Ten Virgins, Time Travel, and Trajectories

(Originally published in Millennial Instructor, Volume 3, 2018)

          The Savior gave His disciples the parable of the ten virgins at the end of His mortal ministry. Joseph Smith received valuable added revelation concerning its meaning in the early days of the restored church. Since then, it has been widely – and wildly – interpreted by writers, musicians, and artists alike. But modern prophets help us narrow our focus and not look beyond the mark:

          To briefly retell the original parable:

          Ten virgins were invited to a wedding feast by a bridegroom – who symbolizes the Savior. There was a delay, and the women had to wait for the bridegroom longer than was the custom. As the night wore on, the lamps continued to burn, and the oil ran low. Five of the virgins were wise, and came prepared with extra oil; five had not. They asked the five with extra oil if they would share their oil, but the five wise virgins didn’t have enough for themselves and the others. As the five unprepared women left to purchase more oil, the bridegroom came, the five wise virgins joined the wedding procession and went into the feast, and the five foolish virgins missed the feast.  (Matthew 25:1-13)

          When I was a teenager, I had a difficult time with this parable. Why didn’t those five prepared virgins share with their friends? I’m certain part of that feeling was because I identified more with those who hadn’t planned ahead, because I have felt the sting of being unprepared far too many times in my life. I imagined myself, on this rare occasion, somehow, as one of the five prepared virgins, perhaps because I knew how important it was. I imagined looking into the faces of friends, stricken, because they were unprepared – like I usually was. How could I deny them? How could I tell them no, when I knew exactly how they felt?

          Many years later, I read something Spencer W. Kimball wrote:

“The foolish asked the others to share their oil, but spiritual preparedness cannot be shared in an instant….This was not selfishness or unkindness. The kind of oil that is needed to illuminate the way and light up the darkness is not shareable. How can one share obedience to the principle of tithing; a mind at peace from righteous living; an accumulation of knowledge? How can one share faith or testimony? How can one share attitudes or chastity, or the experience of a mission? How can one share temple privileges? Each must obtain that kind of oil for himself.”  (Faith Precedes the Miracle, pp. 255-256)

Suddenly, the parable made better sense. Now, in my mind, I could imagine traveling in a time machine, away from that young version of myself, to a much older version of myself – no doubt younger than I am today! I imagined who I would have become over a lifetime of obedience to the commandments: tithing, sacrament meeting attendance, daily scripture reading, and serving others daily. The Young Me had become a different person, over time, by each of these seemingly small acts.

Then, I could picture Heavenly Father – the perfect mathematician – knowing the trajectory that such a life creates. A trajectory is the path an object travels when it’s thrown or launched. Mathematicians can predict precisely where something will land if they understand the principles behind the trajectory. Listen to what the scriptures teach us about the trajectory God can predict precisely if we obey - precisely:

“Yea, we see that whosever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man of Christ in a straight and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked –

“And land their souls, yea, their immortal souls at the right hand of God in the kingdom of heaven, to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and with Jacob, and with all our holy fathers, to go no more out.” (Helaman 3:29-30, emphasis added)

“And land their souls…” – that’s a trajectory! Heavenly Father knows where exact obedience will land us, where casual obedience will land us, and where disobedience will land us. That’s why he pleads with us to obey!

          In my mind, I have come to picture another version of myself in another time machine, and meeting a different Future Me – one who didn’t spend a lifetime paying tithing, attending sacrament meeting regularly, reading scriptures daily, or serving others. That version of me is a completely different person than the Future Me who obeyed. Seeing those two versions of myself side by side, in my imagination, has fueled greater, higher, consecrated obedience as I’ve tried to become the obedient Future Me.

          Now, back to the ten virgins. Imagine the five wise virgins got in the time machine of obedience. Every act of obedience put a drop of oil into their lamps. And imagine the five foolish virgins got in the time machine of casual obedience. Hence, there was no extra oil at the darkest time of the night, when the bridegroom finally arrived. President Kimball made this important point:

          “I believe that the Ten Virgins represent the people of the Church of Jesus Christ and not the rank and file of the world. All of the virgins, wise and foolish, had accepted the invitation to the wedding supper; they had knowledge of the program and had been warned of the important day to come. They were not the gentiles or the heathens or the pagans, nor were they necessarily corrupt and reprobate, but they were knowing people who were foolishly unprepared for the vital happenings that were to affect their eternal lives.” (Faith Precedes the Miracle, pp. 253-254)

          It’s important to know the five foolish virgins were not wicked. Foolishness is not wickedness. The wise virgins had learned the eternal principle that preparation is a deliberate lifestyle, and had invested wisely in building such a lifestyle. The foolish virgins, while possibly occasionally obedient, had not done so, consistently, over time. And when it mattered most, that lack of preparation was a sobering lack.

          Joseph Smith’s added revelation in the Doctrine and Covenants can help us intentionally build a lifestyle of preparation and daily adding oil of exact obedience to our lamps:

          “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.” (D&C 45:56-57, emphasis added)

Note the four qualities of the wise virgins mentioned in D&C 45:

1.   They were wise

2.   They had received the truth

3.   They had taken the Holy Spirit for their guide

4.   They had not been deceived

These are important additional insights. The true wisdom of being obedient is the added power it gives us to have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. The constant companionship of the Holy Ghost gives us added power to not be deceived by the philosophies of men – no matter how pleasing or reasonable they may sound, or how prevalent or popular they may be. The constant companionship of the Holy Ghost is the true prize of all that stored oil - when the darkness surrounds us as we wait for the return of the Bridegroom.

          If there’s anyone reading this like Past Me - and all too often, Present Me, who doesn’t plan ahead as I should - I’ve got good news for you. There’s another parable about laborers who came late in the day to work in a vineyard, and were paid the same wages as those who came early in the day. (Matthew 20:1-16) This is a story that teaches repentance. Our generous Heavenly Father has a beautiful catch-up plan for those who truly want to make up for lost time. Repentance puts oil into an empty lamp; it puts you back in the right time machine, no matter when you climb in, and corrects your trajectory, so you still land in the right place – back home in Heavenly Father’s presence.

          Our covenants mean we’ve been invited to the wedding feast. The Bridegroom will return. He has promised; and He always keeps His promises.

          “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 behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, that I come quickly….” (D&C 33:17-18)

          How soon will it be time to go in?