Sometimes a phrase catches your attention and sparks your imagination. We hope that’s what happens when you think about “Companions on the Journey.” These words come from the song of the same name in the Sing a New Song hymnal (NS 7). The prophetic call comes from Doctrine and Covenants 161:1:
Lift up your eyes and fix them on the place beyond the horizon to which you are sent. Journey in trust, assured that the great and marvelous work is for this time and for all time. Claim your unique and sacred place within the circle of those who call upon the name of Jesus Christ. Be faithful to the spirit of the Restoration, mindful that it is a spirit of adventure, openness, and searching. Walk proudly and with a quickened step. Be a joyful people. Laugh and play and sing, embodying the hope and freedom of the gospel.
“Companions on the Journey” reflects both that we are not traveling alone and that we are in motion, not yet at our ultimate destination. My faith journey is intermingled with yours, and together we sense a call to go where God sends us, beyond the horizon—beyond what we know and can see—in trust that our God walks with us. “Companions on the Journey” identifies us as a missional people, pursuing the cause of God’s kingdom as we serve and share with others along the way. It also identifies us as a people of faith, venturing into the future with confidence and joy as we experience and share the hope and freedom of the gospel.
The call to journey together is sounded again in Doctrine and Covenants 162:8:
You are a good and faithful people, but sometimes you fail to see the power that is resident in your own story and fellowship. Look carefully, listen attentively, and sense the Spirit among you. Do not be unduly concerned with numbers. Be fervent in your witness, passionate in your discipleship, and vigorous in your labor on behalf of peace and justice. Where two or three such disciples form community, there will the Spirit be. Many will come to see. Continue your journey, O people of the Restoration. You have been blessed thus far but there is so much yet to see, so much yet to do. Go forth with confidence and live prophetically as a people who have been loved, and who now courageously choose to love others in the name of the One you serve.
In the spirit of the hymn and the prophetic voices, let us follow Jesus as companions on the journey, “breaking bread and sharing life.”