Galatians 6:2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ
Harold B. Lee
"When the prophet Alma instructed those about to be baptized on the banks of the Waters of Mormon, as you will recall, he said, among other things, that those who would be called the people of God were to be 'willing to bear one another's burdens, that they may be light' (Mosiah 18:8). A moment's reflection will convince you that the heaviest burden a human being can have is the burden of sin. To help one such to make his burden lighter requires your teaching the way to genuine and complete repentance and to impress upon our leaders and teachers to do likewise." (The Teachings of Harold B. Lee, edited by Clyde J. Williams [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1996], 106.)
Jeffrey R. Holland
"'Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ,' [Paul commands us]. (Gal. 6:2) ... 'The law of Christ, which it is our duty to fulfil, is the bearing of the cross. My brother's burden which I must bear is not only his outward lot [and circumstance], ... but quite literally his sin. And the only way to bear that sin is by forgiving it in the power of the cross of Christ in which [we] now share. Thus the call to follow Christ always means a call to share [in] the work of forgiving men their sins. Forgiveness is the Christlike suffering which it is the Christian's duty to bear.' (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship, 2d ed., New York: Macmillan, 1959, p. 100.)" ("I Stand All Amazed," Ensign, Aug. 1986, 72)
Neal A. Maxwell
"At several points the scriptures speak of bearing one another's burdens that they may be light. (Mosiah 18:8; Galatians 6:2.) Paul clearly connects this form of service with the keeping of the second commandment. (Galatians 5:13-14.) He even coaches us on how to do this so that it will be efficacious: 'We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.' (Romans 15:1-2. Italics added.) Even the service we render must be so selfless that it is not self-conscious!
"The lessening of the load of another comes, in part, from our very expression of genuine concern transmitted to the burdened. Empathy expressed can do much to lift the heart of another. Objectively, in fact, the burden (the loss of health, a loved one) may remain, but the capacity to cope and to carry on is increased by our administering the adrenalin of affection." (All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1979], 67.)
Galatians 6:7 Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap
David O. McKay
"Some young folks say, 'We shall sow our wild oats now while we are young, and settle down later.' You know, as I do, that if you sow wild oats you are going to reap wild oats. 'Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.' (Gal. 6:7.)" (Steppingstones to an Abundant Life [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1971], 291.)
Hugh B. Brown
"Our Father is kind and loving and forgiving, but there is an inexorable law which has not been repealed. It Is the law of the harvest. 'As ye sow, so shall ye reap.' (See Galatians 6:7.) We cannot sow thistles and reap figs, nor plant thorns and harvest grapes. But when we have had enough of thistles and thorns, we may have the grapes and the figs if we are willing to pay the price-and they cost less. While ours is a world governed by rigid and unwavering law, man has free agency, he may choose to obey or disobey the law, but he must of course abide the consequences of his choice." (Conference Report, April 1955, Afternoon Meeting 81.)
Jeffrey R. Holland
"If we sow thistles, we shouldn't plan to get strawberries. If we sow hate, we must not expect to reap an abundance of love. We get back, in kind, that which we reap, but we reap, somehow, always in greater quantity. We sow a little thistle, and we get a lot of thistle-years and years of it, big bushes and branches of it. We never get rid of it unless we cut it out. If we sow a little bit of hate, before we know it we've reaped a lot of hate-smoldering and festering and belligerent and finally warring and malicious hate.
"A prophet of the Old Testament, Hosea, warned all of us to be careful lest we learn personally something that I think my friends at the state institution understood more fully than I had: 'They have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.' (Hosea 8:7.) God is just. We really do reap what we sow." (However Long and Hard the Road [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1985], 55.)
Galatians 6:8 he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption
David O. McKay
"Too many prefer to revel on the lower animal plane of life rather than to strive for the higher and better things of life. Persons who condemn their will to the service of their appetites suffer the penalties. Charles Wagner in The Simple Life says of those who have condemned their will to the service of their appetites: 'I have been listening to what life says, and have recorded, as I have heard them some of the truths that resound in every square. Has drinking, inventive as it is of new drinks, found the means of quenching thirst? Not at all. It might rather be called the art of making thirst inextinguishable. Frank libertinage (i.e. lewd and licentious conduct), does it deaden the sting of the senses? No, it envenoms it converts natural desire into a morbid obsession and makes it the dominant passion. Let your needs rule you, pamper them, and you will see them multiply like insects in the sun. The more you give them, the more they demand. He is senseless who seeks for happiness in material prosperity alone.'
"It is said that one Roman emperor offered a reward to anybody who would invent a new pleasure. Nero set Rome on fire for the mere pleasure of a new form of diversion. Rome fell because of extravagance, luxury, and dissipation. In personal, as in national life, these are unfailing signs of decline and decay. Truly, '. . . he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.' (Gal. 6:8.)
"In their yearning for a good time, young people are often tempted to indulge in the things that appeal only to the baser side of humanity, five of the most common of which are: (1) vulgarity and obscenity; (2) drinking and the using of narcotics and now the vicious LSD drug, especially among the young; (3) unchastity; (4) disloyalty; and (5) irreverence.
"It is right, indeed, essential, to the happiness of our young people that they meet in social parties, but it is an indication of low morals when for entertainment they must resort to physical stimulation and debasement. Such indulgence weakens and degrades character, discredits the family name, robs the future wife or husband of a priceless treasure, and sows seeds that will ripen into bitter fruit and marital suspicion, unhappiness, and divorce. A girl who sacrifices self-respect for social popularity debases true womanhood. A spotless character, founded upon the ability to say 'no' in the presence of those who mock and jeer, wins the respect and love of men and women whose opinion is most worthwhile. Drinking, using narcotics, and lewd parties form an environment in which the moral sense becomes dulled and unbridled passion holds sway. It then becomes easy to take the final step downward in moral disgrace." (Conference Report, April 1967, First Day-Morning Meeting 7.)
Galatians 6:8 he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting
Milton R. Hunter
"The ancient statement, 'As [a man] thinketh in his heart, so is he,' (Proverbs 23:7) is a divine, sublime, and eternal truth. Every act that we have committed and every word that we have spoken have come about as a result of our thoughts. Your character and my character today are the results of the complete sum of all our thoughts. Thus a man is literally what he thinks. Every plant springs forth from its seed. So it is with the deeds of man. Every one of his acts springs forth from the hidden seeds of thought. Our minds are as fertile gardens. If we plant in these gardens seeds of impure and unholy thoughts, these seeds grow as weeds and crowd out that which is pure and noble. Under these conditions, our lives become filled with filthy, ungodly, and immoral actions. Paul, the ancient Christian apostle to the Gentiles, warned humanity against sowing evil thoughts which always result in wicked deeds.
'Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.' (Galatians 6:7, 8.)
"In my humble opinion, there is no single passage of scripture that would do more toward saving the world from misery and destruction if the human family would heed its injunction. If all the holy scriptures were suddenly taken from mortal beings but one single passage, and if I were asked to select the passage which I thought would be of most benefit to the human family, I believe I would choose that statement made by Paul. Furthermore, I would print that statement indelibly on a large placard and hold it before the eyes of the people continuously." (Conference Report, October 1946, Afternoon Meeting 40.)
James E. Faust
"The oppressive fog that beclouds the tortuous lanes and passages of your lives will disappear in the spiritual sunlight that comes only from God. This spiritual sunlight will not shine unless we diligently and humbly seek to enjoy His Spirit, for 'the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind' (D&C 64:34)
"...May there be found in our thoughts and actions the manifestation of an inward, spiritual peace and strength. May we have an absolute faith that all things are possible to God and hold in our remembrance that through our obedience all things may be made known to us by His Holy Spirit. 'He that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting' (Galatians 6:8)
"And in sowing to our spirits, may we be strengthened in our inner selves with might by His Spirit, for spirituality is like sunlight: it passes into the unclean and is not tainted. May our lives be such that the spiritual within us may ascend up through the common, the sordid, and the evil and sanctify our souls." ("Strengthening the Inner Self", Ensign, Feb. 2003, p. 6)
Galatians 6:9 let us not be weary in well doing
Indeed, there are some who just can't be happy unless they are unhappy. They really want to do what's right; they just reserve the right to complain about it. But one cannot have the 'unwearied diligence' of Nephi and at the same time murmur like Laman and Lemuel. For example, Home Teaching is a great work. Yet, how many weary at the thought of their assignment? Truly, it is sometimes hard to be happy, but the straight and narrow path is no place for whining. Whining and murmuring come naturally from the loudspeakers of the great and spacious building.
Alternatively, there are those whose spirit is willing but flesh is weak. These work so hard that their genuine diligence brings weariness. For these, Elder Maxwell has some helpful advice and perspective.
Neal A. Maxwell
"... is there no immediate relief for weariness in well-doing?... 'And any man that shall go and preach this gospel of the kingdom, and fail not to continue faithful in all things, shall not be weary in mind... And they shall not go hungry, neither athirst.' (D&C 84:80. Italics added.)... As we renew our efforts for Him, we are not only renewed in body, but we also avoid weariness of mind. One wonders just how much of our physical weariness is accounted for in our weariness of mind. Clearly atrophy in our attitudes precedes our spiritual slackness.
"The Lord promises us relief from both forms of weariness if we will but trust Him-as do the lilies of the field: 'Teach them to never be weary of good works, but to be meek and lowly in heart; for such shall find rest to their souls.' (Alma 37:34.) Besides, can any rest compare with deserved rest for the soul? And are we not glad that God does not grow weary of blessing us?
"Actually, much of our weariness is self-induced... Some of us fret needlessly and unproductively, wearying ourselves with concerns that distract and divert us...we often remain on plateaus of weariness because we rush from quickly identifying a problem to implementing a solution when, in fact, we should have spent time more wisely identifying the true nature of the challenge, then developing prescriptions to meet the challenge, and then implementing and refining our response to the challenge. Just as some people lose the same twenty pounds of weight every year, so some of us are always solving the same problem-over and over again. How weary one can get just running in place!" (We Will Prove Them Herewith [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1982], 101-103.)
Neal A. Maxwell
"We mortals sometimes experience boredom in the routine repetition of our mortal tasks, including even good works; and thus vulnerable, we are urged not to grow weary in well doing (Galatians 6:9; D&C 64:33; 84:80; Alma 37:34). But given God's divine love, there is no boredom on His part amid His repetitive work, for his course, though one eternal round, involves continuous redemption for His children; it is full of goodness and mercy as His long-suffering shows His love in action." (Not My Will, But Thine [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1998], 53.)
Galatians 6:9 in due season we shall reap, if we faint not
Sterling W. Sill
"Often we fly just high enough to miss the treetops, whereas just a little more effort, a little more determination would put us in the big leagues of success in our lives.
"Jesus said that we should live 'by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God.' (Matt. 4:4.) The Duke of Wellington once said to some French soldiers that British soldiers were not braver than French soldiers; they were only brave for five minutes longer. And Jim Corbett, the former heavyweight champion prize fighter of the world, said that the secret of success in the prize ring was the ability to stay one more round. This is about the same thing that the apostle Paul was saying when he said, '. . . let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.' (Gal. 6:9.) And Jesus said, '. . . he that endureth to the end shall be saved.' (Matt. 10:22.)
"One of the greatest lessons of success taught by the Master was to go the extra mile. Do a little more and do it with a little more faith, a little more energy, a little more go-at-it-iveness, a little more stick-to-it-iveness, a little more devotion, and a little more righteousness, and behold, you have changed yourself from a stand-in to a star. The Lord has said that those who qualify for the celestial kingdom will be those who are valiant in the testimony of Jesus. As a usual thing, one may spend about as much energy in going to hell as he does in going to heaven. The difference is just a little change in attitude and a little more effort in the right direction. The results are tremendous, though the difference may be as fine as a razor's edge." (That Ye Might Have Life [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1974], 255.)
Galatians 6:17 I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus
"Paul was stoned and left for dead at Lystra, which was one reason he could remind the Galatians that his sacrifice for them was beyond reproach: 'I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus' (Gal. 6:17)." (Richard Lloyd Anderson, Understanding Paul [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1983], 151 - 152.)