Ten Virgins - Matt 25:1-13

To further illustrate the point that no one knows when He will return, Jesus goes into three parables that are only recorded in Matthew. The first is the well known parable of the Ten Virgins. First we must know some ancient Jewish customs for this parable to make sense. Apparently what a marriage consisted of is the bridegroom leaving his house sometime at night, walking with his friends to the bride’s house, and having the marriage ceremony performed in the bride’s house. After the ceremonies, the bride and groom would leave her house together and go to the house that they will share together where there will be a big party, often lasting several days. The Ten Virgins at the center of the story might be the bride’s maids who would go out and light the way for the bridegroom as he entered the bride’s house initially, or they might just be friends with either the bride or the groom and would join in the wedding procession as it journeyed from the bride’s house to the house that they will share together. Either way, the point is that they were already invited guests of the wedding party, they were already in.

All ten girls started out on the right foot, they all showed up to the appropriate place with the appropriate equipment, clothing, lamps, etc. The lamps were to light the way when the bridegroom came because it would be dark outside, and because no one knew when he would show up, it was important to have enough for possibly the whole night. Five of the girls planned ahead and brought extra oil for their lamps and five girls did not plan ahead and did not bring extra oil with them. First, I’m just going to call them girls because the term “virgin” really bugs me. I know that the term during that time probably just meant a woman who was not married, but I don’t like defining a woman by what a man has done to her, maybe that’s reading too much into it, but I still am just going to call them girls. Anyway, the girls who didn’t bring extra oil might have just assumed that the bridegroom was going to be coming right away, or maybe they just didn’t think about it at all. I would probably be like that, totally spaced about needing extra oil.
If we look into the interpretation of the parable, how would the five unprepared girls be like believers who aren’t prepared to meet God? When the bridegroom finally did come, the girls were all sleeping and in an exposition on the parable from gotquestions.org the writer says, “As seen in the fact that all the virgins were sleeping when the call came indicates that it doesn’t matter what we are doing when Christ returns. We may be working, eating, sleeping, or pursuing leisure activities. Whatever it is, we must be doing it in such a way that we don’t have to ‘make things right’ (get more oil) when He comes.” Perhaps they represent church members who believe the gospel but become complacent with the practice, stop going to church, stop paying tithing, start watching porn, stuff like that. Don’t get me wrong, I totally understand how living the gospel can sometimes be seen as tedious, but the point is to try and make it alive for you, however you need it. Looking at my own life, maybe it’s complaining, gossiping, anger, jealously. We are all at our own places, and the point isn’t to be perfect, but to be trying.
The five girls who didn’t have enough oil left over asked the five who were prepared, but they couldn’t share “lest there be not enough for us and you.” I always thought that this made the wise girls selfish, but when considering the meaning of the parable, JTC says it best, “The refusal of the five wise virgins to give of their oil at such a critical time must not be regarded as uncharitable; the circumstance typifies the fact that in the day of judgment every soul must answer for himself; there is no way by which the righteousness of one can be credited to another’s account.” Another point is that the girls with no oil couldn’t just join into the wedding party, surely there would have been enough light for the girls to see, but in the article from gotquestions.org D.A. Carson is quoted as saying, “Everyone in the procession was expected to carry his or her own torch. Those without a torch would be assumed to be party crashers or even brigands.” Now that’s an interesting fact that would explain some aspects of the parable that we might not understand. And the fact that the people listening to Jesus didn’t bring up these questions like we do indicates that it is probably something that they understand.
The five foolish girls are advised to go buy some more oil, but considering the interpretation, we can’t go out an buy preparedness or repentance, we can’t buy a temple recommend or church attendance, so how do we get more “oil” for our “lamps” or how do we become spiritually prepared to meet Jesus. The IM says, “The oil in this parable represents spiritual preparation. In reference to the parable of the ten virgins, the Lord revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith: ‘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.’”
We fill our lamps by valuing the companionship of the Holy Ghost and doing what we need to do to make sure that he is always with us. If we live our lives with a focus on being worthy of the Holy Ghost, then we will not tell or listen to dirty jokes, we will not swear, we will be positive and agreeable and kind, we will serve others, that’s how we fill our lamps. The IM also quotes President Spencer W. Kimball as teaching, “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… In the parable, oil can be purchased at the market. In our lives the oil of preparedness is accumulated drop by drop in righteous living. Attendance at sacrament meetings adds oil to our lamps, drop by drop over the years. Fasting, family prayer, home teaching, control of bodily appetites, preaching the gospel, studying the scriptures- each act of dedication and obedience is a drop added to our store. Deeds of kindness, payment of offerings and tithings, chaste thoughts and actions, marriage in the covenant for eternity- these, too, contribute importantly to the oil with which we can at midnight refuel our exhausted lamps.”
The foolish girls go to buy oil for the lamps but when they get back the wedding party already went inside the groom’s house for the party. They knock on the door and the groom answers and says, “Verily I say unto you, I know you not.” Or maybe considering the other interpretation of this statement, he might say “ye know me not.” Either way, they weren’t prepared and weren’t allowed in the house. The IM quotes Elder Lynn G. Robbins as teaching, “The closed door is a poignant reminder that ‘this life is the day for me to perform their labors’… The fact that the five foolish virgins knocked, expecting to enter the marriage supper, indicates one of two things: (1) they thought they could prepare themselves after the Bridegroom came, or (2) knowing that they at first had not been prepared to enter, they were hoping for mercy. Either way, the door was shut.”
We know that there will be mercy for the penitent, but looking at this situation, I don’t necessarily know that the girls regretted not being prepared because they didn’t come to the door saying, “I’m sorry we weren’t ready, we fixed it, please have mercy and let us in.” They said, “Lord, Lord, open to us.” They almost make it sound like “hey you made a mistake, we are still out there.” This insight came after reading the quote from President Henry B. Eyring from the IM saying, “There is a danger in the word someday when what is means is ‘not this day.’ ‘Someday I will repent.’ ‘Someday I will forgive him.’ ‘Someday I will speak to my friend about the Church.’ ‘Someday I will start to pay tithing.’ ‘Someday I will return to the temple.’ ‘Someday…’ The scriptures make the danger of delay clear. It is that we may discover that we have run out of time.”
If we view the attitudes of the five foolish girls from this light, it would seem like they could have been getting extra oil the whole time they were waiting and refused, and then when they realized that it was time to use the oil, it was all gone. They weren’t interested in doing what they needed to do to be prepared, they were only interested in doing what they wanted the whole time. They weren’t interested in having a contrite heart but rather to accuse. They thought that they were so special that the rules didn’t apply to them, and I used to think that way too. But I soon learned that I am so special that the rules absolutely apply to me.