I once took a video editing class in which my professor’s first assignment for the class was to take a series of video clips and arrange them in an order that told a story from beginning to end.
The clips each showed one step in the process of a ship moving from one side of the Panama Canal to the other through a series of locks.
These locks are systems that allow for a boat to be raised from a body of water at a lower elevation to a body of water at a higher elevation.
The challenge for us as new video editing students was to avoid getting confused about where a clip went based solely on the water level shown. Sometimes the water had to go up, and sometimes it had to go down before the ship could move forward from one lock to the next. Identifying the proper order of the clips required us to pay attention to the location of the boat, not the level of the water.
Earlier this year, I visited the Erie Canal. In 2025, the canal marked 200 years of helping boats move more than 350 miles from the Hudson River to the Niagara River and Lake Erie in the state of New York. The canal served to link the Great Lakes region of North America to the Atlantic Ocean.
Part of the canal was under renovation when my family and I arrived. I could have watched the process for days. I was fascinated to see the system and all its many large mechanical parts being cared for and meticulously placed in order for the water to be used to help the boats move against the natural flow of the river.
The experience reminded me of a general conference message from Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in April 2023 general conference.
“We can choose whether we yield to heavenly powers or ‘go with the flow.’ Going against the flow may be difficult. But when we yield ‘to the enticings of the Holy Spirit’ (Mosiah 3:19) and put off the selfish tendencies of the natural man or woman, we can receive the Savior’s transforming power in our lives, the power to do difficult things,” he said.
Going against the flow in life is sometimes easier than others. That flow, however, never stops. It is always headed in one direction, and that direction tends to be away from Heavenly Father.
Swimming against the current may work in short spurts. But creating and participating in systems can help individuals to have more sustained success in their efforts to move against the flow and toward the goal of eternal life.
Daily scripture study? That can be a lock. Worthily partaking of the sacrament each week? That can be a lock. Worshipping and participating in temple ordinances? That can be a lock. Home evenings? That can be a lock.
Using those locks in our spiritual life can help advance against the natural flow of the rivers that would push us and those we love back to sea.
Church leaders frequently refer to this as following the covenant path. Perhaps making a covenant can be seen as moving from one lock to the next. Keeping covenants allows water to fill the lock and prepares us to move to the next step on the covenant path.
Elder Renlund said that moving along the covenant path strengthens us to continue moving forward.
“As you walk the covenant path, from baptism to the temple and throughout life, I promise you power to go against the natural worldly flow,” he said. “Power to learn, power to repent and be sanctified, and power to find hope, comfort and even joy as you face life’s challenges. I promise you and your family protection against the influence of the adversary, especially when you make the temple a major focus in your life.”
I’m grateful to know that Heavenly Father has a plan for us and that we are not left on our own without direction or guidance. The Savior makes it possible for us to repent when we head the wrong direction. The Holy Ghost guides us to make the next right decision as we move from one lock of life to the next.
— Jon Ryan Jensen is editor of the Church News.
