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Commandments, the Ten

See also Commandments of God; Moses

Ten laws given by God through the prophet Moses to govern moral behavior.

The Hebrew name for these is the “Ten Words.” They are also called the Covenant (Deut. 9:9) or the Testimony (Ex. 25:21; 32:15). God’s giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses, and through him to Israel, is described in Ex. 19:9–20:23; 32:15–19; 34:1. The commandments were engraved on two tables of stone, which were placed in the Ark; hence the Ark was called the Ark of the Covenant (Num. 10:33). The Lord, quoting from Deut. 6:4–5 and Lev. 19:18, has summarized the Ten Commandments in “two great commandments” (Matt. 22:37–39).

The Ten Commandments have been repeated in latter-day revelation (Mosiah 12:32–37; 13:12–24; D&C 42:18–28; 59:5–13; JST, Ex. 34:1–2).