The Grass is Greener on the Other Side of the Chicken Wire

Well, it has been an interesting week.  Tuesday we came home to chicks running all over the yard.  After rounding them up, it was discovered that Minnie was missing.  We searched everywhere and then found a pile of feathers behind the fence.  Today when arriving home we saw that Bubbles had managed to squeaze beneath the fence.  Unfortunately, she too became kitty food. 
It has been a sad couple of days at our house.  However, it did lead to a great discussion.  I asked the kids why they thought the chicks kept trying to escape.  They suggested that maybe they wanted to eat the grass on the outside of the pen.  Maybe they thought there was something more interesting or fun on the other side of the chicken wire. 
Chickens aren't so different from us.  We too are always looking at what we can't have or wishing we were somewhere else.  We put the chicks in a pen to protect them from the mean kitty.  Heavenly Father has done the same for us.  We aren't in a pen, but He has lovingly set up boundaries (commandments) for us in order to protect us.  When we are obedient (stay within the boundaries), we are blessed and safe.  Heavenly Father provides for us and protects us.  When we escape (disobey the commandments) we become vulnerable to the dangers around us; we open ourselves up to be eaten by the mean kitty (Satan).
My kids decided that maybe "staying in the pen" isn't so bad after all ;-).

Not of a "frenzied" mind

In preparing for mutual this week I have been reading about Korihor.  Korihor is one of only a handful of people in the scriptures that is actually called the "anti-christ."  It has been enlightening to study his teachings.  He is very skillful at taking the truth and just twisting it a tiny bit.  The things he preaches all sound "good."  As he says, they are "pleasing to the carnal mind."  And he is very successful; the people love his message.
What amazed me as I read this passage, was that the arguments Korihor used to deny or attack the Gospel are the very SAME ones used today.  (Korihor lived around 74 BC.)  Satan is totally unoriginal!!  My favorite is when he says that only those with a "frenzied" mind can believe in God.  In other words he is saying that for someone to believe in God they must be insane.  How many of us have heard that on our college campuses? 
This passage was a great reminder to me of the importance of studying the scriptures.  Satan knows the scriptures very well too.  He knows exactly how to twist the truth to lead people away from Christ.  If I want to remain faithful, I need to know the truth so well, that I cannot be fooled by his "pleasing" words.  And that will require a lot of study!