Your Burdens Can Be Light

Your Burdens Can Be Light
Mosiah 24

You will need:
A backpack
large rocks, books, or hand weights
(optional-- pictures of: a baby, a child, an adult, a weightlifter)

Take the backpack and fill it with the weight. Have the smallest child put on the pack and go around the house or up and down the stairs. Start the lesson, but don't let the child take the pack off yet.

Review how the people of Alma have wandered in the wilderness and ended up in bondage to the Lamanites.

Read: Mosiah 24:8-9

Discuss: How do you think the people feel? Ask the child with the backpack how he would like to carry the pack all the time.

Ask: What do you think Alma's people do?

Read: verse 10

Discuss: The people are told they cannot pray. They pray in their hearts and the Lord says he will ease the burdens.

Read: verse 14

Ask: How do you think the burdens were made light? 

Read: verse 15

Discuss: What did the Lord do to the people so that their burdens were lighter? (He strengthened them.)

Let the child with the backpack take it off and give it to dad (or the strongest one in the family). Will it be easier for dad to carry the backpack than for "Ben?" Why?

This would be a good time to show the pictures and talk about strength. If you chose to use the pictures.

Ask: Why do you think the Lord made Alma's people stronger instead of making the burdens go away?

Ask: What kinds of burdens do you carry?

Take the backpack and unload the weight. Have each person think of burdens they might be carrying like: struggling in school, lonely, worries they might have, struggling to learn a new sport, etc.

How can you become stronger to carry these burdens? How can the Lord help you become stronger? What can you do to follow the example of Alma's people?