2 Nephi 31:9-13

9  And again, it showeth unto the children of men the straitness of the path, and the narrowness of the agate, by which they should enter, he having set the example before them.
10  And he said unto the children of men: Follow thou me.  Wherefore, my beloved brethren, can we follow Jesus save we shall be willing to keep the commandments of the Father?
11  And the Father said: Repent ye, repent ye, and be baptized in the name of my Beloved Son.

2 Nephi 31:9-11 (Emphasis mine)

Nephi(1) continues his comments on the baptism of the Savior by emphasizing the example He set.  Through His example He shows us the path we should follow as his disciples.

Then Nephi(1) makes an important point.  How can you follow Jesus if you don't keep His commandments? He tells us to follow Him.  Can a person truly follow Him if he doesn't follow His example?  No!  Christ's life is an example for us.  He shows us the way.  To follow Him, we must obey the commandments.  And one of the commandments is to repent and be baptized in Christ's name.

14  Ye are the alight of the world.  A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
15  Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
16  Let your alight so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 5:14-16 (Emphasis mine)

12  So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?
13  Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.
14  If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.
15  For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.

John 13:12-15 (Emphasis mine)

21  For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

1 Peter 2:21 (Emphasis mine)

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin discussed following Christ in the April 2002 General Conference.

Have you ever wondered what it must have been like to have lived in the days of the Savior? If you had been there, would you have heeded His call “Follow me”?  Perhaps a more realistic question might be, “If the Savior were to call you today, would you be just as willing to leave your nets and follow Him?” I am confident that many would.But for some, it may not be such an easy decision. Some have discovered that nets, by their very nature, are sometimes not so easy to leave.  Nets come in many sizes and shapes ... Nets in this context can be our work, our hobbies, our pleasures, and, above all else, our temptations and sins. In short, a net can be anything that pulls us away from our relationship with our Heavenly Father or from His restored Church ...Jesus the Christ is “the way, the truth, and the life: no [one] cometh unto the Father, but by [Him].”  As a special witness of Him, I testify to you this day that the time will come when every man, woman, and child will look into the Savior’s loving eyes. On that day, we will know with a surety the worth of our decision to straightway follow Him.That each of us may hear the call of the Master and straightway leave our entangling nets and joyfully follow Him is my earnest prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.  (Emphasis mine)

12  And also, the voice of the Son came unto me, saying: He that is baptized in my name, to him will the Father give the Holy Ghost, like unto me; wherefore, follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do.
13  Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by fbaptism—yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the tongue of angels, and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel.

2 Nephi 31:12-13 (Emphasis mine)

After baptism, there is more.  Once we are baptized in His name, we will receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.  This will allow us to "speak with tongue of angels and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel. " This special gift will allow us to not only become closer to Him, but it will allow us to be even better followers of Him.

Merely following Him is not enough.  Nephi(1) teaches us we must follow him with full purpose and real intent.  We must avoid hypocrisy and deception.  We must repent of our sins.  We must show our purpose and intent by following him through baptism and taking upon his His name.  He expects much of His followers.  He gives us much more in return.

what shall we do?
38  Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Acts 2:37-38 (Emphasis mine)

29  ¶ Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
30  The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.
31  Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
32  And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.

Acts 5:29-32 (Emphasis mine)

 10  Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.
11  This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.
12  Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Acts 4:10-12 (Emphasis mine)

In the October 2010 session of General Conference, Elder David A. Bednar said:

The Holy Ghost is manifested to men and women on the earth both as the power and as the gift of the Holy Ghost. The power can come upon a person before baptism; it is the convincing witness that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. Through the power of the Holy Ghost, sincere investigators can acquire a conviction of the truthfulness of the Savior’s gospel, of the Book of Mormon ...We first should desire, yearn for, and seek the companionship of the Holy Ghost. You and I can learn a great lesson about righteous desires from the faithful disciples of the Master described in the Book of Mormon:

“And the twelve did teach the multitude; and behold, they did cause that the multitude should kneel down upon the face of the earth, and should pray unto the Father in the name of Jesus. … And they did pray for that which they most desired; and they desired that the Holy Ghost should be given unto them” (3 Nephi 19:6, 9).  

Do we likewise remember to pray earnestly and consistently for that which we should most desire, even the Holy Ghost? Or do we become distracted by the cares of the world and the routine of daily living and take for granted or even neglect this most valuable of all gifts? Receiving the Holy Ghost starts with our sincere and constant desire for His companionship in our lives. (Emphasis mine)

I would like to close this post with a few of Elder Bednar's closing words.

I pray we will sincerely desire and appropriately invite the Holy Ghost into our daily lives. I also pray each of us will faithfully obey God’s commandments and in reality receive the Holy Ghost. (Emphasis mine)