In Galilee, Jesus prayed aloud, thanking His Father for revealing truth to the humble, like little children. He taught that He and the Father know each other perfectly, and that He reveals the Father to us.
Then He gave an invitation to everyone: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” He asked them to take His yoke, the wooden beam that joins two animals so they can pull together, and to learn from Him, because He is gentle and humble. He promised that His yoke is easy and His burden is light.
Who’s who
Jesus: teaching in Galilee
All who are weary: anyone carrying a heavy load
Where and when
The towns of Galilee, among people who knew farm work and yokes.
Watch for the Savior
He doesn’t take the load from us and walk away; He pulls beside us.
Eight stops through His invitation, from a prayer of thanks to burdens borne with ease. Scroll, or tap a number on the map.
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The story, plainly
Four scenes: His prayer, His invitation, His yoke and His rest. Look for the Savior in each one.
Read it plainly
The words that trip people up
Tap any dotted word for its meaning. The scripture stays exactly as written.1
Matthew 11:25 “hast hid these things from the wise and Meaning: those who think themselves clever., and hast revealed them unto Meaning: little children, the humble.”
Matthew 11:28 “all ye that Meaning: work hard, are weary. and are Meaning: carrying a heavy load.”
Matthew 11:29 “Take my Meaning: a wooden beam that joins two animals to pull together. upon you”
Matthew 11:29 “I am Meaning: gentle, humble. and Meaning: humble, not proud. in heart”
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Look closer
A yoke is a picture the Savior chose. Some cards are details in the text; others share insights from prophets and Church resources, and each card says which.
0 of 9 turned
All nine. A yoke, oxen, a heavy sack, a child, a book, a heart, an altar, a feather and a bench. Matthew 11:28–30
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What are you carrying?
People who hear this invitation may be worn out, carrying it alone, weighed down by others, or ready to learn. Which feels most like you right now?
A next step for you
Your choice is saved only on this device.
Try it
Come, take, learn, find rest
The Savior’s invitation has four parts. Tap the things you’ll try this week and watch each part grow.
“Making and keeping covenants actually makes life easier!” President Russell M. Nelson
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Their world, their words
A little background on yokes and rest helps His words land. Outside sources are labeled.
Church manual
What a yoke is
Scripture Helps: “It binds animals side by side so they can work together to pull loads that they could not pull on their own.”6
He chose a farm tool everyone knew.
Church manual
A covenant picture
Scripture Helps: “a yoke is symbolic of the covenant relationship that binds us to the Savior.”6
Covenants join us to Him.
Prophet · Nelson
A place to rest
President Nelson told of a boy at a temple open house who pointed to the altar and said, “Here is a place for people to rest on their temple journey.”3
Covenant places are resting places.
Book of Mormon
Another witness
Alma’s people in bondage were promised, “I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs.”2
President Nelson: “true rest—meaning relief and peace.”3
What the text does not say
He doesn’t promise that taking His yoke means no work or no load. Alma’s people were still in bondage when their burdens were made light, and “they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.”2 The promise is His strength and His company.
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Look to Him
He described His own heart as meek and lowly, and He asks us to walk beside Him.
President Russell M. Nelson: “Making and keeping covenants actually makes life easier!”
President Russell M. Nelson, “Overcome the World and Find Rest,” October 20223
“In essence, the Savior is beckoning us to rely upon and pull together with Him.”
“And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease.” Mosiah 24:15
Book of Mormon
He visits His people
“That ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.” Mosiah 24:14
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Seek Him today
The Savior’s words
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me.” Matthew 11:29
Elder Bednar: “the Savior is beckoning us to rely upon and pull together with Him.”4 What load will you pull with Him this week?
Try it today
One step beside Him a day. It saves on this device, one day at a time.
0 of 7 today
This week:0 of 7 days
Seven days in His yoke. Come again tomorrow.
A quiet moment
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Read Matthew 11:28–30 slowly. Name what you are carrying. Then ask Heavenly Father how His Son wants to carry it with you, and listen. Matthew 11:28–30
A verse to hold
Talk about it
What is a yoke? Why do you think Jesus chose that picture?
What are some heavy things people carry that you can’t see?
How can a load still be there but feel lighter?
How can our family help carry someone else’s burden this week?
Open
For adults and deeper study
Go deeper
Longer readings, harder questions, and where to study next. Each one says what it is before you click.
Prophet
President Russell M. Nelson, “Overcome the World and Find Rest” (2022)
How covenants connect us to the Savior’s promise of rest, and three questions about overcoming the world.3
The invitation is to “all ye that labour.” What keeps you from coming to Him when you are tired?
Elder Bednar says our best efforts “are not equal to and cannot be compared with His,” yet He still pulls beside us. How does that change how you see your effort?
Alma’s people were not freed at once, but their burdens were made light. Where might you be asking for removal when He is offering strength?
Sources
Every quotation, gloss, and piece of background on this page is listed here: scripture first, then Church sources, then outside scholarship (labeled).
Everything on this page as a 11-page letter-size PDF: the map, scenes, cards, activity, word studies, tracker, Go deeper and sources. For home, class or a quiet Sunday.
Take My Yoke upon You is part of the Scripture Story Sketch Notes for the New Testament, set alongside Come, Follow Me for March 8–14, 2027 (Matthew 11–12; Luke 11).
Independent study notes from Weak Things, not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Scripture quotations are from the King James Version. This is the Savior’s teaching, not a parable; the insights in “Look closer” are labeled by source.
