That Your Burdens May Be Light

Reading: “That Your Burdens May Be Light,” Elder L. Whitney Clayton of the Presidency of the Seventy, Saturday Morning Session, October 2009 General Conference

One of the purposes of life is for us to experience pain and suffering.  This does not mean that life should be miserable – but it does mean that there will be many times where we feel weighed down by heavy burdens.  In this talk Elder Clayton encourages us to endure our burdens and to seek the help of the Savior as we do so.  He says,

Through it all, the Savior offers us sustaining strength and support, and in His own time and way, He offers deliverance.

Elder Clayton then shared the story of the people of Alma the Younger who were taken as slaves by the Lamanites.  As they sought the Savior’s help their burdens were not taken away (at least at first) but they were given the strength they needed to endure.

Sometimes I wonder why I must struggle with the same problems over time. Although it seems like it would be so easy for them to just go away, they often do not.  As I continue to seek the help of the Lord, though, I am often greatly blessed with wisdom and strength that I may not have gained otherwise.  This talk helped me be more accepting of my burdens and helped me to recognize more the hand of the Lord helping me lift up those burdens.

How has God helped you with your burdens in the past? What helped you carry on while enduring trials that don’t go away as quickly as you would like?

“I Take Pleasure in My Infirmities”

Reading: “The Power of Covenants,” Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, April 2009 General Conference, Saturday Morning Session

Today I almost didn’t write a post because I am feeling grumpy and particularly un-spiritual.  The main reason for this is that we have been staying with my in-laws for the past week and a half waiting for our new apartment in Provo to open up, and I am very tired of being in someone’s else’s house, having to fit our family into a little bedroom, having to share someone else’s kitchen, chasing a very busy 1 year old in an un-babyproofed house, and all the other little unpleasantries that come with staying for long periods of time in a house that isn’t your own.  To top it off I’m coming down with some kind of cold, and it just makes everything harder to deal with. I am certainly aware that today I have a bad attitude about the whole thing, but knowing that is just making me feel worse.

As I was reading the talk for today, though, one scripture stood out to me.  This was 2 Corinthians 12:9-10:

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in [my] infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

In the state of mind I am in, I found Paul’s statement “therefore will I rather glory in infirmities” fascinating.  How can anyone be glad about their own shortcomings, their own faults?  And yet, that is what Paul says, that he is grateful for the opportunity for Christ’s power to show in his life.  While I am angry that I can’t be more patient, Paul’s love of the Savior is so great that he welcomes any discomfort in order to give the Savior greater opportunity to shine.

Right now I am going to say a prayer in faith asking for God’s help to get me through the rest of the day.  Then I will watch to see how God blesses me.

What do you do on bad days to get through it?  Have you ever had a bad day that turned into a blessing because you were able to see God working in your life?

A King’s Message

Reading: Mosiah 2

Last night I was reading the address of King Benjamin in Mosiah 2 and was struck once again by how dependent we all are on God.  While some of us may have more money, or more talent in a certain area, or be blessed in other ways, none of us is truly better than others, and none of us can claim anything of ourself.  In Mosiah 2:19-21 it says:

And behold also, if I, whom ye call your king, who has spent his days in your service, and yet has been in the service of God, do merit any thanks from you, O how you ought to thank your heavenly King! I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the thanks and praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another—I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.

Benjamin was a great king, and embodied a Christlike leader.  If such a great man can get up and say to all of his people that he is no better than they, and dependent on God for even the air that he breathes, then how can I think myself better than others?  How can I think that I don’t need God, and have to do things on my own?

Today when I start to feel stressed or impatient I am going to take a moment and think about the blessings that are making what I am doing possible.  For example, if I get frustrated driving on icy roads then I’ll think about how blessed I am to have a car and to be able to get around and do what I need to do in comfort.  If I get frustrated because the computer doesn’t work then I’ll think how blessed I am to have the wonders of modern technology accessible to me.

When you read these words by King Benjamin, how do they make you feel?  Can remembering his perspective help you with something you are facing?

Latter-day Grace

Mormon Insights recently had a two part series on grace in the Latter-Day Saint church.  I thought I’d share it with you in light of my recent Christ Saves Us Because We Can’t Save Ourselves post.  These essays are a great expansion on those thoughts.