Before taking the written exam for my driver’s license, I attended a mandatory safety course. As I studied the array of road signs and the long list of traffic laws every driver must follow, I couldn’t help but wonder, “How could anyone memorize all this and apply it while actually driving?” But when the instructor began to speak about yielding on the road, my attention sharpened.
At the heart of safe driving were two essential principles: consideration and yielding. Whether changing lanes, making unprotected left or right turns, or navigating narrow alleyways and roundabouts, the key to arriving safely at one’s destination lay in observing road conditions, proceeding with caution, and being mindful of fellow drivers.
In many ways, we who journey toward the kingdom of heaven are not unlike cars on the road. The voice of our Heavenly Father and Mother is our divine navigation system, guiding us home. The wilderness of faith is the road that leads to the kingdom of heaven. The new covenant is the traffic law we must keep without fail.
Though the final destination—heaven—is the same for all, the routes God leads us on are uniquely tailored. In the same situation, one person may be guided to turn right, another to turn left. While someone ascends an uphill road, another may find themselves descending. At times, we may even face standstills, where no movement seems possible. In moments like these, what we need most are consideration and yielding.
I pray that we may reach the kingdom of heaven safely by keeping the command of love, which God holds above all. As we walk the path to the kingdom together with our family in Zion, may we fill our lamps with the oil of faith and follow God’s will—to love one another—so that we may journey safely all the way to heaven.