More recently, the concept of the “covenant path” has risen to prominence. The covenant path isn’t just an idea or a philosophy on how to be, though. There are actual steps that members must take and benchmarks to be reached in order to obtain the ultimate desire Latter-day Saints believe the covenant path leads to — exaltation, which is defined as “eternal life, the kind of life God lives” according to the church’s “Gospel Principles” book.

In an effort to aid new and returning members in their own traversals of the covenant path, the church in 2021 released an experiential guide known as “My Covenant Path,” which is accessible via the church’s Gospel Library app and website (under “Handbooks and Callings,” then “Ward or Branch Callings” and, finally, “Strengthening New Members”).

“My Covenant Path” essentially serves as a checklist of experiences one can have within two years of their baptism and confirmation. Many of the items on that list refer to covenants — sacred agreements or promises between members and God — in the literal sense; important steps on the conceptual covenant path.

However, things like making friends with fellow ward members, participating in Home Evening, learning about church programs and overcoming discouragement and setbacks also are included.

Photo supplied, Intellectual Reserve

The guide stresses that many of the items listed can be experienced “within one year” of baptism and confirmation. Such has been the case for Cameron Johnson who, after growing up in the southeastern United States and attending other churches, found his way to the Ogden area recently via the U.S. Air Force.

“I get orders to come to Utah, and all my co-workers, you know, they’re just kind of talking about it,” Johnson recalled. “They’re like, ‘Oh, watch out for the Mormons. They’re out there,’ and I’m like, ‘Who’s that? I don’t even know who that is.'”

Johnson attended his first ward meeting in June and has progressed rapidly since then. He was baptized and confirmed Aug. 4, received the priesthood shortly thereafter and now holds a calling in his ward’s Young Men’s program.

“It’s so comforting,” Johnson said of his experience so far. “It’s like the Father’s hand on your shoulder, or your partner just being with you, or just knowing that you’re loved and you’re cared for and you’re safe. It’s really awesome.”

Covenant Path Progress reports are used alongside the “My Covenant Path” guide by local leaders via the church’s Member Tools app and the “Leader and Clerk Resources” website to monitor these milestones and to aid and assist in the progression of new and returning members.

Most of the information contained in those reports is also accessible to missionaries, like those who taught Johnson, via the Preach My Gospel app. Members concerned about issues of privacy can opt out of Covenant Path Progress monitoring at any time.

In the September 2021 Africa South Local Pages of the church’s Liahona magazine, the “My Covenant Path” initiative is described as having been created “to help those who have recently joined or returned to the Church to feel that sense of belonging.”

Tracy Watson, a manager in the church’s Priesthood and Family Department, participated in the rollout of “My Covenant Path.” He said that helping new members connect and build stronger relationships with other members was one of the primary goals of the program’s development.

“Belonging is a very important part. I think I would broaden that just a little bit to say that one of the key reasons for this was to increase the love that these people were feeling from other members of the church,” Watson said. “When we did the training on this, we told the leaders, ‘Look, if you never use the tool but you did everything you could to love these people, to connect with them and to help them feel in the cause of Christ, then it’s a success.'”

Finding that sense of belonging and also avoiding discouragement are crucial to maintaining the proper trajectory on one’s spiritual journey, according to D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Christofferson linked the two concepts during an October 2022 general conference talk covering what he referred to as “the doctrine of belonging.”

“A sense of belonging is important to our physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Yet it is quite possible that at times each of us might feel that we don’t fit in,” he said. “In discouraging moments, we may feel that we will never measure up to the Lord’s high standards or the expectations of others. We may unwittingly impose expectations on others — or even ourselves — that are not the Lord’s expectations.”

More tenured members are advised in “My Covenant Path” to assist new and returning members in completing actions covered in the guide, which also aims to “create a better transparency on what the experience is like as someone steps onto the covenant path and starts walking down that path,” according to Watson.

For his part, Johnson looks to have found his sense of belonging, despite the vast difference between his experience with other churches and those he has had since joining The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“After the first meeting, I had people come to me immediately — hands out, smiles, asking all about me. Very welcoming,” he said. “Even on the day of my baptism, I had a room full of people I didn’t know. The only people I knew were (his girlfriend) Isabel and her family — her mom, her dad, her nieces — (a brother in the ward) and the elders, but beyond them, no one. And it was, like, packed. It felt really good.”