With faith in Jesus Christ and hope in what they had heard of His miracles, the caregivers of a man with palsy brought him to Jesus. They were innovative in getting him there—uncovering the roof and lowering the man, on his bed, to the place where Jesus was teaching. When Jesus “saw their faith, he said [to the man with palsy], thy sins are forgiven thee.”¹ And then, “Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.”² And immediately the man with palsy arose and took his bed and departed for home, “glorifying God.”³

What more do we know of the friends who provided care for the man with palsy? We know that the Savior recognized their faith. And having seen and heard the Savior and being a witness to His miracles, they were “amazed” and “glorified God.”⁴

Jesus Christ had provided the hoped-for healing—physical relief from pain and the crippling consequences of chronic disease. Significantly, the Savior also provided spiritual relief in cleansing the man from sin.

And the friends—in their efforts to care for one in need, they found the source of relief; they found Jesus Christ. I testify that Jesus Christ is relief. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we may be relieved of the burden and consequences of sin and be succored in our infirmities. And because we love God and have covenanted to serve Him, we can partner with the Savior to help provide temporal and spiritual relief for those in need—and in the process find our own relief in Jesus Christ.⁵

Our beloved prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, invited us to overcome the world and find rest.⁶ He defined “true rest” as “relief and peace.” President Nelson said, “Because the Savior, through His infinite Atonement, redeemed each of us from weakness, mistakes, and sin, and because He experienced every pain, worry, and burden you have ever had, then as you truly repent and seek His help, you can rise above this present precarious world.”⁷ That is the relief Jesus Christ offers us!

Each of us is carrying a metaphorical backpack. It may be a basket balanced on your head or a satchel or a bundle of things wrapped in cloth and thrown over your shoulder. But for our thinking, let’s call it a backpack. This metaphorical backpack is where we carry the burdens of living in a fallen world. Our burdens are like rocks in the backpack. Generally, there are three kinds:

• Rocks there of our own doing because of sin.

• Rocks in our backpack because of the poor decisions, misconduct, and unkindness of others.

• And rocks we carry because we are living in a fallen condition. These include the rocks of disease, pain, chronic illness, grief, disappointment, loneliness, and the effects of natural disasters.

I joyfully declare that our mortal burdens, these rocks in our figurative backpack, need not feel heavy. Jesus Christ can lighten our load. Jesus Christ can lift our burdens. Jesus Christ provides a way for us to be relieved of the weight of sin. Jesus Christ is our relief. He said:

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest [that is, relief and peace]. “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.”⁸

That the yoke is easy and the burden is light presumes we get in the yoke with the Savior, that we share our burdens with Him, that we let Him lift our load. That means entering into a covenant relationship with God and keeping that covenant, which, as President Nelson has explained, “makes everything about life easier.” He said, “Yoking yourself with the Savior means you have access to His strength and redeeming power.”⁹ So why are we stingy with our rocks?   ~ For President Camille N. Johnson’s complete talk, click. . . . ‘Jesus Christ Is Relief’.