The Two Great Commandments

Today I read Matthew 22. It's interesing that the Pharisees are smart enough to understand Jesus' parables, but not wise enough to understand that Jesus was the son of God. In a way, it was not their fault as all references to the Savior's first coming had been taken out of the scriptures. The ancient leaders did not believe the prophecies of the Jews killing their Savior to be true prophecies since they were waiting for the Savior to free them so they removed them from the scriptures, thus ensuring that it came to pass.

The Savior tells the Pharisees another parable, the one about the king who throws a marriage for his son but the guests do not show up. A clear reference to the Jews rejecting the Savior. The part of the parable that I don't understand is when the king notices one of the guests does not have a wedding garment on, he throws him out. I think this references those who desire to enter the kingdom without the proper ordinances being performed. It doesn't matter how much we desire to enter into the kingdom of heaven, if we are not properly prepared and have not done the ordinances necessary or taken upon us the proper covenants, we will not be allowed in. Nor would we honestly want to. We would be extremely uncomfortable in the Father's presence if we are not prepared, much like coming home too late after our curfew and having to answer our earthly father's questions of where we were and why we were late. It would not be a comfortable experience.

The part of this chapter that I enjoy the most though is the Savior's answer to the question of which of all the commandments is the greatest. We have talked before about how the 10 commandments are not so much do's and don'ts as they are a list of the traits our Father in Heaven has. And unless we exhibit the same traits as He does, we will not want to be around Him. I personally would not be surprised in the slightest if the final judgment is nothing more than the Father sitting down with us and explaining the type of people that will be in each Kingdom and asking us where we would like to go and where we think we would be most comfortable. Again, that is just my opinion, but it would not surprise me at all if that turned out to be the case.

But the 10 commandments can be easily sectioned into 2 neat categories, those that dictate how we are to act towards God, and those that dictate how we should act towards others. Though shalt not have any other Gods before Heavenly Father, thou shalt not make any graven images, thou shalt not take the name of the Lord they God in vain, thou shalt keep the Sabbath day holy. All of these commandments have to do with how we are supposed to treat Heavenly Father. Some might wonder what keeping the Sabbath day holy has to do with how we treat the Lord. To me it's about honoring the day He has set aside as holy. Heavenly Father has asked us to do no labor on the Sabbath and to cause no one else to do labor. He has also asked us to do His work on that day, and so by honoring those requests we are honoring His wishes. That is how I feel keeping the Sabbath holy is more about how we treat God than our fellow man.

The rest of the commandments, honor thy father and thy mother, do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not covet. All of these have to do with loving our fellow man, or woman, more than ourselves.

If everyone followed these two commandments, there would be no crime, there would be no hurt feelings, there would be no people allowing their tempers to get the best of them, it would be a virtual paradise. During the millenium, the reason Satan will be bound is most likely because people will be following the 2 great commandments and treating others the way we want to be treated. As the scriptures state when there is Zion, the Saints have all things in common and they are one heart and one mind.

Sadly, we know this will not happen until the Millenium and the scriptures state that after the Millenium the people will go back to being carnal and devilish again. The scriptures teach that the nature of man is an enemy to God and has been since the fall of Adam. When man is taught to overcome that nature and to do what is right and to treat others they way they want to be treated, then society is pleasant and life is how our Father in Heaven wants it. Following the 2 great commandments is the best way to ensure a happy home and a happy family. Teaching our children to follow them is the best way to ensure a happy society and the effects continue to spiral out from there. It's nice to dream what the world would be like if we all lived the way the scriptures teach us to. Maybe some of us will live to see the day where we actually do. Until tomorrow.