Of Mice and MiceTraps

      Yes, I know they are called mousetraps, but I tried writing the title as mousetraps instead of micetraps, and I decided it sounds so much cooler as micetraps, so I kept it the way it is. Thanks anyways. So, about three weeks ago, we discovered a mouse sitting on our counter. Ok, more like Elder Gilbert walked into the kitchen while I was sitting in the living room, and all of a sudden I heard some loud screams coming from the kitchen. I ran into the kitchen in time to see a tiny little mouse run behind the oven. We then spent the next ten minutes trying to get it, but it was a lot smarter, and smaller, than us.

    We then went to a much more efficient means of...disposing of our uninvited guest by using mousetraps. At first, the mouse just stayed out of sight, and never even dreamed of coming out. But, after about a week, his curiosity got the better of him, and he was soon....disposed of. Chalk one for the missionaries!



     I thought about this mouse and how if only he had been satisfied with the large abundance of food underneath the stove, in the form of crumbs and who knows what else has fallen down there over the years, he could've lived for months in the lap of luxury. But, because he ventured out into territory he already knew was dangerous, he was caught, and destroyed.

     Are we sometimes like this mouse? Do we venture out into dangerous territory and get caught by the many traps of sin and misery that are out there? A scripture comes to mind. It goes, "Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself." (2 Nephi 2:27)

    This teaches us that we are free to choose. But, we are not free to choose the consequences of those actions we choose. With all the temptations and traps of sin in the world today, how can we stay strong? Helaman, a prophet on the American Continent, speaking to his sons, says, "And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." (Helaman 12:5)

    We, like the mouse, know where those traps are. We know them for what they are, too. They are traps, and if we mess around with them, chances are, we will be caught and destroyed. They sometimes are disguised to make them look appealing, similar to disguising a mousetrap with a piece of cheese, or some delicious peanut butter. But, underneath all that is a lethal weapon, just waiting to spring on us and destroy us. I know that if we stand fast, and build our foundation in Christ, we will be able to avoid all the many various traps out there and we will be able to spiritually, stay in the lap of luxury where we are safe from being caught and destroyed.