How Many Mormon Commandments Are There?
60 Commandments And Absolute Must-Do's At Least
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, commonly known as Mormons, believe they should obey the "Ten Commandments." And some will tell non-members they also have health code suggestions they adhere to also. However, as with any organization that uses indoctrination, all aspects of a Mormon's life are controlled. So let's look at the myriad commandments that Mormons must adhere to.
1-You cannot drink alcohol, coffee, and tea.
2-You cannot smoke.
3-You cannot swear, curse, or use whatever is deemed as foul language.
4-You cannot watch 'R' rated movies.
5-You must not read anything deemed as 'anti-Mormon' literature.
6-You must attend all your church meetings, not just Sunday.
7-You must be baptized as a full member of the Church.
8-You must be a fully endowed church member to receive the highest glory in Heaven. In other words, you must have attended the Mormon temple to receive instructions on entering Heaven and obtaining your 'real' name.
9-You must attend the Mormon temple 'often' to serve the dead and learn the 'sacred' secrets more comprehensively.
10-You must always and forever wear your priesthood garments or underwear, both men and women, upon attending the Mormon temple for the first time.
11-You must 'magnify' your church callings. In other words, you must spend excessive time and energy during non-working hours.
12-You must dress 'modestly.' In other words, you must dress in such a way that 90-year-old white guys say so.
13-You must maintain a 'clean appearance.' That's right; you can not look like Jesus; you must look like the Prophet and apostles of the Mormon church. In other words, dress and act like old white men.
14-You must maintain a large amount of food and water storage, no matter how poor you may be.
15-You must participate in genealogy or family history research. This can be fun but takes an enormous amount of time, which is the point.
16-You must read the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price daily. But, of course, the vast majority of the almost 17 million members on paper do not.
17-You must not masturbate and are asked about whether you do.
18-You must not have sex before marriage. If so, there will be a punishment.
19-You must not commit adultery. This is punishable by ex-communication.
20-You must read LDS or Mormon magazines.
21-You must keep a journal for yourself and your posterity.
22-You must not participate in 'necking and petting' when dating.
23-You must 'pray always' and at least twice daily. As with reading the scriptures, prayer is not as common as you imagine. As two-thirds of the Church membership is not active, and about half of the remaining third is at Church out of habit, many 'instructions' are not carried out.
24-You must only listen to 'uplifting' music.
25-You must not get tattoos and 'excessive' piercings. Excessive is defined by the old white guys again.
26-As a male, you must go on a Mormon mission to somewhere in the world for two years, all paid for by yourself and your family. It was heavily suggested you did so until recently when church leaders indicated that it is an absolute must.
27-You must try to convert your family, friends, and co-workers. As with many instructions from the Mormon church, the language is softened to make it more palatable. 'Just be their friends no matter what, but . . .' And after all, you are just trying to save them from Hell. Surely you should save them? Don't you want to be with them in the highest glory of Heaven? They can't get there unless they are an active member of the Mormon church. I know, it sounds dumb now, doesn't it?
28-You must avoid unrighteous people and places. Unlike Jesus, who sought out 'bad people and places,' Mormons are not supposed to be anywhere near them. This includes bars, clubs, and non-members' homes if they are deemed lost forever.
29-You must go, what was called until recently, home teaching and visiting teaching. On the face of it, the act of seeing and teaching in members' homes, active or not, was supposed to uplift them and perhaps bring them back into activity or encourage them to participate more fully. However, when reporting back to the church leaders, you were asked about the personal details you may have gleaned, their behaviors, and what they were doing 'wrong.'
30-You must pay your tithing (10% of your earnings or 'increase') and your monthly fast-offering at a cost you deem worthy; the more you pay, the more righteous you are. Do you want 'Net' blessings or 'Gross' blessings is the never-ceasing message?
31-You must have faith. If you lack faith, it is not the Church's fault in any way. Having faith issues always indicates you, yourself, have issues and problems. And so, the more faithful you are, the more 'blessings' you will receive.
32-You must avoid being alone with members of the opposite sex. For example, I offered a ride to a woman from Church to a meeting twenty miles away, and she insisted on riding in the back seat or not coming to the meeting. This is another example of how indoctrination causes distrust amongst people who otherwise would not even consider their behavior as 'bad.'
33-You must feed the Missionaries who serve all over the world. Not only does the Mormon church not pay any stipend for the two years of service on their behalf, but the church members must also feed them. Of course, the Mormon church needs to maintain its billions of dollars in reserve because Jesus may be coming back soon. And although Jesus is all-powerful and can do anything, the Church appears to have enormous savings because Jesus might need it. Hmmm.
34-You must 'Follow the Prophet' to the line, just as the Mormon children's hymn contends:
Now we have a world where people are confused.
If you don't believe it, go and watch the news.
We can get direction all along our way,
If we heed the prophets — follow what they say.
Follow the Prophet, follow the Prophet,
Follow the Prophet; don't go astray.
Follow the Prophet, follow the Prophet,
Follow the Prophet; he knows the way.
And various church teachings,
"When our leaders speak, the thinking has been done. When they propose a plan–it is God's plan. When they point the way, there is no other which is safe. When they give direction, it should mark the end of controversy. God works in no other way. To think otherwise, without immediate repentance, may cost one his faith, may destroy his testimony, and leave him a stranger to the kingdom of God." (Ward Teaching, Under the supervision of The Presiding BIishopric, edited by Lee A. Palmer).
and
"When the Prophet speaks, … the debate is over" (Ensign, Nov. 1978, p. 108).
35-You must hold a 'Family Home Evening,' family scripture study, and family prayer. As with personal prayer, tithing, and reading the Book of Mormon, the percentage of families that 'fully' participate in 'Family Home Evening' is modest compared to the church membership numbers.
36-You must have a large family so that the 'Spirit Children' in Heaven waiting to be born can have a human body and then make their way back home to Heaven. After all, how sad would you be if there was one of your children waiting in Heaven and you didn't do your loving duty? Spiritual blackmail.
37-You must not work on Sundays, although this does not apply to Mormon sportsmen who seem to have a 'pass' in the NFL.
38-You must only do 'wholesome' activities on a Sunday. But, of course, wholesome is defined by those old white guys again.
39-You must volunteer to work for free at the Mormon canary, Mormon orchard, and the Mormon thrift store. You also must clean and maintain the Mormon church buildings; after all, the Church doesn't want to use its billions of dollars in case Jesus comes. And if he does, Jesus will check a member's righteousness by how well the carpets have been freely vacuumed in Church. Finally, if you are hungry or cold and need food or a blanket, you will have to work at the local thrift store for free, even if you have a job to go to feed your family.
40-You cannot have gender reassignment surgery. If so, ex-communication will be waiting as you have damaged the body God gave you, which is perfect. However, you are encouraged to have teeth removed or replaced and your penis disfigured (see my article),
They are altering the perfect body you were given. And don't let's talk about the number of breast implants Mormon women obtain. Are the old white guys okay with that change?
41-You cannot cross-dress, even for theater, etc. I guess the worry is you might like that silky skirt.
42-You absolutely can not criticize church leaders in any way. You must accept their instruction even if the church leader is obviously wrong or incorrect. If you do, you and your family are in grave danger, immediate and long-term.
43-You must partake of the Sacrament and repent. Someone will be checking on you if you miss a couple of weeks.
44-You must not take the Lord's name in vain.
45-You must be married in the Mormon Temple. However, to do so, you must be compliant in all things necessary to obtain a Temple Recommend to enter. If not, you cannot be married there. Another caveat is that if any family member is deemed not worthy to receive a Temple Recommend, they cannot be with you when you are married in the Mormon Temple. (See article below)
46-You must be 'Sealed' to your family so you can all be together in Heaven. Of course, as mentioned above, if you do not have a Temple Recommend, you cannot enter the temple and, therefore, cannot be with your family in Heaven.
47-You must bear your testimony at every opportune moment. You must save other people, and bearing your testimony is the first step in helping others not live in Hell. Just saying.
48-You must keep your thoughts clean, as again deemed by the old white guys in Salt Lake City, Utah.
49-You must obey the laws of the land, well . . ., unless the laws of God come first. "Lying for the Lord" has been a constant throughout Mormon history.
50-You must obey your husband; the Mormon PR department says differently; however, it is reworded today to make it more palatable.
51 — A Mormon woman must be a homemaker and not have a career. Just because some ignore this instruction doesn't mean it's not true. While encouragement is heard about women obtaining an education in case their husband dies, the priority is to be a loyal wife and mother. Mormon women are constantly taught there is nothing at all more important.
52-You must not gamble, not even with family or friends. However, the Mormon church and its members are encouraged to bet on the stock market.
53-You must not get an abortion or support anyone else getting an abortion. With the recent change in Roe v Wade and abortion now illegal in the USA, no doubt ex-communication will be your reward and jail.
54-You must not 'commit' homosexual acts in any way. Ex-communication will be your punishment.
55-You must avoid associating with 'apostates,' 'ex-Mormons, and non-members unless you are 'saving' them.
56-You must attend all extra meetings. In my case, I was away from home every night of the week and on weekends too.
57-Mormon youth cannot dance until age 14, which is fine as I never could dance anyway: apologies, sarcasm.
58-Mormon youth cannot date until age 16 and only in large groups.
59-Mormon youth can only date alone after age 18, specifically with potential marriage partners.
60-Mormon women must only wear skirts that are below the knee. Mormon modesty is again decided by the old white guys in Salt Lake City, Utah. It wasn't that long ago that women could not wear trousers or jeans on campus at Brigham Young University. The BYU cheerleaders have a special dispensation to wear their cheerleader outfits. Really? Yes, really.
© Stephen G. Arrowsmith 2022
To see more of my work, please check out the following articles. Please feel free to share, give me a clap, and follow me for up-to-date writings.
