Though the path is long and arduous, Nephi encourages us along:
17 Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.
18 And then are ye in this strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life; yea, ye have entered in by the gate; ye have done according to the commandments of the Father and the Son; and ye have received the Holy Ghost, which witnesses of the Father and the Son, unto the fulfilling of the promise which he hath made, that if ye entered in by the way ye should receive.
I love these two verses! I love Nephi’s plainness. If you didn’t get it before, he lays it out again. Repentance and baptism constitute a gate and then comes “a remission of sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.” Remission is such a great word. Not only does it mean “forgiveness” or “pardon,” but it also means “abatement” or “diminution of intensity.” That is so accurate!
It is only after this that you are in the strait and narrow path. Did you catch that? You should not assume that you are on the strait and narrow path unless you have had a “remission of sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.” You can’t be on that path without it. Continuing along that path requires you to obtain a portion of God’s spirit that fallen, carnal people do not have. You must be changed and obtain that portion of God’s spirit because, without it, God cannot give you the additional knowledge about him that moves you forward on that path.
Arguably, the most important reason why you need to have this change affected in you is because it serves as a witness.
The operations of the Spirit are unseen by our physical eyes, and it can be difficult to believe in things that are not physically tangible. The latter part of verse 18 is a good thing to hold in remembrance as you continue on the strait and narrow path:
...and ye have received the Holy Ghost, which witnesses of the Father and the Son, unto the fulfilling of the promise which he hath made, that if ye entered in by the way ye should receive.
God keeps his promises, and the fact that he does, first and foremost, proves his existence. If you doubted his existence before repentance, you will have no reason to after the outpouring of a measure of his spirit to you. That outpouring will give you the evidence of both his existence and his character that you will need as you encounter new information about him and about more and more unseen operations of the spirit.
I’m going to recommend a two-part series of blogposts here. Part 1 can be found here and part 2 can be found here. Those two posts are about the “covenant path” that is talked about so much in the church today. If you want a preview of those blogposts, run a scripture search on the term “covenant path.” Spoiler alert: you won’t find the term in scripture. It’s a catch phrase that has made its way into LDS jargon, and, in my opinion, it has negative effects on how members of the church view the path to eternal life.
19 And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.
20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.
Once you know that you are in the strait and narrow path (and not before), you must walk that path. It is not an easy endeavor. There is a reason why Nephi says that you must “press forward.” You will have to lean into the new things that you encounter, but that should neither be a surprise nor a deterrent from continuing along the strait and narrow path. “Steadfastness in Christ” means that you retain in your spirit that same image of submission that caused you to repent after initially learning about Christ. You maintain your willingness to be completely reconciled to any new information that God may give you. The same willingness that moved you to reconcile yourself to his word in the first place is what propels you along the strait and narrow path as he sends you new information. Your rebirth—the gift of the Holy Ghost to you—is what enables you to have “a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men.” Knowing that he has kept his promise to you will give you the hope that he will continue to keep his promises to you, and the manifestation of his love to you will fill your heart with love for him in return. You will understand that his love for you is extended to all who will come unto him, and you will have a greater desire to share that love with others—becoming like Christ in the process.
The latter half of verse 20 sums it up quite nicely: we “press forward,” meaning we continue in our state of submission to God; “feasting upon the word of Christ,” meaning we anxiously seek out and incorporate new information from and about Christ; “and endure to the end,” meaning we do this until we reach the “end”—a topic for a separate blogpost. This process leads to eternal life. The Father promises us this. It is the only process that leads to eternal life. It is how we fully take upon us the name of Christ and we cannot be saved in the kingdom of God without it.
21 And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen.