Locked in the Closet

There is little that a sibling enjoys more than teasing another sibling.  So here is another story about my sister Julie.  One day when the house was empty and quiet and my sister Julie began to examine the broken closet door.  The closet doorknob was perfectly fine on the hall side, but on the closet side it was broken off.  There were still some protruding knobs and dowels, but nothing to hold on to.  Like any other teenager she wondered what would happen if someone were inside the closet.  To find out she stepped inside the closet and pulled the door closed.

That may surprise you, but I have seen people (and quite often teenagers) do this same thing in many ways.  I've heard things like "Let's just try a cigarette to see what makes them so special" or "I just want to see what they are blocking on the Internet".  Then afterwards they want to "recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will" (2 Timothy 2:26) That's when they are in the closet and hear the click and think the same thing my sister thought, "Oh.  That was stupid."

Yes, stupid.  That is the right word.  After you are in a bad situation sometimes it is too late to undo the first choice.  My sister was in a closet barely big enough for her to turn around in.  And that's when she remembered how claustrophobic she is.  Very very claustrophobic...

I was once in a seminary class and a young woman had said, "I just don't think I believe it anymore.  The whole story about Christ, the existence of God, prophets like Joseph Smith... when I was a kid I went along with it because I had to, but now I don't think I buy it."
I was anxious to hear the teacher's response, thinking of all the ways to convince her or fix the problem.
The teacher said, "Good!"

The teacher continued, "I hear you saying that you are no longer following Christ because someone told you to.  You are ready to decide what you want for yourself.  Now you will start to understand what it means to be guided by the spirit.  It's ok to have doubts and it's ok to wonder.  Just promise me one thing...
While you are searching for the truth, Don't do anything stupid!  Don't go when you know your friends will be drinking.  Don't let him talk you into immoral acts.  Don't defy your parents just to show them you are an adult.  If you will be patient then the Lord will bring you light with understanding, and you will know what is true."

When my mother came home from shopping she found the closet door blown off it's hinges and embedded into the wall on the other side of the hall.  There was another hole in the closet where Julie had kicked out.  She had freed herself from the prison, but it was not without cost.  When it comes to spiritual closets the cost is intense, and it has been paid by Christ.  The Savior tells us to repent lest "your sufferings be sore—how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not.  For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent"  (D&C 19:15-16). 

Getting locked in a closet isn't really a big deal, but Julie's experience has made me think about my tendencies to sin.  As long as I remember how her curiosity led her to be trapped I have more strength to avoid addictions and destructive habits.  When I doubt the promises from the Lord I will be patient without doing anything stupid.