As I’ve slogged through a particularly difficult journey during the last few months, I’ve found myself somewhat perversely fascinated with others who seem to be taking those same kinds of journeys. I don’t know—maybe I’ve been hoping to pick up some tips on how to stay vertical. Maybe I’ve been hoping to figure out what’s behind it all. Or maybe I’ve just been hoping to know I’m not alone.

I did find some tips. I did discover some insights. And I did find I’m not alone. But here’s what I didn’t expect to find: each of us has a different path to take.

Even if we’re struggling with an almost identical trial, we all move ahead on a different path—the one designed specifically to help each of us reach our designated endpoint in the best way for us. The one designed specifically to help each of us learn lessons tailored to our own needs. To read more, click the button below.

I am reminded of two very different paths taken by two very different groups of people who were both focused on the same goal. Each wanted to reach the promised land. (And there’s even a message of great import there: what, exactly, is my promised land? What is yours?)

These two groups of people set out under similar circumstances. Each was led by a righteous, visionary man who was determined to deliver them to their promised land. And so the journey started. But that’s where the similarities end.

Moses led the children of Israel away from the threat of captivity in Egypt. Pharoah’s armies were in pursuit, and time was of the essence. Suddenly Moses came to a screeching halt. In front of him was the Red Sea. Behind him were the desperate children of Israel. Behind them were the angry, determined forces of Pharoah’s army.

We know what Moses did then. It’s one of the greatest miracles ever known. Guided by the Lord, Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the waters parted. “And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left” (Exodus 14:22).

Pharoah’s armies weren’t so lucky. When they charged onto the dry ground, the waters thundered down on top of them, burying all the men, the horses, and the chariots. Every single one—horses and all—was drowned. But that’s a story for another day.

The other group was led by the brother of Jared. They weren’t being pursued, of course, so they had a little more time to figure things out along the way. Nonetheless, the same thing happened to the brother of Jared: he came to a screeching halt in front of a vast sea. Behind him were the Jaredites, determined to reach the promised land.

We know what the brother of Jared did then. Guided by the Lord, he built barges that were small and light and tight like a dish (see Ether 2:16–17). What happened next is probably my favorite of all the miracles ever recorded—the brother of Jared asked the Lord to touch sixteen stones with His finger, knowing the resulting light from the stones in those little barges would last until they reached the distant shore. And it did.

Then the Jaredites got inside those vessels, lowered them into the sea, and “did cross many waters” (Ether 2:6).

Both the children of Israel and the Jaredites reached their promised land. They took different paths, but they both got there in the end.

Did it matter how each of them reached the promised land?

I don’t think so.

When Joseph Smith was gathering missionaries to teach the gospel in August 1831, he stood on the banks of the Missouri River. The Lord promised that the little band would be preserved and would rejoice together in the land of Missouri. That was their promised land.

How were they supposed to get there? The Lord Himself said He didn’t care whether they rode horses or mules or traveled in chariots, as long as they continued their journey (see D&C 62:4, 7). As long as they reached their promised land, it didn’t matter how they got there.

It’s the same for you and me. We have different promised lands. We have different paths that will get us there. Some of us will go on dry ground. Some of us will cross many waters. Some of us will travel yet another path. But with our trust in the Lord, we’ll each reach our promised land, regardless of how we get there. As long as we continue our journey.

So don’t worry about the path I’m on. And I won’t worry about the path you’re on. Because each of those paths is tailored uniquely to the one making her way along it. And each promised land waits, rich with the blessings and rewards for those who reach the end of the path.