Christ is Our Relief

 

Jesus Christ Is Relief

By President Camille N. Johnson

Relief Society General President

I joyfully declare that our mortal burdens, these rocks in our figurative backpack, need not feel heavy.

Jesus Christ can lighten our load.

Jesus Christ can lift our burdens.

Jesus Christ provides a way for us to be relieved of the weight of sin.

Jesus Christ is our relief....

That the yoke is easy and the burden is light presumes we get in the yoke with the Savior, that we share our burdens with Him, that we let Him lift our load. That means entering into a covenant relationship with God and keeping that covenant, which, as President Nelson has explained, “makes everything about life easier.” He said, “Yoking yourself with the Savior means you have access to His strength and redeeming power.”...

So why do we insist on carrying our rocks alone?

It is intended as a personal question for each of you to consider.

For me, it is the age-old vice of pride. “I’ve got this,” I say. “No worries; I’ll get it done.” It’s the great deceiver who wants me to hide from God, to turn away from Him, to go at it alone.

Brothers and sisters, I can’t go at it alone, and I don’t need to, and I won’t. Choosing to be bound to my Savior, Jesus Christ, through the covenants I have made with God, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”¹¹

Covenant keepers are blessed with the Savior’s relief....

The Atonement of Jesus Christ also makes it possible for us to receive strength to forgive, which allows us to unload the weight we carry because of mistreatment by others.

Only in Jesus Christ can We Truly Become One

 

One in Christ

By Elder D. Todd Christofferson

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

We are too diverse and at times too discordant to be able to come together as one on any other basis or under any other name. Only in Jesus Christ can we truly become one.

Becoming one in Christ happens one by one—we each begin with ourselves. We are dual beings of flesh and spirit and are sometimes at war within ourselves....

If individually we each “put on Christ,” then together we can hope to become one, as Paul said, “the body of Christ.”¹⁴ To “put on Christ” certainly includes making His “first and great commandment”¹⁵ our first and greatest commitment, and if we love God, we will keep His commandments.¹⁶

Unity with our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ grows as we heed the second commandment—inextricably connected to the first—to love others as ourselves.¹⁷ And I suppose an even more perfect unity would obtain among us if we followed the Savior’s higher and holier expression of this second commandment—to love one another not only as we love ourselves but as He loved us.¹⁸ In sum, it is “every man seeking the interest of his neighbor, and doing all things with an eye single to the glory of God.”...

When we “put on Christ,” it becomes possible either to resolve or to lay aside differences, disagreements, and disputes. A rather dramatic example of overcoming division is found in our Church history...

Unity does not require sameness, but it does require harmony. We can have our hearts knit together in love, be one in faith and doctrine, and still cheer for different teams, disagree on various political issues, debate about goals and the right way to achieve them, and many other such things. But we can never disagree or contend with anger or contempt for one another.

Seek After Whatever Invites the Influence of the Spirt and Reject Whatever Drives it Away

 

Focus on Jesus Christ

By Brother Milton Camargo

First Counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency

Covenant keeping leads us to seek after whatever invites the influence of the Spirit and reject whatever drives it away—“for we know that if we can be worthy of the presence of the Holy Ghost, we can also be worthy to live in the presence of Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.”¹⁰ This may mean that we have to change our vocabulary, using kinder words. It could mean replacing spiritually unhealthy habits with new habits that strengthen our relationship with the Lord, such as daily prayer and scripture study, individually and with our family.

 Research further shows that children who “know a lot about their families tend to do better when they face challenges” and are “more resilient, meaning they could moderate the effects of stress.”⁶ In fact, knowledge of family stories “turned out to be the best single predictor of children’s emotional health and happiness.”

The Power of Family Stories

By London Brimhall

Church Magazines

Liahona Feb 2024

Promised Blessings for Temple and Family History Work

 Call for Experiences

What blessings have you felt through temple and family history work? Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles promised blessings such as these:

• “Increased understanding of the Savior and His atoning sacrifice;

• “Increased influence of the Holy Ghost to feel strength and direction for our own lives;

• “Increased faith, so that conversion to the Savior becomes deep and abiding;

• “Increased ability and motivation to learn and repent because of an understanding of who we are, where we come from, and a clearer vision of where we are going;

• “Increased refining, sanctifying, and moderating influences in our hearts;

• “Increased joy through an increased ability to feel the love of the Lord;

• “Increased family blessings, no matter our current, past, or future family situation or how imperfect our family tree may be;

• “Increased love and appreciation for ancestors and living relatives, so we no longer feel alone;

• “Increased power to discern that which needs healing and thus, with the Lord’s help, serve others;

• “Increased protection from temptations and the intensifying influence of the adversary; and

• “Increased assistance to mend troubled, broken, or anxious hearts and make the wounded whole” (“Family History and Temple Work: Sealing and Healing,” Liahona, May 2018, 47).

Our Savior Focused on Joy

 President Nelson reminds us that joy played a role in the Savior’s suffering—“for the joy that was set before him [He] endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2).

“Think of that! In order for Him to endure the most excruciating experience ever endured on earth, our Savior focused on joy!

“And what was the joy that was set before Him? Surely it included the joy of cleansing, healing, and strengthening us; the joy of paying for the sins of all who would repent; the joy of making it possible for you and me to return home—clean and worthy—to live with our Heavenly Parents and families.

“If we focus on the joy that will come to us, or to those we love, what can we endure that presently seems overwhelming, painful, scary, unfair, or simply impossible?”

Russell M. Nelson, “Joy and Spiritual Survival,” Liahona, Nov. 2016, 83.

Joy and Spiritual Survival

October 2016 general conference

Enduring Joy

 

The Lasting Joy of Gospel Living

By Elder D. Todd Christofferson

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Enduring joy comes by enduring in the gospel of Jesus Christ and helping others do the same. Lasting joy comes as we abide in the love of God, obeying His commandments and receiving the Savior’s grace. In the gospel path, there is joy in the journey as well as joy at the end. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the path of daily joy.