I Love to See the Temple

I love to see the temple

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hk2LpdF_7_4

 In D&C 33, I was really pulled into verse 17 which says, "Wherefore, be faithful, praying always, having your lamps trimmed and burning, and oil with you, that you may be ready at the coming of the Bridegroom." 

 For a long time, I've really loved the parable of the ten virgins that Jesus shared with His disciples (See Matt. 25: 1-13) I had a new question come to mind this time though. What would it mean for me to have my "lamps trimmed and burning, and oil with [me], that [I] may be ready at the coming of the Bridegroom (Jesus Christ)"? 

 4 Words to think about and define here: lamps, trimmed, burning, and oil. 

 1) Lamps: Our lamps are our hearts which carry our flame, or our testimonies; our faith.

 2) trimmed: keeping our lamps (testimonies) trimmed means to be consciously, actively aware of them, taking care of our testimonies, not leaving them unattended or unnoticed until they simmer and die out.

 3) burning: refers to our flame of faith. We must keep it alive, strong, being the light to guide our watchful wait for Jesus Christ. 

 4) Oil: This is to be prepared. In the parable Jesus gave, He told how, initially, all 10 virgins were there, ready for the bridegroom to come. They were pretty stoked for the marriage celebration. They were all even early--there, waiting. But the wait apparently took a lot longer than they anticipated. It got later and later, and they even fell asleep while waiting. At this point, not all of them had enough oil to keep their lamps burning. They'd lost their flame. 

The endurance of our flame and oil supply, our faith and testimony, will be challenged in our wait for Christ, the bridegroom. We need to be prepared.

 Jesus said, "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear" (D&C 38:30). When the wait for Christ to prove Himself in our lives, (not only referring to the Second Coming), is more challenging and larger than we anticipated, if we're not prepared, our faith and hope may fail us and our flame may die out. However, if we faithfully, patiently and humbly anticipate this potential stretch of our faith, we will prepare ourselves well.

 This is done by intentionally building up extra faith that will sustain the light in our hearts. Even if others around us may have seemed to have lost hope, and the spark of others grows dim. 

 In a talk of this parable, Elder Lynn G. Robbins said, "When speaking of His Second Coming, the Lord has said, “I will suddenly come to my temple” (D&C 36:8; see also D&C 42:36; 133:2; Malachi 3:1; 3 Nephi 24:1). Because He will come to His temple, we would be wise to prepare to meet Him by being temple worthy. Could the importance of temple worthiness be one of the Lord’s messages to us in the parables of the ten virgins (see Matthew 25:1–13) and the marriage of the king’s son (see Matthew 22:2–14)? 

These parables have more than one possible interpretation. However, one wise way to “liken [these parables] unto us” (1 Nephi 19:23) is to study them with the temple in mind. This perspective reminds us of the urgent need to have and to be ever worthy of a current temple recommend. President Eyring said in this last conference, "It is in the temple that we can receive the assurance of loving family connections that will continue after death and last for eternity." President Nelson said, "Temples are a vital part of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in its fulness. Ordinances of the temple fill our lives with power and strength available in no other way. We thank God for those blessings." Let's all check in to our oil supply. Assess how we're doing and see what we can do to increase our reserve, be temple worthy--and active!--to keep us strong in the exciting wait for Jesus Christ. 

 With Love, 

 Jillene Smith