What happens to a society if the last five commandments are ignored?
If the last five commandments—those governing man's relationship with man—are ignored, a society's social fabric cannot hold together. The transcript states directly that it just cannot, emphasizing that these commandments are essential for societal cohesion. Without them, the moral bonds that keep a society functioning break down.
Les explains that the first five commandments concern man's relationship with God, held together by the connecting link 'the Lord thy God,' while the last five concern man's relationship with man and do not include that link. He then asks how long a society or social fabric can hold together if those last five are absolutely ignored, and answers, 'Well, it can't. It just cannot.' As an illustration, he mentions missionary friends who ministered to uncivilized tribes in South America, referring to the five missionaries killed by the Alka Indians. Those friends work in the same area, starting with totally uncivilized people still running in the jungle with bow and arrow and nothing but a loincloth, befriending them and finally bringing them out where they can communicate.