The “kingdom” concept in Mormon theology has narrowed over the 170 years since pioneer settlement in Utah. The law book used by the first government in Utah, The Laws of the State of Deseret, consisted of the Ten Commandments alone. The Decalogue was understood to be a constitutional law document that embraced the hopes and aspirations of every portion of that early society. Today the Church tends to view the “kingdom” as the membership of the church. Modern scholarship demonstrates that ancient Israel understood the Decalogue the way early Utahns did.

Robert Kimball Shinkoskey