Mosiah 12-13

It is little wonder to me that Abinadi, when questioned by the priests of Noah, began to teach them the Ten Commandments. It was a sharp rebuke for the priests who claimed to represent God, but did not keep His commandments. The Ten Commandments provide the foundation for laws across the world and they are fundamental to maintaining peace throughout the world. The Book of Mormon teaches that when a nation begins to transgress God’s commandments, it will eventually fall (e.g. Omni 1, BoM).

Thoughts of how I can be a better mother and what I should do to create more spiritual direction for our family have been weighing on my mind. The other day as I was praying, the Spirit suggested that we teach our kids the Ten Commandments.

We talk a lot in our home and at church about “keeping the commandments.” As adults we know what that means but our kids don’t. They’re at the beginning of their mortal experience. To say repeatedly, “keep the commandments,” becomes nebulous unless you actually identify what they are. Kids need repetition to know what the commandments are, learn them by heart (Mosiah 13:11), understand what they mean, and actually live them. By way of reminder for us all, the Ten Commandments are:

• Thou shalt have no other God before me (Mosiah 12:35)
• Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image; Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them (Mosiah 13:12-13)
• Thou shalt no take the name of the Lord thy God in vain (Mosiah 13:15)
• Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy (Mosiah 13:16
• Honor thy father and thy mother (Mosiah 13:20)
• Thou shalt not kill (Mosiah 13:21)
• Thou shalt not commit adultery (Mosiah 13:22)
• Thou shalt not steal (Mosiah 13:22)
• Thou shalt not bear false witness (Mosiah 13:23)
• Thou shalt not covet (Mosiah 13:24)

(I have quoted from the Book of Mormon but you can also review the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, Old Testament )

Now my challenge is to come up with age-appropriate lessons for each commandment. If you have any ideas, feel free to comment here or use my contact form. Thanks in advance!