"Thou shalt not speak evil of thy neighbor, nor do him any harm."
Doctrine and Covenants 42:27
This is a jam-packed section, with so much in it. Earlier it has "if ye have not the spirit, ye shall not teach" which is what I was originally going to write about, but as I was reading through the commandments, this one struck me. It isn't very specific with specific instructions like some of the others about killing and adultery, for instance, but instead it is a general guideline, which seems to indicate that we shouldn't say anything bad about others and shouldn't hurt them in any way--mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually. No harm. Which is one of the reasons that God asks us to be "blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and pervese nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world" (Philippians 2:15). Harmless here not meaning "not really able to affect things" as we sometimes use it now, dismissively, but sincerely "without harm" ... not willing to harm others.
Today let's take a step back and really think about whether we are doing harm, and then let's counsel with the Lord about becoming less harmful.
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