Walk In the Ways of the Lord

One of the Light the World invitations was Jesus Helped People to Walk and So Can You.  It references the scriptures story when Jesus healed the impotent man who had been unable to walk for 38 years.  Jesus said to the man, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk” (John 5:8).  King Benjamin had taught his people that the Lord would, during His mortal ministry, cause “the lame to walk,” and this story in John 5 was surely only one of those accounts (Mosiah 3:5).  Most of us don’t need help to walk physically like those the Savior healed, but surely we can think of these miracles as symbolic of how Jesus will help us to walk spiritually and to overcome the challenges we face.  There are many scriptures that invite us to “walk” in various ways, and surely as the Savior helped some to physically walk He will help us to walk in these ways.  Here is a sampling of how we are supposed to “walk” according to the scriptures: 

·         Humbly Before the Lord: The Jaredites “were taught to walk humbly before the Lord,” and their first king “did walk humbly before the Lord” (Ether 6:17, 30).  Micah told us to “walk humbly with thy God” and in our day the Lord taught us to “walk humbly, to judge righteously” (Micah 6:8, D&C 11:12). 

·         Uprightly Before God: Nephi encouraged his brethren to “walk uprightly before God” (1 Nephi 16:3).  The people of Ammon “did walk uprightly before God” (Mosiah 18:29).  Mosiah was described as “walking uprightly before God” (Alma 1:1).  The stripling warriors were taught “to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before [God]” (Alma 53:21).  Mormon described Shiblon, the son of Alma, as “a just man, and he did walk uprightly before God” (Alma 63:2).

·         Guiltless Before God: King Benjamin taught how we can “walk guiltless before God” (Mosiah 4:26).   Similarly Alma asked the people of Zarahemla if they have “walked, keeping yourselves blameless before God” (Alma 5:27).  He likewise told the people of Gideon that he sought to help them “walk blameless before [God]” (Alma 7:22).

·         In the Ways of the Lord: Mormon recorded that “Mosiah did walk in the ways of the Lord” (Mosiah 6:6).  Alma the Elder taught his people to “trust no one to be your teacher nor your minister, except he be a man of God, walking in his ways” (Mosiah 23:14).  Alma the Younger was described as being one who “did walk in the ways of the Lord,” and he taught us to “prepare the way of the Lord, and walk in his paths” (Mosiah 29:43, Alma 7:9).  The Lamanites who were converted were described as being those who “did walk in the ways of the Lord” (Alma 25:14). 

When Enoch was called to preach the gospel to his people, the Lord told him, “Thou shalt abide in me, and I in you; therefore walk with me” (Moses 6:34).  Ultimately I think that is the invitation that the Savior gives to each of us, to walk with Him by making the kinds of choices that He would make and being humble, upright, guiltless, etc.  And He will, if we are willing, help us to spiritually walk in that way just as he gave the impotent man the power to walk physically.