The Cat Came Back...

Episode 224, The Cat Came Back.

One of my favorite things to watch is the old Muppet Show episodes. Talk about clean fun! We would get together and watch episode after episode after episode. There is one in particular that includes a skit about a cat who just won't go away. Little Benny does all that he can to get rid of this cat, but nothing seems to work!

Let's break this down a little and look at the first verse.

"Little Bennie had a cat that they wouldn't let him keep. So he put her up for sale at a price he thought was cheap. He took her to a neighbor to ask him for advice. He said, "Leave the kitty here. She can help me with the mice."

But the cat came back, she wouldn't stay away. She was sitting on the porch the very next day. The cat came back, she didn't want to roam. The very next day it was Home, Sweet Home."

At first, Benny wants to keep this cat, but he gives it away to be obedient to his parents. Way to keep the commandments, Benny! He doesn't try too hard, though. He only goes as far as giving the cat to a neighbor, which is still close by. If Benny really wanted to, he could go over to the neighbor's house and visit the cat anytime. Plus, it wasn't too hard for the cat to find it's way back.

How often do we do that in our own lives? Some of us have our vices- little things that we do even though we know they aren't the best for us. Because we know we need to, we try and put them away, but not too far away. We still want to cheat every once while!

Pretty soon, Benny learns that this "vice" of his isn't too good anymore. He starts to try and send the cat away because of both obedience and his own desire to just get rid of it. The same can be said of us. Eventually, our vices can turn into addictions. Those addictions have the power to take over our lives, and even when we try to get rid of them, they find a way to come back. That is what Benny learns. No matter what he does, the cat always comes back. Benny does everything, from sending the cat out west, to blowing it up, to shooting it through a cannon.

"So Bennie bought a gun from the Human Cannonball. He put the cat inside with Tri-Nitro Toluol. When he pulled the trigger, the cannon made a roar. The neighbors all surrendered 'cause they thought it was a war"

I think the reaction of the neighbors is very interesting. They hear this giant comotion, and quickly surrender. Think about your friends for a minute. When things get hard, do they encourage you to keep going? Or in the face of tough battles or peer pressure, do they surrender because it is easier? Do we ourselves surrender, because it is easier than fighting?

Sadly, this song ends with the cat back on Benny's doorstep. However, that isn't how the song of our lives needs to end. In the midst of trials and tests, it may seem like they never end. Those rough patches just keep coming back, even when we may feel like we are doing all we can to get out of them. The most reassuring comfort we can receive comes from our Savior, Jesus Christ. He himself said,

"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."

- John 16: 33

Because of the atonement of Jesus Christ, the world has been overcome. The evils that we face daily and the demons in our own lives can be conquered. If we use the atonement in our lives, our addictions, vices, and unrightious desires can be overpowered with strength. Unlink poor Benny, the cat never has to come back again! We cannot do anything alone. As we work with the Savior of mankind, our very natures can change into a nature more like Christ's. The natural man, with all it's natural desires and appetites, can be overcome. We need not fear, because Jesus Christ has already paved the way for us to overcome the world with him. Henry B. Eyring said that,

"...you need to understand is that the escape will almost never be out of the trial; it will almost always be through it. If you pray to have the experience removed all together, you may not find the way prepared for you. Instead, you need to pray to find the way of deliverance through it...Hard as things seem today, they will be better in the next day if you choose to serve the Lord this day with your whole heart. Your circumstances may not be improved in all the ways which you desire. But you will have been given new strength to carry your burdens and new confidence that when your burdens become too heavy, the Lord, whom you have served, will carry what you cannot. He knows how. He prepared long ago. He suffered your infirmities and your sorrows when He was in the flesh so that He would know how to succor you."

- Henry B. Eyring

I testify that that is true. Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, will prepare a way for us to escape and learn from our experiences. As we use the atonement of Jesus Christ, anything that is not right in our lives can be made right!