The LDS Daily WOOL Home Page
"No Gods Before Me"
"No Graven Images"
"God's Name in Vain"
"Keep the Sabbath Day Holy"
"Honor Father and Mother"
"Thou Shalt Not Kill"
"Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery"
"Thou Shalt Not Steal"
"Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness"
"Thou Shalt Not Covet"
(2/9/05)
"Perhaps I could begin with an interesting question posed recently and an
equally interesting answer. The question was, 'Don't you think the commandments
should be rewritten?' The answer was, 'No, they should be reread.'
"This may be a good point from which to take off for consideration of some
fundamental facts; namely, the commandments of God are there. They come from a
divine source. The experience of the ages has proved the need for them, and has
proved what happens if they are ignored.
"So why spend life in the frustration and unhappiness and sorrow and
tragedy of trying to rationalize and wave them away?" - Richard L. Evans,
"Should
the Commandments Be Rewritten?" Ensign, Dec. 1971, p. 57
(8/29/05)
"Joseph Smith was helped to accomplish tasks that
were completely beyond his personal capacity. At times, this came through direct
guidance and intervention. Yet often it was the quiet prompting of the Spirit
and the accompanying support that came because of his obedience, his faith in
the Master, and his unwavering determination to do His will. Why was he so
successful? A portion of that answer comes in his personal declaration, 'I made
this my rule: When the Lord commands, do it.' (History of the Church, 2:170)" -
Richard G. Scott, "He
Lives," Ensign, Nov. 1999, 88
(11/9/05)
"All safety, all righteousness, all happiness are on the
Lord's side of the line. If you are keeping the commandments of God by observing
the Sabbath day, you are on the Lord's side of the line. If you attend to your
secret prayers and your family prayers, you are on the Lord's side of the line.
If you are grateful for food and express that gratitude to God, you are on the
Lord's side of the line. If you love your neighbor as yourself, you are on the
Lord's side of the line. If you are honest in your dealing with your fellow men,
you are on the Lord's side of the line. If you observe the Word of Wisdom, you
are on the Lord's side of the line. And so I might go on through the Ten
Commandments and the other commandments that God has given for our guidance and
say again, all that enriches our lives and makes us happy and prepares us for
eternal joy is on the Lord's side of the line. Finding fault with the things
that God has given to us for our guidance is not on the Lord's side of the
line." - George Albert Smith, "Conference Report," October 1945, Afternoon
Meeting, p.119
3/29/06
"Now, his commandments are
not grievous. They are not burdensome. They are not oppressive. We sing in one
of our hymns, 'How gentle God's commands! How kind his precepts are!' (Hymns,
no. 125.) The laws of God are not given to us to burden us or to handicap
us. They are not impositions. They are the statutes through which, if observed,
the purpose of life and existence is to be realized. Even those who are called
to go through trials, sorrow, tribulation, and adversity are promised that if
they are faithful in tribulation and adversity, that the reward of the same is
greater in the kingdom of heaven. (D&C
58:2.)" - ElRay L. Christiansen, "The
Laws of God Are Blessings," Ensign (CR), May 1975, p.23
6/9/06
"The Lord has restored the gospel,
which is the true plan of life, salvation, and exaltation. He has given us no
law, advice, counsel, or commandment that is not for our blessing and happiness.
"As an illustration, every one of the Ten Commandments, if lived, will bring joy
and satisfaction. This does not mean we will not have problems. The Lord has
said that all things work together for the good of him who loves the Lord. Some
people take the view that the Ten Commandments are outmoded. It is true that
they are not adopted into the lives of some people, but the commandments that
were given by Jehovah on Mount Sinai are light, are truth, eternal truth, and
failure to observe them brings the opposite of joy and happiness. The same may
be said of all truth given us by the Lord. Wickedness never was happiness and
never will be. (See Alma 41:10.)
It has been said: 'It is a statistical fact that the wicked work harder to reach
hell than the righteous do to enter heaven.'
"The Psalmist has said: 'Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and
for his wonderful works to the children of men!' (Ps.
107:8.)" - Joseph Anderson, "The
Road to Happiness," Ensign (CR), May 1975, p.29
11/8/06
"Commandments are not given to burden or restrict us. Rather, they are
guideposts from an all-wise Heavenly Father to keep us out of trouble, to bring
us a fulness of happiness in this life, and to bring us safely back home to
Him." - Larry W. Gibbons, "Wherefore,
Settle This in Your Hearts," Ensign, November 2006
8/23/07
"In speaking about the
different covenants we make in the sacrament, a great covenant is also made
wherein we promise that we will keep the commandments which Jesus has given us.
We all believe in keeping the ten commandments, or ought to do so, at least, but
did Jesus give us any others? Read the Sermon on the Mount, one of the best
sermons ever delivered, full of good instruction unto his disciples and the
whole world, and you may put together all that he taught into the words, 'Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with
all thy strength, and with all thy might; and thy neighbor as thyself.' He made
that generalization, one of the greatest ever made; all commandments can come
under it, and he emphasized this once to the Prophet Joseph by saying, that
'except ye love one another yet are not mine.' Now we promise to keep his
commandments and that includes this great commandment, sometimes pretty hard to
keep, but we make the covenant, when we partake of the sacrament, that we will
keep his commandments. We should study all the other commandments that are
given, and be ready and yield obedience unto them." - Anthon H. Lund,
"Conference Report," October 1916, First Day—Morning Session, p.15
9/12/07
"The seasons, the
sunshine, the growing of seeds; heat and cold; the life of a child; the harvest
we have—these are not theory, and the same authority that runs the universe on
such precision also gave us commandments to keep, commandments that are still in
force. And I wouldn't know anywhere to turn for a purposeful way to live life,
except the way prescribed by the Administrator of heaven and earth. After all,
whose little wisdom would we turn to? He has given us no commandment that is not
necessary—and I witness to you that the spiritual and moral laws are as much in
force as are the physical laws, and each person is going to be what he lives
like." - Richard L. Evans, "Conference Report," October 1970, Afternoon Meeting,
p.88
2/1/10
“When we go into the
waters of baptism, when we partake of the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, and
when we stand on our feet and bear testimony to the divinity of this work, we
are thereby obligated as strongly as I know how it is possible to obligate a
human soul to keep the commandments of the Lord. But it is not easy to do this.
The influence of heredity, of environment and of evil power that is in the
earth, personified or headed by Satan himself, are all opposed to our keeping
the commandments of the Lord. To overcome all of these we must struggle, but may
I say that my own belief is that the Lord gives every one of us the strength to
keep His commandments if we will worthily and earnestly seek His help that we
may do it.” – Joseph F. Merrill, “Conference Report,” October 1941, Afternoon
Meeting, p. 130