“When I was 15 years old, I often felt that there were too many rules and commandments. I wasn’t sure that a normal, fun-loving teenager could enjoy life with so many restrictions. Furthermore, the many hours spent working on my father’s ranch were seriously dipping into my time with my friends.
“This particular summer, one of my jobs was to ensure that the cows grazing on the mountain pasture did not break through the fence and get into the wheat field. A cow grazing on the growing wheat can bloat, causing suffocation and death. One cow in particular was always trying to stick her head through the fence. One morning, as I was riding my horse along the fence line checking on the cattle, I found that the cow had broken through the fence and gotten into the wheat field. To my dismay, I realized that she had been eating wheat for quite some time because she was already bloated and looked much like a balloon. I thought, ‘You stupid cow! That fence was there to protect you, yet you broke through it and you have eaten so much wheat that your life is in danger.’
“I raced back to the farmhouse to get my dad. However, when we returned, I found her lying dead on the ground. I was saddened by the loss of that cow. We had provided her with a beautiful mountain pasture to graze in and a fence to keep her away from the dangerous wheat, yet she foolishly broke through the fence and caused her own death.
“As I thought about the role of the fence, I realized that it was a protection, just as the commandments and my parents’ rules were a protection. The commandments and rules were for my own good. I realized that obedience to the commandments could save me from physical and spiritual death. That enlightenment was a pivotal point in my life.”
Many times I have thought about giving up sugar, but felt like it was too restrictive. "I wasn’t sure that a normal, fun-loving [wife and mother of 5] could enjoy life with such a restriction." I loooooooove to eat sugary treats! It's fun to enjoy a treat together! But looking back through my journal the other day, I realized that sugar has done nothing to help me in my life. Conversely it has been a huge stumbling block for me. It's been the source of a lot of pain and regret.
Some may say, "Geeeez, it's not like you're doing drugs or drinking alcohol." But that's why sugar's been such a great tool for Satan to use on me. He knows he can't get me with drugs or alcohol. But it's very clear to me that if he can keep me living a mediocre life--feeling lousy, tired and grumpy a lot of the time--he will have succeeded; because I would be kept from doing God's work to the level that I need to be. Not only that, I would be "miserable like unto [Satan] himself." (2 Nephi 2:27)
"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
Addiction is captivity. Being trapped in a fat body is captivity. I choose liberty and life through Jesus Christ. He will help me. What a comfort that is.
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