Commandments

[circusboy01]

Sometimes I think back to things about the scriptures that I learned long ago, and wonder if I learned, or was taught correctly.
For instance. When Moses came down with the commandments there were far more than just the 10 we have today. When he saw the Golden calf and what was going on. He smashed them to the ground in anger. He went back up the mountain, and the next time he came down it was with the 10 we know today, because we weren't yet ready for all of them.
Is that right or at least close to right?. I also heard that we as Latter Day Saints have some of those other commandments. Is that true? Brother Ray

[Vort]

Moses was originally given the higher law. After the rebellion of the children of Israel, Moses received the lesser law, the so-called "law of Moses". The ten commandments are not specific to the law of Moses, however. The law of Moses can be thought of as forming a subset of the higher law, including elements that were specific to the pre-Christian era (where the "Christian era" means after Christ's resurrection).

[circusboy01]

Originally Posted by Vort

Moses was originally given the higher law. After the rebellion of the children of Israel, Moses received the lesser law, the so-called "law of Moses". The ten commandments are not specific to the law of Moses, however. The law of Moses can be thought of as forming a subset of the higher law, including elements that were specific to the pre-Christian era (where the "Christian era" means after Christ's resurrection).

I know it's more involved than this. But to put it simply.
The higher law= a lot of commandments. The lesser law = only 10 commandments.
Right?

[Eowyn]

I believe the Higher Law is what Christ taught on the Mount of Olives.

[Vort]

Originally Posted by circusboy01

I know it's more involved than this. But to put it simply.
The higher law= a lot of commandments. The lesser law = only 10 commandments.
Right?

No, the lesser law contained a lot more than the ten commandments.

[Dravin]

Originally Posted by circusboy01

I know it's more involved than this. But to put it simply.
The higher law= a lot of commandments. The lesser law = only 10 commandments.
Right?

The lesser law is the Law of Moses and, unless I'm mistaken, consists of 613 commandments by Jewish reckoning. At any rate, trying to divide higher law or lesser law by number of commandments has two issues in my mind:

1) It is subjective depending on how one wants to divide commandments.
2) It overlooks the difference in purpose and nature of the laws, the difference between the higher law and the Law of Moses isn't primarily an issue of number even if there is, by some reckoning, a numerical difference.

You may find The Guide to the Scriptures useful: Law of Moses

[volgadon]

Originally Posted by Eowyn

I believe the Higher Law is what Christ taught on the Mount of Olives.

Do you perhaps mean the Mount of Beatitudes?

[circusboy01]

Originally Posted by Dravin

The lesser law is the Law of Moses and, unless I'm mistaken, consists of 613 commandments by Jewish reckoning. At any rate, trying to divide higher law or lesser law by number of commandments has two issues in my mind:

1) It is subjective depending on how one wants to divide commandments.
2) It overlooks the difference in purpose and nature of the laws, the difference between the higher law and the Law of Moses isn't primarily an issue of number even if there is, by some reckoning, a numerical difference.

You may find The Guide to the Scriptures useful: Law of Moses

So am I correct in saying that the first time Moses came down from the mountain he had, with him a lot more than just ten commandments? Brother Ray

[Dravin]

Originally Posted by circusboy01

So am I correct in saying that the first time Moses came down from the mountain he had, with him a lot more than just ten commandments? Brother Ray

Are you thinking that the entirety of the higher law were contained upon the stone tablets? Considering the second set of tablets didn't contain the entirety of the lesser law I'm disinclined to think the first set contained the entirety of the higher law.

[circusboy01]

Originally Posted by Dravin

Are you thinking that the entirety of the higher law were contained upon the stone tablets? Considering the second set of tablets didn't contain the entirety of the lesser law I'm disinclined to think the first set contained the entirety of the higher law.

Yes. That sounds like what I was taught when I first started coming to church. Back in 1967
Moses received all the commandments from God.He came down the mountain to give them to the people. When he saw what was going on, and that they had built a Golden Calf to worship. In anger he broke the tablets by throwing them to the ground.
He went back up the mountain. Either he suggested to God or God told him that mankind was not ready for all the commandments. When he came back down the mountain, he had with him the 10 commandments. Brother Ray