All we take with us from this life are our experiences. Who we are is a reflection of those experiences we have had.
We often talk about judgment day as if our lives will
flash before our eyes and a tally will be made of the good and the bad things
we did, culminating in some kind of point system that will decide if we ascend
to heaven or descend into exile.
The parable of the Ten Virgins is closer to the
truth. The virgins who came late were
rejected at the door by the Savior who said, “I know you not.” The oil in this parable represents experience;
which is why the virgins that had “oil” at the masters coming could not share
with those who didn’t have any.
Spiritual experiences are how we come to know the Savior.
In the Pre-Existence (our life as spirit children before we came to Earth), we had learned as much as we could
intellectually, without experiencing life in a mortal body. Satan’s ill-conceived plan was for, “all [to]
be safely conducted through the career of mortality, bereft of freedom to act
and agency to choose…" (Jesus The Christ) In other words, Satan’s plan would not have afforded us the
opportunity to have experiences; the very purpose for which we came to Earth.
Mediocrity is as dangerous as apostasy. “…because thou art lukewarm,
and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” (Revelation 3:15)
Life is the accumulation of the experiences we
have. If you are not having experiences,
you are not having life. This holds true of our spiritual life as well.
On that glorious day when we stand before our Savior
for judgment, I believe that no words will be necessary. We will either be like him, through a
lifetime of spiritual experiences, or we won’t.
Moroni 7:48
…that ye may become the sons of God; that
when he shall appear we shall be like
him…
