"Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps."
Matthew 25:1-4
The parable of the ten virgins is told immediately before the parable of the talents, seemingly to illustrate the same idea. And since it is illustrative of the last days, we could probably also compare with the allegory of the olive trees in Jacob 5. Pulling from both of these sources, the oil here could be symbolic of adding to the light that we have already recieved, and building on it... so increasing our testimonies, and also bringing forth good fruit, so doing good works... oil in storage, and actively burning oil, both nurturing our own faith, but also that of others.
As in the parable, these aren't things that we can give to others just for the asking. Testimony and good works build up over time, teaching and refining us, and bringing us closer to God. That's the challenge of "deathbed" repentance, or intentionally waiting to change... we teach ourselves the wrong things, and learn the wrong habits of mind and heart, placing our own desires before God, when God's whole goal is to help us, and his will will help us more than we could ever help ourselves.
That doesn't mean that it is too late for us now. :) Our lives are given us as time to repent and learn, and we still have time. Let's jump in and make some changes, and keep us with our "spiritual maintenance plan of personal prayer, regular scripture study, and frequent repentance" (Divine Helps for Mortality, Dallin H Oaks). Let's be ready with an inner flame when the Lord calls us.
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