When Jesus Christ performed His miracles in Galilee, His favored home region, many did not acknowledge His divine heritage. With reassurance and concern for those who did choose to follow Him, He issued a profound invitation," President Howard W. Hunter of the Council of the Twelve said Saturday morning.

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matt. 11:28-30.)President Hunter said this is one of the most oft-quoted of all scripture and has been of untold comfort to millions.

"Yet," he added, "there were those among His hearers that day whose vision was so limited that they could only see a carpenter's son speaking of a wooden yoke.

"Unfortunately, a refusal to accept His miracles and His glorious invitation is still seen today," President Hunter noted. "In our own great times of need we must not leave unrecognized this unfailing answer to the cares and worries of our world. Here is the promise of personal peace and protection. Here is the power to remit sin in all periods of time.

"Of course," President Hunter emphasized, "obligations go with such promises."

In biblical times, President Hunter explained, a yoke was a device of great assistance to those who tilled the field. "It allowed the strength of a second animal to be linked and coupled with the effort of a single animal, sharing and reducing the heavy labor of the plow or wagon."

President Hunter said Christ's yoke "requires a great and earnest effort, but for those who truly are converted, the yoke is easy and the burden becomes light.

"To the heavy laden it is . . . the power and peace of standing side by side with a God, that will provide the support, balance, and the strength to meet our challenges and endure our tasks here in the hard-pan field of mortality."

He said life's burdens vary from person to person, but everybody has them. "Furthermore, each trial in life is tailored to the individual's capacities and needs as known by a loving Heavenly Father.

"To one and all Christ said, in effect: So long as we all must bear some burden and shoulder some yoke, why not let it be mine? My promise to you is that my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

"By taking the yoke of Jesus upon us and feeling what He felt for the sins of the world, we learn most deeply of Him and we especially learn how to be like Him," President Hunter said.