When Jesus told the apostles of his impending crucifixion, they said:
30 Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God.
31 Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe?
32 Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. (John 16)
The apostles genuinely thought they were converted, but the Lord knew that they would shortly flee from him. The Lord allowed the apostles to believe all sorts of things that were not exactly correct. If they had just asked him, he would have corrected them. What does he know about you or me? What is he willing to tell us if we just ask?
We know that “...the word of God...divide[s] asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead[s] the man of Christ in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked.” (Helaman 3:29) Can he guide you across the gulf of misery if you don’t allow him to correct your path? The Lord said:
1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, _except ye abide in me_.
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for _without me ye can do nothing_. (John 15)
To the extent that we seek and obey him, he will send the fruits of the light and truth we accept into our lives. However, the presence of fruit does not prove that there are no higher fruits available. To all who will submit to his purging, he offers higher blessings. These stronger fruits will come the same way the first came, through obtaining and living his word—new words, higher words—words that extend beyond or replace what we know. Staying on the path, or continual progress towards God, requires continuous change. We stay on the strait and narrow path by accepting new truth that is offered to us. The path is not a destination. It is a process.
The process is always the same: be open minded enough to believe something could be true, then try it and follow the fruits. You will receive new lessons, new words.
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.
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. (2 Nephi 31)
We do not stay on the path to God by staying the same. We must feast upon the word (or in other words, get more of it!) and endure to the end (or in other words, live according to what you have received without exception). Staying the same is to accept our present distance from God, forever. Those who turn away from God's pruning step off of the strait and narrow way. Their detour may be temporary or permanent. They re-enter the path the same way they stayed on it—by obtaining and obeying new truth.
A young man who came to the Lord asked him what good thing he could do to gain eternal life (see Matthew 19). The Lord replied: “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.” (Matthew 19:21) Given the man’s shock and disdain when Jesus told him to give everything he had away, it is apparent that he was expecting God to tell him something aligned with what he already believed.
It is pointless to seek for God to tell you what you already think you know. If you go to God, you ought to assume he will tell you something that you don’t know. There are only two types of information that you don’t know: something that adds to what you know, or something that contradicts what you know.
As we see in the exchange with the young man, the Lord Jesus always tries to teach things softly at first, and usually doesn't go past that unless we ask him to. Because we don’t, we miss most of God’s attempts to teach us. New truth can’t come without increased capacity to obey. Heed and diligence are required to increase our capacity to obey as yet unknown commandments.
Like this man, we ought to persist with God, begging him to be blunt with us in our oblivious ignorance. We ought to plead with God daily to reveal more light and truth to us. He will answer that prayer. He can do this in many ways. He will speak to your mind and your heart. God can send an angel to teach you, or come to you himself. You may hear an audible voice. You may be led to a particular scripture. You may be prompted to investigate certain books or Bible translations. You may be prompted to look at certain videos or websites. You may have a gospel conversation with a new acquaintance or an old friend. It is impossible to list every possibility. Have an open mind.
By default, we are separated from God. Unlike in the garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve dwelled in the literal presence of God (they saw and spoke to him regularly), each of us is born into a situation where we do not see God, and we are not aware of his voice.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is the process by which we become reconciled to God, regaining the relationship with God that Adam and Eve had in the garden of Eden, but retaining an expanded awareness. A key part of this process is his commandments—progressive instructions that give us increasingly more accurate estimations of his character, so that we can become more and more like he is.
Because the gospel is a process of becoming more like he is, and because our default state is to be opposite to how he is, we ought to understand that the gospel is the process of being corrected, over and over again.
You can predict how far a person will go in their life's purpose by seeing how they react to the light, or to correction. Unfortunately, just as the default state of man is to be separated from God, the default state of man is to “sit in darkness,” or not come to the light. This manifests in their refusing to consider something better, or actively fighting against it.
Very, very few people rejoice in correction. The rareness of this quality alone sufficiently explains why so few achieve celestial glory. It is by far the rarest thing on earth. Most of us bumble through life completely unaware of the sources of further light around us. Most of us run away from the very things we need most in life.
We can't progress in ignorance. It is better to know of our faults with God rather than incorrectly believe we are righteous.
If we submit to the Spirit, which is the reason we are here, we will find that it leads us to places we never supposed. God will shed light on all the dark corners of our character, and we will find ourselves traversing wave after wave of personal, deep change. As we endure more and more polishing—and outright rebuilding—we will acquire and assimilate more and more truth.