Ponder the Path: On These Two Commandments Hang All the Laws and the Prophets

Monday, November 13, 2023

On These Two Commandments Hang All the Laws and the Prophets

After covering the greatest commandments in the law, the first to love God and the second to love our neighbors, I am going to explore the study of the laws of God through categories based on the ten commandments. It is of interest that the ten commandments can be understood best by thinking of them as subcategories of the two greatest commandments to love God and our neighbor.

When Jesus was asked, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” He answered, “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 neighbor as thyself.” He then said that “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

The ten commandments hang upon these first two greatest commandments. The first five relate to the first commandment to love God and the second five are connected to the second commandment to love our neighbors; though it is essential what we not forget the lessons we have learned in this study previously, namely that all commandments honor God and are the expression of his love for us, likewise, our obedience to them are the expression of our love for him. Let’s keep this in mind as we study the ten commandments.

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“While 'the world changes constantly and dramatically... God, His commandments, and promised blessings do not change. They are immutable and unchanging. Men and women receive their agency as a gift from God, but their liberty and, in turn, their eternal happiness come from obedience to His laws.“Wickedness never was happiness” Surely there could not be any doctrine more strongly expressed in the scriptures than the Lord’s unchanging commandments and their connection to our happiness and well-being as individuals, as families, and as a society. There are moral absolutes. Disobedience to the Lord’s commandments will always deprive us of His blessings. These things do not change. In a world where the moral compass of society is faltering, the restored gospel of Jesus Christ never wavers." ~ (L. Tom Perry, Obedience to Law Is Liberty)

"We are not authorized to negotiate the conditions of [God's] eternal plan. Sometimes we become the lightning rod, and we must “take the heat” for holding fast to God’s standards and doing His work. I testify that we need not be afraid if we are grounded in His doctrine. We may experience misunderstanding, criticism, and even false accusation, but we are never alone. Our Savior was “despised and rejected of men.” It is our sacred privilege to stand with Him!" ~ Robert D. Hales (Stand Strong in Holy Places

‎"Never forget that these little ones are the sons and daughters of God and that yours is a custodial relationship to them, that He was a parent before you were parents and that He has not relinquished His parental rights or interest in these His little ones. Now, love them, take care of them. Fathers, control your tempers, now and in all the years to come. Mothers, control your voices; keep them down. Rear your children in love, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Take care of your little ones. Welcome them into your homes, and nurture and love them with all of your hearts. They may do, in the years that come, some things you would not want them to do, but be patient, be patient. You have not failed as long as you have tried. Never forget that” (Salt Lake University Third Stake conference, 3 Nov. 1996).