“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.”
I really like this story because of the message it teaches. It is so easy to see the happy hours, late nights out, and Sunday boating that our friends enjoy and thing to ourselves, "The grass looks so much greener outside the fence." Satan is skillful at making sin (both sins of commission and sins of omission) appear glamorous and fun. He does everything in his power to get us to forget that "wickedness never was happiness." If we see the rules, guidelines, prophetic counsel, laws, commandments, etc as a restrictive fence keeping us from the "pleasures" of the world, our perspective can and likely will lead to a fatal and foolish end as we "break through the fence" to our own demise. God knows that the other side of the fence contains nothing but misery and therefore has given us the fence to protect us from that misery. It is important to keep this in perspective so that we can be grateful for the fence and it's protective influence in our lives rather than resenting it and looking for any way to climb over or break through it.
God has given us Holy Scripture and inspired Prophets to protect us as we journey along the path that will keep us happy and lead to eternal joy. I know that obedience leads to happiness. Jesus taught that you too can know this for yourself: "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine... John 7:17".
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