Memorizing was all but impossible for me as a child.  In addition, the school system was going through a funky teaching period.  We did not learn to read phonetically.  And teachers were not allowed to teach us any mnemonics to make the task of memorizing simpler.  As an adult, I was challenged by a pastor to memorize the 10 commandments.  I felt this pastor was speaking straight into my heart and the Holy Spirit was saying that it was time for me to buckle down and learn His Top Ten Laws.

I found that memorizing them in order was the easiest way to remember.  Additionally, it is my personal opinion that these ten laws are arranged by God in an order of importance.  The first three commandments relate solely to our relationship with the Lord.  I have paraphrased them because I find them easier to keep in my memory bank this way.

1.  You shall have not other God’s before me.

2.  Don’t bow down to worship any God, except me.

3.  Keep my name holy and don’t use my name for anything other than talking about me or talking to me.

The next commandment deals with the a sabbath day of rest.

4.  Keep one day for resting and keep that day holy before me.

Then the commandment with promise:

5.  Honor your father and mother and you are going to live a long life.

The next five I’ve remembered by looking at four pictures on my wall that are arranged in an square and I remember the first letter of important action in the commandment.  The letters are:  MASL.  I say the commandments in a circular way in my mind making a letter C.  In this way, I remember all the commandments in order:

6.  You shall not Murder

7.  Yu shall not commit Adultry.

8.  You shall not Steal.

9.  You shall not Lie.  (That is bear false witness against your neighbor but we generally  transliterate that into lying.)

10.  You shall not Covet.

When teaching lessons on the commandments, I taught all ten of them to the members of my class of adults who are mentally challenged.  In only two or three weeks, they had learned all of them and in the correct order.  I hope you find this beneficial.  I’ve been surprised many adults in the church have no idea what the ten commandments are.  As you see they aren’t hard to learn.  In fact, most of us know them.  Because we aren’t able to recite them on the tip of our tongue, we believe that we don’t actually know them.  Learning the commandments in order also helps us to remember them all.