DM: Commandments

Reading Assignment for Friday: Doctrinal Mastery: Commandments (read the entire section. I've included the text here but you can find it in your journal or in gospel library)


9. Commandments

Commandments are the laws and requirements that God gives to help us progress and become like Him. The commandments are a manifestation of God’s love for us. We manifest our love for Him by keeping His commandments (see John 14:15). Keeping the commandments will always bring happiness and blessings from the Lord (see Mosiah 2:41; Alma 41:10). God will not give us a commandment without preparing a way for us to obey it (see 1 Nephi 3:7).
The two most basic commandments are “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. … And … love thy neighbour as thyself” (see Matthew 22:36–39). We can love and serve God by choosing to love and serve others (see Mosiah 2:17; Moroni 7:45, 47–48).
One of the earliest commandments given to man was to keep the Sabbath day holy. God commands His children to honor Him by doing His will rather than our own on the Sabbath, and He promises great blessings to those who keep His day holy (see Isaiah 58:13–14).
The Ten Commandments are a vital part of the gospel and are eternal principles that are necessary for our exaltation (see Exodus 20:3–17). The Lord revealed them to Moses in ancient times, and He has restated them in latter-day revelations.
God’s commandments include praying daily, studying the word of God, repenting, obeying the law of chastity, paying a full tithe (see Malachi 3:8–10), fasting (see Isaiah 58:6–7), forgiving others (see D&C 64:9–11), observing the Word of Wisdom (see D&C 89:18–21), and teaching the gospel to others (see Matthew 5:14–16; D&C 18:15–16).


President Russell M. Nelson
“Saints can be happy under every circumstance. We can feel joy even while having a bad day, a bad week, or even a bad year. My dear brothers and sisters, the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives. When the focus of our lives is on God’s plan of salvation … and Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening—or not happening—in our lives. …How, then, can we claim that joy? We can start by ‘looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith’ [Hebrews 12:12] ‘in every thought’ [D&C 6:36]. We can give thanks for Him in our prayers and by keeping covenants we’ve made with Him and our Heavenly Father. As our Savior becomes more and more real to us and as we plead for His joy to be given to us, our joy will increase.
“Joy is powerful, and focusing on joy brings God’s power into our lives” (Russell M. Nelson, “Joy and Spiritual Survival,”  Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2016, 82).
Pres. Nelson also taught: 
“The unrighteous may experience any number of emotions and sensations, but they will never experience joy! Joy is a gift for the faithful. It is the gift that comes from intentionally trying to live a righteous life, as taught by Jesus Christ” (Russell M. Nelson, “Joy and Spiritual Survival,” 84).
Elder Cook on obedience: 
“From our limited perspective, current temptations and distractions can seem attractive. The rewards for resisting those temptations, on the other hand, can feel distant and unattainable. But a true understanding of the Father’s plan reveals that the rewards of righteousness are available right now” (Quentin L. Cook, “Shipshape and Bristol Fashion: Be Temple Worthy—in Good Times and Bad Times,”Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2015, 40).
Elder Holland:
“Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until heaven; but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come. Of that I personally attest” (Jeffrey R. Holland, “An High Priest of Good Things to Come,” Ensign, Nov. 1999, 38).