God programmed the experience of life to be one of continual lack. Our resources and abilities seldom equal what is required to heft our burdens. As we struggle to cope and progress, we find ourselves in the constant need of seeking help from someone who has greater strength and ability. Try as we might, we cannot change life’s program. But once we admit that we will never have enough and that we need constant help, we will be in a better position to come to Jesus and draw strength from a Resource that never diminishes.

The Great Discovery

One of the great discoveries of life is that God can take care of us. Here are two examples:

Years after the Israelites had wandered in the wilderness, the prophet Nehemiah offered a prayer of thanksgiving, remembering how God had easily yoked with his people and shouldered their burdens:

Thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go. Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst. Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, [so that] they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.[ii]

The Lord never forsook them; he was with them both day and night; he instructed them and provided manna and water to sustain them so that they never lacked anything. Amazingly, neither their clothing nor their shoes wore out during those 40 years! Truly, the Lord’s yoke is easy and his burden is light.

Here is another of example of “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

At the end of Jesus’ life, just before he entered Gethsemane, he reminded his apostles of the time when they went out to teach the people with neither purse nor scrip. Then Jesus asked them: “When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing.”[iii] They lacked nothing!

Here, then, is the solution for those who of us lack:

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.[iv]

We could rephrase this scripture by replacing the word “wisdom” with “anything.”

If any of you lack anything, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth [chastises] not; and it [the blessing] shall be given him.

Notice the inclusive language: anything,” “any of you,” and “all men.” Now notice the word “liberally,” meaning abundantly. Clearly, the Lord is anxious to freely take care of our needs, if we will ask him. If we will sincerely request that he yoke with us and help to carry our burden, he will neither chastise us nor turn us away; rather he will gladly give us the blessing we seek.

Grace and the Lord’s Yoke

One of the greatest gifts that Jesus offers us is his grace: his ability to add to our strength to make us equal to any challenge. Grace is that divine power which enables us to become more than we are and do more than we could if we were left to ourselves. But by yoking with Jesus, we become as strong as our Partner.

A Divine Formula

We can no more explain grace than we can understand how the Lord’s yoke works. But here is how the formula works:

• Come unto Christ and ask for his help.
• Do our best to carry the load.
• He will make up the difference.

A Pattern for Shifting Burdens

Jesus gave us a pattern for shifting the weight of both the burdens of sin and the difficulties of life. He 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.”[v]

Let us examine some words and phrases in these verses:

• “Labour”—a woman in labor descends into the valley of death to bring forth new life. To survive the labour she needs comfort and encouragement. Jesus is offering us his comfort and encouragement.
• “I will give you rest.” The word rest has at least two meanings: “I will share your load” and “If you will come unto me, I will give you eternal life.”
• “Take my yoke upon you” means “Because I am the Savior I am already wearing a yoke. I going your way and have a place open in my yoke if you want to take it.”

• “Learn of me” means “I am inviting you to get to know me. We are family; we are friends. Family and friends learn about each other. As we travel along, yoked together, you will get to know me better.”
• “I am meek [patient, humble, gentle, submissive to your requests] and lowly in heart [not proud]” means “I want you to learn about me: I am always willing to help, and I am harmless.”
• “Ye shall find rest” – Our journey together ends with the great promise of eternal life.
• “My yoke is easy and my burden is light” means “You are going to notice a marked difference in the weight of your load.”

In the scripture, four verbs and their phrases describe how we can lighten our burdens when we easily yoke ourselves to Jesus:

1. Come unto me.
2. Take my yoke upon you; it is easy.
3. Learn of me.
4. Find rest.

1) Come to the Savior

Don’t try to see how long you can tough it out. Don’t drive yourself into spiritual and mental exhaustion by trying to carry the burden alone. Come to the Savior—ALL of you “that labour and are heavy-laden.”

2) “Take my yoke upon you”

Here are two examples of people’s burdens made light by their taking upon them the easy yoke of Jesus Christ:

• Moses’ people were punished. A plague of poisonous serpents bit all of Moses’ people for their disobedience to God. Moses created a brazen serpent and raised it on a pole, symbolizing the Savior’s being lifted upon the cross, and invited the people to simply look upon the serpent and be healed. But many of the people perished because they would not look; the solution was too easy and therefore too unbelievable. The prophet, Nephi, explained, “The labor which they had to perform was to look; and because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, there were many who perished.”[vi]
• Referring to this event, the Book of Mormon prophet, Alma, taught his son: “For behold, it is…easy to give heed to the word of Christ, which will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss…. O my son, do not let us be slothful because of the easiness of the way; for so was it with our fathers; for so was it prepared for them, that if they would look they might live; even so it is with us. The way is prepared, and if we will look [unto Christ] we may live forever.”[vii]

Clearly, the burdens of sin and life are hard, but yoking ourselves to Christ is easy.

The Easy Yoke of Jesus Christ

President Howard W. Hunter described Jesus’ easy yoke:

In Biblical times, the yoke was a device of great assistance to those who tilled the field. It allowed the strength of a second animal to linked and coupled with the strength of a single animal, sharing and reducing the heavy labor of the plow or wagon. A burden that was overwhelming or perhaps impossible for one could be equitably and comfortably borne by two bound together with a common yoke….

Why face life’s burdens alone, Christ asks, or why face them with temporal support that will quickly falter. To the heavy laden it is Christ’s yoke, it is the power and peace of standing side by side with a God that will provide the support , balance, and strength to meet our challenges and endure our tasks here in the hardpan field of mortality.[viii]

What is Christ’s ‘easy yoke’?

Covenants, such as the baptismal covenant, are the easy yoke of Jesus Christ. A covenant is made by two people promising each other: “I promise you and you promise me.” By mutual promises, the two parties are bound (yoked) together.

When we keep our part of a covenant, Jesus keeps his part. And his part always includes removing the burden of our sins and helping us to carry the weight of our problems. Then our burden becomes light and manageable.

Examples of Jesus Making Our Burdens Light:

• The Paralytic Man. The friends of a paralytic man broke through the roof a house to lower a sick man and his bed to Jesus for healing. Their faith was rewarded by the Savior’s healing the man and lifting his burden. Significantly, after the man was healed, Jesus directed him to carry home his bed. The healed man gladly obliged; the bed weighed much less than the infirmity that the Savior had removed from him. Now his burden was light.[ix]
• Alma. The Book of Mormon prophet, Alma, was once the vilest of sinners. When he came face to face with his own rebellion, he repented mightily and the Lord forgave him. Thereafter, he devoted himself to the Lord’s work, which required a lifetime of sacrifice and service. But his sacrifice burdened him much less than the burden of sin that he had carried alone.

Examples of Christ’s Easy Yoke–“We’re in this together”

Peter’s life provides two significant examples of the Lord’s standing with us and absorbing our mistakes when we are yoked to him.

When tax collectors asked Peter if Jesus paid tribute, Peter erroneously answered yes. Later, Jesus corrected him, but because they were yoked together, Jesus provided a solution “lest we should offend them.” Notice that Jesus includes himself in the solution. Peter’s burden was to go out and obtain the tribute money, but Jesus’ part was to provide the miracle by which that happened. When Peter paid the tribute money, Jesus said it would be “for me and thee.” Why? Because Peter and Jesus were yoked together; they were carrying this burden together. Jesus didn’t abandon Peter to suffer the consequences alone.[x]

Later, Peter made another mistake that the Savior rectified. When Judas betrayed the Savior, Peter drew his sword and cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant. Again, because Jesus and Peter were yoked together, Peter’s actions impacted Jesus. Therefore, Jesus told Peter to put away his sword, and quickly he healed the servant’s ear, repairing Peter’s mistake.[xi] When we are yoked with the Savior, he assumes and covers our mistakes.

3) “Learn of me”

The lessons we must learn about Jesus are lessons that we can only learn after we have taken upon us his yoke and traveled with him. What will we learn? That he is kind, just, consistent, non-discriminating, all-knowledgeable, all-powerful, and filled with perfect love.

But we do not have to learn everything about him before he manifests his power in our lives. An apostle, Boyd K. Packer, said, “You need not know everything before the power of the atonement will work for you. Have faith in Christ; it begins to work the day you ask.”[xii]

4) Find Rest Unto Your Souls

Consider what these people found or discovered when they decided to yoke themselves to the Lord and allow him to help carry their burdens:

• Job. This prophet experienced terrible trials, but the Lord remained constantly yoked to him and carried his burdens. During the process, Job learned lessons about the Lord that he could not have learned otherwise, and in the end the Lord appeared to him.

Then Job answered the LORD, and said, I know that thou canst do everything [you have all power], and that no thought can be withholden from thee [you know everything]…therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not [I thought I knew you, but what I have learned being yoked to you is too wonderful for me to describe]…I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.[xiii]

In other words, Job came to know the Lord more by being yoked to him than he ever could have otherwise. Finally, he came to know him in the ultimate sense: Job saw him and found rest to his soul.

• Abraham. After Abraham had nearly lost his life to the wicked priest of Elkenah, he yoked himself to the Lord and escaped the land of Ur with his wife and kindred. Then in the land of Haran, his journey with the Lord resulted in the Lord’s appearing unto him and giving him great promises. When the vision ended, Abraham said in his heart, “Thy servant has sought thee earnestly; now I have found thee.”[xiv] Abraham’s resolve to yoke himself to the Lord resulted in his finding the Lord, meaning knowing and seeing the Lord.

If we will submit to be easily yoked to Christ and allow him to help shoulder our burdens, we will receive in return his guarantee of support and the assurance that we will come to know him intimately.

Alma’s Testimony of Jesus’ Easy Yoke

Every person who tests the Savior will eventually stand as a witness that Jesus Christ indeed has an easy yoke, that he will lighten the heaviest of burdens, and that he will take care of us. The prophet Alma gave the following testimony, after having lived a life of sacrifice and service, which had caused him relentless and unbearable persecution:

I have been supported under trials and troubles of every kind, yea, and in all manner of afflictions; yea, God has delivered me from prison, and from bonds, and from death; yea, and I do put my trust in him, and he will still deliver me.[xv]

Alma’s testimony could be echoed by every soul who hearkens to the Savior’s invitation: “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.”[xvi]

Author’s Note

To receive a sample of my new 5-book series, The Three Pillars of Zion, Click here.

(I wish to thank Ted Gibbons for sharing his thoughts on this article.)

[ii] Nehemiah 9:18-21.

[iii] Luke 22:35.

[iv] James 1:5.

[v] Matthew 11:28-30.

[vi] 1 Nephi 17:41.

[vii] Alma 37:44,46.

[viii] Hunter, Conference Report, October 1990, 20.

[ix] Mark 2:2-12.

[x] Matthew 17:24-27.

[xi] Matthew 26:51.

[xii] Packer, “Washed Clean,” Ensign, May 1997, 9.

[xiii] Job 42:1-3, 4-5.

[xiv] Abraham 2:12.

[xv] Alma 36:27.

[xvi] Matthew 11:28-30.

In preparing Helaman to succeed him, Alma bade his son to remember that the gospel was designed to unleash grand heavenly powers by small and simple means. A case in point, he said, was the Liahona: “And it did work for [Lehi's family] according to their faith in God….because those miracles were worked by small means it did show unto them marvelous works.” Then Alma stated the principle:

For behold, it is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ, which will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss, as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass, which would point unto them a straight course to the promised land….O my son, do not let us be slothful because of the easiness of the way; for so was it with our fathers; for so was it prepared for them, that if they would look they might live; even so it is with us. The way is prepared, and if we will look we may live forever.

The final mandate that Alma gave to Helaman before he sent him forth to minister to the people was this: “See that ye look to God and live.” It is easy!

The Simpleness of the Way

Alma was not alone in stating that the powers of heaven swing open on simple hinges. Centuries earlier, Nephi chastised his hard-hearted brothers for behaving like the faithless Israelites who complained to God and opposed Moses. Even when they were perishing from snake bites, they would not accept the Lord’s simple solution for life and salvation.

And he did straiten them in the wilderness with his rod; for they hardened their hearts, even as ye have; and the Lord straitened them because of their iniquity. He sent fiery flying serpents among them; and after they were bitten he prepared a way that they might be healed; and the labor which they had to perform was to look; and because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, there were many who perished.

Sometimes we think it would be so much easier to believe that life could return to a dying situation if we only had an option that equaled our concern. Thus, we seek answers from everyone and every place except from the Savior. It just seems too Sunday School, too simple, too easy.

No, we want a Savior, who dishes out deep doctrines that can only be understood by the spiritually mature – the only ones who can tap into the powers of heaven and call down blessings. But that isn’t how the plan of salvation works. The gospel is so simple and easy that little children are capable of summoning blessings that would astound older generations. Every missionary can attest that investigators often receive unbelievable outpourings of the Spirit from the moment of their first awkward prayer. Moreover, wayward children frequently feel the immediate embrace of a loving Heavenly Father, who, at the instant of their turn homeward, rushes to his prodigal children and escorts them home. It is all so easy!

The Sacrament-An Easy, Powerful Ordinance of Reclamation

Partaking of the sacrament with more purpose is one of those “easy” ways to rescue a wayward child. Worthily partaken of and understood, the sacrament sanctifies us. The sacrament serves to align our lives with Jesus Christ like a compass aligns us to true north and like the Liahona aligned the lives of the Lehites so that they could follow the line leading to the promised land. When we are faced with a child who is off course, a most useful, redeeming tool for parents is to partake of the sacrament so as to remain on course. Dan and Rita, parents of a wayward child, wrote that they could point to the sacrament as the single gospel principle that anchored them weekly to their covenants and infused them with power to press forward in faith and hope.

The ordinances of the sacrament and baptism are interconnected. Baptism is the covenant of salvation; Jesus Christ is the agent of salvation. When we renew our baptismal covenants by partaking of the sacrament, we recommit to the terms of baptism that ensure our salvation, and we recommit our lives to Jesus Christ, who is our Savior. The Apostle Paul suggests three great purposes for the sacrament:

1. The sacrament is a memorial. “This do ye . . . in remembrance of me.”
2. The sacrament is a testimonial. When we partake, we “shew the Lord’s death till he come.” (Note that the word shew means to “proclaim or announce.”)
3. The sacrament is an examination. “But let a man examine himself.”

When we partake of the sacrament, do we fulfill these three main purposes? Do we rejoice in our recollection of the wonder and majesty of the Atonement? Does our partaking of the sacrament testify of our faith in the Redeemer? Do we look closely at our lives to see if we are worthy and if we are conducting ourselves as disciples ought? Many parents who have shared their stories with me have testified that the sacrament, because it focuses on our relationship with Jesus Christ, brought them comfort, purpose, hope, and the power to face their challenges and to obtain divine assistance for their wayward children.

The Sacrament and the Holy Ghost

Nothing in the process of redeeming a wayward child is as essential as having the guidance of the Holy Ghost. The sacrament’s sanctifying promise is the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost: “Those who partake of the sacrament place themselves under covenant with the Lord to take upon them the name of Christ, to always remember him, and to keep his commandments. The Lord in turn covenants that they may always have his Spirit to be with them.”

The sacrament’s unique promise of the ongoing companionship Holy Ghost is often missed or we associate it with baptism or living a good life. Not so. The sacrament is the designated ordinance that provides for the retention of this supernal gift.

When we are baptized and confirmed, we are commanded to “receive the Holy Ghost.” Elder Bruce R. McConkie points out that this commandment is also a right, but not a guarantee. Our ability to retain the companionship of the Holy Ghost is dependent upon our honoring our baptismal covenants and renewing them by means of the sacrament. Again, the sacrament is the ordinance that makes retention of the Holy Ghost possible.

The Sacrament and Sanctification

Elder Dallin H. Oaks said, “When we worthily partake of the sacrament, we are promised that we will ‘always have his Spirit to be with [us].’ To qualify for that promise we covenant that we will ‘always remember him’ (D&C 20:77).” Because we enjoy the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, we enjoy the constant sanctifying power of that gift, which sanctification, in addition to all other considerations, enables us to seek redeeming blessings for those whom we love.

The Holy Ghost is the Sanctifier. Receipt of the Holy Ghost is called the baptism of fire, which follows the baptism by water. We are immersed both in water and in the Spirit. Remission of sins is not possible without the baptism of fire. Of the necessity of these two baptisms, the Prophet Joseph Smith said, “You might as well baptize a bag of sand as a man, if not done in view of the remission of sins and getting of the Holy Ghost. Baptism by water is but half a baptism, and is good for nothing without the other half-that is, the baptism of the Holy Ghost.” Because “no unclean thing can dwell in a divine presence,” and because “people are saved to the extent that they are sanctified,” we cherish and rely on the Holy Ghost, who burns out of us all impurities and creates of us a “new creature.”

As its name implies, baptism by fire is hot. Malachi described the work of the Lord and his agent, the Holy Ghost, as a refiner’s fire. Both the Savior and the Holy Ghost are engaged in the work of refining souls. This knowledge is important to parents of wayward children and speaks to the theme of my writings on this subject: The redeemed become the redeemers.

Our ability to rescue and redeem a wayward soul is directly linked to our level of sanctification. Therefore, we are told that before we attempt to pluck out the mote in another’s eye we must first excise the beam from our own. That process requires the Holy Ghost. As we pray for the Lord’s help to rescue our children, we might be surprised that He will focus His attention on us first. The Lord might use the child’s situation to first sanctify us. If we will submit to the refiner’s fire, once we emerge from it, we will be in a much better position to help our children when they experience it.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote of the sacramental covenant and the Holy Ghost as paths to redemption:

Those who partake of the sacrament worthily thereby put themselves under covenant with the Lord: 1. To always remember the broken body and spilled blood of Him who was crucified for the sins of the world; 2. To take upon themselves the name of Christ and always remember him; and 3. To keep the commandments of God, that is, to “live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God.” (D&C 84:44.)

As his part of the contract, the Lord covenants: 1. That such worthy saints shall have his Spirit to be with them; and 2. That in due course they shall inherit eternal life. (D&C 20:75-79; Moro. 4; 5.) “Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:54.) In the light of these covenants, promises, and blessings, is it any wonder that the Lord commanded: “It is expedient that the church meet together often to partake of bread and wine in the remembrance of the Lord Jesus.” (D&C 20:75; Doctrines of Salvation, Volume 2, 338-350.)

Coming to the Altar of Sacrifice

Each Sunday our attention should be focused on the sacramental table-the altar of sacrifice-where the priests of God prepare emblems of bread and water that remind us of the Lord’s sacrifice. Jesus said that He is the Bread of Life and the Living Water. In the sacramental covenant, both parties sacrifice for and make promises to each other. The Lord’s promise is the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost; our promises are those that we made at baptism, specifically, to take upon us the name of Christ, to always remember Him, and to keep His commandments. His sacrifice is His body and His blood; our sacrifice is a “broken heart and a contrite spirit.” The altar is where all of this takes place.

The priests of God prepare and consecrate the sacrifice and state the terms of the covenant. (Interestingly, in the Old Testament times, the sacrificing of a lamb, which foreshadowed the sacrifice of the Lamb, involved a person coming to the altar, laying his sacrifice upon it, symbolically transferring his sins to the sacrificial lamb by the laying on of hands, and then-after offering a prayer of atonement-the priests would slay the lamb and the person’s sins would die with it.)

Today, the sacrament, like the Passover, is the memorial of our salvation and deliverance. That single hope should sink deeply within our souls as we consider the Atonement’s saving and liberating implications for our children. By living in a way that we always honor our baptismal covenants, we “retain a remission of our sins,” “and the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness of heart; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until the end shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with God.”

The Supernal Gift of the Holy Ghost

The promise of the Holy Ghost is unequalled: “The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.”

Therefore-and in no other way than this easy way-by the simple, sanctifying act of worthily partaking of the sacrament, we renew our baptismal covenant and secure the promise that we received in our confirmation of the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost sanctifies us, which sanctification fills us with power to rescue our wayward children. It is easy to look to God and live!

Author’s Note

This article was adapted from my book, Rescuing Wayward Children. Follow this link to learn more.

Also, get a sample of my new 5-book series on Zion: The Three Pillars of Zion. Click here.

1 Nephi 17:41, emphasis added.

See Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, “Abrahamic Covenant,” 13.

1 Corinthians 11:25.

1 Corinthians 11:26.

1 Corinthians 11:28.

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, “Sacrament,” 1243-1244.

Bruce R. McConkie, “Gift of the Holy Ghost,” Mormon Doctrine, 312.

Dallin H. Oaks, “Pornography,” Ensign, May 2005, 88.

Robert, B.H., History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Volume 5, 499.

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, “Holy Ghost,” 649-650.

2 Corinthians 5:17.

See Malachi 3:2.

See Matthew 7:3-4.

Bruce R. McConkie, “Sacrament,” Mormon Doctrine, 660.

See John 6:35.

See John 4:10.

D&C 59:8.

See Old Testament Student Manual 301, 164.

Mosiah 4:12.

Moroni 8:26, emphasis added.

D&C 121:46.