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I think it was my older brother who I first recall telling me to ‘shake it off.’ Usually he told me this after holding me down and pounding on my arm till it hurt so bad I would start to cry.  I think I was six years old at the time and he was around fourteen.  Since then I have been told to “Shake it off” on so many occasions that it has become somewhat of a personal motto.  So, a number of years ago when I heard Taylor Swift repeating  over the radio, ‘shake it off, shake it off’,  over and over on her then new single; I couldn’t help but recall the memories of my youth and the trauma that was usually associated with this phrase.

Now ‘shaking it off’ is a good phrase to have as a personal motto, because life, with all its complexities, will certainly load us down with burdens that, at times, seem unbearable.  When we reach those times in our life when ‘shaking it off’ doesn’t seem to work, perhaps we should look to He who is always there to unburden us from our cares. That, of course, is the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ.

I think that many of us realize that many of the burdens that don’t shake off easy, are of the personal nature. Mistakes, sins, and errors in judgments bring upon us unwanted burdens that, when added to those not of our making, can produce feelings of depression, worthlessness, and unworthiness.

First, if we follow the words of an ancient prophet who lamented to the Lord:  “Wilt thou make me that I may shake at the appearance of sin… (2 Nephi 4:31), we can be found shaking off sin and its consequences before it becomes part of our lives.  This we can control through agency. As we all fall short and sin,  we can ‘shake sin off’ and all other worldly burdens by placing them on the shoulders of Him who has already paid the price. We have a prescribed method to ‘shake off’ our sins and worldly cares through faith, and a process called repentance. Thousands have testified of the uplifting nature of faith, and the cleansing power of sincere repentance. The feeling you get when you ‘shake off’ your sins and worldly cares and place them upon the Savior is unimaginable.

While my brothers words from so long ago are now the name of a popular pop song, bringing back memories of many a sore arm; the advice is sound and something we should consider using on a daily basis. The atonement is there to be used if we exercise faith in Jesus Christ. What are we waiting for? Let us ‘shake it off’ and do it… swiftly!

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Many years ago Boyd K. Packer repeated this story:

“Let me quote from the diary of Joseph Millett, a little-known missionary of an earlier time. Called on a mission to Canada, he went alone and on foot. In Canada, during the wintertime, he said:

“I felt my weakness. A poor, ill-clothed, ignorant boy in my teens, thousands of miles from home among strangers. “The promise in my blessing and the encouraging words of President Young to me…kept me up. “Many times I would turn into the woods … in some desolate place with a heart full, wet eyes, to call on my master for strength or aid.“I believed the Gospel of Christ…”

Years later, Joseph Millett, with his large family,was suffering through very, very difficult times. He wrote in his journal:

“One of my children came in and said that Brother Newton Hall’s folks was out of bread, had none that day. “I divided our flour in a sack to send up to Brother Hall. Just then Brother Hall came. “Says I, ‘Brother Hall, are you out of flour?’ “‘Brother Millett, we have none.’ “‘Well, Brother Hall, there is some in that sack. I have divided and was going to send it to you. Your children told mine that you was out.’

“Brother Hall began to cry. He said he had tried others, but could not get any. He went to the cedars and prayed to the Lord, and the Lord told him to go to Joseph Millett. “‘Well Brother Hall, you needn’t bring this back. If the Lord sent you for it you don’t owe me for it.’”

That night Joseph Millett recorded a remarkable sentence in his journal:

“You can’t tell me how good it made me feel to know that the Lord knew there was such a person as Joseph Millett” (Diary of Joseph Millett, holograph, Archives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City).

This story reminded me of a personal experience I had many years ago.  While serving in a priesthood leadership calling, a thought came to my mind, out of the blue, to ask a brother to participate in a church activity by giving him a small but important assignment.  I acted upon my impression and later that week called and asked him if he could fulfill the assignment. He agreed that he could.

Later,  he asked if he could speak to me. We retired to a secluded room where he told me that he had been contemplating suicide due to his extreme medical problems, but when he was asked to help out he concluded that he was needed and that the Lord had not forgotten him. We embraced and we both left the room uplifted knowing that the Lord does indeed know each of us by name.

The Lord works the same today as in the past. He works through and by each of us as we work in the kingdom.  May we keep our minds, hearts, and ears open to His inspiration.

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Many years ago my son and his wife arrived at our home for Sunday dinner. As they entered the front door, their two-year-old daughter, my granddaughter, dropped from her Mom’s arms and came running to me with her blond hair flying back, blue eyes ablaze, and a smile on her face. “It doesn’t get any better than this”, I thought. So I bent down on my knees, extended my arms, and gave the best Grandpa smile I could give. Just as she reached my outstretched arms, she abruptly stopped and said, “Where’s Grandma?” I pointed to my wife on the computer,  and she continued on and raced into her arms. I knew then where I stood in the pecking order! But the marvelous thing about witnessing that scene was that I didn’t feel jealousy towards my wife. Instead, it drove home to my heart, once again, of the unique role that women play in the lives of children. They have a gift from God. An ability to bond with children as they bear and nurture them throughout their lives. However, God did not give all of his unique gifts of bonding just to women. One thing that I love about the church I belong to is that all worthy men are allowed to bond with their sons and daughters through participation in the ordinances of the priesthood.

A few years ago, another son had the names of his newly born twins recorded in the books of the church by giving them a name and a blessing.  It is a moving spiritual experience to hold your infant in your arms and give them a name and a blessing. I know because I had the same experience with my own children shortly after they were born.  This experience, while paling compared to the bonds that bind a child to his mother, nevertheless provides opportunities for fathers to bond with their children. These “bonding” opportunities for fathers come throughout their children’s lifetimes. For me, it came not only when I blessed them at birth;  but when I baptized them at the age of eight. It came when the boys reached the age of twelve and I ordained them to the Aaronic Priesthood. Then at age 14 and 16 as they advanced in the priesthood.  The “bonding” opportunities from priesthood ordinances came when my sons and daughter were sick, or if they needed blessings of comfort for school.  And because of the office I held at the time when they received mission calls, I had the privilege of bonding with two of my sons when I set them apart for full-time missionary service, as well as releasing three from the mission field upon their return. The bonds of the priesthood strengthened me with my own father as I witnessed him sealing my three married children in the house of the Lord. I recall thinking at each sealing how wonderful it was to see my father perform the ordinance that could eternally bind my children. It drew me closer to him!

The priesthood is a blessing in providing “ties that bind” fathers to their posterity. They are emotionally and spiritually moving experiences whose impact carries on in the heart long after the performance of the ordinance. As I wrote in my journal following the blessing of one of my sons, “…I will never forget the spirit that I felt while giving that blessing”. It is not unusual to feel such emotion or power of the spirit when performing such sacred duties. All men should take the opportunity to receive the blessings that come from being a holder of the priesthood. It is the power delegated to man to act in the name of God, and more importantly, it is the gift that touches the heart of both the giver and the receiver.

I will never come close to bonding to my children as my wife has done through childbearing,  but being able to spiritually bond with your child is a true blessing from on high for a father!