The Widow and Her Two Mites

Hello Everyone!

The assignment that I picked this week is one that I really love. It is over Mark 12:41-44 which is the story of the widow and her two mites.

Here are the scriptures:

And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.



And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.



And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:



For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living."

Why was her giving her two mites significant?

The reason why Christ taught his disciples this lesson was to show them that it was quality and not quantity that matters most when we are giving to others and to the Lord. In the Institute Manual it says,

The rich gave much yet kept back more; the widow’s gift was her all. It was not the smallness of her offering that made it especially acceptable, but the spirit of sacrifice and devout intent with which she gave. On the books of the heavenly accountants that widow’s contribution was entered as a munificent gift, surpassing in worth the largess of kings. ‘For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath

not.’”

The widow was poor and did not have much to give but she gave her all and in comparison it was substantially smaller than what those around her were giving. Christ doesn’t care if someone gives $100 or $1 as long as they have a willing heart and are giving all that they can. This idea applies to both tithing as well as serving our fellowman.

This week one of the principles that I came up with and shared for that assignment had to do with this scripture.

My principle was:

Each one of us should give all that we can in service of the Lord. Even when our contribution is less than others, as long as we know that we gave all that we could give, it does not matter.

I then shared about why this principle is important and what we can learn from it.

I have always loved the story of the widow and her two simple mites. I remember when I first came to live with my aunt she had a big deck of Mormon Ad’s hanging on the fridge and I liked to go through them once in a while and look up the scriptures or what was referenced on the bottom and the Mormon Ad of this scripture always stood out to me most because you can tell that she is a poor widow and she is holding out all that she has and she knows that she will need those mites to live but she sacrificed them because she knew that’s what she needed to do. Others around her could give so much more than she but she still gave what she could. This example is one that we should follow, each one of us. As long as we can honestly say that we gave all that we could and were being obedient, than that is what matters most.

In the same chapter but verse 30 Christ tells us that,

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.”

The reason why I shared this scripture is because this widow is a perfect example of what Christ said we should do. Even though she needed those two mites she gave them up. Giving all that we have is not something that is easy or simple but it is something that will be a trial for us and it will teach us and bless us.

Have you heard the scripture that says,

“…for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all that we can do.” (2^nd Nephi 25:23)?

How does this scripture apply to the widow?

It applies to the widow because we are saved by the grace of the Lord because He died for us but we must first do ALL that we can just like how this widow gave ALL that she had. Not to go off on a tangent but I really like this scripture because it reminds me that by doing nothing we are not saved. Christ did not allow us to be saved by doing nothing. He worked hard for us and suffered all the pain in the world for each one of us. “After all that we can do” in my opinion is our way of showing Christ that we understand what He did for us and we are in a way paying Him back by working hard to “earn” the grace He has given us.

This summer I have learned that after I get work, if I don’t feel like I worked my hardest, I don’t feel like I earned the money I received for that work. I want to be like the widow and give all that I can in service and in appreciation and not just for the blessings I will receive but because by giving my all I will feel like I truly earned my reward.

There are many ways that we can follow the widow’s example of sacrifice and obedience. In our jobs, our callings, in our families, our tithing, home teaching, visiting teaching, helping our neighbors or other ward members and friends, and the service that we give to others are a few of the things we can do in being examples.

We just need to remember to give our all in all that we do and be like the widow!