Loads, Burdens, and Weights

I guess it’s no surprise that I like music. I must admit that my music appreciation has grown since being married to my wife who is much more musically inclined than myself. The song I would like to write about today is called “The Weight” by a group called, “The Band.” As I have heard the song, mostly at work, I have imagined the words being spoken by our Savior, Jesus Christ. Here is the chorus:

“Take a load off, Fanny

Take a load for free

Take a load off, Fanny

And (And, and)

You put the load right on me (You put the load right on me)”

Can’t you see the connection between these lyrics and these words from Matthew 11:28-30 in the New Testament? 

“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 love the image of the Savior calling out to me and inviting me to lay my burdens on Him. There have been times when I have not been as willing to do that. I feel a measure of accountability for my mistakes and feel like I have to hold onto them and suffer for those mistakes. I have learned that while I still suffer the consequences of my actions, I can repent and turn to the Lord and lay my burdens at His feet. The application of the laying my burdens at his feet is still something that I am working on. I suppose that is the challenge of a lifetime. He has the ability to take our burdens on Himself, but am I willing to give that burden to Him?

 

  One way of laying that burden on the Savior is through repenting. I love the description of repentance that Elder Lynn G. Robbins gives in his April 2018 General Conference address titled, “Until Seventy Times Seven.” He said, “Repentance is God’s ever-accessible gift that allows and enables us to go from failure to failure without any loss of enthusiasm.” This is a hopeful means of looking at repentance. The Lord Jesus Christ is strong enough to take our burdens on Him over and over and over again. The invitation to lay our burdens on Him is not restricted by number of times a sin is committed or however often we need to lay than burden on Him. I referenced the chorus of “The Weight” earlier. I think it is significant that the chorus is repeated 5 times throughout the song. I think this could be symbolic of how we need to repeatedly place our burdens on the Savior.

Let me conclude with a couple of quotes and thoughts from Elder Holland. The first one is about how there is no burden too heavy for the Savior to bear, or at least that’s how I think of it. He said the following in April 2012, ““It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines.” There is no place we can go where the Savior can’t find and help us. There is nothing too heavy for Him to bear. When he bore our sins and griefs and sorrows and temptations (see Alma 7:11-13), He bore them all. He took the full weight upon Himself. Here’s another thought from Elder Holland that summarizes the fact that we don’t have to carry our “weights” alone. This is from 2019:  “One way to “always remember him” would be to join the Great Physician in His never-ending task of lifting the load from those who are burdened and relieving the pain of those who are distraught.” This quote stood out to me among other reasons, because of the similarity in wording between it and the chorus of “The Weight.” We all have loads and burdens that we are carrying. I hope that we can look around and find ways to lift the burdens of others through serving or even just praying for them. I also hope that we remember the importance of turning to the Savior who is always willing and able to help us carry the burdens we have.