Take My Yoke Upon You

Steven gave a talk in Sacrament Meeting on Sunday. After he gave his talk using only a brief outline, he came home and wrote it out completely. He gave me permission to share it here.

“Take My Yoke Upon You”

Talk given in sacrament meeting Jan 19, 2014
by Steven J. Hiatt

One of our hymns asks some questions that we should take time to ponder:

• Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
• Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear? (Hymns 241)

All of us have burdens placed upon us, challenges we face, and difficulties we must endure. Think for a moment what burdens you are carrying. Many suffer from physical ailments and pains of body. Others have financial struggles and worries over the future. Some struggle with depression and self-doubt. Too many have been stung by the pains of divorce, or experienced the loss of a loved one, whether through death or from wrong choices. And then there are those who carry the grievous burden of sin and the tremendous consequences that come from it.

To all those who carry burdens these words of the Savior should bring comfort: “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.” (Matt 11:28-30)

These simple words of the Master are well worth our attention. Let us see how we can better understand them.

Come Unto Me All Ye That Labor and Are Heavy Laden

The first thing we should remember is that this invitation applies to everyone. “Come unto me *ALL* ye that labor and are heavy laden.” It is not just to the perfect, not limited to the righteous. Those who are imperfect, the weak, those who have strayed from the path or who have previously rejected Christ are still invited to “Come unto him.”

Indeed, Nephi teaches us, “Behold, hath the Lord commanded any that they should not partake of his goodness? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but all men are privileged the one like unto the other, and none are forbidden.” (2 Nephi 26:28) He continues, “he inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile.” (2 Nephi 26:33)

No one should ever feel that they are beyond hope or that Christ somehow does not want them. His promise is to everyone who will follow the counsel to “Come unto him.”

Take My Yoke Upon You, For My Yoke is Easy and My Burden is Light

First off, what is a yoke?

In the days before tractors, when a farmer wanted to plow his field he would often use an animal, such as a horse or an ox, to help him. With one animal, he just needed to put a harness on it, attach the harness to the plow and the animal could pull the plow. Same thing if he wanted to pull his wagon full of goods to the market. But sometimes when the ground was very hard, or the wagon was very heavy, one animal was not enough.

A yoke is a wooden beam, carved in such a way to fit comfortably across the shoulders of two animals side-by-side. By using the strength of two animals, more work can be done very efficiently. Pioneers crossing the plains often used teams of oxen to pull their wagons to the Salt Lake Valley. The animals needed to work together, however, to get the most power and to not put undue strain on each other.

So how do we take Christ’s yoke upon us?

Imagine a wagon that is very heavy and loaded full with boxes and gear, and you are responsible for pulling it. You tie a rope to the front and, with the rope over your shoulder, you pull. Being heavy it requires almost all your effort to move. You start to sweat, the rope digs into your shoulder, and your muscles start to get tired. But this is your load and you are responsible for it, and so you persevere and continue on.

Now imagine that Christ is standing on the side of the road you are travelling and he offers to help. When you accept he places a yoke across his shoulders as well as yours. With the two of you yoked together you pull and the load seems much easier. You begin to understand the meaning of the phrase “my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Note, that by taking Christ’s yoke upon us does not remove the burden, nor does it mean that we do not have to do any work. We still need to pull. But we have the help of the Savior to assist us.

The load in our imaginary wagon are the burdens that we are carrying in life. We can choose to bear our burdens alone or we can accept Christ’s offer to take his yoke upon us. How often do we refuse help because we think we can do it alone, that we are strong enough, or it is our burden and therefore we must bear it ourselves? Remember again that Christ’s invitation is unto all, even those who are strong or think they can do it alone.

When we do accept Christ’s yoke we must work together and stay in step with the Savior. We must travel in the same direction that Christ is going. The way is clear for us to go: it is called the strait and narrow path. If we are headed in another direction we will not get the benefit of having Christ pull with us. It is the same as if one ox in a team was pulling left and the other pulling right.

When we think of all the burdens in our wagon, we should remember that if any of those burdens are the burdens of sin, that Christ has paid the price for our sins and he will take them from us on condition of repentance. “For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I.” (D&C 19:16-17)

Why would we choose to suffer if we didn’t have to? And what kind of suffering is it? Christ describes it thus: “Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—” (D&C 19:18) Not even Christ wanted to drink the bitter cup! But he did and by so doing made it possible that we don’t have to, if we but repent. Now, repentance can be hard. It can be painful. It means admitting we’ve done wrong. It means changing our ways. But by so doing that burden will lifted from off our shoulders and we will rejoice.

While the burden of sin can be removed from our load, we might wish other burdens would also be taken from us. But God does not always see fit to do so. In the Book of Mormon we read of Alma and a group of converts who were brought into bondage. They had heavy tasks placed on their shoulders and taskmasters set over them. They prayed mightily for deliverance. But God did not see fit just yet to remove their burdens. Instead He said, “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.” (Mosiah 24:14)

I’m sure that the people would have prefered to have their burdens removed entirely and to be brought out of bondage. But instead God gave them strength that they were able to bear their burdens. Though it was not what they wanted, it was for their benefit and their testimonies were strengthened because of it.

There is a way, however, that we can lighten our burdens. This same Alma, at the baptism of these same converts, taught us about the covenant we make when we choose to join the church: We promise that we “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.” (Mosiah 18:8-9) Now you may be thinking to yourself, “I already have a load of my own burdens to bear. Now you want me to bear other’s burdens on top of that?” Yes. One of the miracles of the gospel is that by helping to bear the burdens of others our own burdens become lighter.

Learn of Me, For I Am Meek and Lowly in Heart

Christ set the perfect example for us. To learn of him we should read and study the scriptures to learn how he lived and how he acted. He “went about doing good.” He spent his time serving others, healing the sick, giving comfort to the poor and weary, and seeking out those in need. We will receive great blessings in heaven by doing the same:

“Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

“For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

“Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

“And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (Matt 25:32-40)

And Ye Shall Find Rest Unto Your Souls

What better promise to those carrying heavy burdens than rest? While we may not receive rest in this life the promise is sure that we will beyond this mortal life.

“And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow.” (Alma 40:12) All those cares and sorrows that we have been carrying in this life will be laid down to be picked up no more.

Enos, when he was nearing the end of his life, eagerly looked forward to this rest. “And I soon go to the place of my rest, which is with my Redeemer; for I know that in him I shall rest. And I rejoice in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality, and shall stand before him; then shall I see his face with pleasure, and he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father.” (Enos 1:27)

This same promise of rest will come to all those who follow the Savior, who accept his invitation to “take his yoke upon us” and who “Come unto him.”

Conclusion

I began by quoting some questions found in one of the hymns. The hymn gives us the counsel that if we are burdened that we should “Count your many blessings, name them one by one.” We have much to be grateful for. We are grateful to have a Savior who paid the price for our sins. We are grateful that he offers to bear our burdens with us. We are grateful that his invitation to “Come unto him” extends to all of us, even the least among us. We are grateful to have each other, that we can bear one another’s burdens that they may be light.

Brothers and sisters, may all of us accept Christ’s invitation to take his yoke upon us. May we all  repent of our sins. May we all strive to bear one another’s burdens that they may be light. May we give comfort to those in need, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and afflicted. And may we all find rest to our souls.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.