Part of Christianity is to have unity because "if ye are not one, ye are not mine." One of the ways we develop unity is to take upon ourselves the burdens of others. Paul puts this most succinctly, "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." (Galatians 6:2)
To "follow Christ" is to do as He did. "I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me." (Isaiah 63:3) Jesus took upon Himself the sins of others. He suffered for our sins. We make mistakes and He suffers for us. "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:4-5) As He did so we must do.
The essence of what Jesus did for all mankind is to bear the burden of sin. We can overcome our burdens only because He can carry them. We all sin and transgress the Eternal laws and by so doing bring harm to ourselves and others. We have burdens because of sin. All pain, illness, discouragement, depression, poverty, anxiety, fear, and suffering is due to sin. To be Christian we must do as He did, namely take upon ourselves the burden of the sins of others.
There are two ways that we bear the burdens of others. The first is to accept and forgive the suffering that others cause us. Suffering is a burden we bear because we live in an imperfect world. When the Millennium comes the prophet declares, "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." (Isaiah 11:9) Until that time we will always be hurt. The second way to bear one another's burdens is to proactively take the burden of sin from another. When we see others suffering, we go out of our way to help them, comfort them, and relieve their suffering, even though they only suffer because of their own sin and rebellion.
Accepting suffering
All our maladies are due to wickedness -- our own, or that of others. When other people sin and cause us pain, we bear that burden given to us by them. If our parents didn't teach us the ways of righteousness, we bear that burden of suffering due to their negligence. We don't get angry and blame them, we just accept it and do their job ourselves. If we are maimed by violence, we bear that burden. If we lose our home, land or money because of fraud, we just accept it and go on. Others inflict pain and problems on us -- and we bear them. Jesus did the same:
And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men. (1 Nephi 19:9)
Christ allowed unjust suffering, taking upon himself the sins of those who caused it. He didn't give back anything -- he bore their burdens. Likewise, we bear the burdens of others when we accept the consequences of their sins without requiring justice; instead we give mercy. Mercy is bearing the burdens of others by taking upon ourselves the suffering created by their sins. In doing so we turn justice over to God, who in His mercy will make everything right. He has taken upon Himself the burdens of all so if we want Him to bear our burdens, we must bear the burdens of others -- and become His children.
Opting out is not the answer. Those who are closest to us will hurt us the most simply because of their proximity – it's more difficult to hurt someone from a distance – so people who refuse to get close to others are refusing to bear their burdens. We know people will hurt us because nobody is perfect so those who avoid any attachment to others are avoiding this essential law of the Gospel. To avoid pain is to avoid becoming a disciple of Christ; they don’t believe in mercy so they fear justice. The fear of suffering is rejection of Christ and His mercy. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed, “O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.” (Matthew 26:42) Though He didn’t want to suffer, He willingly and actively took the “cup” and drank the “dregs,” or the very bottom – all of it. As disciples of Christ we must be “willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon” us, (Mosiah 3:19) which may include bearing the sins of, or suffering all manner of affliction for, our closest friends and relatives.
Relieving suffering
The other side of mercy is to help those who are caught up in sin and are burdened by its consequences. Those who are in poverty because they gamble, sick because they don't care for their bodies, or depressed because they are not living the laws of happiness need to know how to repent. We can give them the knowledge they need. First, however, it is imperative that we take care of their immediate needs. We do this by giving to the poor, lifting up the weary, and taking their load upon us. Those who are starving need food. Those who are depressed need a friend. Those who are hurt and angry need a listening ear.
To judge is to say, "you deserve what you suffer." While this is always true, it isn't the way of Christ. Christ may say this, but shows mercy on all of us by filling our needs and teaching us the way out of our suffering. King Benjamin gave a wonderful speech on this subject. He used the example of feeding the hungry, "Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just — (Mosiah 4:17). He goes on to say that those who don't show mercy to others, do not qualify for the mercy of Christ, and will therefore suffer the full penalty for their own sins and transgressions.
The baptismal covenant
When we are baptized, we take upon ourselves the name of Christ and promise to do as He did, namely to show mercy on all. This means forgiving all of any offense and relieving suffering every time we see it. When Alma the elder was organizing the church of Christ among the Nephites he brought a large number to the waters of Mormon to be baptized and explained to them the covenant they were making. "As ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another's burdens, that they may be light; yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort...” (Mosiah 18:8-9). The basis of "Taking upon ourselves the name of Christ" is "bearing one another's burdens, that they may be light." It requires both passive acceptance of the burdens of those who make us suffer because of their sins, as well as actively seeking to relieve the just suffering of all sinners we meet.
The end result of everyone bearing each other's burdens is unity. All are edified by forgiveness and love. Love is the effort we make to benefit another. As each gives of themselves by bearing the burdens of others, all those involved are blessed. We each gain strength to overcome our own sins as we see those who forgive us our trespasses and bear our burdens. Our hearts are "knit together in love" for all mankind. This is how we become disciples of Christ -- we are His because we are one -- and how we as individuals, the Church, and the world to prepare to meet God.
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