This is my first post that has come from a topic suggestion from another person. My mother asked me the very interesting question: "How does one go about casting their burdens upon the Lord?" So, this post is my response to that question. It is a little bit lengthy, but I wanted to really go in depth on this one. I have written about the reality of burdens in our lives, the invitation the Lord has given us to cast our burdens on Him, reasons why we can cast our burdens on Him, and how we can cast our burdens on Him. Hopefully you can learn a little bit from this, because I sure have! Please feel free to make other suggestions to me about topics I should write about: manofgalileetopics@gmail.com
Our Burdens
The reality of this mortal life is that you will face adversity. Nobody is exempt from it. According to http://new.lds.org/study/topics/adversity?lang=eng , "As part of Heavenly Father's plan of redemption, all people experience adversity during their lifetime. Trials, disappointments, sadness, sickness, and heartache are a difficult part of life, but with the help of the Lord they can lead to spiritual growth, refinement, and progress. Each person's success and happiness, both now and in the eternities, depend largely on his or her responses to the difficulties of life." The way you react to adversity is a contributing factor to how burdened you feel in your life. There are many things that happen in our lives that can lead to us feeling burdened. You may feel burdened by sins of commission or omission. You may feel that way because someone that you love is going through a particularly difficult time in their life, or you may be going through one of those times yourself. You may feel that way because it seems there are far too many things that are expected of you and that you will never be able to accomplish them all.
We often refer to extremely difficult times as being put through the refiner's fire. I feel like we focus too much on the "fire" of that phrase because we feel like we know about fire. We know what it does - destroys everything in its path, right? I don't think that is the symbolism the Lord would have us picture in our minds when we picture being put through the "refiner's fire." In Malachi 3:3 it says that the Lord "shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver" and I think there is a lot to be learned from that. A refiner of silver knows the material that he is working with very well. He carefully prepares the fire to be the right temperature to remove all of the impurities in the silver. He watches over the silver very carefully as it is in the fire, knowing exactly when to pull it out. He pulls it out of the fire when he can see his own reflection in the silver. Think about all of those things - and then think of yourself as the silver and God as the refiner.
The Lord's Invitation
I firmly believe that "some of the greatest sermons are preached by the singing of hymns" (Hymns of the LDS Church, ix). One of the biggest comforts to me when I feel burdens upon my shoulders is the invitation given in the wonderful hymn "How Gentle God's Commands" (#125):
How gentle God's commands!
How kind His precepts are!
Come, cast your burdens on the Lord
And trust His constant care.
Beneath His watchful eye,
His Saints securely dwell;
That hand which bears all nature up
Shall guard His children well.
Why should this anxious load
Press down your weary mind?
Haste to your Heavenly Father's throne
And sweet refreshment find.
His goodness stands approved,
Unchanged from day to day;
I'll drop my burden at his feet
And bear a song away.
This hymn represents an open invitation that the Lord has given to you to cast your burdens on Him. It is also found in the scriptures: "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" (Matthew 11:28-30).
Why This Invitation?
So why can you cast your burdens on the Lord? One reason is because He loves you. Your close friends are always there for you when you are in need, and that is because they love you. God loves you far more than any of your friends or family members do, so you can trust that He will definitely be there to help you in times of need. Another reason why you can cast your burdens on the Lord is because of what He went through for you. Before our Savior, Jesus Christ, even came to earth, Alma prophesied about the Savior's sufferings for you: "And he shall go forth, suffering pains, and afflictions, and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities. Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me" (Alma 7:11-13). Because He took all things upon Him when He performed the Atonement, you are able to cast your burdens on Him and He will perfectly understand them and be able to help you through them or even take the burdens away from you.
How to Accept the Invitation
Now comes the real question: How do you cast your burdens on the Lord? From my studies, I have found that one of the most important and powerful ways to cast your burdens on the Lord is through prayer. According to the Bible Dictionary in the LDS Edition of the King James Version of the Bible: "As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are His children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part (Matt. 7:7-11). Many of the so-called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship. Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work, and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings" (BD p. 752-753, emphasis added).
When we realize the true nature of our relationship with Heavenly Father, it is much easier for us to trust Him and to ask for and receive blessings from Him. I know that one way that I cast off my burdens is simply to talk about what my burdens are with someone who cares. As I pray more often and more meaningfully, I am able to cast my burdens on the Lord more easily. Talking with Him becomes more natural and I am able to trust that He hears me, cares about my burdens, and will help take those burdens from me. It will be the same for you. As you pray more often and more meaningfully, your understanding of God's love for you will grow. You will be able to cast your burdens on Him easier because you will trust Him more.
A recent experience taught me another way that we can cast our burdens on the Lord. I was struggling all day long with something in my mind and was not able to completely focus on the things I needed to do. That evening I had an opportunity to talk with a friend about the gospel and teach her some things that I have learned that I felt would help her. When I arrived back at my home, I was able to think clearly again! Though the issue I had been thinking about all day was not gone, the worry and anxious feelings and confusion had settled down and I was able to have a clear mind and focus on what I needed to accomplish.
The lesson that I learned was that teaching others and testifying of Christ is an immense help in casting my own burdens onto the Lord. He helped me because I was helping others. You can feel that blessing in your life as well. When you feel burdened and overwhelmed with difficulties and trials, seek to open your eyes and heart to the physical and spiritual needs of those around you. As you help people in need, God will lift some of the burden off of you as a blessing in return.
As a word of warning, you must realize that the Lord will not always immediately take your burdens off of you. There are times when you need to learn an important lesson from burdens that you have. However, you can always trust that God will give you the strength you need to live through the trials until the time when He does lift the burdens. As our prophet Thomas S. Monson said in the April 2009 General Conference, "The Lord shapes the back to bear the burden placed upon it." We can also see this principle in the lives of Alma's followers, when the Lord tells the people "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 we see that "the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease" (Mosiah 24:14-15). Though the burdens were not removed, the people were strengthened to bear them easier. As you read the rest of that chapter, you see that the Lord did deliver the people from bondage because of their faith and patience during their time of trial.
As you pray with all of your heart, serve others, and trust the Lord's will and timing, the burdens you feel will be lifted. If you ever feel that I might be able to help lift a burden that you have, please tell me!
