The Ten Commandments

So my idea to start this blog comes now that we are on to Ancient Greece. I wish I had started it in the beginning. But I will share the highlights and then do a more extensive job on Ancient Greece.

We did spend one to two weeks on the Ten Commandments. I have an institute manual for the Old Testament and it is great. It broke up the commandments into three categories

Show the three priorities in life - Perfecting relationships with:
1. God - no Gods before me, no graven image, not using the Lord's name in vain, keep the Sabbath holy
2. Family - Honor thy father and mother
3. Fellowmen - thou shalt not kill, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness or covet

The manual really goes into detail about each of these and I found it quite enlightening.

For example - no graven image. Hello - we were studying Ancient Egypt. No wonder that was one of the first commandments! It became applicable though as the manual talked of modern idols - such as attending college instead of a mission, not being about to "afford" tithing, postponing parenthood for degrees or financial wealth, Sunday fishing trips, fancy cars, Sunday football games, etc. Personally, I would just skim over that commandment thinking I was just fine. But it really opened my eyes to see just how many ways we can put the things of the world before the things of God.

Another example, not taking the name of the Lord in vain. I was baptized right before my 13th birthday and I specifically remember walking across the PE field telling myself that I had to stop taking the Lord's name in vain. I had never heard of the church and certainly did not know that what I was saying was wrong. So here, many years later, I felt I was just fine with this commandment. When a person is baptized they take upon them the name of Christ. Therefore, if that person does not live up to their covenants (baptism or the temple) or forgets the solem oaths made, then in fact they are using the Lord's name in vain. Wow!

Keeping the Sabbath holy - My husband and I try very hard to teach our children this and be a good example, but again I was astounded by the things I learned. To keep the Sabbath holy we are actually preparing ourselves to be sanctified. So not only is it a day of rest, but if we live the gospel and keep the Sabbath holy then the Lord will sanctify us - He will move us up one more rung on the spiritual ladder. It really made me think of the importance of the Sabbath. Not only am I to worship the Lord and remove myself from the world, but it gives the Lord the chance to make me better. If only I had learned that younger!

Those were the most educational commandments for me this time around. I thoroughly enjoyed studying all of them with my children, but these were the ones that made the biggest impact on my spiritual perspective.