Walking with God on the Covenant Path

By Elder Paul Lekias

Area Seventy

Earlier in the year, I was impressed with our Come, Follow Me studies that focused our attention on the phrase ‘walking with God’.

In our busy lives, we may relate to how Enoch felt when the Lord called him to cry repentance unto His children¹. Enoch said, “Why is it that I have found favor in thy sight, and am but a lad, and all the people hate me; for I am slow of speech; wherefore am I thy servant?”²

If we have felt that way, we are in good company. Fortunately, we need not despair, for this is how the Lord responded to Enoch’s question:

“Go forth and do as I have commanded thee, and no man shall pierce thee. Open thy mouth, and it shall be filled, and I will give thee utterance, for all flesh is in my hands, and I will do as seemeth me good . . .

And thou shalt abide in me, and I in you; therefore walk with me.”³

In the Topical Guide, we find over 100 references to walking with God. Adam walked with God in the Garden of Eden⁴; Enoch walked with God⁵; Noah walked with God⁶; Abraham and Isaac did walk with God⁷.

The invitation to walk with God remains in place this day, in fact, “He inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness,”⁸ or in other words, walk with Him.

To walk with our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ, we first need to know who They are. We come to know Them as we serve Them⁹ and keep Their commandments.

We walk with God when we love God and our neighbour¹⁰ and minister in higher and holier ways. We are walking with God when His image is in our countenance, and we experience a mighty change of heart¹¹. We walk with God when we stand as a witness of Him, lift one another, care for those in need and see that there is no poor among us¹².

In recent years, President Russell M. Nelson best described what walking with God looks like when he said:

“Now, to each member of the Church I say, keep on the covenant path. Your commitment to follow the Savior by making covenants with Him and then keeping those covenants will open the door to every spiritual blessing and privilege available to men, women, and children everywhere.

“As a new Presidency, we want to begin with the end in mind. For this reason, we’re speaking to you today from a temple. The end for which each of us strives is to be endowed with power in a house of the Lord, sealed as families, faithful to covenants made in a temple that qualify us for the greatest gift of God—that of eternal life. The ordinances of the temple and the covenants you make there are key to strengthening your life, your marriage and family, and your ability to resist the attacks of the adversary. Your worship in the temple and your service there for your ancestors will bless you with increased personal revelation and peace and will fortify your commitment to stay on the covenant path.

“Now, if you have stepped off the path, may I invite you with all the hope in my heart to please come back. Whatever your concerns, whatever your challenges, there is a place for you in this, the Lord’s Church. You and generations yet unborn will be blessed by your actions now to return to the covenant path. Our Father in Heaven cherishes His children, and He wants each of us to return home to Him. This is a grand goal of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—to help each of us to come back home.”¹³

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints let us do all in our power to follow the examples our wonderful prophets by walking with God along the covenant path so that in the coming days the Lord will call us Zion and receive us unto His own¹⁴.