Jonas is "startled" by some of the rules he is given as the Receiver of Memory, and they conflict with the way he and other members of the community have been raised. Specifically, he is conflicted by the rules that exempt him from rudeness and always telling the truth.
In Ch. 9 it says about his reaction to the exemption for rudeness,
"He was so completely, so thoroughly accustomed to courtesy within the community that the thought of asking another citizen an intimate question, of calling someone's attention to an area of awkwardness, was unnerving" (Ch. 9).
We can see from his reaction that he is genuinely conflicted about having the ability to be rude. It has never occurred to him to do so intentionally, and he realizes that while he is allowed to be rude, the rules do not "compel him" to be. So, he decides he simply won't be, thus avoiding the personal conflict.
He is truly bothered by the final rule that allows him to lie. He is bothered for two reasons: this has been "an integral part of the learning of precise speech," and so any small transgression has quickly been punished, but also Jonas realizes that others may have been given this same exemption at some point as part of their own assignments. What if others had also been told they were now allowed to lie? How many liars might there be in the community? This really shakes Jonas and what he thinks he knows about his community. If he were to choose to lie, it would be a great personal conflict for him because honesty is so deeply engrained in his character.
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