How do I study effectively and stay on the path?

In the chapter titled "How Do I Study Effectively?" in Preach My Gospel, we read the statement:

"For you to grow in the gospel and stay on the path that leads to eternal life, you need to develop a habit of gospel study."

What does it mean to "stay on the path" through studying the gospel?

To begin the discussion, let us recognize that the path we are on is the path to repentance, humility, a broken heart and a contrite spirit, charity and discipleship. It is the path to Christ in a very literal sense.

The first milestone on this path is to receive the spirit of Elias, which is baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. The next milestone is to receive the spirit of Elijah, which is the blessings of the temple, including the crowning blessing of being sealed up unto eternal life, or having our calling and election made sure. The final milestone is to receive the spirit of Messiah, which is the Second Comforter, which is the presence and personal ministration of Christ.

There are, of course, many small steps between these milestones. There is a great deal to learn, and there is much to do. We each have considerable growing to do, as discussed in the previous article in this series. Nevertheless, the path is not mysterious or mystical or hard to understand. However hard it may be to climb it, it is not hard to know the way and to recognize the critical milestones.

Scriptures

• Psalms 23:3 - The Lord "leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake."  If we diligently follow the Lord, we can be assured that we are on the right path.
  
• Psalms 25:4, Prov 3:6 - "Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths." "In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." There is only one strait and narrow path that leads to God, but we may come at that path from many directions. Some come from a path of faith, others from a path of affliction; some come from paths of sorrow or poverty or sin. God wants everyone to get on his strait and narrow path, and he provides us with the experiences that we need to get from wherever we are to where he wants us to be to start the journey on the right path.
  
• 1 Nephi 8:21 - "And I saw numberless concourses of people, many of whom were pressing forward, that they might obtain the path which led unto the tree by which I stood." The Lord does not just pick us up and set us on the path to him. He must exert effort to find the path. We must press forward until we obtain the path.
  
• 1 Nephi 16:5 - "And it came to pass that they did humble themselves before the Lord; insomuch that I had joy and great hopes of them, that they would walk in the paths of righteousness." Once we obtain the path, we must walk it. It is not an escalator. We must be humble and exert more effort. It is even harder to walk the path than it was to find it in the first place.
  
• Heb 12:12-13 - "Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed." Once we are on the path, we are responsible to help others get on the path and stay on it. We must vigilantly watch our conduct and our conversation so that we do not create crooks and twists in others' paths.
  
• 2 Nephi 31:9 - "And again, it showeth unto the children of men the straitness of the path, and the narrowness of the gate, by which they should enter, he having set the example before them." Christ is our example of how to walk the path. It is strait, meaning strict, and it is narrow, meaning there is no room for deviation. Yet everyone's path is not exactly the same. We must each traverse the strait and narrow path of the Savior, but we will not all step in exactly the same footprints of others. We each walk our own way.
  
• Mosiah 2:36-37 - "I say unto you, that the man that doeth this, the same cometh out in open rebellion against God; therefore he listeth to obey the evil spirit, and becometh an enemy to all righteousness; therefore, the Lord has no place in him, for he dwelleth not in unholy temples. Therefore if that man repenteth not, and remaineth and dieth an enemy to God, the demands of divine justice do awaken his immortal soul to a lively sense of his own guilt, which doth cause him to shrink from the presence of the Lord, and doth fill his breast with guilt, and pain, and anguish, which is like an unquenchable fire, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever." Our guide on the path is the Holy Ghost. He will lead us along wisdom's path as long as we obey him. But if we walk contrary to his guidance, we rebel against God, and the Spirit withdraws. We thus invite and spirit of the Adversary to become our guide, and he will quickly and surely lead us away from the strait and narrow path.

Examples

The General Authorities are all examples of people who have gotten on the path of righteousness, have stayed on the path, and have walked diligently in the right direction.

• Elder Bednar talks about wanting from an early age to "be a good boy".
  
• President Hinckley told of gaining his testimony as a young boy while sitting in the back of the chapel in a stake conference and singing a hymn.
  
• Elder Claudio Costa tells of how he gained his testimony as a young adult. His parents had joined the church after he was grown and had moved away from home. They invited him repeatedly to learn about the gospel, but he had no interest in religion, only in making money. One day when he was visiting in their home, his parents invited the missionaries to teach one of their investigators in their home. Claudio listened from the kitchen. He felt something. After the lesson, before the missionaries left, he asked them for something to read. They gave him the pamphlet of the Joseph Smith Story. He started reading it and stayed up all night, studying it and praying about it paragraph by paragraph. In the morning he had a certain witness that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that he needed to be baptized immediately. He went to the missionaries' apartment and insisted that they had to baptize him that day. They got permission to teach him all seven discussions in two days and baptize him. It took him many years to find the path, but once he accept it, he jump on quickly and sprinted forward with great enthusiasm.

Studying the gospel is key to getting on and staying on the path that leads to Christ. Studying the gospel is more than just reading the scriptures and attending Sunday meetings. It requires faith and action. And it must become a habit, which we will discuss in the next article.