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Element of love in Decalogue

After being led out of Egypt by Moses, the children of Israel entered the desert of Sinai. There, Moses went up on a mountain to seek the Lord's guidance. (See Ex. 19:1-19.)

In his April 1965 general conference address, Elder Howard W. Hunter of the Council of the Twelve said: "The Lord stood on the top of the mountain, and Moses was allowed to approach Him. . . . The Lord then proceeded to announce what has come to be known as the Ten Commandments or the Decalogue. . . ."Just how they were arranged is not known but most students divide them into two sets. The first division consists of those laws which are concerned with man's relation to God. These are: no other gods, no graven images, no blasphemy, and keep the Sabbath. Some have included honor thy parents, while others have put this in the category of the last five, which are the laws encompassing a system of moral duties to others: thou shalt not kill, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness, or covet."

He said the Savior reduced the ten laws to two simple admonitions containing the element of love - "love the Lord" and "love thy neighbor" - when he answered the lawyer's question, "Which is the great commandment in the law?" (See Matt. 22:36-40.)

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