The Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments were given by God to serve as the foundational code of conduct—a standard of morality for any and all civilizations that desire to be a nation under God, and therefore, blessed. The history of America is one built upon this foundation.

John Adams wrote to Thomas Jefferson on November 4, 1816:

“The Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount contain my religion.”

President Harry S. Truman addressed the Attorney General's Conference in February 1950:

“The fundamental basis of this nation's laws was given to Moses on the Mount ... I don't think we emphasize that enough these days… If we don't have a proper fundamental moral background, we will finally end up with a totalitarian government which does not believe in rights for anybody except for the State.”

“The Ten Commandments are not the laws. They are The Law,” stated Cecil B. DeMille on November 8, 1956, at the New York opening of his epic film The Ten Commandments.

Released by Paramount Pictures, the movie starred Charlton Heston as Moses and Yul Brynner as Pharaoh Rameses II. Adjusted for inflation, it went on to become the 8th highest-grossing film of all time. While filming on-location in Egypt, Cecil B. DeMille—then 75 years old—climbed a 107-foot ladder to shoot the famous Exodus scene from atop the massive Per Rameses set. In the intense heat, DeMille suffered a near-fatal heart attack.

Though doctors ordered him to rest, DeMille finished directing the movie. He never fully recovered and died of a heart condition on January 21, 1959. He had anticipated doing a film on the Book of Revelation.

For almost five decades, Cecil B. DeMille produced monumental films in Hollywood, including:

• Joan the Woman (1916)
• Male and Female (1919)
• Adam’s Rib (1923)
• The Road to Yesterday (1925)
• The King of Kings (1927)
• The Sign of the Cross (1932)
• Cleopatra (1934)
• The Crusades (1935)
• Samson and Delilah (1949)
• The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), for which he won an Academy Award.

Cecil B. DeMille was educated at Pennsylvania Military Academy and at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

His niece, Agnes de Mille, choreographed films and musicals such as:

• Oklahoma! (1943)
• Carousel (1945)
• Rodeo (1942)
• Paint Your Wagon (1951)

Continuing his comments at the 1956 New York opening of The Ten Commandments, DeMille stated:

“Man has made 32 million laws since the Commandments were handed down to Moses on Mount Sinai more than three thousand years ago, but he has never improved on God’s law. The Ten Commandments are the principles by which man may live with God and man may live with man. They are the expressions of the mind of God for His creatures. They are the charter and guide of human liberty, for there can be no liberty without the law... What I hope for our production of The Ten Commandments is that those who see it shall come from the theater not only entertained and filled with the sight of a big spectacle, but filled with the spirit of truth... That it will bring to its audience a better understanding of the real meaning of this pattern of life that God has set down for us to follow.”

President William McKinley stated in his Inaugural Address, March 4, 1897:

“Our faith teaches that there is no safer reliance than upon the God of our fathers ... who will not forsake us so long as we obey His commandments.”

Alfred Smith, four-term Democrat Governor of New York and the first Catholic Presidential candidate, stated in May 1927:

“The essence of my faith is built upon the commandments of God. The law of the land is built on the commandments of God. There can be no conflict between them.”

Franklin D. Roosevelt stated on December 24, 1942:

“We as a nation and as individuals will please God best by showing regard for the laws of God. There is no better way of fostering good will toward man than by first fostering good will toward God. If we love Him, we will keep His commandments.”

In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower said:

“The purpose of a devout and united people was set forth in the pages of the Bible:

• to live in freedom;
• to work in a prosperous land;
• to obey the commandments of God.

This Biblical story of the Promised Land inspired the founders of America. It continues to inspire us.”

On March 8, 1983, at the National Association of Evangelicals in Orlando, Florida, President Ronald Reagan stated:

“There’s a great spiritual awakening in America... One recent survey by a Washington-based research council concluded... 95 percent of those surveyed expressed a belief in God. A huge majority believed the Ten Commandments had real meaning in their lives.”

Dr. Billy Graham, in accepting the Congressional Gold Medal on May 2, 1996, said:

“We have lost sight of the moral and spiritual principles on which this nation was established—principles drawn largely from the Judeo-Christian tradition as found in the Bible... There is hope! Our lives can be changed... The Scripture says, ‘You must be born again’... Think how different our nation would be if we sought to follow the simple and yet profound injunctions of the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount.”

On February 5, 1997, Governor Fob James threatened to call out the National Guard to prevent the removal of the Ten Commandments display from a courtroom in Gadsden, Alabama:

“The only way those Ten Commandments and prayer would be stripped from that courtroom is with the force of arms.”

In 1973, as Governor of California, Ronald Reagan stated:

“With freedom goes responsibility. Sir Winston Churchill once said you can have 10,000 regulations and still not have respect for the law. We might start with the Ten Commandments. If we lived by the Golden Rule, there would be no need for other laws.”

As President, Reagan stated at a National Rifle Association banquet in Phoenix on May 6, 1983:

“If we could just keep remembering that Moses brought down from the mountain the Ten Commandments—not ten suggestions—and if those of us who live for the Lord could remember that He wants us to love our Lord and our neighbor, then there’s no limit to the problems we could solve.”

Our nation has a rich history—particularly when it comes to acknowledging the Ten Commandments’ place in our lives. In recent years, the Ten Commandments have been under attack by people of lawlessness.

But there is a remnant Church, working to re-elevate God’s laws to their proper place in the life of this land and to remind this country that we are one nation under God.

To learn more about William Federer, visit https://americanminute.com/