Conference Talk of the Week

Overview

Elder Michael A. Dunn tells about running a 100-mile ultramarathon in 1998. At mile 90 he collapsed under a tree and told his running partner, Ted, that he was giving up. Ted knelt beside him and said, "I know you can do this, Mike, and I'm going to get you there." They finished the last 10 miles together. A week later, a photograph showed Elder Dunn something he had missed: Ted had been carrying his water bottles and hydration pack the whole way. From this experience, Elder Dunn teaches that Jesus Christ carries our burdens (Isaiah 53:4). He does not usually make the road shorter. He takes weight off us, often without our noticing, and gives us strength to finish the course ourselves.

Three Key Takeaways

• 1The Savior often lifts our burdens in ways we cannot see at the time. Elder Dunn did not know Ted was carrying his pack until he saw the photograph, and President Dieter F. Uchtdorf taught that we often see the Lord's hand only when we look back after a trial has passed.
• 2Christ's help usually does not remove the hard parts of the course. Instead, His grace, the "divine means of help or strength," makes us able to keep going and multiplies even the small effort we give.
• 3We can trust Jesus Christ because there is no part of mortal life He has not walked, so He knows the way. He also knows each of us, and like Ted, He knows what we are capable of when we have stopped believing it ourselves.

Reflection Questions

• What is your "mile 90" right now: the place where you feel most worn out or ready to quit? What would it look like to ask the Savior for help there, even with the little energy you have left?
• Looking back on a past trial, where can you now see that the Lord was carrying part of your load when you did not notice it then?
• Who has been a "Ted" for you, and whose burden might the Lord be asking you to quietly carry this week?