19Behold, he was spoken of by ^aMoses; yea, and behold a ^btypewas ^craised up in the wilderness, that whosoever would look upon it might live. And many did look and live.

20But few understood the meaning of those things, and this because of the hardness of their hearts. But there were many who were so hardened that they would not look, therefore they perished. Now the reason they would not look is because they did not believe that it would ^aheal them.

21O my brethren, if ye could be healed by merely casting about your eyes that ye might be healed, would ye not behold quickly, or would ye rather harden your hearts in ^aunbelief, and be^bslothful, that ye would not cast about your eyes, that ye might perish?

23And now, my brethren, I desire that ye shall ^aplant this word in your hearts, and as it beginneth to swell even so nourish it by your faith. And behold, it will become a tree, ^bspringing up in you unto ^ceverlasting life. And then may God grant unto you that your^dburdens may be light, through the joy of his Son. And even all this can ye do if ye ^ewill. Amen.

Alma 33:19-21, 23

Toy Boats & Our Eternal Voyage

"My boyfriends and I would take pocketknives in hand and, from the soft wood of a willow tree, fashion small toy boats. With a triangular-shaped cotton sail in place, each would launch his crude craft in the race down the relatively turbulent waters of the Provo River. We would run along the river's bank and watch the tiny vessels sometimes bobbing violently in the swift current and at other times sailing serenely as the water deepened.

"During such a race, we noted that one boat led all the rest toward the appointed finish line. Suddenly, the current carried it too close to a large whirlpool, and the boat heaved to its side and capsized. Around and around it was carried, unable to make its way back into the main current. At last it came to an uneasy rest at the end of the pool, amid the flotsam and jetsam that surrounded it.

"The toy boats of childhood had no keep for stability, no rudder to provide direction, and no source of power. Inevitably their destination was downstream--the path of least resistance.

"Unlike toy boats, we have been provided divine attributes to guide our journey. We enter mortality not to float with the moving currents of life, but with the power to think, to reason, and to achieve.

"Our Heavenly Father did not launch us on our eternal voyage without providing the means whereby we could receive from Him guidance to ensure our safe return. Yes, I speak of prayer. I speak, too, of the whistperings from that still, small voice within each of us; and I do not overlook the holy scriptures, written by mariners who successfully sailed the seas we too must cross."

The Biography of Thomas S. Monson p. 61

Redeeming Virtues

"I have known good men, decent men, both in and out of the Church who, because of some bad habit, prevented greater happiness and progress from occurring in their lives. One of these good men who saw the great merits of the Church, though he never joined, said to me on one occasion, with cigar in hand, “Ezra, what is your redeeming vice?” It was the first time I had ever heard such an expression. Brothers and sisters, from the Lord’s view, there are no redeeming vices—only redeeming virtues!"

Ezra Taft Benson, "This Is a Day of Sacrifice", Ensign, May 1979, 32

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

In these last days, the Lord has said, “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” (D&C 33:17). This counsel refers to the parable of the ten virgins, which illustrates how we are to prepare for Christ’s Second Coming (see Matthew 25:1–13). Here are some explanations that may help you as you study this parable and ponder its meaning.

Ten Virgins

It was a custom among the Jews for the bridegroom to come at night to the bride’s house, where her bridesmaids attended her. When the bridegroom’s approach was announced, these maidens went out with lamps to light his way into the house for the celebration.

In this parable the virgins represent members of the Church, and the bridegroom represents Christ. The Lord explained to Joseph Smith that the wise virgins are those who “have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived” (D&C 45:57).

Bridegroom

In the Bible, the image of a wedding is used to portray the coming of the Lord (see Isaiah 62:5; Matthew 22:1–14). Jewish weddings included the announcement of the bridegroom’s coming to the bride’s house. The weddings usually began in the evening, with the lamps lit at dusk. So midnight was later than the ten virgins would have expected the bridegroom—and the announcement came suddenly.

We do not know the timing of Christ’s Second Coming, but we should prepare for it as though it could come at any time—whether soon or late.

Vessels

The vessels in the parable were containers for storing extra oil. Being wise means being prepared for the unexpected with an extra measure of faith, testimony, and the Spirit in our lives. Sometimes we grow complacent, thinking we have enough to get by. But following the Savior means more than just getting by. It means always striving to draw closer to Him, preparing for those times when our patience, faith, and testimony will be tried.

Lamps

The oil lamps used by the Jews in Jesus’s day are called Herodian lamps, after King Herod. These lamps enabled people to carry light wherever they went. In the same way, we are to carry the light of the gospel with us (see Matthew 5:14–16).

The handle was shaped by hand and then attached to the lamp.

The body of the lamp was made of clay and shaped on a potter’s wheel.

The spout or nozzle was made from a mold.

A wick made of flax fibers or a rush stem was placed in the spout, and then the lamp was filled with olive oil. Once the wick absorbed the oil, the lamp was lit.

Oil

Olives are first soaked in water to clean them and purge them of their bitterness, and then they are crushed to extract their oil. Olive oil, produced throughout the Mediterranean region, had multiple uses anciently: food, cooking oil, condiment, treatment for wounds, ingredient in cosmetics and soaps, and fuel for lamps.

The oil in the parable represents our faith and testimony, our purity and dedication, our good works, and our keeping of covenants—all of the ways in which we have “taken the Holy Spirit for [our] guide” (D&C 45:57).

The wise virgins could not share their oil with the foolish virgins because “the oil of spiritual preparedness cannot be shared” (Marvin J. Ashton, “A Time of Urgency,” Ensign, May 1974, 36).

Drop by Drop

“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 tithes, 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.”President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985), Faith Precedes the Miracle(1972), 256.

Ensign March 2009 Illustration by Dan Burr

Harold B. Lee "Watch, That Ye May Be Ready"

"There comes back to us more clearly than ever before the application of the words of the Master as he closed his Sermon on the Mount, that only that person or that church (meaning a congregation of individuals, of course) which will stand through these testing years, will be that which is founded upon the rock, as the Master declared, by hearing and obeying the fundamental and never-changing principles upon which the true church is founded, when the winds of delusion blow, or when the floods of filth and wickedness engulf us, or when the rains of criticism or derision are rained down upon those who are holding fast to the truth."

Harold B. Lee, "Watch, that Ye May Be Ready." Ensign Dec. 1971, 28

Sunflowers

Sunflowers always face the sun. In the morning, they face east. By evening, they have turned west. They follow the sun as it crosses each day's sky, so they can gather in as much light as possible. We can be like sunflowers, and turn to the sun, Jesus Christ, and gather spiritual light from him.

A sunflower seed will grow almost anywhere. You, too, can bloom and grow where you are planted. By desiring to believe and by studying the scriptures prayerfully, you will nurture your personal gospel seed.

As the sunflower grows, small buds soon appear, surrounded by protecting leaves. Like those leaves, your parents, leaders, and teachers surround you, and love you, and protect you, and help your budding testimony grow.

As a sunflower grows taller, its stalk grows thicker, for it must support the large flower that will soon be full of seeds. So your spiritual stalk must grow, and your testimony will grow stronger as you prayerfully read the scriptures that teach of Jesus Christ.

When the sunflower bud opens, bright yellow petals form, and it's head becomes a golden crown. The blessings of its growth at last begin to show. And having been born of a seed, it now produces seeds of its own that nourish people, animals, and birds. Your testimony will likewise produce its own new seeds, and you will nourish family, friends, and others who will see the Son reflected, like a golden crown, in you.

So turn to the Son. Open your heart to His light. Seek it first thing each morning, follow it's warmth across each day's sky, and let its comfort be the last thing you feel each night. Then, when the evening of your life's last setting comes, you will arise to a glorious new morning, and turn again to Him.

The Constitution shall hang by a thread

"Even this nation will be on the verge of crumbling to pieces and tumbling to the ground and when the Constitution is on the brink of ruin this people will be the staff upon which the nation shall lean and they shall bear the Constitution away from the very verge of destruction."

Joseph Smith Papers, LDS Church Historical Archives, Box 1, March 10, 1844

Parely P. Pratt wrote in 1841 that the prophet said: "The government is fallen and needs redeeming. It is guilty of Blood and cannot stand as it now is buy will come so near desolation as to hang as it were by a single hair! Then the servants goes [sic] to the nations of the earth, and gathers the strength of the Lord's house. A mighty army! And this is the redemption of Zion when the saints shall have redeemed that government and reinstated it in all its purity and glory!"

George A. Smith papers, Church Archives, Box 7, Folder 5, January 21, 1841

James Burgess recorded in his journal, the notes from a sermon given by Joseph Smith, He wrote that Joseph said: "The time would come when the constitution and government would hang by a brittle thread and would be ready to fall into other hands but this people the latter-day saints will step forth and save it.

James Burgess Journal, 1818-1904, Church Archives, vol. 1-found among loose sermons

Orson Hyde is recorded in the Journal of Discourses to have said he heard Joseph teach that: "The time would come that the Constitution and the country would be in danger of an overthrow and said he, if the constitution be saved at all, it will be by the Elders of this Church. I believe this is about the language as nearly as I can recollect it."

Journal of Discourses 6:150

Eliza R. Snow said: "I heard the prophet say, 'The time will come when the government of these United States will be so nearly overthrown through its corruption, that the Constitution will hang as it were by a single hair, and the Latter-day Saints-the Elders of Israel-will step forward to its rescue and save it.'"

In a Pioneer Day celebration in Ogden in 1871-Journal History, MSF 143 #28, July 24 1871

Jedediah M Grant, at the time of the threatened invasion of Utah by a federal army, referred to the Prophet's utterance as he addressed a Mormon Battalion gathering in Salt Lake City, Feb 6, 1855 "What did the Prophet Joseph say? When the Constitution shall be tottering we shall be the people to save it from the hand of the foe."

Deseret News Weekly, January 19, 1870)

Brigham Young referred to the prophecy in an address given in 1868. He said "It would not be many years before these words come to pass."

Journal of Discourses 12:204

John Taylor repeated the warning a few years later: "It may be nearer....than some of us think"

Journal of Discourses 25:350

J Reuben Clark repeated again in 1942: "Whether it [the Constitution] shall live oer die is now in the balance." Conference Report October 1942

C.W. Nibley, in General Conference in October 1923, articulated concerns very clearly:

"Brothers and sisters, let me say in closing that we have it of record, that the prophet Joseph Smith said the time would come when, through secret organizations taking the law into their own hands, not being governed by law or by due process of law, but becoming a law unto themselves, when, by those disintegrating activities, the Constitution of the United States would be so torn and rent asunder, and life and property and peace and security would be held of so little value, that the Constitution would, as it were, hang by a thread. But he never said , so far as I have heard, that that thread would be cut. I believe, with Elder Richards, that this Constitution will be preserved, but it will be preserved very largely in consequence of what the Lord has revealed and what this people, through listening to the Lord and being obedient, will help to bring about, to stabilize and give permanency and effect to the Constitution itself. That also is our mission. That also is what we are here for. I glory in it. I praise God with all my heart and soul that I am a member of it."