Strict Commandments

"O remember, remember, my son Helaman, how strict are the commandments of God." (Alma 37:13)

Upon reading this scripture I wondered, what does strict actually mean? I have a sense of what it means to me, but putting it in words isn't obvious for me and, what about in Joseph Smith's time, circa 1828? What did it mean then?

Well it turns out there are a few definitions, some of which I expected, and some that reached a little beyond that expectation.

Some of the definitions included:

• Governed or governing by exact rules; observing exact rules;
• Confined; limited; not with latitude;

These are largely what I thought. So the commandments of God are not wishy washy or ambiguous, they are set forth limited and concise.

Another definition included "Rigorous; not mild or indulgent." Rigorous? Not what I would have thought with strict, so I looked up Rigorous which included these definitions:

• Allowing no abatement or mitigation;
• Without abatement or relaxation;
• Scrupulously accurate;

Indeed, the commandments of God are rigorous. They do not go away when we want to have fun. In the words of Jeffrey R. Holland:
"You never ‘check your religion at the door.’ Not ever. My young friends, that kind of discipleship cannot be—it is not discipleship at all.
...
"My young brothers and sisters, this Church can never “dumb down” its doctrine in response to social goodwill or political expediency or any other reason. It is only the high ground of revealed truth that gives us any footing on which to lift another who may feel troubled or forsaken."

There is no moment in time in which the commandments suddenly are unimportant. No, they continue without abatement, mitigation, or relaxation!

They are scrupulously accurate! That is, they are designed so perfectly that obeying them will lead us toward Him and to becoming as He is. He lives His commandments and offers them to us as His secrets for becoming like Him!

People pay thousands of dollars, and indeed I have paid thousands of dollars, for mentorship and training to help me have, do, and be more of what I want. God's laws are free! The gospel has no financial cost!

"Wherefore, [the Lord God] commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation.
"Behold, doth he cry unto any, saying: Depart from me? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he saith: Come unto me all ye ends of the earth, buy milk and honey, without money and without price.
"Behold, hath he commanded any that they should depart out of the synagogues, or out of the houses of worship? Behold, I say unto you, Nay.
"Hath he commanded any that they should not partake of his salvation? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but he hath given it free for all men; and he hath commanded his people that they should persuade all men to repentance."
(2 Nephi 26:24-27)

How grateful I am for strict commandments! Yes, I fall short of them ALL. THE. TIME. Because I am not yet strict; I am not yet rigorous; I am not yet unconditional, and yet the commandments are all those things. I am grateful for these strict commandments because they help me see clearly! If they were not strict, how confused would I be?! How difficult would it be to know how I ought to act and be?!

And oh how grateful I am for repentance! Without the chance of repentance through the atonement of Christ, I would be stuck seeing how I fall short and never able to change it. No hope of improvement, no hope of forgiveness, no hope of life. What a blessing repentance is! What an immeasurable gift is the atonement!