The Farewell Talk
Rachelle's talk was beautiful and heartfelt. She spoke about the yoke of Christ and how Christ had strengthened her and enabled her to become and do more when she yoked herself to him. I distinctly how silent the entire chapel was when she sat down, and I remember thinking that a testimony of Christ is that powerful! Here's her talk.
My name is Rachelle Clarke and I have been called to serve in the Texas McAllen Mission, Spanish speaking. I report January 10, and I am really excited to have the privilege to serve! I was asked to speak today on why Christ is important in my life.
When the Savior was teaching the people in Matthew, he instructed: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” One of the biggest reasons that Christ is important in my life is because I can access His enabling power by yoking myself to Him.
A yoke’s purpose is to harness a pair of animals together so that they can pull a load as efficiently as possible. The yoke is custom fitted to each animal, distributing the weight and allowing two oxen of unequal size and strength to pull a load together without one being dragged by the other. Christ’s yoke is the enabling the power of the Atonement, and Christ invites us to take His yoke upon ourselves, and therefore access HIS power to pull our own loads.
In an April 2014 general conference talk, Elder David A. Bednar says, “Most of us know that when we do things wrong and need help to overcome the effects of sin in our lives. The Savior has made it possible for us to become clean through His redeeming power. But do we also understand that the Atonement is for faithful men and women who are obedient, worthy, and conscientious and who are striving to become better and serve more faithfully? I wonder if we fail to fully acknowledge this strengthening aspect of the Atonement in our lives and mistakenly believe we must carry our load all alone—through sheer grit, willpower, and discipline and with our obviously limited capacities.” He continues to say, “It is one thing to know that Jesus Christ came to the earth to die for us. But we also need to appreciate that the Lord desires, through His Atonement and by the power of the Holy Ghost, to enliven us—not only to guide but also to strengthen and heal us.” As a missionary, a large part of the message that I will be sharing with the world is the marvelous power of the Atonement to help us overcome sin and death. However, today I would also like to focus on the enabling and strengthening power of the Atonement that we receive when we take Christ’s yoke upon us.
Most of us have often been reminded that we are to take upon us the Savior’s yoke. However, how do we actually do that? In the scripture from Matthew, there are three verbs specifically mentioned that I think deserve special attention. They are COME, TAKE, and LEARN.
For me, coming to the Savior means prioritizing HIM. When I prioritize scripture study, Sabbath Day observance, and temple attendance over my work and school, I feel like I am COMING to the Savior.
The next verb is to TAKE His yoke upon us. Elder Bednar taught that when we make baptismal and sacramental and temple covenants with the Lord and keep them with exactness, we are taking His yoke upon us. In other words, taking His yoke is to be completely obedient to the laws of the Lord and the covenants we have made with Him.
Lastly comes the petition to “LEARN of me”. To me, learning of the Savior means to treasure up His word. For me this means more than just passively reading or hearing the word, but rather active study and seeking the words of Christ. These three verbs are the recipe for accessing the enabling power of
Today I would like to share three personal experiences of how I have tried to take Christ’s yoke upon me and how doing so has strengthened me and helped me to pull my load.
First, When I put Christ before my studies, He made me a better student. In high school, I was an average student. This was probably because I was a little apathetic in my studies. I never earned a 4.0, I wasn’t always on the honor roll--and there were probably a few times when I wasn’t even in class. In fact, my parents and I were all a little shocked when I was accepted into BYU. Not surprisingly, when I got to BYU, I was overwhelmed by the incredibly talented students that surrounded me and underprepared for academic rigor and expectations I faced when I started my courses. I recognized very quickly that I would need help to be successful. I remembered my mom telling me that when she studied her scriptures before doing her homework in college, she got better grades, so I decided to try the same thing. Everywhere I went I always carried my scriptures, my scripture journal, and my Book of Mormon study guide. Before I began to review notes or crack a textbook, I would look for a quiet place to sit down, say a prayer, and study my scriptures. I highlighted and cross-referenced, and wrote notes in my scripture journal. I did this diligently before I touched my studies. As I did so, I found that difficult concepts became more clear, and my concentration and stamina greatly improved. My grandpa always says that the Holy Ghost knows math and biology, and I can testify that the Holy Ghost also knows organic chemistry, human anatomy and American Heritage because I was able to earn A’s in those difficult courses. I found that when I prioritize my scripture study, I had in my small way taken His yoke upon me, and He helped me to pull that load. I was not a great student, and He enabled me to become a better one. He helped me to walk away As, something that I have never done before and something I would have only been able to do through hard work coupled with the Grace of Christ.
When I relied on Christ, I was helped in my employment as well. Hoping to pursue a career in healthcare, I obtained my CNA licence and began working in a long-term care and rehabilitation facility. When I started working as a CNA, I quickly discovered the work to be anything but easy.
On a normal day as a CNA, I worked an 8-10 hour shift and solely managed 10-15 patients, each of whom struggled with anxiety, memory loss, dementia, or depression, and a host of physical limitations. I was responsible for memorizing each patient’s specific care plan and learning to work with each person’s individual temperament and preferences. My duties included bathing, feeding, dressing, and lifting and transporting sometimes very heavy and sometimes quite combative patients. On many occasions, my duties also included end-of-life and post-mortem care.
As a young and inexperienced 17 year old girl, I knew I needed Christ’s help to become a competent and loving caregiver. So, every day right before I went into work, I took a minute in my car to say a prayer. I prayed specifically that I could perform my duties well, and that I could be His hands for someone who needed Him that day. I continued to offer countless small and silent prayers throughout my shifts. I said so many prayers. With these prayers, in another small way I felt I yoked myself to the Savior, and depended on Him to help me pull my load. And He did.
Looking back, I recognize that in response to my constant petitions, Heavenly Father sent the Holy Ghost to calm me, to help compartmentalize my emotions, and to “bring all things to [my] remembrance.” In addition, Heavenly Father helped me to see His great love for my residents, and so I loved them, too. I found many opportunities throughout my hectic shifts to also comfort, soothe and befriend these people I love so much. Heavenly Father blessed me with some of my best friends ever.
In this case, when I took the yoke of Christ upon me, He didn’t make the work any easier; instead, He made me better and He made me stronger.
Yoking ourselves to Christ can also help us overcome fear in our lives, especially when making big life decisions. When I started feeling promptings that I should consider serving a mission, they came as a bit of a shock to me because I was comfortable with my life. After much prayer, fasting and pondering, I made the exciting, but scary decision to serve a mission. I’ve heard it said many times that once a missionary receives a call, Satan increases his efforts to weaken their resolve and shake their faith by instilling fear and doubt. I too have experienced moments of fear and doubt. But at those moments I yoked myself to Christ through earnest and intense personal prayer, fasting, scripture study, and especially temple attendance. The temple and the covenants I made there have been an incredible source of strength; in particular, I have felt the protection and power of the temple garment to shield me from Satan’s influence. By constantly seeking my Savior, I feel yoked to him and He helps me to cast away doubt and trust in his constant whisperings of peace.
In one of my favorite plays, Mary Poppins, there’s a song that says, “If you reach for the stars, all you get are the stars, but we’ve found a whole new spin. If you reach for the heavens, you get the stars thrown in”. In my life, this has been true. When reach for Heaven, by reaching for Christ, other parts of my life fall into place.
I know Christ lives, and I know that because He has been ever present in my life. I have learned that the enabling power of the Atonement IS God’s grace, and it through God’s Grace that we are enabled to bear our burdens and become more and more perfect in Him, grace by grace. I know that the covenants I’ve made and my efforts to seek Him and yoke myself to Him have changed me and made me better. He has allowed me to do and become more than I ever could on my own. This is why Christ is important in my life. This is why Christ is important in my family’s life. It’s why Christ is important in the lives of the people in McAllen, Texas. And I feel so blessed to get to share that message with them. I know Christ lives.
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