Discipleship and Divine Identity

Thank you to the choir. That was beautiful.

Delivering a devotional at Ensign College is a sacred privilege. I’m humbled to stand before you today. As I prepared these thoughts, I found myself changed in ways I didn’t expect. And while I hope something I share blesses you, I’m even more hopeful that the Spirit teaches you something better, something more personal. The message you most need might not come from my words at all. But if you’re ready to receive, the Lord is ready to teach. That’s why we raised our journals a moment ago. I invite you to write down the impressions you feel today. And more importantly, to act on them. When you do, I testify that you’ll enter a powerful cycle of growth that will shape you into a capable and trusted disciple of Jesus Christ.

As you heard in my introduction, I study music. Not musical performance so much, but musicology. For most people, that clarification doesn’t help at all. I rarely meet people who know what musicology is, but when I do, we become immediate—if nerdy—friends. In broad strokes, musicology is the academic study of music and its meaning in culture. These days, music is mostly treated as entertainment. We evaluate it by likes, streams, and sales. But historically, music was much more than a soundtrack for our fleeting emotions. Across many cultures, it was a tool to comprehend and communicate spiritual truths, social roles, even medicine and astronomy. I rarely get to speak deeply about music these days, but since I have you momentarily captured, let’s look at a short example to introduce a much more important principle. And because it is really interesting.

In the early 1700s, before the founding of this country, a German immigrant named Johann Conrad Beissel arrived in what is now Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He immigrated there expecting to join a hermitage led by another German-born immigrant, but when he arrived, he found it disbanded. Determined to demonstrate his devotion through his lifestyle, he founded a semi-monastic community that he called the Camp of Solitary (today this is called the Ephrata Cloister). This is a picture of the Ephrata Cloister today—you can go visit it. It’s a lesser-known historical site.

The group’s devotional practices might seem curious to us today: they purposefully slept on wooden benches using wood blocks for pillows, ate one small meal a day, woke up in the middle of the night, every night, for a vigil, and a handful of other curious practices. But the musical elements of their devotional practices might feel more familiar to us. They are, after all, the ancestor of early American hymnody, the context out of which rose our modern hymn tradition (which, if you don’t know, is fairly unique throughout the world).

In addition to being the group’s spiritual leader, Beissel was also its composer, though he had little to no musical training. From our current perspective on elements of music like harmony, melody, and rhythm, his music was jagged, rough, and unrefined. If you were to hear it (and there is a lot of it out there), you might not find it particularly beautiful or entertaining. But his compositions weren’t designed to be beautiful. They were targeted to teach and reinforce important and foundational principles.
[This is an image of the title pages of one of the musical manuscripts produced at Ephrata. In addition to being known for their social experiments, they are also known for beautifully produced manuscripts. This is an example of one.

In the Camp of Solitary, music played a very important role in establishing and reaffirming the social order of their community. In his treatise on music, Beissel identifies “Master” notes and “Servant” notes in his compositions. [This is another page from a different manuscript with a detail on the right. If you look closely, you might be able to see these note distinctions between the mast and servant notes in the size and type of these notes.]

“Servant” notes, he tells us, are subordinate or subject to “Master” notes in terms of harmony and melody. And in his compositions, he carefully follows this rule, even when it might break the then-standard rules for musical composition. The result is sometimes difficult on our ears, but he uses this design to describe and musically act out our human relationship with God and Godly principles. We are the servants and seek to always follow the Master. It is a lesson reinforced through group singing. [We might do well to remember this analogy in singing hymns today, particularly when we find ourselves singing a monotonous line. Altos and tenors know what I’m talking about.]

In addition, community members participated without reference to musical talent or skill. This practice was intended to reinforce the importance of each individual’s contribution to the larger group without necessarily worrying about the resulting beauty of the sound. Also, the music was intentionally very distinct from the European musical practice of the time (even for hymns) in an effort to emphasize through music the group’s desire for isolation and independence. Many other features have similar intentional social meaning. One of the most important of these for my purposes today is the way the interaction of the various parts emphasized the interdependence present within the community. In other words, the group understood that each individual member’s unique and personal contribution was critical. And the success of the group was consciously the product of the expression of this individuality. The needs of the individual and the group remained in perfect balance, one never overpowering the other. And this is a principle I think is worth exploring.

On Yokes and Burdens

After delivering the Sermon on the Mount and commissioning His disciples to preach, Jesus traveled throughout Galilee, teaching the people and performing miracles. Yet even with these remarkable signs, many remained spiritually unmoved. Some rejected Him outright; others simply failed to recognize the moment they were living in. It is in this setting—amid rising resistance and spiritual fatigue—that the Savior extends one of the most tender and transformative invitations in all of scripture.

It comes at a pivotal moment in the Savior’s ministry. Jesus is in the early stages of His public work, just after He has called and commissioned the Twelve to go out and teach. He has performed miracles, healed the sick, and taught multitudes throughout Galilee. But He’s also begun to encounter serious resistance. Some cities reject His message. Religious leaders question His authority. Many people watch the signs and wonders unfold but still fail to recognize what they’re witnessing. Imagine, for a moment, what that would feel like for someone sincerely trying to follow Christ in that environment. You believe in the message. You’re trying to keep the faith. But doubt is everywhere. Distractions are constant. You may feel like you’re trying to do the right things, but the world around you is confused, even hostile.

It’s in this setting—one that, as students, you might find familiar—that the Savior says:

that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.ⁱ

Please notice the narrative sequence the Lord places before us. Those who carry heavy burdens may come to Him to receive a yoke that provides relief. I can’t ignore the beautiful irony in this passage. Christ doesn’t say, “Come unto me and I’ll take your burdens away.” He says, in effect, “Come to me—and I’ll give you a different kind of burden. One you can carry. One that gives rest.” Think about this; a burden that gives rest. His invitation offers relief not through escape but through engagement. Not by dropping everything, but by picking something up. Imagine being overwhelmed with schoolwork and hearing that the answer is more homework, not less. I hope you find wisdom and inspiration in Elder Bednar's Conference address in April 2014 "Bear Up Their Burdens with Ease" where he teaches about the counterintuitive nature of a load and our own eternal progress.ⁱⁱ If you don't know it, read it today.

Before I share a few thoughts about this invitation, let me confess that I have no idea if this verse accurately captures the specific words that Jesus spoke that day, nor do I know the specifics about yokes and burdens that would have made this image a useful tool to teach His followers. In addition, this is not an exercise in scriptural hermeneutics or religious exegesis, academic exercises in which I am barely a novice. Instead, I want to engage in a thought experiment with you about the function of a yoke and the reality of a burden.

Let's first consider the burden.

In accepting our Earthly mission, each of us individually carries a heavy burden. It is a burden from which we cannot hide and a load that no one can carry for us. I’m not talking about homework, rent, or job stress—as real as those loads are. The burden I have in mind is far heavier and often complicated by these more immediate concerns. Indeed, it is possible and even common to succeed in bearing the burden of the day-to-day needs for mortal happiness but completely fail to bear the weight I have in mind. And when that happens, sorrow follows. The burden I'm thinking about is the very purpose of our existence. This burden—the one that presses most heavily on the soul—is outlined clearly in God's own words as He explains His plan for His children.

And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.ⁱⁱⁱ

Think about this charge. "All things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them." Let the meaning of it sink in for a minute. In order to fulfill this, we must first perfectly understand His commands and then have the courage to do them. Not some things. Not just the things we agree with. Not only the things that are easy or culturally comfortable. The burden we are called to carry as disciples is to obey in all things. That is no small task. Nothing about it is easy.

King Benjamin describes it this way:
For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.^iv

This is no passive submission. It’s a conscious, intentional willingness to yield—willing to submit not just when it’s easy, not just to the parts we agree with, but in all things. Even, as King Benjamin says, to those things the Lord sees fit to allow in our lives for our growth. This is the burden. And it is heavy.

And the Master himself says:

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.^v

If there was any doubt, this verse should help us understand the gravity of our burden clearly. This verse doesn’t say, "Be as good as you can be" or "Try your best." It doesn’t say, "Be mostly obedient," or "Be better than most people." It says, "Be ye therefore perfect"—and not just any version of perfect, but perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect. That’s the standard. That’s the burden. Is that even possible? Can any of us really meet that standard? Can we, on our own, be perfect as God is? Can we respond to every prompting, every commandment, every trial with complete faith and obedience? Can we truly love as He loves, serve as He serves, and endure as He endures? Nevertheless, that is the charge. No wonder we are heavy-laden. 

This is where the yoke comes in. From my reading of this passage, it appears that the yoke is a gift from the Lord to those who come to Him that makes carrying your burden possible, even pleasurable. A yoke is a tool—a shaped piece of wood positioned across the shoulders that helps carry a heavy load.

In ancient times, people used yokes to carry water from a well to their homes as well as other things. Without it, you can maybe carry a small jar by hand. And anyone who has tried this knows, you can't do this for very long. But with a yoke, you can carry double the amount or even more, and you can carry it further and faster.

Importantly, yokes were custom-fitted to a specific user. Great care was taken to tailor it to the specific anatomy of the person using it. When shaped correctly, it worked with your body. Consequently, the yoke is not easily interchangeable. Yours won’t fit your neighbor. And theirs won’t fit yours. 

I think there is an important lesson in the Lord's choice of symbolism. The yoke, the tool, the Lord gives us to move our impossible loads, is perfectly suited for each of us specifically. It has been shaped to fit each of our shoulders individually to help us become perfect. Hopefully, at this point, I hope you are all thinking about the Savior’s atoning sacrifice, the great tool that we can all use, that is perfectly suited for our unique situations and circumstances, that makes our becoming perfect possible. In fact, if we think back to that verse from King Benjamin, he made it clear that we overcome the natural man only through the atonement of Christ. I bear my witness that His atonement is perfectly suited for each of you, that its effectual power is a perfect complementary companion on your journey through life, and that as you use it, you will be able to carry your enormous burden until you return successfully to your Father in Heaven.

While the incredible adaptability of the Savior’s atoning sacrifice, the individual customization of the yoke, is a glorious principle, I'd like to spend a few minutes exploring its less-talked-about and perhaps more rigid counterpart: You. Please recognize that while the yoke is perfectly and divinely molded to fit your specific shoulders, you and your uniqueness are also an essential component of this equation. The yoke alone is not successful in carrying your load, it needs an individual, aspecific user. You, with all of your glorious individuality, are an essential part of effectively using this tool—of using the Savior’s atonement—to successfully carry your burden. His atonement can certainly make moving your load possible, but it requires your shoulders not anyone's shoulders. It requires your faith not faith in general. The yoke is shaped to fit you; you are not shaped to fit the yoke. As contradictory as it might sound, your divine individual identity is a crucial component in becoming like our Father in Heaven.

The Importance of Individual Divine Identity

The importance of the principle of divine, eternal identity is well established in ancient and modern scripture and is regularly reiterated by living prophets today. For example, Psalm 139, presumably authored by the poet/musician King David, expresses wonder at how intimately the Lord knows each of his children individually.

He begins:
[Slide up - Divine Individuality – O Lord, thou hast...]
1 O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. 2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. 3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. 4 For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.^vi
And just a few verses later, states (I've replaced some of the language here with suggestions from the footnotes):

13 For thou hast [created my inward parts]: thou hast [formed or knit] me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. 15 My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.^vii

Clearly, the eternal uniqueness of each of His children earns special attention from our Heavenly Father and is an intentional component of our individual creations. He knows us perfectly, rejoicing in the significant and sacred combination of traits and talents that constitute our true identities.

And in the Doctrine and Covenants, President Joseph F. Smith relates a vision he had of the Spirit World in section 138 and remarks, perhaps with some awe, on the persistence of the individuality of the people he saw between the pre-existence, mortality, and the afterlife. [Slide up – Divine Individuality – I observed that they...]
55 I observed that they were also among the noble and great ones who were chosen in the beginning to be rulers in the Church of God. 56 Even before they were born, they, with many others, received their first lessons in the world of spirits and were prepared to come forth in the due time of the Lord to labor in his vineyard for the salvation of the souls of men. 57 I beheld that the faithful elders of this dispensation, when they depart from mortal life, continue their labors in the preaching of the gospel of repentance and redemption, through the sacrifice of the Only Begotten Son of God, among those who are in darkness and under the bondage of sin in the great world of the spirits of the dead.^viii

And in our day, The Family: A Proclamation to the World declares the eternal nature of individual identity.

All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.^ix

Our individual identities are an essential characteristic that allows each of us to engage with the perfectly tailored yoke in order to accomplish our life's work, to carry the burden of our life's purpose: to become as God is. I have found that during those times of my life when I felt stagnant or distant from God, I had lost track of or even despised my divine individuality. As we strengthen our understanding of the specifics of our divine gifts, we inevitably become more capable and trusted in the Lord. Please take a moment to gratefully consider how the Lord has thoughtfully knit you together. How can you strengthen your awareness of your divine identity?

But identity is a complicated topic; wonderfully fascinating and rewarding, but nonetheless complicated and fraught. It's a topic where it can be difficult to distinguish between eternal and persistent principles and temporary, but well-meaning, terrestrial philosophy. Our world is filled to the brim with messages about self-fulfillment, personal achievement, and self-actualization—some of which may be camouflaging what Elder Uchtdorf called the "center of the universe syndrome."^x In fact, some of these apparently positive teachings may be more like wolves in sheep’s clothing, intentionally hiding a foundation of sand that will crumble when tested.
In addition, we all juggle multiple identities—student, friend, Church member, employee. Some we choose. Some we inherit. Some are pushed on us. And sometimes these identities come in conflict. Do I dress to express myself or to align with the Honor Code? Do I stay quiet to fit in, or do I speak truth in kindness?

These are questions that only you can answer. But the answer is extraordinarily important. This appears to be one topic that writers in the scriptures refer to often. The Lord himself told us to “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works.”^xi But as we all know, He doesn’t stop there. He continues, “and glorify your Father in Heaven.”^xii As we magnify our own unique contributions, we simultaneously enhance our larger communities, just as the Savior did whose light we reflect. I believe that the adversary seeks to weaken your sense of personal identity because he knows that if he is successful, he will hinder your effectiveness in leveraging the atonement of the Savior, Jesus Christ, the yoke. The truth is, each of us has been given unique gifts, talents, and strengths, and we have been called in this time to maximize them. Each one of us is irreplaceable and essential. The inspiration and revelation you receive has been given to you because of your unique identity. As you act on it, your efforts will be magnified and you will see miracles. Indeed, your burden will seem light and the yoke easy. When faced with the challenges of your life’s purpose, I invite you to ask yourself not only “What would Jesus do?” but also “What would Jesus do if He were me?” With my talents, my circumstances, my personality. How would a perfect being live my life? I hope the answer to this important question empowers you to take inspired action.

Conclusion
In the final minutes I have with you today, let me add one additional thought to all of this. In requiring our uniqueness in managing the yoke that makes it possible for us to carry our burden with ease, the Lord has created a process that many might describe as inefficient. In order to successfully manage the yoke, each of us has a completely different set of resources and tools at our disposal. While others may be able to provide advice or counsel, no one can clearly articulate to anyone else precisely how to successfully use this yoke. Indeed, it is something like the oil in the parable of the ten virgins. It is something that cannot be shared, but must be obtained individually. And the Lord employs no servant there.^xiii To learn to use our yoke we must individually come to Him and learn of Him. It cannot be done en masse. It cannot be done by proxy. It must be you, and it must be Him.

If we are calculating success by how many feet we collectively move our individual burdens, this would justifiably appear inefficient. It takes lots of time and attention to make even a little progress, and there is no reliable method for scalability—no way to produce large-scale change. However, I am inclined to think that the Lord is less interested in our carrying our burden and more interested in the burden being light, in how effectively we are using His yoke. He's more interested in the quality than the quantity of our discipleship.

Take this devotional, for example. The devotional is a hallmark of the Ensign College experience. It is an occasion where students and faculty come together to be nourished by the good word, to set aside purely academic pursuits to remind ourselves why we are doing all of this in the first place. But, think about the apparent inefficiency of this moment. You are here by choice without earning academic credit. I am reading a prepared talk as you listen without actively immersing yourselves in the subject matter (a formula you are all familiar with from your classes). And all of the principles I've been talking about are plainly laid out in the scriptures for you to study more deeply and more personally in your private time. If the goal was to transmit the content of this message to the greatest number of our phenomenal student body, we could easily record the message and post it online. Instead, we meet in person because there is something else to gain that could not be gained in any other way. There is some special power that the Lord offers to us as we come prepared and desirous to receive, for we gain our testimony in the bearing of it. And we individually and collectively declare His place in our lives by creating this space.

His focus appears to be effectiveness rather than efficiency.

Now let me conclude by returning to the music I spoke about at the beginning. I hope you can all see the analogy between that tradition—that musical tradition—and the crucial component your individuality plays in leveraging the atonement of Jesus Christ in your pursuit of perfection. Like members of a choir, we each are called upon to offer our unique gifts. The Lord—and the world—invite you to set your light on a hill. No one else can do this. No one else was preordained to do this. It was given to you, specifically and individually. You were created by Him and given the tools to participate in bringing about a marvelous work and a wonder. As you answer that invitation, you lift your unique voice, and our collective music is forever enhanced when you do. As you do, you will find greater capacity in using the yoke of the Lord.

I bear my witness that the Lord calls and prepares his children. He invites us to partner with Him to bring about the most important work on Earth. As we magnify our identities, seeking to counsel with Him and glorify our Father, we will see miracles. The gospel of Jesus Christ, as restored in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, contains the eternal principles of exaltation. His prophet is His mouthpiece today. It is no coincidence that you live at this time and have been endowed with the gifts and talents you possess. As we successfully leverage the Savior’s atoning sacrifice, our burdens can be made light.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

__________________________

[1] Matthew 11:28-30
[1] Elder David A. Bednar, “Bear Up Their Burdens with Ease.” General Conference April 2014.
[1] Abraham 3: 25
[1] Mosiah 3:19
[1] Matthew 5: 48
[1] Psalm 139
[1] Psalm 139
[1] Doctrine and Covenants 138
[1] The Family: A Proclamation to the World
[1] President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Continue in Patience.” General Conference April 2010.
[1] Matthew 5:16
[1] Ibid
[1] 2 Nephi 9:41