A Lamp Trimmed and Burning (D&C 33:17)

 As I was reading and pondering Doctrine and Covenants 33, this question came into my mind: If God is the source of the light that “lights every man that cometh into the world,” (D&C 93:2) and we are the vessels of that light, and our obedience to God is the oil in our lamps, added drop by drop as we pray study, attend, repent and forgive, and partake of the sacrament in remembrance of the atonement, then what does the wick in the lamp represent and how do we keep it trimmed and burning?

President Kimball, 12^th president of the church said: “In our lives the oil of preparedness is accumulated drop by drop in righteous living. 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.” (Faith Precedes the Miracle, p. 253-257) 

In a lamp, if the wick is too short, or dry, or does not reach into the oil at all, then there will be no light in the lamp. The wick itself would only burn a short time. The oil itself does not even burn without a wick. Both are important for the proper functioning of the lamp.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16) Clearly we have a mandate to ‘shine’, using the oil in our lamps. The light of Christ, (or truth) found within each of us, is sufficient to start the flame burning, but unless our wick is used properly and wisely, we may find ourselves without a light that is capable of shining independently in a darkened world.

President Kimball had as one of his mottoes: “Lengthen your stride and quicken your pace.” Perhaps we can rephrase this to say: Lengthen your wick to quicken your lamp!

I believe that the wick could represent our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. To lengthen our faith in Him would be to allow our faith to stretch to every part of our lives, to lengthen our obedience to the fine points of the law as well as the great ones. It could also represent the principle: “Faith without works is dead.” (James 2: 14-26) Putting our heart, our faith and our love into every act that we perform gives those actions the power to lift us to higher living, like a wick that reaches into the oil and draws it upward to provide continuous fuel for the flame. Without faith, our works are dead and have no power, and are not “counted to us for righteousness.” (Moroni 7: 6-12) Thus, our works may be many, but unless they are fired by the Spirit of Truth, drawn to us through our faith, they may be worth little or nothing.

We can refrain from criticism, lengthen our faith and pray to the Lord for answers, rather than becoming bitter, shortened or hard. We can dig deeper, learn more, ask more. We can lengthen our faith by practicing sustained moments of love, gratitude, joy and hope. We can take time to ponder, lengthening our faith in the Gift of the Holy Ghost and his power to speak to us. 

Playing beautiful music, giving thanks for our blessings, pondering the purpose of our lives, and writing down words of hope, inspiration, and understanding can lengthen, strengthen and build our faith so that it will reach into the oil of our lives, allowing our light to shine.

We can lengthen our wicks of faith too by taking stock of our lives, assessing our progress, reviewing our short and long-term goals, and pondering with faith our needs, desires and possibilities.

If faith is the substance of things hoped for, then ought we not to cultivate our ability to find more of that substance in our lives?

Without the wick of faith, the oil of our lamps cannot be made useful. In the same way, though we may attend meetings, read, pray, fast, and in all other ways LOOK like we are doing all the right things, unless our works are lit with the fire of God, through our faith in Christ, who quickens us, we will be as a lamp with no wick, unable to light the house in which it stands. 

The Lord through Joseph Smith said: “And the Book of Mormon and the holy scriptures are given of me for your instruction; and the power of my Spirit quickeneth all things. Wherefore, 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 33:16-17) 

Trimming a lamp is about the wick. The wick must be kept trimmed in order for it to burn effectively. If corrosion is allowed to build up, the oil cannot flow smoothly and the fire will be less effective. If we liken the wick to our Faith, then trimming our wick might be like repenting of anything in our lives that is unworthy. Daily faithful scripture study and prayer helps us to keep our lamps “trimmed and burning”. 

The Lord said that his “soul delighteth in the song of the heart”, and that “the song of the righteous is a prayer” unto him. (D&C 25: 12) Singing with the voice alone, without engaging the heart in righteous worship cannot qualify for the promised blessing found in this beautiful scripture. In the same way, the oil in our lamps can be full of outward performances, doing all the right things, and being in all the right places, however, the Lord looks on the heart. (Samuel 16:7) If we have a lamp full of oil, but our wick is short, dry, hard and cold, in other words, if we are doing our works without faith, without a full heart, or without the love of God and our fellow beings, then we may need to repent and ask God to soften our hearts that we might be healed, (3 Nephi 9:13) or that we might be quickened, or made alive by the power of his spirit unto the salvation of our souls.

May we have oil in our lamps, in other words, the works of righteousness; and may we have wicks that are long enough to reach into the oil of truth, in other words, faith sufficient to make our works alive; and may our lamps be trimmed and burning with the light of Christ.