The parable of the Two Lamps

 I heard this story in church today, I have heard it before but loved the simple message that it brought.

The Parable of Two Lamps by James E. Talmage

Among the material things of the past—things that I treasure for sweet memory’s sake and because of pleasant association in bygone days—is a lamp. …

The lamp of which I speak, the student lamp of my school and college days, was one of the best of its kind. I had bought it with hard-earned savings; it was counted among my most cherished possessions. …

One summer evening I sat musing studiously and withal restfully in the open air outside the door of the room in which I lodged and studied. A stranger approached. I noticed that he carried a satchel. He was affable and entertaining. I brought another chair from within, and we chatted together till the twilight had deepened into dusk, the dusk into darkness.

Then he said: “You are a student and doubtless have much work to do of nights. What kind of lamp do you use?” And without waiting for a reply, he continued, “I have a superior kind of lamp I should like to show you, a lamp designed and constructed according to the latest achievements of applied science, far surpassing anything heretofore produced as a means of artificial lighting.”

I replied with confidence, and I confess, not without some exultation: “My friend, I have a lamp, one that has been tested and proved. It has been to me a companion through many a long night. It is an Argand lamp, and one of the best. I have trimmed and cleaned it today; it is ready for the lighting. Step inside; I will show you my lamp; then you may tell me whether yours can possibly be better.”

We entered my study room, and with a feeling which I assume is akin to that of the athlete about to enter a contest with one whom he regards as a pitiably inferior opponent, I put the match to my well-trimmed Argand.

My visitor was voluble in his praise. It was the best lamp of its kind, he said. He averred that he had never seen a lamp in better trim. He turned the wick up and down and pronounced the adjustment perfect. He declared that never before had he realized how satisfactory a student lamp could be.

I liked the man; he seemed to me wise, and he assuredly was ingratiating. “Love me, love my lamp,” I thought, mentally paraphrasing a common expression of the period.

“Now,” said he, “with your permission I’ll light my lamp.” He took from his satchel a lamp then known as the “Rochester.” It had a chimney which, compared with mine, was as a factory smokestack alongside a house flue. Its hollow wick was wide enough to admit my four fingers. Its light made bright the remotest corner of my room. In its brilliant blaze my own little Argand wick burned a weak, pale yellow. Until that moment of convincing demonstration, I had never known the dim obscurity in which I had lived and labored, studied and struggled.

“I’ll buy your lamp,” said I; “you need neither explain nor argue further.” I took my new acquisition to the laboratory that same night and determined its capacity. It turned at over 48 candlepower—fully four times the intensity of my student lamp.

Two days after purchasing, I met the lamp peddler on the street about noontime. To my inquiry he replied that business was good; the demand for his lamps was greater than the factory supply. “But,” said I, “you are not working today?” His rejoinder was a lesson. “Do you think that I would be so foolish as to go around trying to sell lamps in the daytime? Would you have bought one if I had lighted it for you when the sun was shining? I chose the time to show the superiority of my lamp over yours, and you were eager to own the better one I offered, were you not?”

Such is the story. Now consider the application of a part, a very small part, thereof.

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” [Matt. 5:16].

The man who would sell me a lamp did not disparage mine. He placed his greater light alongside my feebler flame, and I hasted to obtain the better.

I think what I love the most about this story is that he got to know the man to whom he was selling to first, and he became his friend, sincerely cared about him. Plus, he praised the lamp that the man already had, he did not try to be little his lamp, and then he simply shared his light! I think that is what Christ meant in the scripture Matt 5 :16 when He counseled us to share our light and good works with others.

 I was a full time missionary for our church ( The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints ),30 some years ago.  People asked me back then...why I would leave my family for a couple of years to serve a mission? The answer was simple, I felt like I had been blessed my whole life because of my relationship with the Savior, it has made all the difference in the world to me and my family. I was excited to share that with others (who may not have had the opportunity to know Jesus Christ or understand what it would feel like to follow Him).
 I am  proud to be a Mormon, although most of my life I have been judged harshly because of it. I am always amazed how people judge something hard, especially if they no nothing about it. But I have many friends of all different beliefs. I think they know that I am very respectful of what they believe, and as long as we can love and respect each other then life is good. But I did have a lady once asked me why I am so happy? And right when I started to open my mouth she said " and don't tell me it has to do with God or anything like that". I closed my mouth, because she really didn't want to know what made me happy and I couldn't lie, it had everything to do with God and His Son Jesus Christ, but that is not what she wanted to hear.
 I do think that many of us need to share our light with those in the world who are so caught up in the world that they can't see anything except what they own or what problems they have. It doesn't take having the TV on the news for 5 minutes, to realize there are a lot of people out there, really struggling in the darkness and don't know how to find peace or hope of any kind. For those of us who do believe, may we all be more willing and ready to share that light with others. That is the challenge I got today in church and I am grateful for it!

To learn more about what I believe you can go HERE:
Good night dear friends!