When Samuel the Lamanite speaks of commandments, statutes, and judgments, he is not just being verbose. There were specific statutes and judgments in addition to the Ten Commandments. There were also many more commandments than the original ten. Representative examples of each are given.
COMMANDMENTS
STATUTES
JUDGMENTS
1. Ten Commandments (Ex 20)
11. Ye shall be holy
12. Offer sacrifice willingly
13. Leave some of the harvest in the field for the poor and strangers
14. Ye shall not…deal falsely
15. Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour
16. Thou shalt not rob thy neighbour
17. Thou shalt not abuse the deaf and blind
18. In righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour
19. Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer
20. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart
21. Thou shalt not…bear any grudge
22. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself
(Commandments 11-22 are taken from Lev 19)
1. Thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed
2. Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood
3. Ye shall not…use enchantment
4. Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh…nor print any marks upon you
5. Do not prostitute thy daughter
6. Ye shall…reverence my sanctuary
7. Regard not them that have familiar spirits
8. Thou shalt honor the elderly
9. If a stranger sojourn with thee…ye shall not vex him
10. Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment…in weight, or in measure
(8 other statutes are not listed; statutes are taken from Lev 19:19-37,)
1. Punishments given for:
2. Judges are to judge according to the rule, thou shalt give life for life, Eye for eye, tooth for tooth (Ex 21:23-24)
(See Ex 21-23; many more judgments and statutes are given)
Under the New Law given in this dispensation, we still have commandments, statutes, and judgments. The commandments are well known. They include the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, the commandments given in DC 42, and others found in a hundred other scriptures.
The statutes of the new law are the rules of our religion. They are not always specifically stated in scripture, and some are influenced by modern culture (much as the Law of Moses statutes were heavily influenced by the culture of the time). Some are concerned with personal behavior, and others are concerned with procedural matters. An example of a modern day statute would be that the Church does not encourage cremation.
Finally, judgments are just as prevalent and necessary today. Most of the modern day statutes and judgments are found in the Church Handbook of Instructions which guides Bishops in managing the affairs of the ward and passing judgment as a judge in Israel. Anyone familiar with that handbook knows that the spirit of revelation permeates its pages just like the scriptures. Without it, the church-wide uniformity, which is so remarkable, would quickly crumble and contentions about procedural matters would become commonplace.