Lifting burdens, strengthening weaknesses

It is my weekly privilege to lead a Sunday school class of marvelously faithful and inquiring high school juniors and seniors. It is a true blessing to me to be a part of this class and to learn with them through the Spirit as we discuss the gospel. Note that I say that I lead the class but I do not teach it. We teach each other through our discussions, and I always come away from our sessions feeling like I have learned at least as much as anyone else in the class.

For the past couple of weeks we have been discussing mortal burdens and weaknesses and how the Atonement of Christ helps lighten our loads. One thing I have learned from these young men and women is that the youth in Davis County, Utah, have plenty of challenges and burdens. Growing up in faithful families in a predominately LDS community does not provide these youth of Zion with a free pass to endlessly carefree lives. Challenges and difficulties are necessary to growth, and these young people need to grow just like everyone else. No one is exempt from the extremities of life. How we react to those extremities, and how we help others with their burdens, are the lessons we are sent to mortality to learn.

And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light; Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life— Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you? (Mosiah 18:8-10)

One of the covenants we make at baptism is to help others bear their burdens, to mourn with them, and to comfort them. The Apostle Paul taught the saints in Galatia the same principle when he wrote to them, "Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2). Christ's law, also known as the Law of the Gospel, is to bear each other's burdens.

We covenant weekly to take upon us the name of Christ and always remember him and keep his commandments (D&C 20:77). Our goal is to become like Christ. Through the Atonement, he bore the burdens of all mankind. To become like him, we must learn to bear the burdens of others.

Necessary and Unnecessary Burdens

We experience two classes of burdens in our lives:

1. Positive - Duties, obligations, responsibilities.
2. Negative - Liabilities, encumbrances, problems, or difficulties.

Both classes of burdens are necessary to our growth and development. As we learn to bear up under our burdens, we become strong and develop endurance.

Another way of classifying our burdens is:

1. Necessary - burdens that strengthen us.
2. Unnecessary - burdens that weaken us.

The purpose of life is not to avoid all burdens. We need burdens to grow and progress and gain strength, just as an athlete needs resistance to build muscle and endurance. I recall a summer of very difficult conditioning in high school as our football team prepared for the season. I spent the whole summer pushing and pulling against weights that were far beyond my capacity. I could not budge them from their stands. I ran bleachers until my legs gave out and wind sprints until my lungs burst. I hated that summer. I sprained my ankle in a practice early in the season and did not play much. But I continued the weight training regimen. In the spring I joined the track team in the shot put event, which required more weight training.

The next summer, when it was time for football conditioning again, I went back to the same barbell stations, which the previous summer had been immovable obstacles for me. This time, I could lift them all with ease. They were no longer heavy enough to give me the workout I needed. Those weights and bleachers were necessary burdens for me.

On the other side of the coin is the story of a boy scout troop that went for an all-day hike. Each boy carried a backpack filled with the necessities for the trip - food, water, a first-aid kit, a compass, and knife, and so forth. One of the boys was a rock collector. As they walked along the trail, when he saw a particularly interesting or unusual rock, he picked it up and put it in his backpack. Soon his backpack was fuller and heavier than all of the other boys', and his legs and shoulders began to get tired. Nevertheless, there were still more interesting rocks along the path. When his pack became too full, he began to jettison other items to make more room. When the troop finally halted for lunch, the rock collector opened his pack to find no water and no food, only rocks. Unnecessary burdens are generally a result of our unwise choices or the unwise choices of others.

The obvious lesson is to recognize the difference between necessary and unnecessary burdens. We should dump the rocks from our backpacks so that we have capacity and strength for the essentials.

Source of Burdens

And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them. (Ether 12:27)

Some of our burdens come from God. My football coach marched me through weight training and bleachers when I would rather have gone to the beach because he knew what I needed to be ready to win a football game. Similarly, God hands us necessary burdens because he knows what we need to become like him and to be ready to enter his kingdom.

Burdens may be placed on us by others outside of our control. We may be oppressed and weighed down unfairly. For example, the people of Limhi were enslaved by their Lamanite overlords.

Now they [the Lamanites] durst not slay them [the people of Limhi], because of the oath which their king had made unto Limhi; but they would smite them on their cheeks, and exercise authority over them; and began to put heavy burdens upon their backs, and drive them as they would a dumb ass. (Mosiah 21:3)

Oppression is a burden, whether it be political or social or economic. The people of Limhi were oppressed by the Lamanites as a result of the people's iniquity, greed, and pride. Their burdens came as a result of unrighteous choices of their own making as well as from the rebellious iniquity of a whole group of people.

The people of Alma, on the other hand, found themselves in similar circumstances as the people of Limhi even though they had repented and turned to the the Savior and were living faithful lives of righteousness. Just as the Lamanites had surrounded and oppressed Limhi's people, they also enslaved Alma's little band of believers. The difference, however, in how the two groups of Nephites responded to their oppressive burdens is remarkable and instructive. Limhi's people fought three bloody battles with the Lamanites to try to free themselves from their oppressors, each time being beaten and weakened until they finally submitted out of necessity. Alma's people took a different approach. Instead of depending on the arm of flesh to rescue themselves, they turned to the Lord. As a result of their humility and faithfulness, the Lord blessed them.

And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions. And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord. (Mosiah 24:14-15)

In the end, both groups escaped their captors. The cost, however, was much higher to the proud people of Limhi than it was to the humble followers of Alma.

The worst burdens we carry are those we create for ourselves. Like the boyscout picking up rocks, we may be collecting all sort of interesting and attractive burdens. Now, most of us do not pick up large boulders, but we fill our pockets with a plethora of small, shiny pebbles. A little lie, miscounted change from the grocery store, an extra candy bar from the vending machine, a borrowed tool that was never returned, a plagiarized assignment for a class because we ran out of time to do our own work, a sarcastic joke at someone's expense because we wanted to look clever, an 'R' rated movie because there was "just a little profanity", a little coffee after a graveyard shift because there is just so much to do the next day, an occasional glance at an inappropriate web site, a selfish thought, an impure motive, a grudge, an unkind word, an argument left unresolved. The list of sparkling pebbles is endless (see Mosiah 4:29).

The unnecessary burdens of sin and rebellion usually result in punishment. Often the punishment is the requirement to carry the burden we have made for ourselves until we repent. Even after repenting from our rebellions, we may be required to endure the short- and long-term consequences of our poor choices. An addict is always an addict, even when he is sober. Broken health may not be restored. Broken relationships may not be easily mended. In mercy, the Savior offers to share the yoke with us and lighten our burden, but he may not remove it completely for a time. He knows what we need to help us learn humility and patience and endurance, and he will not remove the burden completely until the lesson is learned.

Lifting burdens

There is, nevertheless, hope in Christ. He never leaves us if we do not leave him.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that his [the oppressor's] burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing. (Isaiah 10:27)

The day will come in which the external burdens will be removed from us. This is the "great day of the Lord", which is the Second Coming. Until then, we can expect to be faced with burdens. The "anointing" is the Atonement performed by the Anointed One, who is Christ. He will remove the burdens.

When we have given all of our unnecessary burdens to the Savior, what is left are the burdens that we still need to carry, at least for a time. These necessary burdens do not have to overwhelm us. There are family, friends, home teachers, visiting teachers, priesthood leaders, and others who have covenanted, as have we, to make others' burdens light.

We are neither exempt from burdens, nor are we exempt from assisting others with their burdens. We are the Savior's hands. As the song says, "he has not hands but ours." Often he answers the desperate prayers of others through us. That can happen, however, only if we listen for the promptings of the Holy Ghost. When we are baptized, we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost to be our constant companion so that we can constantly receive instruction and direction to help and comfort others. If we ask for it, the Holy Spirit will open our eyes to see the people around us and recognize the challenges they face and the help they need. God will teach us how to keep our baptismal covenants, and he will provide us with ample opportunities to practice. We gain strength and endurance from bearing burdens - it does not matter whether those burdens are our own or someone else's.

Our ultimate help comes from him who carries all burdens, even Jesus Christ, the Redeemer.

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)

He does not violate our free agency. He does not force his help upon us. It is up to us to ask. The key to getting an answer is to ask the right question. Sometimes the appropriate request is to remove the burden. Many times, however, the right request is for increased strength, capacity, and capability to carry the load that the Lord wants us to bear. We often ask the Lord to change our unpleasant circumstances when those circumstances are exactly what he wants us to experience and learn from.

After the suffering handcart company was rescued from Martin's cove, three men were asked to remain with the company's belongings until the weather improved in the spring and wagons could be sent to retrieve their goods. The three men quickly ran out of food. Soon all they had available to them were leather hides. Now, most of us in such circumstances would have asked the Lord to change our circumstances. "Send us some buffalo or some stray cattle so we have something to eat," we would have logically prayed. But these three men understood the celestial logic of prayer. The Spirit inspired them to pray to have their capacities changed so that they could digest the hides. Their faithful prayer was answered. Through inspiration they learned how to prepare and boil the hides to make them chew-able, and their digestive systems were altered so that they could derive sufficient nutrients from the hides to sustain their lives. They managed in the bitter snow for another six weeks until the ground cleared and wagons could reach them.

Burdens are a necessary part of our mortal probation.  As Sheri Dew says, "This is a test. It is only a test." My daily prayer is in two parts:

1. Help me bear my necessary burdens, help me let go of my unnecessary burdens, and give me the wisdom to recognize the difference.
2. Help me to see the burdens of others, which are my opportunity to lighten in the name of Christ.