Wicking

“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 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). Of the wise virgins who were prepared and had oil, and had trimmed their lamps, Christ says “they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day.” Lamps, or candles for that matter, work through a process called capillary action, or “wicking”.  The wick in a lamp or a candle is basically just ordinary string and on its own, a string will burn up pretty quickly and offer very little in the way of heat or light. But that same string in an oil lamp causes the oil to flow up and over and around it and so that the oil burns instead, protecting the string from the heat of the flame. We will all be called to pass through the furnace of affliction. The heat of our challenges will get so hot it will start to scorch us. If we have prepared ourselves, if we have received the truth and taken the Holy Spirit as our guide, and have not been deceived, then when the flames come to consume us, we can draw upon that prepared oil and we shall abide the day. The flames come for us all, whether we prepare or not, whether we trim our wicks or not, whether we have oil or not, whether we seek to do good or seek to do evil. Personal wickedness nor personal righteousness cannot hasten or stay the fires of affliction, but we have the choice to face them raw and unprepared, a small untethered string in a raging bonfire, or the wick in a lamp brimming with oil, continually covered by the saving grace of our Lord and Savior.