Chipmunk And Cookies

Chipmunks are some of the funniest little critters on the face of the earth.  They scurry around grabbing everything and are extremely skittish; yet for how nervous they may appear, chipmunks are very curious.

One particular campout when I was thirteen, we went up to a campground near a small lake.  Chipmunks infested the whole area, and we saw dozens and dozens day by day.  Chipmunks scavenge for anything and everything apparently.

My friend Tiff (real name Chris, but we call him Tiff) was one day walking around with some mini chips ahoy cookies and started throwing them in the direction of the pesky rodents.  They took to it quite well, hesitant at first but over a short period of time they were more and more accustomed to the delicious cookies.  I observed this and started to formulate an idea. 

We had our fishing gear there as well, so I grabbed my net and a cookie and set out to where the chipmunks were scrounging around our camp.  Setting a cookie on a large rock near where a few of the chipmunks were, I set and waited.  One came half way up and backed off, but after seeing the cookie and not anticipating danger the little guy went for it.  And I swooped down with the net.

A catch!  I actually caught it (but I don't think he was too happy) and held it for a while.  Then I released it back with no harm done.

Now tell me, what do you learn from this story?  It may definitely be similar to one given by Elder Ballard last year (M. Russell Ballard, O That Cunning Plan of the Evil One, G.C. Oct. 2010.) about fishing.

Think of the cookies as little enticements to sin, the rewards (or supposed rewards) for wrong doing: acceptance, respect, money etc.  And as they ate more and more they became more comfortable, and would linger longer rather than run from potential danger.

Then finally one was caught in a net because of his mistake to go for the cookie he thought would bring him happiness.  We often do the same thing in life, we take the bait that Satan leaves us, knowingly or unknowingly and think we can get away with it and continue to be "rewarded."  But eventually we will find ourselves in that net of affliction which we brought upon ourselves by our actions.

Let's try harder not to be led astray and take that strange cookie on the ground, but stay on the correct path. 

I'm the one in the center holding the critter, and Tiff is the guy in the yellow shirt.