The scriptures describe a relationship with Christ of being yolked together so that you can bear any burden.
This speaks to me as I sometimes feel that I have burdens beyond bearing. It’s not that I think they are literally unbearable, just that I sometimes can’t conceive of ever feeling happiness as I bear under the load.
The church has published a new version of For the Strength of Youth.
It’s not wrong to have rules, we need them, but it is wrong to focus on keeping (and enforcing) rules instead of focusing on Christ.
My dear young friends, if the Savior were here right now, what would He say to you?
I believe He would start by expressing His deep love for you. He might say it with words, but it would also flow so strongly—just from His presence—that it would be unmistakable, reaching deep into your heart, filling your whole soul!
I don’t think He would make excuses for your mistakes. He wouldn’t minimize them. No, He would ask you to repent—to leave your sins behind, to change, so He can forgive you. He would remind you that 2,000 years ago He took those sins upon Himself so that you could repent. That is part of the plan of happiness gifted to us from our loving Heavenly Father.
Jesus might point out that your covenants with Him—made when you were baptized and renewed each time you partake of the sacrament—give you a special connection with Him. The kind of connection the scriptures describe as being yoked together so that, with His help, you can carry any burden.
I believe the Savior Jesus Christ would want you to see, feel, and know that He is your strength. That with His help, there are no limits to what you can accomplish. That your potential is limitless. He would want you to see yourself the way He sees you. And that is very different from the way the world sees you.
Christ would not ignore the past but He would focus on the opportunities that remain for the future.
At the heart of God’s plan for your happiness is your power to choose. Of course, your Heavenly Father wants you to choose eternal joy with Him, and He will help you to achieve it, but He would never force it upon you.
So He allows you to choose: Light or darkness? Good or evil? Joy or misery? Eternal life or spiritual death?
It sounds like an easy choice, doesn’t it? But somehow, here on earth, it seems more complicated than it ought to be.
Satan seeks to convince people that just because God is absolutely clear about which side of important questions He stands on that amounts to restricting our agency. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
Is it wrong to have rules? Of course not. We all need them every day. But it is wrong to focus only on rules instead of focusing on the Savior. You need to know the whys and the hows and then consider the consequences of your choices. You need to put your trust in Jesus Christ. He will lead you the right way. He is your strength.
Important temporal and spiritual choices should not only be based on personal preference or what is convenient or popular. The Lord is not saying, “Do whatever you want.”
He is saying, “Let God prevail.”
He is saying, “Come, follow me.”
He is saying, “Live in a holier, higher, more mature way.”
He is saying, “Keep my commandments.”
My dear friends, let me repeat, if the Savior were standing here today, He would express His endless love for you, His complete confidence in you. He would tell you that you can do this. You can build a joyful, happy life because Jesus Christ is your strength. You can find confidence, peace, safety, happiness, and belonging now and eternally, because you will find all of it in Jesus Christ, in His gospel, and in His Church.
We need to make sure that we express that same confidence in people.
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