The children of Israel were free. They had escaped from their Egyptian overlords, crossed through the Red Sea on dry ground, received food and water miraculously from God, and defeated the attacking armies of Amalek. Now, Moses’s father-in-law, Jethro, arrived with his wife and children. Moses told Jethro all that had happened, and Jethro was grateful and pleased. But the following day, as Jethro watched Moses in action, he was troubled. All day long, Moses sat as a judge, hearing complaints of his people and helping them understand and apply God’s law.
“What is this thing that thou doest to the people?” Jethro asked. “Why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even?” Moses explained that the people needed him to seek inspiration on their behalf. Jethro responded:
The thing that thou doest is not good.
Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.
Exodus 18:17-18
Jethro then counseled Moses what he ought to do: share the burden. Appoint judges to serve as “rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens … and they shall bear the burden with thee” (Exodus 18:22). Moses had recently experienced his own physical limitations, as two men — Aaron and Hur — had steadied his arms during the battle with Amalek (Exodus 17:8-13). Now his father-in-law was teaching him the governance implications of this principle. Moses could only lead this large group of people with the help of many other leaders, each with their own clearly defined responsibilities. He simply couldn’t do it alone.
Jethro’s counsel implied another unstated observation: Moses was surrounded by capable people. He was playing the role of a perennial giver, answering every call for help himself instead of recruiting additional helpers. If he could recognize the potential of the people around him, he could accomplish the same work without bearing the full burden.
The Book of Mormon prophet Alma understood this principle. When he established the church of Christ at the waters of Mormon, he “ordained priests; even one priest to every fifty of their number” (Mosiah 18:18). He followed a similar pattern in the land of Helam (Mosiah 23:16-17) and later in Zarahemla, where King Mosiah authorized him to “establish churches throughout all the land of Zarahemla; and gave him power to ordain priests and teachers over every church” (Mosiah 25:19). Perhaps Mosiah learned from this distribution of authority, because when he later abolished the monarchy, he established a system of “higher” and “lower” judges with different jurisdictions (Mosiah 29:28-29). Mosiah explained the principle behind this approach in a letter to his people:
Many more things did king Mosiah write unto them, unfolding unto them all the trials and troubles of a righteous king, yea, all the travails of soul for their people, and also all the murmurings of the people to their king; and he explained it all unto them.
And he told them that these things ought not to be; but that the burden should come upon all the people, that every man might bear his part.
Mosiah 29:33-34
Jethro and Mosiah both recognized a logistical reality: one person can’t be expected to make all of the decisions for a group. There’s simply not enough of him or her to go around. The bad news is that the leader can’t do it all; the good news is that they don’t have to. They are surrounded by people of ability and potential who can step up and help carry the burden. Ultimately, as Mosiah explained, every individual can “bear his part” of the collective burden.
Today, I will share my burdens with the people around me. I will remember that none of us is capable of performing all of the work we must do alone. But we can accomplish every needful thing as we lean on one another and support each other.
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