Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments, or Decalogue (Greek, “ten words”), are divine laws revealed to Moses by God on Mount Sinai and engraved on two stone tablets. The restored gospel of Jesus Christ teaches that these basic commandments are still in force. Appearing in both Exodus (Exodus 20:2–17) and Deuteronomy (Deuteronomy 5:6–21), the commandments are numbered differently depending on whether they appear in a Catholic, Protestant, or Hebrew Bible. They are featured prominently in Judaism and Christianity. In Judaism they are viewed as the moral and theological basis for the other 603 commandments found in the Torah. They are also important in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and appear, as quoted by a Nephite prophet, in the Book of Mormon (See Mosiah 12: 32-37; 13: 12–24).

The commandments are divided into duties toward God, one's neighbors, and society. Their prescriptive and unconditional language indicates their important status. They function as general stipulations decreed by God as part of God's covenant with the people of Israel. In Islamic tradition, Moses brings new revelation in the form of the commandments. The Ten Commandments are listed below:

1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
4. Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy.
5. Honor thy father and thy mother.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
10. Thou shalt not covet any thing that is thy neighbor's.

Bruce T. Verhaaren, writing for the Encyclopedia of Mormonism, adds: "Christ not only expands upon applications of the commandments, but reduces the two principal focuses of the decalogue to their essence. Each of the two great commandments, to love the Lord (Matt. 22:37; Deut. 6:5) and to love one's neighbor (Matt. 22:39; Lev. 19:18; Rom. 13:9), encapsulates one of the two tables of the Ten Commandments."[1]

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