The Parable of The Ten Virgins, Through a Modern Lense.

    An experience I had on sunday gave me a but of a better understanding on the parable of the Ten Virgins found it the scriptures. In the experience it it recontextualized the parable in a new way. Using modern day analogies for The Virgins oil filled lamps, I came to a better understanding of the circumstances illustrated in the stories rendering of the five wise and the five foolish. As I have never used a oil lamp of antiquity, I only had a based understanding of the means and function of such a tool. But by recontexulisin the item in question, things started to become more clear. For many, such things may be completely clear to them. But we all learn line upon line, and on this particular sunday this line was taught to me. 

    I have been trying to make my sunday worship more focused and intentanle. One way I have approached this is to lay down my cell phone for the day. I lever it on its charging stand for 24hrs. This has removed the distraction and draw of mindless doom scrolling during sunday worship services. I do however bring my Ipad with me to church. It is lacking any cell services and I have refrained from adding any social media app to the device. for all intent and purposes it is a devices as bare bones as I can make it while still retaining the ability to access scriptures and the gospel library. so with this understanding I can explain the lesson taught to me through my own poor choices, not too un-similar to the Ten Unwise virgins.

    On this particular sunday I found myself running late to my weekly church service. This means because of my poor planning and misreading of the clock I had not plugged my Ipad to charge. It was in desperate need of a charge. I tend to not use the tablet during the week so the battery is constantly dead on sunday. I can't say the last time it had a full 100% charge. I normally have time before the meeting to achieve a charge of at least least a quarter full. but this sunday I only managed a pathetic 4%. So I left for church, with a barely charged tablet, a charging cable and wall plug, in hopes of finding an outlet. Once at the chapel, outlets were few and not located in a convenient place I felt comfortable leaving the tablet to charge without sitting with it. I ended up having to abandon any hope of charging the devices before the start of the meeting. If you are wondering there was no miracle like that of the Maccabees. My device died within the first fifteen minutes of the service starting. I was left without access to my scriptures for the next hour forty five of sunday services. 

     If you haven't caught on to where I'm going with this mundane story, have no fear I will explain. first let have a very brief fresher of the ten virgins parable. In the parable of the ten virgins there were five who were unwise. unwise because after the night of waiting for the bride groom they found themselves without oil for there lamps. They had not have oil sufficient to sustain them in their journey at the hour it was needed. It is said they inquired of the wise five where they might purchase the needed oil. It was impossible for the wise five to share there oil with the foolish five as it would leave all ten without enough oil for the journey. This dilema left the foolish five to scramble and miss the bridegroom's coming casing them to arrive late and finding themselves shut out of the wedding feast. Are you catching on yet?  

Here is the lesson. likening five foolish virgins and their oil lamps to my experience with my tablet parallels start to emerge. It seems to me that and electric charge stored in a modern battery is similar to oil in a clay lampe. Though one is technologically more advanced than the other, there functions are practically the same. both are fuel used to power the designed functions of the object they are found in. As in the parable I had not done the necessary work of preparation to make sure I had enough fuel to power my modern lamp. Time was not on my side, just as it wasn't for the ten unsise virgens. I had ignored my tablet the entire week, and when it was time to put it to work it was unable give what I needed. weather it was laziness or forgetfulness, that keep me from doing the simple act of plugin in the devices, I can't say. All I can say it there was neglect and a misplaced focus. Not unlike the foolish five. Just like the foolish five I to knew of where if could refill my battery but I had not time to do so. theirs my have been a matter of distance they would need to travel to gain their oil, and make back to meet the bridegroom intime. Mine was a matter of literal time it takes for outlet to impart of its power to the battery, before the sunday's meeting started. To add to it there where many electronic devices in the congregation but there was no means to charge my tablet from anthers device. So too with the Wise and the Foolish Virgins ability to share oil. And just as the Foolish were left out of the feast I was left out of my scripers.

    Pondering on these thoughts and comparisons, it left me asking questions in self reflection. where is my focus? Am I - in a gospel sense - making sure I am keeping charged the devices given me? Like repentance faith and testimony. I am every consistent in charging my phone nightly. but that is a tool connected to the world. Should I knot be better at charging the device I have set apart to focus on our savior and his gospel. Am I doing the same in my life when it comes my focus and where I put my efforts? Will we be found with a depleted battery in that day the bridegroom comes? May we ever remain plugged in to the stream power and knowledge pouring down from our Father in Heaven - that through his grace and the Atonement of his only begotten Jesus Christ - our spiritual batteries may be full.