Lighter Burdens

Through some recent problems and trials, I have been reminded of an experience I had when I was in Boy Scouts. We were setting out on a 60 mile hike in the mountains. We were to carry all we needed in back packs and walk the entire distance. In preparation I packed a lot of things that I thought I needed, and got a new pair of hiking boots that I thought fit me good enough.

The first day of hiking was an eye-opener. I struggled to make it through the first 10 miles. My pack was heavier than expected, my feet ached because my boots were too loose. It didn't take long for the others the get ahead of me and I was walking by myself for most of that day. Some tried to stay behind with me, but I was still too slow. I took many stops and I got further and further behind. Eventually, one of the scout masters came back to me and took some of the heavier things out of my bag. It wasn't much, but it kept me going a bit longer. However, the pack was still too heavy and I continued to be in the back, almost miles behind. I eventually stopped and sat down and waited hoping that someone would pick me up or carry my bag for me. Another scout master came, but he didn't do what I wanted. He traded shoes with me and took a few more things out of my bag and walked with me the rest of the way that day. The bag was still heavy, but it didn't feel that way. Having someone there helped and made my burden lighter.

In this life we have a certain expectation that someone else is just going to take away our problems. This doesn't happen, not even with the Savior. He makes our burdens lighter, in other words, he doesn't just take them away. He helps us by carrying a few things to make the bigger load lighter. He gives us better shoes to make the journey easier on us. He walks with us those last few miles.

So, why doesn't He just take every hard thing away from us? He's able to do that right? Of course He can. But, if he did that, how could we become stronger? How could we learn? Like my experience on that first day, my heavy load wasn't just taken away and I wasn't given a ride to that first camp. I needed to get there myself. I learned that I needed better fitting shoes and learned that many things that I was carrying I didn't need. Like in life, God isn't going to take away a trial completely just because we were unprepared or made a mistake. We still need to learn and become stronger from that experience. If we can only go as far as we can go on our own, He will come and lighten our load and walk a few miles with us.

After that first day, I wore my regular shoes and left some of the things I didn't need on the truck. I still had to carry my backpack, and I still had to walk the rest of the way. But, I was able to make it, because my burden was lighter.

Profetas: Necessários no Passado, Necessários Agora

Quando eu era um missionário no Brasil, conheci uma mulher e seus amigos que, após a chegada, fez várias perguntas sobre o que eles achavam que eram as nossas crenças. Depois de refutar muitas de suas idéias, como sacrifícios de culto e batizando em nosso próprio sangue, então ela perguntou: "Então, o que é tão diferente sobre a sua religião e meu?" Estavamos prontos a responder a isso.

Nossa explicação para ela foi o que definir nossa religião além das outras religiões foi que tivemos um profeta vivo que fala diretamente com Deus.

Mas, o que isso significa? Isso significa que acreditamos (como Santos dos Últimos Dias) que temos um profeta, como Moisés, que fala diretamente a Deus em nosso nome e recebe revelação para o mundo inteiro e é o único homem com autoridade para fazê-lo. Esta é uma reivindicação forte.

Então, por que é importante ter um profeta? Este é um argumento comum, porque temos as pessoas da Bíblia e muitos acreditam que Deus revelou tudo o que é e foi necessário em seu conteúdo. Embora a Bíblia contém muitas grandes e importantes coisas. Eu acho que tem algo a ver com a jurisdição, ou mordomia. Os profetas e apóstolos estavam falando com as pessoas no seu dia, porque é isso que eles foram chamados para fazer e que para ensinar. Eles foram reveladas coisas que foram aplicadas no seu dia especificamente para o seu povo. Sim, muitos desses mesmos ensinamentos e revelações se aplicam a nós em nossos dias, mas muitos de seus problemas eram diferentes das nossas. Eles não têm que se preocupar sobre o que fazer com a pornografia, casamento gay, ou a propagação imensa de tecnologia.

Eu não posso pensar de um tempo que precisasse de um profeta mais do que agora. Como os tempos mudam, precisamos compreender melhor o que Deus precisa e quer que façamos. Nossos problemas agora será diferente daqui a dez anos e mesmo cem anos a partir de agora. Como eles foram necessárias centenas de anos atrás, os profetas ainda são necessários agora.

Prophets: Needed Then, Needed Now

Back when I was a missionary in Brazil, we met this woman and her friends who, upon our arrival, asked several questions about what they thought our beliefs were. After disproving many of their ideas, like cult sacrifices and baptizing in our own blood, she then asked, "Then what is so different about your religion and mine?" We were more than willing to answer that.

Our explanation for her was that what set our religion apart from the other religions was that we had a living prophet that speaks directly to God.

But, what does that mean? It means that we believe (as Latter-day Saints) that we have a prophet, like Moses, that speaks directly to God in our behalf and receives revelation for the entire world and is the only man with the authority to do so. This is a hefty claim.

Then, why is it important to have a prophet? This is a common argument, because we have the Bible and many people believe that God revealed all that is and was necessary within its contents. Although the Bible does contain many great and important things, I think it has something to do with jurisdiction, or stewardship. The prophets and apostles were speaking to people in their day, because that's what they were called to do and who to teach to. They were revealed things that applied to them in their day specifically for their people. Yes, many of those same teachings and revelations apply to us in our day, but many of their problems were different than ours. They didn't have to worry on what to do with pornography, gay marriage, or the immense spread of technology.

I can't think of a time that needs a prophet more than now. As the times change, we need further understanding of what God needs and wants us to do. Our problems now will be different ten years from now and even a hundred years from now. As they were needed hundreds of years ago, prophets are still needed now.