We speak about walking the strait and narrow.  The scriptures say a good deal about the “strait and narrow path.”  (2 Ne. 31:18-19).  This is an interesting phrase.  On the surface it seems redundant since strait, as it’s spelled, means narrow.  It’s a phrase used by the Savior when He taught both the people of Jerusalem and also the Nephites.  He said, “Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad the way, which leadeth to destruction, and many there be who go in thereat;

“Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”  (3 Ne. 14:13, 14).

A strait is a narrow, constricted place.  For example the broad Mediterranean Sea narrows down to the 8-mile-wide Strait of Gibraltar.  All ships that wish to pass from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean must pass through the Strait of Gibraltar.  There is no other way.

Another strait is the Bosporus Strait.  This is the narrow outlet—the only outlet—from the Black Sea.  Until the Suez Canal was dug the only way to get from the Atlantic Ocean to the Black Sea was to go through the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea, traverse the Mediterranean, and go through the Bosporus Strait into the Black Sea.

A strait is a very defensible place.  The entire course of the history of the world was perhaps changed because of the use of a strait by the ancient Greeks.  The Persian leader, Xerxes, ruled a vast empire that stretched from India to Egypt and Libya.  His power was unmatched.  His desire was to rule the world, including Europe.  One little region of loosely-knit city states in Greece lay in his way.  By conquering them, which should have been an easy task, the way would be open for his vast army to roll through Europe.  His army numbered 180,000 men.  His immediate objective was Athens.  To get there his army had to go through Thermopylae Pass, a 50-foot-wide pass between a mountain and the sea.

In 480 B.C. Spartan King Leonidas positioned himself and 300 chosen men in the pass with backup from a few others.  With their swords and shields the Spartans stood shoulder to shoulder and blocked the 50-foot pass.  For two days Leonidas and his little band held off the huge Persian army and kept them from coming through.  A traitor showed the Persians a goat trail over the mountains which enabled them to outflank and conquer the Spartans; but the courage of Leonidas and his 300 delayed the Persians, and showed the Greeks that if they were united they could defeat the invincible invaders—which they did.  Greek culture, Europe, and the vital seedbed for Christianity were preserved.

As I have studied the strait and narrow way spoken of by the Savior I find that there are two or three straits that we must each pass through.  Nephi exhorted us to “do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter.  For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.

“And then are ye in this strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life; yea, ye have entered in by the gate…  (2 Ne. 31: 17).

Baptism is the first gate.

In his vision of the tree of life Lehi “beheld a strait and narrow path” which led to the tree.  (1 Ne. 8:20).  When Nephi saw the same vision he beheld that mists of darkness and the temptations of the devil led men “away into broad roads” where they perished and were lost.  (1 Ne. 12:17).

I think it would be helpful if we would figuratively take a Mediterranean cruise.  Let’s picture ourselves sailing around in the world represented by the Atlantic Ocean.  It’s stormy and cloudy.  Most of us have no idea where we’re going.  The seas are rough.  It’s foggy.  Narrow is the way which leads to the Mediterranean Sea, and few there be that find it.  Of the six billion people who are currently sailing around this Atlantic Ocean, only 13 million have thus far found the Strait of Baptism and entered the strait and narrow path that leads to eternal life.  That strait and narrow path is clearly marked before us, but it leads through broad roads and a multitude of channels and islands and the 2000-mile-long Mediterranean Sea with literally thousands of ways and distractions to get us lost.

But if we carefully follow the directions that are clearly outlined in the scriptures, we can accurately make our way through the islands and diversions that are set along the way to distract us from our goal.  We don’t have to stop in Italy.  We can bypass the islands of Malta and Cyprus, and make our way through the Greek Islands.

And then we come to another strait.  A strait is so narrow that only one individual can go through at a time.  Every ordinance in this Church is done on an individual basis.  There are no group baptisms.  We’re baptized one by one.  The ordinance must be individually performed for every single person who wishes to achieve salvation in a kingdom of glory.

As members of the Church we’ve been baptized, but everything in the Church after baptism is pointing us toward the temple.  Every class, every ordination, every calling, and every sacrament meeting is pointing us toward the temple endowment and sealings.  These, too, are done individually.

In our journey from the world, represented by the Atlantic Ocean, to our goal of eternal life, represented by the Black Sea, we have to pass through a little interim sea called the Sea of Marmara.  It lies between the Mediterranean and Black Seas.  There’s a strait at either end of the Sea of Marmara, and there’s no other way to get from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea except through these two straits.

The strait linking the Mediterranean to the Sea of Marmara is the Dardanelle Strait.  It’s only 1-mile wide at its narrowest.  Anciently it was called the Hellespont.  Xerxes built a bridge of boats over the Hellespont to get his army from present-day Turkey over to Greece where Leonidas’ little band defied him at Thermopylae.

The temple endowment and sealings is the Dardanelle Strait.  We go through there one by one.  It’s a lot narrower than the Strait of Gibraltar.  A lot of baptized members get lost or diverted in the Mediterranean and never make it to the Dardanelle Strait.

Once we’re in the Sea of Marmara there’s one more strait to pass through before we enter the Black Sea and eternal life.  For our purposes of illustration I wish the Black Sea had a better name, like the Sea of Light perhaps, but Black Sea will have to do.  To get into the Black Sea we have to pass through the Bosporus Strait.  It’s the narrowest strait of all.  It’s only ½-mile wide.

Passage through the gate that marks entrance into eternal life can only be made with the permission of the sentinel who is set there.  Nephi tells us who it is who mans this second gate that the scriptures talk about.

“O then…come unto the Lord, the Holy One.  Remember that his paths are righteous.  Behold, the way for man is narrow, but it lieth in a straight course before him, and the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there; and there is none other way save it be by the gate; for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is his name.

“And whoso knocketh, to him will he open…”  (2 Ne. 9:41, 42).

There is great significance in those words.  We’ve got to really want to gain eternal life.  We have to knock, and ask permission of the Savior Himself to gain admittance.

We have to pass through two straits to ever get into the Sea of Marmara.  Sadly some get their endowments and then fail to keep their temple recommends current.  They may only rarely, or never, make it back to the temple even when a temple is near at hand.  They wander around the Sea of Marmara and may never knock at the strait and narrow gate.

“And now…after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done?  Behold, I say unto you, Nay….

“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.

“And now, behold…this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God.  And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end.  Amen.  (2 Ne. 31: 19-21).

On our cruise through the Mediterranean, half of our shipmates have jumped ship.  Half of the Church membership got off at Naples and Malta, Cyprus and Athens, and has forgotten their goal of eternal life.  They’ve not made it to the temple.  The ten virgins in the Savior’s parable were all members of the Church.  Only half made it in to the wedding.  A few others who made it to the temple are now lost in the Sea of Marmara.

We who are endowed members of the Church know the way.  We stand just before that last gate all ready to knock.  We’ve made it to the tree of life that Lehi saw.  Instead of standing there and selfishly partaking of the fruit, what if we gathered some into baskets and went back to share with those who got lost?  We know the way.  We know where the path is, and we know how to keep our feet upon it.  If we take some fruit back to share with those who got distracted, we’ll have the satisfaction of ushering many of them through the temple and of joining us at the gate where we can knock and be admitted into the Sea of Light, our ultimate goal.            —22 March 2012