I Believe That Jesus Will Come Again

By Susan L. Warner

Second Counselor in the General Primary Presidency

“I will come again” (John 14:3).

When Jesus died and was resurrected, he promised that he would come again. He could not tell us when he would come, but the scriptures tell us that it will be a glorious event. He will be our King and Ruler. It will be a heavenly, happy time for us if we are prepared to meet him.

Because Jesus wanted us to know how important it is to be prepared, he told us a story. It is called the parable of the ten virgins and is recorded in Matthew 25:1–13. [Matt. 25:1–13]

There were ten young women, or virgins, who were invited to a wedding supper. They had to wait for the bridegroom to let them in, but none of them knew when he would come to open the door.

The young women brought oil-burning lamps to give light so that they could see. Five of them were wise and brought extra oil so that their lamps would burn for a long time. The other five young women were foolish. They did not bring enough oil.

Before the bridegroom finally came, the oil in all the lamps had burned away. The five wise women put their extra oil in their lamps and lit them. The five foolish women had to leave to buy more oil. By the time they returned, the bridegroom had opened the door, let the wise young women in, and closed the door again. So the five foolish young women could not go in to the wedding with the bridegroom.

Jesus is like the bridegroom. We do not know when he will come again. But if we prepare like the five wise women in the parable, we will be ready and happy to meet him when he comes.

How can we prepare for the Savior’s coming? We can be like the five wise women in the parable and fill our lamps with oil by praying to Heavenly Father, attending our church meetings, being kind to others, paying our tithing, being honest, obeying the Word of Wisdom, listening to the Holy Ghost, and choosing the right.

Instructions

Color the picture and the drops of oil on page 11. In the drops of oil, write what you can do to prepare to meet Jesus when he comes again. Mount the picture and the drops on lightweight cardboard; then cut them out. Cut slits on the broken lines, as indicated, and “fill” the lamp and the jar with extra oil by placing the drops of oil in the slits. Use the picture to share what you have learned with someone in your family.

Illustrated by Jerry Harston

Sharing Time Ideas

Read the account of the Savior appearing to the Nephites in the Western Hemisphere (see 3 Ne. 11:7–17). Talk about when Jesus blessed the Nephite children (see 3 Ne. 17:11–13, 18–24) and about what it might be like when he comes again.
Using simple costumes, dramatize the parable of the ten virgins. Let the children who play the parts of the foolish virgins express their feelings about how it feels to be left out and about the importance of being prepared. Discuss how doing good things each day is like putting oil in our lamps.
Assign one part of the parable to each class, and have them illustrate it on a large piece of paper. Ask the children to stand in sequence, explain their picture, and tell their part of the parable.
Have the children draw pictures to illustrate the following terms to add to their “My Articles of Faith Book” (see Sharing Time, February 1995, page 13): testimony—a special feeling that comes from the Holy Ghost; First Coming—the time from Jesus’ birth on earth until his crucifixion; Second Coming—the time when Jesus, our Savior, will come to earth again and reign as King.