Many Old Testament Prophets referred to the prophecies that they delivered as the “burden of the Lord.” We do know from John that “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Revelation 19:10). So, whether we call it prophecy or testimony, why would this be a burden? Isn’t knowledge of Jesus supposed to lessen our burdens? “Come unto me, all ye that labour 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). Is it that Christ’s burden is not heavy, or that it is full of light? If we have followed the examples of the wise virgins and have filled our lamps with oil that we may shine forth our testimony and our prophecy and our burden of a knowledge of the reality of Jesus Christ as our Savior and the power of His Atonement in our daily lives, then our burden is to share this knowledge and shine this light on as many people as possible, so that they, too, can have proof of God’s love shining in their hearts. “And also it is an imperative duty that we owe to all the rising generation, and to all the pure in heart— For there are many yet on the earth among all sects, parties, and denominations, who are blinded by the subtle craftiness of men, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, and who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it— Therefore, that we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things of darkness, wherein we know them; and they are truly manifest from heaven—These should then be attended to with great earnestness.” (D&C 123:11-14). Too many of us want to say with Cain that we are not our brother’s keeper. We get deceived into thinking that there are a limited number of spots in heaven and we can’t jeopardize our place by sticking our necks out for others. But the truth is that the glory and the joy of Heaven can only be diminished by the absence of all of those who were kept from the truth because they knew not where to find it. As Spencer W. Kimball said, “If you could only see the vision I have. I wish I had your bodies to do this work. I would run from house to house telling everyone of the gospel, and after I lost strength to run I would begin to walk, and after I collapsed from walking, I would begin to crawl, and after my knees were so bloody that I could not use them I would use my arms to drag myself, and once my muscle in my body was gone I would begin to yell…oh, only if you could see the vision as I have.” I know that we will regret forever all of the missed opportunities that we squandered to bring the light of Christ into the lives of those around us, and we will be grateful for all of eternity for every single person we helped to bring into the light.
