After describing God’s detailed instructions to Noah about building the ark, the author of Genesis simply says, “Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he” (Genesis 6:22). In the following chapter, after Noah receives instructions about loading animals onto the ark, the author again says, “Noah did according unto all that the Lord commanded him” (Genesis 7:5).
In modern English, the word “command” can sound coercive, even harsh. It conjures images of a drill sergeant barking orders that must be instantly obeyed, or else. But the etymology of the word tells a different story. The Latin word commandare consists of the intensifying prefix “com-” (“thoroughly” or “completely”) followed by mandare (“to entrust” or “to commit into someone’s care”). A commandment, then, is a sacred mandate, something placed in our hands to be kept and safeguarded. When God gives us commandments, He is not overriding our agency. He is entrusting us with a sacred responsibility.
The word “command” comes from the same Latin root as the word “commend.” So when Moroni says, “I would commend you to seek this Jesus” (Ether 12:41), his invitation reflects the same principle of entrusted responsibility as God’s instruction for Noah to build an ark. Whether phrased as a commandment or a commendation, the pattern is the same: an omniscient and loving God reveals His will and trusts us to act accordingly.
If we think of a commandment as a sacred trust, then we show our love for God by fulfilling it to the best of our ability. Nephi praised his father by saying, “He was obedient unto the word of the Lord, wherefore he did as the Lord commanded him” (1 Nephi 2:3).
Nephi later described their success in obtaining the brass plates in similar terms:
Thus far I and my father had kept the commandments wherewith the Lord had commanded us.
And we had obtained the records which the Lord had commanded us, and searched them and found that they were desirable; yea, even of great worth unto us.
1 Nephi 5:20-21
Nephi wasn’t suggesting that he and his father were perfect. He was reporting back that they had received specific assignments from God, had fulfilled those assignments with God’s help, and were blessed for doing so.
When God gives commandments, He is not demanding flawlessness in all things at all times. He is giving us sacred responsibilities that will bless us and bring us closer to Him. His commandments are expressions of confidence in us. Like Noah, Lehi, and Nephi, we show our love for Him by faithfully carrying out the assignments He entrusts to us.
Today, I will treat God’s commandments as a sacred trust. I will accept invitations and assignments from Him and show my love for Him by carrying them out faithfully.
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