“As ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;” (Mosiah 18:8). One of our most fundamental responsibilities as God's people is to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light, and, I would add, that they may come to light. Obviously, when we are struggling with a heavy burden, having others to help us bear that burden and lighten the load is a welcome response to one of our deepest and most urgent needs in that moment. But maybe it is not always easy for others to get a good handhold on our burden. Maybe we are having a hard time sharing the burden and accepting help when it is offered. Maybe when we try to offer our help to bear someone else's burden, we somehow end up making it worse. If it is not always possible to perfectly lend a helping hand such that their burden is lightened, then at least we can make the attempt. By showing that we are willing to help carry the load, even when it is not possible to actually make the burden light, we can show that we care and that we desire their ease and comfort and happiness. And sometimes that is enough. Sometimes, even if a burden cannot be lightened, it can be brought to light. Even if we can't solve a problem, we can at least acknowledge with them that they are going through a really hard time, that it is a really heavy burden they are carrying, and even if we can't help them carry it, we can show that we do in fact care and we are rooting for them and praying for them and we see them and their struggle and we admire their strength and their determination and we are confident that they will succeed. Too many of us go through life feeling as if no one notices or cares that we are carrying heavy burdens. And maybe it's because of these burdens that we sometimes lose our temper and snap, or don't have the energy to reply to a text, or we totally lose track and forget an important date. If only they knew what we were going through and had a little bit of awareness and maybe even empathy then they would understand that we aren't being short or closed off or negligent on purpose. Too many of us suffer in silence and in the dark. Part of bearing one another's burdens and making them light is just recognizing and acknowledging and talking about them. Even if nothing gets solved, at least we are no longer suffocating in the darkness and silence. I hope we can all take the first step in making each other's burdens light by first bringing them into the light.
