A s Church members study the Old Testament this year, many are impressed with the modern-day applications of the teachings from this ancient work.
The Old Testament bears witness of what the Lord told the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1830: "Listen to the voice of the Lord your God, even Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, whose course is one eternal round, the same today as yesterday, and forever." (D&C 35:1.)Truly the gospel of Jesus Christ is eternal. Its teachings are the same now as they were taught by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and other Old Testament prophets. Applications differ somewhat because of circumstances today, but the truth never changes.
Of particular interest are the Ten Commandments, which ring as true today as ever before. For instance, the Lord commanded that we should have no other gods before Him, and that we should not worship idols or graven images.
Of this truth and its applications to us today, President Spencer W. Kimball said: "The idolatry we are most concerned with here is the conscious worshiping of still other gods. Some are of metal and plush and chrome, of wood and stone and fabrics. They are not in the image of God or man, but are developed to give man comfort and enjoyment, to satisfy his wants, ambitions, passions and desires. Some are in no physical form at all, but are intangible.
"Modern idols or false gods can take such forms as clothes, homes, businesses, machines, automobiles, pleasure boats, and numerous other material deflectors from the path to godhood. What difference does it make that the item is not shaped like an idol?" (The Miracle of Forgiveness, pp. 40-42.)
The third commandment, which decries profanity, is observed today more as an exception rather than the rule. One cannot be around groups of people in society without hearing vulgar words or profane expressions. Movies and television fan the flames of evil speaking. Profanity is a national curse that will tear a person away from a reverence and love for Deity whose names they defile.
K eeping the Sabbath Day holy is another commandment widely broken in today's world. To our grandfathers it was the Holy Sabbath, to our fathers it was Sunday, and in our day it seems to have become just the weekend. If we fail to worship the Lord and dedicate His day to His purposes we will lose the blessings of spiritual communion and the strength we need throughout the week to combat the temptations mentioned in the other commandments.
Honoring one's parents, and building a strong family unit are commandments with great promise. The unfortunate breakdown of traditional families in today's society makes this commandment even more important than when it was first given. The First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve in their Proclamation on the Family set forth the ideal toward which all families should strive.
In our sex-saturated society far too many have yielded to the passions of the flesh. Moral purity is scoffed at by those who seek only physical satisfaction. God has given us the power of procreation. It is not an animal instinct. It is a power from God based on reason, judgment and choice. Moral impurity brings unhappiness, mental torment, dissatisfaction in all phases of life and, in some cases, disease or death. There should be no sexual relationships outside the bonds of marriage between a husband and wife.
Volumes could be written about the modern-day applications of the Ten Commandments. Such terrible things as murder, stealing, lying and bearing of false witness all plague our society today as many live on the very edge of worldliness.
Many will remember the magnificent Hollywood movie "The Ten Commandments," produced by the late Cecil B. DeMille. At a commencement exercise at Brigham Young University, Mr. DeMille spoke about the commandments and said: "Some, who do not know either the Bible or human nature, may see in the orgy of the Golden Calf only a riot of Hollywood's imaginations - but those who have eyes to see will see in it the awful lesson of how quickly a nation or a man can fall, without God's law.
"If a man will not be ruled by God, he will certainly be ruled by tyrants - and there is no tyranny more imperious or more devastating than man's own selfishness, without the law.
"We cannot break the Ten Commandments," Mr. DeMille said. "We can only break ourselves against them - or else, by keeping them, rise through them to the fulness of freedom under God. God means us to be free. With divine daring, He gave us the power of choice." (BYU Address, May 21, 1957.)
In the words of a favorite hymn: "Keep the commandments. In this there is safety and peace." (Hymns, No. 303.)
