“Righteous Stewards—Disciples of Jesus Christ,” Liahona, Mar. 2026.
Covenant Women
Righteous Stewards—Disciples of Jesus Christ
Three parables teach stewardship and exemplify how to deepen our discipleship of Jesus Christ.
Ten Virgins, by Jorge Cocco
Letting the light of Jesus Christ shine in our discipleship is the ultimate form of renewable energy—energy from a source which is constantly replenished. By bringing Christ’s relief and light to others, we find our own relief in Him.
So be a peacemaker in your own home and community and in your online presence. Relieve suffering in your own neighborhood.
Satan’s objective is that we be acted upon. By contrast, the Father’s plan of happiness gives us the opportunity to act, to be agents for good, for peace, for hope.
We can counter disinformation by sharing uplifting, hopeful, and accurate information, by becoming advocates of truth rather than just consumers of information. We can answer negativity by flooding the world with the light and good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
As President Russell M. Nelson (1924–2025) exclaimed, the answer is always Jesus Christ: “Whatever questions or problems you have, the answer is always found in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.”
President Nelson invited us to make our discipleship of Him our “highest priority.” We deepen our discipleship when we learn from and about Jesus Christ. So, let’s explore the Savior’s teachings.
The Ten Virgins
Matthew 25 contains three telling parables. First, the parable of the ten virgins (see verses 1–13). Five were wise and five were foolish. All ten were in the right location, awaiting the bridegroom, and each came with a lamp.
When the bridegroom—representing the Savior—came at the unexpected midnight hour, five of the virgins did not have sufficient oil for their lamps. Perhaps they thought having extra oil was unnecessary. Or they might not have been prudent stewards of the oil they had. Perhaps distracted, they failed to adequately prepare to keep their lamps burning.
And so, in response to their petition to enter the wedding supper, the bridegroom responded, “Ye know me not” (Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 25:11 [in Matthew 25:12, footnote a]). Conversely, this implies that through their preparation and wise stewardship, the five wise virgins did know Him.
The precious oil could be seen as their personal conversion. It allowed the wise virgins to light their lamps and enter the marriage feast with the bridegroom. The oil could not be shared with their friends because personal conversion is just that—personal. We can and should hold the light of our lamps high to lift and strengthen and beckon others to Jesus Christ, but each of us is a steward of our own conversion.
As expressed by the Savior, “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” (Doctrine and Covenants 33:17; emphasis added).
The Talents
The second parable told in Matthew 25 is that of the talents (see verses 14–30). In that story, the master, in anticipation of traveling afar, gave three of his servants talents. A “talent” represented money. We can also think about them as gifts, abilities, and blessings from our Heavenly Father. To one servant the master gave five talents, to another two talents, and to the third he gave one talent. And then the master took his journey.
When he returned, he discovered that the servants to whom he had given five talents and two talents had been faithful and profitable stewards and had made good use of the talents, doubling their value. And having been faithful over a little, the master gave them more, exclaiming, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (verse 21).
In contrast, the servant with one talent buried it—perhaps because he was distracted and procrastinated. Or maybe he was frustrated in knowing how to start or afraid he would fail. Maybe he compared himself to the other servants, and his doubts kept him from trying. He hadn’t prepared for the master’s return, he didn’t experience the joy of faithful stewardship, and he lost his talent.
The parable of the ten virgins and the parable of the talents are parallel. Both emphasize that we have personal responsibility for our conversion and must prepare ourselves to receive the Lord’s gift of exaltation—and that we have a stewardship and personal accountability for the talents and gifts we’ve been given.
The Good Shepherd’s Sheep
Finally, Matthew 25 tells the story of those who have “confidence before God,” described as the Good Shepherd’s sheep, found on His right side, enjoying the wedding feast with Him, and blessed to be rulers over many things (see verses 31–40). The Lord will say to them:
“I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
“Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me” (Matthew 25:35–36).
As His disciples, we prepare ourselves for His Second Coming and we faithfully and profitably exercise stewardship over that with which we have been blessed. Compassion, charity, virtue, and faithful stewardship qualify us not only to live with Him later but also to have confidence before God now. As Mormon taught, for those who are filled with charity—the pure love of Christ—it “shall be well with [them]” in the last day. They shall be like the Savior, seeing him as He is and being filled with hope and purified even as He is pure. (See Moroni 7:47–48). President Nelson declared, “Charity and virtue open the way to having confidence before God!”
Shepherd—Variation IV, by Jorge Cocco
Disciples of Jesus Christ care for those in need.
All three of these parables teach stewardship of our own conversion; for gifts, talents, and assets with which we’ve been blessed; and for our neighbors who are hungry, homeless, hurting, and tired.
They teach how Christ’s disciples should prepare for perilous times that will precede the Savior’s Second Coming. These are the times in which we live! We are to keep the lamps of our conversion burning brightly, letting our light shine, using and enlarging our talents, and caring for those in need. This is being possessed of charity, the pure love of Christ.