you aren't even to make them for yourself.

[freedomforall]

Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments are eternal gospel principles that are necessary for our exaltation. The Lord revealed them to Moses in ancient times (see Exodus 20:1–17), and they are also referenced in whole or in part in other books of scripture (see Matthew 19:18–19; Romans 13:9; Mosiah 12:33–36; 13:13–24; D&C 42:18–29; 59:5–13; 63:61–62). The Ten Commandments are a vital part of the gospel. Obedience to these commandments paves the way for obedience to other gospel principles.
Additional Information

The following review of the Ten Commandments includes brief explanations of how they continue to apply in our lives today:

1. “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3). We should do “all things with an eye single to the glory of God” (D&C 82:19). We should love and serve the Lord with all our heart, might, mind, and strength (see Deuteronomy 6:5; D&C 59:5).

2. “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image” (Exodus 20:4). In this commandment, the Lord condemns the worship of idols. Idolatry may take many forms. Some people do not bow before graven images or statues but instead replace the living God with other idols, such as money, material possessions, ideas, or prestige. In their lives, “their treasure is their god”—a god that “shall perish with them” (2 Nephi 9:30).

3. “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain” (Exodus 20:7).

4. “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8).

5. “Honour thy father and thy mother” (Exodus 20:12). This commandment remains binding throughout our lives and can be understood in several ways: We should honor our fathers and our mothers who are our ancestors; we should be grateful to the father and mother who provided our earthly bodies; we should honor those who raised us in the knowledge of the truth. Above all, we should honor our Heavenly Parents. The way we honor all these fathers and mothers is by keeping the commandments.

6. “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13).

7. “Thou shalt not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14). In a latter-day revelation, the Lord condemned not only adultery, but “anything like unto it” (D&C 59:6). Fornication, homosexuality, and other sexual sins are violations of the seventh commandment.

8. “Thou shalt not steal” (Exodus 20:15). Stealing is a form of dishonesty.

9. “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour” (Exodus 20:16). Bearing false witness is another form of dishonesty.

10. “Thou shalt not covet” (Exodus 20:17). Coveting, or envying something that belongs to another, is damaging to the soul. It can consume our thoughts and plague us with constant unhappiness and dissatisfaction. It often leads to other sins and to financial indebtedness.

Although most of the Ten Commandments list things we should not do, they also represent things we should do. The Savior summarized the Ten Commandments in two principles—love for the Lord and love for our fellow men:

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

“This is the first and great commandment.

“And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:37–39).

SEE: https://www.lds.org/topics/ten-commandm ... g&old=true

[Yod]

"We should love and serve the Lord with all our heart, might, mind, and strength."

What does "to serve" mean?

[freedomforall]

"We should love and serve the Lord with all our heart, might, mind, and strength."

What does "to serve" mean?

Mosiah 2:21
21 I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.

Job 22:3 (2–4)
2 Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself?
3 Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous? or is it gain to him, that thou makest thy ways perfect?
4 Will he reprove thee for fear of thee? will he enter with thee into judgment?

1 Sam. 7:3
3 ...If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you....

To serve is service to others and worship in behalf of and in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

[Yod]

Mosiah 5:13 For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?

So, what is meant by "served" here? What does it mean to serve one's master? What, therefore, does it mean "to serve"?

[freedomforall]

Mosiah 5:13 For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?

So, what is meant by "served" here? What does it mean to serve one's master? What, therefore, does it mean "to serve"?

3 Ne. 13:24
24 No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon.

D&C 4:2
2 Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.

Serve = to render obedience or homage to God.
to be in the service of

[Yod]

"To render obedience."

So, if God commands a certain thing, then if you serve God, you do that thing, right?

And if you are in the service of your fellow beings, then you are doing what they ask of you, right?

[freedomforall]

"To render obedience."

So, if God commands a certain thing, then if you serve God, you do that thing, right?

And if you are in the service of your fellow beings, then you are doing what they ask of you, right?

If one does not serve in unrighteousness, then yes. One can serve another, yet be doing wrong or sinning. Anything performed in righteousness is good.

We must be careful as to which spirit we list to obey.

Alma 3:26
26 And in one year were thousands and tens of thousands of souls sent to the eternal world, that they might reap their rewards according to their works, whether they were good or whether they were bad, to reap eternal happiness or eternal misery, according to the spirit which they listed to obey, whether it be a good spirit or a bad one.

[Yod]

If God commands a certain thing, then if you serve God, you do that thing, right?

[Finrock]

7 Moroni:

5 For I remember the word of God which saith by their works ye shall know them; for if their works be good, then they are good also.

6 For behold, God hath said a man being evil cannot do that which is good; for if he offereth a gift, or prayeth unto God, except he shall do it with real intent it profiteth him nothing.

7 For behold, it is not counted unto him for righteousness.

8 For behold, if a man being evil giveth a gift, he doeth it grudgingly; wherefore it is counted unto him the same as if he had retained the gift; wherefore he is counted evil before God.

9 And likewise also is it counted evil unto a man, if he shall pray and not with real intent of heart; yea, and it profiteth him nothing, for God receiveth none such.

10 Wherefore, a man being evil cannot do that which is good; neither will he give a good gift.

11 For behold, a bitter fountain cannot bring forth good water; neither can a good fountain bring forth bitter water; wherefore, a man being a servant of the devil cannot follow Christ; and if he follow Christ he cannot be a servant of the devil.

1 Cor. 13:

1If I shall speak with every human and Angelic language and have no love in me, I shall be clanging brass or a noise-making cymbal. 2 And if I have prophecy, and I know all mysteries and all knowledge and if I have all faith so that I may remove mountains, and I have no love in me, I would be nothing. 3 And if I should feed everything that I have to the poor, and if I hand over my body to be burned up* and I have no love in me, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient and sweet; love does not envy; love is not upset neither puffed up. 5 Love does not commit what is shameful, neither does it seek its own; it is not provoked, neither does it entertain evil thoughts, 6 Rejoices not in evil, but rejoices in the truth, 7 Endures all things, believes all things, hopes all, bears all.

8 Love never fails; for prophecies shall cease, tongues shall be silenced and knowledge will be nothing; 9 For we know partially and we prophesy partially, 10 But when perfection shall come, then that which is partial shall be nothing. 11 When I was a child, I was speaking as a child, I was led as a child, I was thinking as a child, but when I became a man, I ceased these childish things. 12 Now we see as in a mirror, in an allegory, but then face-to-face. Now I know partially, but then I shall know as I am known. 13 For there are these three things that endure: Faith, Hope and Love, but the greatest of these is Love.

We can't serve God unless we truly Love Him and Love others.

-Finrock

[freedomforall]

If God commands a certain thing, then if you serve God, you do that thing, right?

A simple answer...yes.

Heb 5
8 Though he (Christ) were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he (c)suffered;

9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

8 c suffered
TG Jesus Christ, Temptation of; Pain; Suffering.

[Yod]

OK.

So if God commands us to give to every man that asks, and to lend to anyone who wants to borrow from us without ever asking to be paid back and hoping not to be paid back, then if we serve God then those things are what we do, right?

[Finrock]

OK.

So if God commands us to give to every man that asks, and to lend to anyone who wants to borrow from us without ever asking to be paid back and hoping not to be paid back, then if we serve God that's what we do, right?

If and only if God tells us to do it, we ought to do it.

If we give grudgingly then it is counted as if we have given nothing at all because it comes from evil.

-Finrock

[marc]

OK.

So if God commands us to give to every man that asks, and to lend to anyone who wants to borrow from us without ever asking to be paid back and hoping not to be paid back, then if we serve God that's what we do, right?

If and only if God tells us to do it, we ought to do it.

If we give grudgingly then it is counted as if we have given nothing at all because it comes from evil.

-Finrock

I believe Jesus Christ has already told us so.

Luke 6:30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.

And an angel of the Lord gave to King Benjamin what to instruct his people so that they may receive a new name, including how to retain a remission of their sins. I certainly expect to retain a remission of my sins.

Mosiah 4:26 And now, for the sake of these things which I have spoken unto you—that is, for the sake of retaining a remission of your sins from day to day, that ye may walk guiltless before God—I would that ye should impart of your substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants.

I believe everything we have and are is God's property including my earthly body, which came from the dust, which is His. We are all stewards of this earth and all earthly things and I believe we ought not covet our own "property." Martin Harris made this mistake and was chastised by the Lord for it.

[Finrock]

OK.

So if God commands us to give to every man that asks, and to lend to anyone who wants to borrow from us without ever asking to be paid back and hoping not to be paid back, then if we serve God that's what we do, right?

If and only if God tells us to do it, we ought to do it.

If we give grudgingly then it is counted as if we have given nothing at all because it comes from evil.

-Finrock

I believe Jesus Christ has already told us so.

Luke 6:30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.

And an angel of the Lord gave to King Benjamin what to instruct his people so that they may receive a new name, including how to retain a remission of their sins. I certainly expect to retain a remission of my sins.

Mosiah 4:26 And now, for the sake of these things which I have spoken unto you—that is, for the sake of retaining a remission of your sins from day to day, that ye may walk guiltless before God—I would that ye should impart of your substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants.

I believe everything we have and are is God's property including my earthly body, which came from the dust, which is His. We are all stewards of this earth and all earthly things and I believe we ought not covet our own "property." Martin Harris made this mistake and was chastised by the Lord for it.

I believe that too.

In my imperfect way I am trying to say that we must act because we love God and because we know or believe that He wants us to do something. We can give all of our substance to the poor or to those in need, but if we don't do it for the right reason, it will be counted as if we had done evil. Or in other words, we should act out of the goodness of our hearts and not because of fear, or a sense of duty, or just because someone told us to do it, or because of some other motivation. There are many reasons why a person might keep the commandments, but there is only one right reason for doing it. If we obey, but not out of love, or not out of the goodness of our hearts, then we are not really obeying.

-Finrock

[marc]

Agreed, Finrock. As I mentioned elsewhere, the two greatest commandments ought to be our highest motivation, for without charity we are nothing.

[AI2.0]

JST Exodus 20
Exod 20:4 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;

Exod 20:5 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,

Exod 20:6 And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.

Graven images - carved representations, such as statues, whittled birds, and so on.

Likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or in the waters under the earth - pictures or paintings or movies or TV shows or whatever that visually shows anything that exists.

Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them - might this get in the way of saluting a flag?

Nor serve them - you shall not do their bidding. If the likeness (moving or still) says "Buy now!" you don't.

Still think the Ten Commandments apply today? Or, are the consequences so uncomfortable that this just cannot be what God meant? No TV shows? No movies? No pictures? No selfies? No paintings? No drawings? No video games? No nudie mags? No pictorial adverts? No visual marketing? No responding to pictorial ads? No statues, no carvings, no visual representations of anything - if what is represented exists?

The 10 commandments apply today, just not your interpretation of them as far as the rest of us are concerned. This is the Muslim view, not the LDS view. So, I guess if you want to keep that commandment as you've interpreted it, you're going to be pretty uncomfortable.

[freedomforall]

If the ten commandments were not in force today then why are we reminded each week in Sacrament to keep them?


Moroni 4:3
3 O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it; that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him, and keep his commandments which he hath given them, that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.

Moroni 5:2
2 O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee, in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this wine to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.

The other mandates is to:

eat in remembrance of the body of Christ
witness unto God
"are willing to" take upon them the name of Jesus
may always have his Spirit to be with them
always remember him
keep his commandments

NOW, what would we be promising if the words "are willing to" were to be removed? Can we attest in all honesty that we do these things at all times? Do we always keep his commandments 100% of the time?

[Waiting]

JST Exodus 20
Exod 20:4 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;

Exod 20:5 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,

Exod 20:6 And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.

Graven images - carved representations, such as statues, whittled birds, and so on.

Likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or in the waters under the earth - pictures or paintings or movies or TV shows or whatever that visually shows anything that exists.

Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them - might this get in the way of saluting a flag?

Nor serve them - you shall not do their bidding. If the likeness (moving or still) says "Buy now!" you don't.

Still think the Ten Commandments apply today? Or, are the consequences so uncomfortable that this just cannot be what God meant? No TV shows? No movies? No pictures? No selfies? No paintings? No drawings? No video games? No nudie mags? No pictorial adverts? No visual marketing? No responding to pictorial ads? No statues, no carvings, no visual representations of anything - if what is represented exists?

Yod, consider these scriptures (from JST):

Num 21:9 And Moses made a serpent of brass and put it upon a pole; and it came to pass that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

Exod 25
18 And thou shalt make two cherubim of gold--of beaten work shalt thou make them--in the two ends of the mercy seat.
19 And make one cherub on the one end and the other cherub on the other end; even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubim on the two ends thereof.
20 And the cherubim shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings; and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be.

The serpent would be an example of a likeness of something in "the earth beneath", and the cherubim a likeness of something in "the heaven above". If you are suggesting that the commandment would preclude TV, movies, etc. because they are likenesses, then wouldn't the commandment also preclude brass serpents and cherubim of gold?