During His ministry, the Savior taught the higher law of the gospel and healed the sick. While pressures mounted against the Savior and His teachings, He denounced wickedness and promised rest to all who come to Him. This lesson can increase your confidence that the Lord will help you with your challenges and burdens.
Student preparation: Invite students to ask a family member or friend about how the Savior has given them peace or comfort.
Possible Learning Activities
Your burdens and challenges
The following activity could be done on the board as a class, or students could be invited to make their own drawings.
Draw a stick figure representing a teenager. Draw a backpack on the stick figure’s back to represent the burdens and stresses teenagers today face. Write at least five of those burdens or stresses in, on, or around the backpack.
Invite students to share what they drew.
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stick man carrying a backpack
Invite students to close their eyes and think of their answer to the following question.
On a scale of one to five, with five being extremely well and one being not well at all, how well do you feel you are dealing with your burdens and stressful events?
If you haven’t already, consider taking a moment now to invite your Heavenly Father to assist you in finding principles that can help you with the specific burdens you are currently carrying. Read Matthew 11:28–30, looking for truths the Savior taught that might help someone who is weighed down by burdens.
Matthew 11:28–30 is a doctrinal mastery passage. Consider marking doctrinal mastery passages in a distinctive way so you can locate them easily.
Consider writing student responses to the following questions on the board near the stick figure.
What truths did you find?
How might these truths help someone who is having a difficult time?
Though students may use different words, be sure they understand that if we come unto Jesus Christ, He will ease our burdens and give us rest. Ask students if they have any questions about what they have learned.
See the “Supplemental Learning Activities” section for an alternate way to help students learn about phrases in Matthew 11:28–30.
“Take my yoke upon you”
Sometimes words or phrases in the scriptures can be difficult to understand. Learning what words and phrases mean can help us come to learn what the Savior wants us to know. Practice this with the phrase “Take my yoke upon you” (Matthew 11:29).
Encourage students to share what they already know about this phrase by asking the following questions:
What is a yoke?
What is Jesus Christ’s yoke?
How do we take Jesus Christ’s yoke upon ourselves?
Use any or all of the following information to supplement students’ understanding.
Display the following image.
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Harvest time, Gujarat, India
A yoke is “a device put around the necks of animals or men to harness them together” (Guide to the Scriptures, “Yoke,” scriptures.ChurchofJesusChrist.org). The animals in this picture are wearing a yoke.
Elder Edward Dube of the Seventy related the following experience:
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Elder Edward Dube
In December 2015 in Madziva, Zimbabwe, Naume [my wife] and I saw a man plowing his field with a team of two oxen. I was amazed to see that one animal was a huge ox and the other was a small bullock. I was perplexed. I wondered aloud, “Why would a farmer plow with two unequal animals in the yoke?”
Naume’s mother, who was standing nearby, pointed to the yoke. I looked more closely and saw traces [ropes or chains] connecting the yoke to the bullock. The large ox was pulling all the weight, and the tiny bullock was being broken in, learning how to plow.
(Edward Dube, “Learn of Me,” Liahona, Oct. 2020, Africa Southeast Local Pages, ChurchofJesusChrist.org)
How might our relationship with the Savior be like that of the large ox and the small bullock?
How does knowing the meaning of yoke deepen your understanding of how Christ feels about you?
Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said:
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Elder David A. Bednar
Making and keeping sacred covenants yokes us to and with the Lord Jesus Christ.
How do you think making and keeping covenants yokes us to and with the Savior?
Elder Dube explained:
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Elder Edward Dube
When we are yoked with Jesus Christ, He bears the load, and we share in the joy of the labor. The Lord’s invitation to each of us to learn of Him is the only sure source which brings peace, joy and provides answers to the troubled mind.
(Edward Dube, “Learn of Me,” Liahona, Oct. 2020, Africa Southeast Local Pages, ChurchofJesusChrist.org)
How has learning of Jesus Christ this year helped you bear your load and brought you peace and joy?
Display the titles of the following activities on the board. Consider asking which one of the following statements students would prefer studying as a class. Or invite students to choose an activity and study on their own, with a classmate, or in a small group. Display the instructions for the activities so that students can refer to them as they study.
Coming unto Christ and receiving His rest
Activity A: “Come unto me” (Matthew 11:28). How can I come unto Christ?
In order to receive the Savior’s help and the rest He offers, we must come unto Him.
If someone asked you what it means to come unto Christ, what would you say?
Elder Richard G. Scott (1928–2015) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles identified several ways we can come unto Christ.
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Elder Richard G. Scott
When we are consistently praying morning and night, studying our scriptures daily, having weekly family home evening, and attending the temple regularly, we are actively responding to His invitation to “come unto Him.”
Consider watching “Come unto Christ: 2014 Theme Song” (4:48) to see examples of how someone can come unto the Savior. This video is available on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
What are some things you have done to come closer to Jesus Christ? (This could include covenants you have made and kept.)
What do you feel like you could do to more fully come unto Christ and access His divine help?
Activity B: “I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). How might Christ lift my burdens?
A powerful example of the Savior easing burdens is recorded in the Book of Mormon. Alma and his people were taken captive, were forced to work, and were severely persecuted.
Read Mosiah 24:12–16. You may also want to watch the video “Chapter 17: Alma and His People Escape” from time code 0:01 to 1:29. This video is available on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
What did you learn about ways the Savior can help you carry your burdens?
What did the people of Alma do to access the Savior’s help?
How might understanding our role in reaching out to the Savior help someone who is facing challenges?
Think about your own experiences or the experiences of people you know, and record a time when the Savior lifted a burden. Be sure to include what you or someone you know did to reach out to the Savior and how He helped.
After students have completed their chosen activity, invite them to share what they would like to remember. Consider sharing a personal testimony or inviting students to share their testimonies of how the Savior has helped them in times of need.
Commentary and Background Information
How does Jesus Christ help us as we come unto Him?
Elder John A. McCune of the Seventy explained some of the blessings that can come as we come unto Jesus Christ.
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Elder John A. McCune
As we accept the Savior’s invitation to “come unto me,” He will provide the support, comfort, and peace that are necessary. … Even in our deepest trials, we can feel the warm embrace of His love as we trust Him and accept His will.
The video “Living with Depression” (3:13) provides an example of how Jesus Christ can help us even if it means that we are not delivered from difficult trials.
Supplemental Learning Activities
Alternate learning activity
This activity could be done at the beginning of class. Bring to class an empty box or backpack and heavy objects to put inside, such as large rocks or books. Invite a student to come to the front of the room, and ask them to hold the empty box or to put on the backpack. Ask the class to respond to the questions found at the beginning of the lesson. Another student could list students’ responses on the board. After each response, place a heavy object in the box or backpack until it is full.
Students could read Matthew 11:28–30, looking for and marking short phrases that stand out to them. Examples include “Come unto me,” “I will give you rest,” “Ye shall find rest unto your souls,” “Learn of me,” and “Meek and lowly in heart.”
Invite students to select one phrase and write it in their own words. Invite them to find a cross-reference that helps them understand what the phrase means. For example, they could look up the words come, rest, learn, or meek in the Guide to the Scriptures or Topical Guide. Invite students to share what they found and how this might help someone who is struggling with a burden.
