What is the best thing I can do to appreciate my Savior, Jesus Christ now, during this Easter season and ongoing until I am called home to Him and Heavenly Father?…
From Elder David A. Bednar — The Savior said: “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”[i]. A yoke is a wooden beam, normally used between a pair of oxen or other animals that enables them to pull together on a load. A yoke places animals side-by-side so they can move together in order to accomplish a task.
Consider the Lord’s uniquely individual invitation to “take my yoke upon you.” Making and keeping sacred covenants yokes us to and with the Lord Jesus Christ. In essence, the Savior is beckoning us to rely upon and pull together with Him, even though our best efforts are not equal to and cannot be compared with His. As we trust in and pull our load with Him during the journey of mortality, truly His yoke is easy and His burden is light. We are not and never need be alone. We can press forward in our daily lives with heavenly help. Through the Savior’s Atonement we can receive capacity and “strength beyond [our] own”[ii]. As the Lord declared, “Therefore, continue your journey and let your hearts rejoice; for behold, and lo, I am with you even unto the end”[iii].
Recall the Savior’s statement “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” [iv] as we consider (another) verse in the account of Alma and his people: “And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs”[v].
Many of us may assume this scripture is suggesting that a burden suddenly and permanently will be taken away. The next verse, however, describes how the burden was eased. “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”[vi]; (emphasis added). see complete talk: ‘Bear Up Their Burdens With Ease’ — Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles [vii]
Following Him, becoming yoked with Him, is the path I choose that brings joy and peace of mind. Now and for eternity there is no better way because His yoke is far easier with eternally sweet possibilities. Following any substitute this temporary earthly existence can offer, distantly pales in comparison. kdm
