Category: Theology

Commandment number 6, “thou shalt not kill.”

The footnote to the LDS version expounds “kill” to mean murder. This is one of the most heavy, or hard to forgive sins. Alma instructs his son Corianton that the three most grievous and hard to forgive sins are to deny the Holy Ghost, to shed innocent blood, and sexual immorality. Murder is so hard to repent of for a number of reasons. First, part of repentance is to restore anything that was taken or removed, etc. Well, it’s impossible for anyone but Christ to restore life to a dead person. So it’s almost impossible to repent of murder. Likewise, with the other two, you can’t restore virtue and you can’t take back a denial of the Holy Ghost.

But what about situations where the Lord has commanded that people be killed? Does that not violate his own law? Some examples of this:

• Abraham commanded to kill/sacrifice Isaac – Genesis 22: 1-14
• Saul commanded to destroy and kill all of the Amalekites (men, women, children, live stock, everything) – 1 Samuel 15
• Nephi prompted by the Holy Ghost to kill Laban – 1 Nephi 4: 10-14

A part of this answer is found in a quote from Joseph Smith. “God said, ‘Thou shalt not kill;’ at another time He said, ‘Thou shalt utterly destroy.’ This is the principle on which the government of heaven is conducted – by revelation adapted to the circumstances in which the children of the kingdom are placed. Whatever God requires is right, no matter what it is, although we may not see the reason thereof till long after the events transpire” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], 256.) Sounds like blind obedience. Well, when the one you are following is a perfect God, then such obedience is OK. But rarely is it blind with God. It seems he will always provide enough understanding, sometimes after the trial of our faith, though.

The commandment not to kill might be expanded to include all living animals. I’m not sure if plants are considered alive. Of course one meaning of living might define having a spirit as part of being alive. D&C 77: 2, is revelation to Joseph about Revelations 4: 6, wherein he says “that which is temporal in the likeness of that which is spiritual,” but limits that to man and beast, not plants. In any case, there is a difference between beasts and plants which makes it OK to kill and eat plants without any fear of breaking commandment 6 (see D&C 89: 14,17 – for the Word of Wisdom commandments that tell us specifically to eat plants and grains). Beasts should only be killed in times of winter, cold, famine and excess of hunger (see D&C 89: 12-15).

Also, in 3 Nephi 12: 21-26, Jesus says not only should we not kill, but we should also not be angry!

How much of the wrongs and the evils of the world are caused by anger? If we would follow the commandment to not kill, and the deeper meaning from Jesus to not even be angry, then that would probably solve 90% of the things wrong with humanity.

So, the 4th Commandment, the Sabbath day. This is perhaps my biggest pet-peeve about the Christian world. Everyone who claims to be a Christian should follow and obey the Ten Commandments. Jesus said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven” (see Matthew 5:17-19). The “law” and the “prophets” that he refers to are the laws from the Old Testament, including the Ten Commandments. True he came to fulfil the law, to bring us to a higher level of living and being, but these basic Ten Commandments must still be followed. They are stepping stones, so that once we have mastered them, we can move on to mastering others.

Yet, most of the Christian world does not follow this 4th Commandment. Maybe I am harsh, but society used to be a measure of mainstream Christianity, and, well, society definitely does not follow this Commandment, nor any of them, really. I wonder if the teachers and preachers in other denominations, other than the LDS, teach the commandment to keep the Sabbath day holy. If they do, the people aren’t obedient.

There is so much to discover and learn about this commandment, that it’s a bit overwhelming. It’s so clear and plain in the scriptures, I’m confused how so many people can’t/won’t/don’t follow it. It is basic; don’t work on the Sabbath. In fact, don’t even make others work. If you have animals that work for you, don’t let them work either! Pretty simple.

Then there’s the issue of which day is the Sabbath. If the week has always been Sunday through Saturday, then at the time the Ten Commandments were given, the Sabbath would fall on Saturday. Saturday would be the seventh day, the day God rested after creating the heavens, the earth and all living things. It’s interesting, and important to note, that God says he rested from his labors. He proclaims the work good, even very good, but he doesn’t say it’s done. The creator is Jesus Christ, and his work is not done with the Creation. The last words of Jesus, as he was on the Cross and completing his earthly life and therefore the closing stages of the Atonement, where “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matt 27:46; Mark 15:34), then “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46), and finally, “It is finished” (John 19:30). That was when Jesus could say that he “finish[ed God’s] work” (John 4:34). With the Resurrection happening on the Sunday, the Sabbath was moved by the Christian believers to Sunday in honor and remembrance of the Atonement and Resurrection. Sunday is now the Sabbath, and should be a day of rest, a day of no worldly work, and a day to remember and honor and worship our Savior Jesus Christ.

Then there is the matter of what, specifically, one should and should not do on the Sabbath. Many a list can be made, but basically, we are to do that which worships and serves God. This, again, is a commandment for us to be able to focus on God.

So what problems can be solved when this commandment is followed? Well, I think our society here in America is suffering much from the lack of following this commandment. When the Sabbath has proper place in our lives, we will find that we are more focused on God and others rather than ourselves. What do most people do instead of worship and serve on the Sabbath? They work or do recreational activities. They work to get gain, improve their financial standing, they work to get money, money to buy things. It is something focused on self, the root cause is pride. Or they do recreational things, again the root of it is pride, being selfish. If businesses kept their doors closed on the sabbath, and if people worshiped God and served others on that day, then the businesses would do better (there are many a story of this), and people would be focused on others, people would be more happy, the family would begin to be more central in people’s lives again. The sabbath is about putting priorities in place, putting God’s ways above our own.

Here’s a poem I wrote to hand out with the chocolate bars we gave to the women folk in the Ward today.

“Because God is not with us now, He gave us each a mother.
And from our birth, throughout the days, she loves us like no other;
To heal a scratch, to wipe a tear, to teach of grace and love.
A mother is a window to the Heaven up above.”

It’s an original.