Testimonies Are Like Holding Onto Our Cat Tails!

By Jan Tolman

January 9, 2017

This is a General Conference Odyssey post:

Have you ever watched a cat discover his tail? It’s as if he didn’t know it was there all along, so he pounces on it with uninhibited joy. I’ve watched our cat go around in circles chasing something that is always with him, yet somehow seems to escape his memory when out of sight. Sometimes you’ll see a cat actually catch his tail, start biting it, realize that hurts, then start licking it. Happiness!

MAYBE ALL THAT’S LEFT OF OUR TESTIMONIES IS IN OUR TAIL. CHASE IT, GRAB IT, AND HOLD ONTO IT!

It is assumed that if you are a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints you have a testimony of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, the gospel, Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, as well as everything else that goes along with that, but in reality, it really isn’t true. Some members are never truly converted. But ultimately, those with the desire must be able to grab and hold on to their testimonies. In these last days, it is imperative.

Dare I say that there are members who really don’t have a root-bound testimony of some aspect of the doctrine we claim? Sure, sometimes life flips over and we lose perspective of where we are standing. Perhaps sin and pride get in the way or we become enamored with something that yanks us away from our roots. But if we just looked around a little bit, we might actually see the tail behind us that holds our very faith in order to recapture our testimonies.

In President Spencer W. Kimball’s talk, “Why Call Me Lord, Lord, and Do Not the Things Which I Say?” he told of a visitor who asked why Mormons are so happy. President Kimball answered, “It is because we have everything–the gospel of Jesus Christ, the light, the priesthood, the power, the promises, the covenants, the temples, our families, the truth.” Heavenly Father has given us everything we need to make our choice. It is up to us to keep our testimonies strong and maintain that choice. When we struggle, sometimes all that’s left of our faith is hanging on by our tails. Grab hold and hang on!

A CAT’S TAIL CAN ALSO BECOME A DISTRACTION KEEPING US FROM STRONG TESTIMONIES.

The natural man has always been a selfish creature; all of us struggle at times with selfishness. I believe Heavenly Father even expects that of us and as a pro-active result, He sent His Son to take upon all those struggles, and even more. But as many times as a cat forgets her tail, she will go in a never ending loop trying to catch it. There are those people who, in pure stubbornness, will refuse to follow the Lord thinking they know better; like a cat, they waste so much time trying to chase their tail, never catching it. Too late, they’ll find out how far backward they’ve gone. They might even have lost their way, or gotten so dizzy they collapse, feeling defeated, angry, and bitter.

President Kimball concluded by talking about the Sabbath Day. Sunday is actually a difficult day for many of us. If we attend the full three hours of church, the day is an entirely different schedule than any other day of the week. Typically, we eat whenever we get home from church, no matter what schedule we’re on, right? And then do our best to sleep the day away, or run to the store for a quick little something.

If we go to church in the morning, we have a long stretch of “what-to-do” in the afternoon and if we go to church in the afternoon, we have a long stretch of “what-to-do” in the morning. I confess, I’m as guilty as anyone else; at the beginning of every year, I feel I have to somehow reconfigure my Sabbath. My never-ending circle may be figuring out that the Sabbath day isn’t “my day” to figure out at all.

I hate to be the bearer of bad reminders but back in the old days if you broke the Sabbath day commandment in any way, shape, or form, typically you were put to death. This would seriously affect any so-called population explosion. Pres. Kimball boldly states, without a hint of apology or excuse,

“The failure to keep the Sabbath holy is evidence of man’s failure to meet the individual test set for each of us before the creation of the world, ‘to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them’ (Abr. 3:25).”

This is a very bold statement, but it pales next to his next warning:

“We are appalled at the conscious effort of many of the people in this world to take it upon themselves, presumptive, to change the properly established patterns of social behavior established by the Lord, especially with regard to marriage, sex life, family life. We must say: ‘The wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid’ (See Isaiah 29:14).”

Cat’s are pretty silly when they chase their tails, but when they do it, rehash it, and chase it endlessly, we start commenting on “that stupid cat that just makes us laugh because he is so dumb.” Instead, let’s catch our tails, hang on to our testimonies, obey all the commandments, and stop thinking we can change God by rationalizing our sins.