We Are Not Burdens

When I need help from others, I often feel like a burden (although people rarely treat me like one). I have an ingrained fear of becoming someone's personal challenge, a fear that the people of Ammon in the Book of Mormon shared (Alma 27:22-23; Alma 53:13-14). 

The Nephites defended the Ammonites against the Lamanites, which resulted in a lot of dead (and all so that the people of Ammon could keep their covenant never to take up arms again). If ever someone would feel like a burden, it would be the Ammonites to the Nephites. However, I'm comforted by this line:

"[A]s they never had hitherto been a disadvantage to the Nephites, they became now at this period of time also a great support" (Alma 53:19).

The Nephites didn't see the Ammonites as a burden! Ever! They saw this as an opportunity to serve and to help the Ammonites keep their covenants. That is what I need to do—I need to allow people to serve me, and I need to serve others. Together, we will all keep our covenant to "mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort" (Mosiah 18:8-10).

It is so important that we don't make people feel like burdens; they aren't! They are opportunities for you to keep your covenants and to become more like Christ. I love this story that was shared in General Conference:

“When Darren and I were newly married and expecting our first baby, we were living in a small college town. We were both full-time students with very little income. Our nearest ward was in a town about 30 miles [48 km] away, and our only means of transportation was an old car that didn’t work most of the time. When the sisters in the ward discovered our circumstances, they immediately joined together to arrange for one of them to always give us a ride to and from church on Sundays and for other Church activities. Some of the sisters lived in other towns and drove 20 or 30 miles [32 to 48 km] out of their way just to pick us up. Additionally, many of the sisters would invite us to their homes for nice family dinners after church. No one ever made us feel like a burden to them. I will never forget the true love and charity that the Relief Society sisters extended to us during that short but challenging time in our lives.” (Every Woman Needs Relief Society; emphasis added).

We need opportunities to serve, and many of Heavenly Father's children need that service. I am astonished at the Nephites' willingness to sacrifice their lives in defense of their brothers; that is incredible to me. It is such an example of how to graciously fulfill my callings in life, and I am motivated to do and to be better.