To Bear One Another's Burdens

When Alma was teaching the people of King Noah by the waters of Mormon, he explained what it would mean to be baptized and enter into the Church of Jesus Christ.  He knew these people were ready because, among other things, they were "willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light" (Mosiah 18:8).  This is expected of all members of the church.

My problem is that I often find it easy to expect these things of others.  I want others to be welcoming and supportive of their gay oriented brothers and sisters, to help support them and help bear their burdens.  But how often do we expect it of ourselves?  Can we bear burdens for those who have backgrounds that have not prepared them to deal with others of different orientations?  Or are we quick to judge them as biased or bigoted?

We need to make sure, as members of the church, to have charity.  I love what Marvin J. Ashton said about it: "Charity is ... having patience with someone who has let us down; or resisting the impulse to become offended when someone doesn’t handle something the way we might have hoped."

In order to bear one another's burdens, we have to have charity -- even for those who don't seem to be able to handle it when acquaintances are homosexually inclined.  We have to assume they are doing their best, and be willing to help them, regardless.  Sometimes it's really hard to feel charitable to others.  In that case, Mormon says we should "pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love" (Moroni 7:48).

So I want to make it a goal to develop more charity, so I can better help others bear burdens.