Thursday, February 13, 2014

Doctrine and Covenants 45:55-58

"And Satan shall be bound, that he shall have no place in the hearts of the children of men.
And at that day, when I shall come in my glory, shall the parable be fulfilled which I spake concerning the ten virgins.
For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived—verily I say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day.
And the earth shall be given unto them for an inheritance; and they shall multiply and wax strong, and their children shall grow up without sin unto salvation."
Doctrine and Covenants 45:55-58


The whole idea of Satan not having any power over us is interesting.  How would our world be different if we weren't tempted?  I'm not sure.  We might imagine up a lot of problems for ourselves by observing things in society and then wondering about them... but it obviously makes an immense difference because their children grow up *without sin.*  That's awesome.  Hard to imagine, here in our world where Satan is definitely not bound, and where we don't grow up without sin... but a really desirable future.  Something that we want to understand, and live.
The scripture mentions the parable of the ten virgins.  The parable is in Matthew 25:1-13 and it tells the story of ten women waiting for a marriage.  The bridegroom seems to be late, and they all fall asleep waiting.  Then, about midnight, the call comes... the bridegroom is coming.  They trim their lamps, and half of them have prepared and have enough oil.  The rest don't have enough.  They run to buy some, and while they are gone, the bridegroom comes, the five that are prepared go in, and the door is locked, so the other five can't get in.

As this verse indicates, the symbolism of the oil here is accepting the truth and having the spirit with us, which includes keeping the commandments so that we have that constant guidance.  Too often, we choose to only keep some of the commandments or delay cleaning up our lives, thinking that we have plenty of time... and that is the point.  We don't know when we are going to run out of time, and we should make sure we are ready. :)  Today, let's make sure that we have the oil of the spirit in our lamps.  Let's be wise, and prepare to meet God while we still have time. :)

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