Ever had a sleepy feeling? You know it when you feel it. Whether sitting in a class or even at work, your body begins to feel heavier and heavier. It’s hard to make your brain work, let alone keep your eyes open. Before you know it, the yawns are coming, one on top of another. What you would do to be back home, snuggling under the covers of your bed!
As Mormons and those who believe the scriptures to be true, we know the Lord has warned His children to be ready and prepared during the last days. But trying to stay focused on being prepared can be a little like sitting in a college class, struggling to stay awake.
Just like college kids struggling to stay focused on the matter at hand, preparedness can be similar. With everything else going on about us, keeping our hearts and minds open and alert to the conditions around us can feel stupifying and we’d like nothing more than to hide our head under the covers.
Yet look at this scripture:
“And until that hour there will be foolish virgins among the wise; and at that hour cometh an entire separation of the righteous and the wicked; and in that day will I send mine angels to pluck out the wicked and cast them into unquenchable fire” (D&C 63:54).
This portion of scripture comes from the Doctrine and Covenants. The Doctrine and Covenants is a book of scripture verse that we as Mormons hold as sacred and as a companion to the Bible and all other inspired utterances given from the Lord to His servants. This particular chapter (chapter 63) was given to the prophet Joseph Smith in 1831.
The church members at that time were most anxious to understand the word of the Lord in everything. What an excellent desire – oh, that we’d have this burning desire today to know everything of the Lord’s perspective!
Well, the Mormons during the time of this revelation felt that way as a general rule. Therefore the prophet Joseph Smith inquired frequently of the Lord regarding many different questions; the revelation given in D&C 63 came from just such a question to God.
The answer that came was intense and urgent. You can read the entire revelation here. But the important issue at hand for us today is to look closely at verse 54 in that chapter and as quoted above.
The “foolish virgins” are quickly recognized by most Christians as the individuals mentioned in Matthew 25:1. Therein the Lord referenced the kingdom of heaven being similar to ten virgins, waiting to meet the bridegroom. Unfortunately, only five seemed to take the situation seriously – seriously enough to make sure they were ready and could stay ready. To read more of that story, feel free to visit this link.
So what of us today? Do we take the time available to us seriously? Or do we “sleep” away the hours given us, much like drowsy college students sitting in some soporific class?
What an important thing it would be for us to wake up and get busy, taking an inventory of our lives both spiritually AND temporally! Then when the Savior does return,
May the Lord bless us to do so.
