How Do I Walk the Path Back to God?

Recently, I wrote about the existence of a path back to God that is taught by Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and in the temple endowment. (You can read about that here.) It is one thing to know the steps of the path, and another to actually walk the path. I want to share an approach to walking the path that has been very helpful to me in my experience. This approach may seem surprising at first. Yet, once you know that God wants to have you return to Him, of your own desire and without any compulsion, this approach makes a lot of sense. It is as simple as asking God to give you what He has offered, but will not force you to receive.

Here are the principles that comprise the path back (References are in the previous post.)

• Faith that comes by hearing the word of God, through the testimony of the servants of God
• Repentance
• Baptism, the channel and key by which the Holy Ghost will be administered
• The Gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, by the principle of righteousness
• Knowledge of the doctrines of the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment
• The Doctrine of Election - being sealed with that Holy Spirit of Promise
• Receive the Second Comforter - no more nor less than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself
• Jesus Christ will manifest the Father to us

It has been my experience that we can review our progress along the path by carefully considering each step of the path. For example, if I have heard, and recognized, the testimony of a true servant of God then I can act in faith on that testimony. Then, I repent. Repentance is ongoing as we learn how the things we do are in error, we change and come to know God better and feel the joy of our redemption through Jesus Christ (See Alma 37:8-9 and this past post about repentance). The next step is baptism, and I received that when I was eight years old. Receiving the Holy Ghost is supposed to follow baptism. If I am not sure about having received the Holy Ghost, then how can I proceed?

We can pray about it. And, I want to suggest an approach to prayer. The process that I am suggesting here is not something to be done lightly. When we approach the Lord in prayer it should be sincere. You might consider fasting, going to a special place (a favorite room in the home, a grove of trees, a place in the mountains, the temple, or anywhere that you know you can feel the Spirit), and pray with real intent. The conversation with the Lord includes prayerfully asking:

1. Have I received the Holy Ghost?
2. If not, will you give me the Holy Ghost?
3. If not yet, what lack I yet?

The first question is based upon the Savior's observation that the Lamanites "were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not." (3 Ne 9:29) it is possible that we can receive the Holy Ghost and not know it, or not recognize it as such. If we have received it, then when we ask this question the Lord will bring to our mind when and how it happened. If it has not yet happened, it may be that some study of the scriptures will be needed in order to receive the answer to this question. Thus, at first, the answer may be silence accompanied by hope that you will receive an answer in response to the next two questions. 

The second question is the one that exercises our agency to ask the Lord to give the gift that He has offered through His servants. If a gift, like the Holy Ghost, is offered through Joseph Smith, or the many other prophets in the scriptures, we can ask for it in faith. The answer to this question may be powerful, or it may be silence. Just listen and gratefully accept the response. If the response is silence, or a peaceful feeling of "not yet," don't be discouraged. By asking in faith you have set in motion the experiences that will ultimately lead to receiving, or recognizing that you have received, the Holy Ghost.

The third question, if asked with real intent, leads to learning. And, sometimes, what we learn requires significant change (repentance) in our lives. It is likely that after asking the third question we will need to spend some time searching and studying in the scriptures, the temple, and in continued prayer. I have found, though, that the Lord always answers if we are willing to learn and change. Usually our learning includes the observation that we do not merit the gift we seek, but He wants to give it anyway because of His love for us. We just need to obey the promptings that come as a result of asking this question, even when it is difficult. Remember, the rich young man who asked this question (see Matt 19:20) found the answer very challenging. We, too, may be stretched and challenged as the Lord asks us to sacrifice and offer our all to Him.

You may use different words when you pray. It will be your unique conversation with the Lord. It has been my experience, though, that this process has been an essential part of each step of my journey along this path. And, when it works for each of the early steps, it gives real confidence and faith that it will work for all of the steps.

The Lord has revealed through His servants the things that He would like to give to us. We can ask for those things with faith that we will receive. Because He honors the agency that He has given to us, He will not force these things upon us. But, when we ask and seek in this manner, He will give all that He has promised. Remember His process and promise in D&C 93:1 -

  1 VERILY, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am;

We cannot just casually ask for gifts that the Lord wants to give. When we ask for gifts and then ask "what lack I yet?" we must be ready to act on what He tells us. The process involves repenting, coming to Christ, calling on His name and obeying his voice as He gives us commandments. When we do this we will be able to walk the path back to Him and, ultimately, see His face and know that He is.

Is There a Path Back to God?

I have been hiking in the mountains of Utah for almost 20 years. There are so many beautiful trails, summits, lakes, and valleys that I love to share with others. My favorite type of hike is to get to the summit of a peak. Some peaks have well defined trails to the top (if you know where the trail starts) and others require a little creative route finding. Often, people will ask me how to get to the top of a particular mountain peak. It is a lot easier to describe a route that I have actually walked than it is to describe one I have never tried myself.

There is an analogy to be made. Many people are struggling with information about the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or about its members and leaders. People come across descriptions of claimed problems with the history or behavior of the leaders or members and feel that their faith is challenged. The analogy I want to draw is that the core of the faith that we received through Joseph Smith is well defined. It defines a path back into the presence of God. Much of the criticism of the church or its members is like arguing about whether the path could exist based upon the behavior of people who may have talked about the path, walked only a portion of the path, tried other paths, made claims that the path is different than we thought, or even claim that no path exists.

Joseph Smith described seeing the Father and the Son (see Joseph Smith - History 1: 17). He also enjoyed the ministering of angels, such as Moroni (see Joseph Smith - History 1:30-33) or, together with Oliver Cowdery, John the Baptist (see D&C 13:1). He and Sidney Rigdon saw a vision of Jesus Christ and the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (see D&C 76:14). Joseph's ministry and teachings are based upon the claim that the heavens are open and that revelation of God is available to us living in mortality. And, Joseph did not require us to merely take his testimony as sufficient. He taught that "... God hath not revealed anything to Joseph, but what He will make known unto the Twelve, and even the least Saint may know all things as fast as he is able to bear them, for the day must come when no man need say to his neighbor, Know ye that Lord; for all shall know Him (TPJS, pg. 149)."

Joseph walked a path that leads through personal revelation and the ministering of angels back to the knowledge of God. And, he then taught us how to walk the path. In a sermon given in June of 1839 (See TPJS, pp. 148-151) Joseph Smith described the path as including the following elements:

• Faith that comes by hearing the word of God, through the testimony of the servants of God
• Repentance
• Baptism, the channel and key by which the Holy Ghost will be administered
• The Gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, by the principle of righteousness
• Knowledge of the doctrines of the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment
• The Doctrine of Election - being sealed with that Holy Spirit of Promise
• Receive the Second Comforter - no more nor less than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself
• Jesus Christ will manifest the Father to us

This path is a remarkable thing. Imagine the possibility that each of us could walk the path and be reconnected to our Father in Heaven again. It seems to me that the best way to test the teachings of Joseph Smith is to get busy walking the path he described. If the path takes me to where I enjoy forgiveness of sin, the Holy Ghost in my life, knowledge of Jesus Christ, and a reunion with my Father, then I know the Lord for myself and I know that Joseph Smith taught a correct path.

It turns out that the Book of Mormon also teaches this path. The book opens with Lehi seeing a vision of God in just the sixth verse of the first chapter (see 1 Nephi 1:6). The message, throughout the Book of Mormon, is that the heavens are open and revelation is available through the ministering of angels, the power of the Holy Ghost, and through open vision and the voice of God. Nephi is a great example of someone who walked this path. Here are examples, from the life of Nephi, of every step of the path that has been described by Joseph Smith:

• Faith - Nephi hears his father's teaching and seeks his own witness (1 Nephi 2:16)
• Repentance - Nephi taught based upon revelation and experience (2 Nephi 13:31)
• Baptism - Nephi saw baptism of Jesus and His reception of the Holy Ghost (1 Nephi 11:27)
• Gift of the Holy Ghost - The power by which Lehi taught and Nephi learned (1 Nephi 10:17)
• Resurrection and Judgment - Jacob taught it as part of the plan (2 Nephi 9:22)
• Election - Nephi taught that we may have the promise of eternal life (2 Nephi 31:20)
• Second Comforter - Nephi heard the voice of the Son (2 Nephi 31:12) and promised that Christ will manifest himself unto us in the flesh (2 Nephi 32:6)
• Father is manifest - Nephi was taught by the voice of the Father (2 Nephi 31:15)

Nephi made it clear that this path is the one given by God and that the Doctrine of Christ is the way; and that there is no other name than Christ given under heaven whereby a man can be saved in the Kingdom of God (2 Nephi 31:21).

Later, while creating his abridgment of the Nephite records, Mormon found this record of Nephi to be choice and pleasing and made it the basis for the remainder of his own record (see Words of Mormon 1:3-5). In fact, there are examples of every aspect of the path taught in the balance of the Book of Mormon. It is worth taking the time to search out the examples that are there and to convince yourself that this path is taught repeatedly through the Book of Mormon.

Joseph Smith provided us with an additional description of this path back to the Father. Describing what he taught on May 4, 1842 (TPJS, pg. 237), Joseph said:

Wednesday, 4. - I spent the day in the upper part of the store, that is in my private office * * * in council with General James Adams, of Springfield, Patriarch Hyrum Smith, Bishops Newel K. Whitney and George Miller, and President Brigham Young and Elders Heber C. Kimball and Willard Richards, instructing them in the principles and order of the Priesthood, attending to washings, anointings, endowments and the communication of keys pertaining to the Aaronic Priesthood, and so on to the highest order of the Melchizedek Priesthood, setting forth the order pertaining to the Ancient of Days, and all those plans and principles by which any one is enabled to secure the fullness of those blessing which have been prepared for the Church of the Firstborn, and come up and abide in the presence of the Eloheim in the eternal worlds. In this council was instituted the ancient order of things for the first time in these last days. And the communications I made to this council were of things spiritual, and to be received only by the spiritual minded: and there was nothing made known to these men but what will be made known to all the Saints of the last days, so soon as they are prepared to receive, and a proper place is prepared to communicate them, even to the weakest of the Saints; therefore let the Saints be diligent in building the Temple, and all houses which they have been, or shall hereafter be, commanded of God to build; and wait their time with patience in all meekness, faith, perseverance unto the end, knowing assuredly that all these things referred to in this council are always governed by the principle of revelation. (May 4, 1842.) DHC 5:1-2.

Again, Joseph is teaching how to come into the presence of God. And, he is assuring us that all of these things are available to all of the saints as soon as we are prepared to receive them.

Many people spend a lot of time debating whether the path that has been described could exist in a church that is comprised of people who make mistakes. Whether it be individual foibles or something as doctrinally important as the ordination of people of African descent to the priesthood, these are issues that are peripheral to the core claim that there is a path back to God. These may be significant issues, but they are not the central message of the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They relate to the people who have attempted to live the Gospel. If the path actually leads back to God then, eventually, we will understand the answers to all of the other concerns.

If the fulness of the Gospel was given by Christ to the Nephites, then we should be able to follow that path, too. It seems to me that the best way to test the claim is to try to walk the path. There are many recognizable waypoints on the path that serve as signposts that we are on the right path (see related thoughts here). We can watch for those to know that we are headed in the right direction, even if we aren't at the end of the path yet. This is, after all, a journey of faith. If the path actually brings us to have faith, to repent, to be baptized, to receive the Holy Ghost, to gain a knowledge of Jesus Christ as the Son of God and as our Redeemer and, through Him, to a knowledge of the Father, then the other stuff will work itself out. If the path does not bring these things, then the other stuff doesn't really matter.

The church is like a hospital where every member is part of a huge effort for the patients to treat the patients. It is remarkable how much good can come out of this kind of effort. It is not surprising that it will occasionally disappoint us, and maybe even break our hearts. But the real message is not the church, rather the church is where the real message is taught. Don't get caught up in the debate about whether the weakness of church members undermines the message of the church. Rather, start walking the path and see where it leads. I will tell you, from my experience, that the views are spectacular from this particular path!







* Just a note of appreciation to a great thinker that helped to focus my thoughts. This post is inspired by the "Parable of the Diamond," by Hugh Nibley. I have posted it here before.