Lee's talk on life's burdens, Oct. 22, 2006

Elder Dallin H. Oaks Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is one of my favorite general authorities. I suppose that’s partly because my personal experience with him while a student at BYU and as an editor for the school newspaper.
At the time, Elder Oaks was President Oaks, president of BYU. There was a controversy on the school paper and as editors we met with President Oaks. I don’t recall much of the details, but later when he was called to be a member of the Twelve, I wasn’t surprised – but I was excited.
It seems when he speaks, I listen that much more intently.
His talk this conference was, I felt, a rebuke of the world’s thinking and, at the same time, a warm invite to all of us who carry burdens.
He said: “Many carry heavy burdens. Some have lost a loved one to death or care for one who is disabled. Some have been wounded by divorce. Others yearn for an eternal marriage. Some are caught in the grip of addictive substances or practices like alcohol, tobacco, drugs, or pornography. Others have crippling physical or mental impairments. Some are challenged by same-gender attraction. Some have terrible feelings of depression or inadequacy. In one way or another, many are heavy laden.” (Unquote)
Often time, the world’s answers to those who have burdens are: “Oh, you poor person! Here, take some money! Or, hey, don’t worry! That’s just the way you are, enjoy! Or, let me give you some pills for that!
What’s missing!???
Elder Oaks said: “Our Savior gives this loving invitation:
"Come unto me, all ye that labor 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).
Can Jesus, who lived more than 2,000 years ago, really do this for us? It’s essential that we know and believe the answer to that question.
Let me tell you a little story. “Once, many, many years ago, a young missionary laboring in the topics of Costa Rica was struggling. He was doing his job every day but wanted a sign from Heaven – a sign that what he was doing was what the Lord wanted him to be doing. Just a little tap on the shoulder would do – or a little rumbling. But it didn’t happen -- not right away. So he went on, doing what he felt was right but still waiting for a sign.
Then one day, after a couple months of pain and a surgery, he was told he had bone cancer. The next day he was back in the United States. Two days later he was lying in a hospital bed, and the doctors informed him that they would have to amputate his leg or he would surely die.
This was back in ancient times – before chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
Many family and friends wondered: “What did this missionary do that he has come home and must have his leg amputated? Why was this young man burdened with such a heavy load?
But that night, in the dark, the young missionary prayed to the Lord not about why – but about his future.
“Lord, there’s a lot I still want to do. I want to find someone and get married! I want to have children and see them grow up. There’s a lot of life I’d like live. It’s OK, I can handle not being able to play basketball – I think. But please help me recover and go on with my life – even if it’s without the leg.”
After praying and pleading and praying and crying – he felt a warm, peaceful feeling come over him. A feeling for which he had been aching – not just that night but for a long time. A feeling that the Lord is there, he does love us and he hears our prayers.”
Soon after the surgery, Elder Delbert L. Stapley of the Quorum of the Twelve visited him in the hospital and gave him a blessing. A very different blessing from the ones we normally hear. Elder Stapley first talked with the Lord and told the Lord about the young man’s situation.
Then Elder Stapley blessed that young missionary. He commanded that if there was any cancer remaining in the body that it would leave. He promised the young man that he would be healed from the cancer.
The blessing was a final answer to his prayers. No longer was he worried about the outcome. In fact, the nurses and doctors thought it a bit strange that he was handling the ordeal so easily.
But he knew something the world didn’t know – the Lord was with him and had answered his prayers.
Still, he had a burden – one that could never be taken away, but that burden was made light – by the power of Jesus Christ.
How did our Father in Heaven do in fulfilling his promise to that young missionary? Well, within months he started school at BYU and graduated within three years, he was hired by the Deseret News and has been with the newspaper for 33 years. He married a beautiful young woman who has helped him carry his burden and together they have five beautiful children and four grandchildren and two identical twin girls coming soon. Thirty-six years of a blessing fulfilled.
The loss of his leg really has not been his biggest challenge in life – but only one of them. There have been and are greater ones. But he does look forward to the resurrection and the day he can once again play some basketball.
But that’s only one of the burdens we might be laden with – and Jesus has promised that if we turn to him he will make us whole – whether in this life or in the next, it does not matter.
Elder Oaks said: “The Savior teaches that we will have tribulation in the world, but we should "be of good cheer" because He has "overcome the world" (John 16:33). His Atonement reaches and is powerful enough not only to pay the price for sin but also to heal every mortal affliction.
The Book of Mormon teaches that "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" (Alma 7:11; see also 2 Nephi 9:21).
He knows of our anguish, and He is there for us. Like the Good Samaritan in His parable, when He finds us wounded at the wayside, He binds up our wounds and cares for us (see Luke 10:34).
Brothers and sisters, the healing power of His Atonement is for you, for us, for all.
His all-encompassing healing power is sought in the prayerful words of our hymn "Master, the Tempest Is Raging":
Master, with anguish of spirit
I bow in my grief today.
The depths of my sad heart are troubled.
Oh, waken and save, I pray!
Torrents of sin and of anguish
Sweep o'er my sinking soul,
And I perish! I perish! Dear Master.
Oh, hasten and take control! (Hymns, no. 105)
To all of us who suffer an affliction or burden, it doesn’t matter why we have that affliction, what matters is how we handle it – how we go forward despite it.
Elder Oaks said, “When the Apostle Paul sought to be healed from the "thorn in the flesh" that buffeted him, the Lord declined to heal him. The Lord explained, "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness." Paul obediently responded that he would "rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me . . . for when I am weak, then am I strong" (vv. 9–10).
“Healing blessings come in many ways, each suited to our individual needs, as known to Him who loves us best. Sometimes a "healing" cures our illness or lifts our burden. But sometimes we are "healed" by being given strength or understanding or patience to bear the burdens placed upon us.
“The people who followed Alma were in bondage to wicked oppressors. When they prayed for relief, the Lord told them He would deliver them eventually, but in the meantime He would ease their burdens "that even you cannot feel them upon your backs. In that case the people did not have their burdens removed, but the Lord strengthened them so that "they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord" (v. 15).
Elder Oaks continued: “This same promise and effect applies to you mothers who are widowed or divorced, to you singles who are lonely, to you caregivers who are burdened, to you persons who are addicted, and to all of us whatever our burden. "Come unto Christ," the prophet says, "and be perfected in him" (Moroni 10:32).
“At times we may despair that our burdens are too great. When it seems that a tempest is raging in our lives, we may feel abandoned and cry out like the disciples in the storm, "Master, carest thou not that we perish?" (Mark 4:38). At such times we should remember His reply:
"Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?"
“The healing power of the Lord Jesus Christ—whether it removes our burdens or strengthens us to endure and live with them like the Apostle Paul—is available for every affliction in mortality.” (Unquote)
The world too often says to those caught in addictive immoral habits and behavior that we cannot change the way we are. That’s what the Devil wants us to think. It is not true.
We can change, it’s called repentance.
Elder Oaks said: “After I gave a general conference talk on the evils of pornography (see "Pornography," Liahona and Ensign, May 2005, 87–90), I received many letters from persons burdened with this addiction. Some of these letters were from men who had overcome pornography. One man wrote:
"There are several lessons I've gleaned from my experience coming out of the darkness of a sin that so thoroughly dominates the lives of the people it ensnares: (1) This is a major problem that is unbelievably difficult to overcome. . . . (2) The most important source of support and strength in the repentance process is the Savior. . . . (3) Intense, daily scripture study, regular temple worship, and serious, contemplative participation in the ordinance of the sacrament are all indispensable parts of a true repentance process. This, I assume, is because all of these activities serve to deepen and strengthen one's relationship with the Savior, one's understanding of His atoning sacrifice, and one's faith in His healing power" (letter dated Oct. 24, 2005).
"Come unto me," the Savior said, "and ye shall find rest unto your souls" (Matthew 11:28–29). That heavy-laden man turned to the Savior, and so can each of us.
Elder Oaks quoted one man you overcame same-gender attraction burder who said: "Some profess that change is possible and therapy is the only answer. They are very learned on the subject and have so much to offer those who struggle . . . , but I worry that they forget to involve Heavenly Father in the process. If change is to happen, it will happen according to the will of God. I also worry that many people focus on the causes of [same-gender attraction]. . . .
There is no need to determine why I have [this challenge]. I don't know if I was born with it, or if environmental factors contributed to it. The fact of the matter is that I have this struggle in my life and what I do with it from this point forward is what matters" (letter dated Mar. 25, 2006).
The persons who wrote these letters know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the healing it offers do much more than provide the opportunity for repentance from sins. The Atonement also gives us the strength to endure "pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind," because our Savior also took upon Him "the pains and the sicknesses of his people.”
In closing, I quote Elder Oaks: “As we struggle with the challenges of mortality, I pray for each of us, as the prophet Mormon prayed for his son, Moroni: ‘May Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, . . . and his mercy and long-suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your mind forever.`”
I am eternally grateful for Christ’s Atonement and for the Lord’s help in carrying my burdens. I look forward to resurrection and pray that I will use the gift of repentance so I can prepare to happily meet my Father in Heaven again.