The Unwinding Path

Have you ever wondered why none of us experience life the same way?  Why God calls some of us to walk more thorny paths than others?  If there is only one Gospel and only one straight an narrow path, then why does God ask different things from different people?  A great example of this dilemma from the scriptures is animal sacrifice.  For thousands of years the Lord asked his children to sacrifice animals to Him, but after his Resurrection He said that He would no longer accept sacrifices by the shedding of blood.  If God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, then why did He give different Commandments to the people of Moses' time than to the people of our time?  

     It is true that God does not change, but His application in the lives of His children does change.  In fact, it changes every single day for every single person.  That is one reason why spiritual stagnancy is always a symptom of spiritual decay, because if we were truly following the Gospel our spiritual lives will be dynamic, not static.  The people of Moses' time had had a different worldview and society than we have today, and the actions that would bring them closer to God would not necessarily help any other people.   

     After laying out the straight and narrow path of faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end, the prophet Nephi explains to us how to turn these principles into applications for our individual lives in 2 Nephi 32:1, 3:  "And now, behold, my beloved brethren, I suppose that ye ponder somewhat in your hearts concerning that which ye should do after ye have entered in by the way. But, behold, why do ye ponder these things in your hearts?  Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do."  

    In a previous post I explained that the words of Christ refer not just to the scriptures, but to every form of revelation, including personal inspiration and guidance from living prophets.  All the words of Christ together will tell us all things what we should do.  There is no exception.  This teaching is absolutely necessary because no person can follow another's path of discipleship and end up at the same destination.  It seems paradoxical, but let me illustrate.  There was a popular program in my mission called the Purification Challenge, which was designed to help missionaries be more consecrated.  It involved fasting and writing inspired lists of things to start or stop doing.  The person who used it originally was trying to understand how to bring spiritual power into his mission.  A priesthood leader came up with the Purification Challenge by the Spirit to help him.  After completing the challenge, he and his companion saw an incredible amount of miracles and success.  When we tried it on our mission it helped to a certain degree, but we never saw the same miracles that the original missionary had.  Why not?  Because the Purification Challenge was a personal prescription by God for that specific missionary.  Because through his own unique struggles and experiences, and because he sought answers from God, the Purification Challenge became his personal path to consecration and discipleship in a way that it never could be for anyone else who performed the same actions, even when they had good intent.  Similarly, even though we all have to follow the same principles, the learning and application of those principles will be different for each of us.  Over time on the mission, I discovered the trailhead for my own personal path to consecration which was far more effective for me, a path I still strive to follow today.  

    Each of us has a personal Plan of Salvation, hand-made by God Himself over countless eons of observing and understanding us.  Like a name given to a child at birth, each one is at once glorious and individual.  We will find far more satisfaction and happiness by following our plan than anything else we could possibly do with our lives.  Even more importantly, it is the only way we can come to care more about another's satisfaction and happiness as much as we do our own.  So study the straight and narrow path.  Learn the contents of the Gospel Doctrine Manuel.  But understand that doing so will never be sufficient for your own salvation.  Instead, live all the principles of the Gospel you know, and as you do so listen for the words of Christ to tell you all things what you should do, even when those things include making your own decisions and continuing forward in the best way you know how without an absolute assurance that you are headed in a perfect direction, trusting that God is powerful enough to make whatever course corrections are necessary.  I promise that those that follow this path will find fiery faith burning in their heart, will feel the iron rod firmly within their grasp, and will lift up their eyes to God in gratitude for blessings poured out upon their heads such that they no longer have room enough to receive them.