The Widow's Mites

                                                                                                                                                                   
          In Mark 12: 41-44 The scriptures give an account of the Savior watching people give money to the treasury of the church. He watches as wealthy men come forward and give large amounts of money and then a poor widow comes and casts in 2 mites. When the Savior sees this he calls to his disciples and tells them in verse 43 "...Verily I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury." This seemingly small act of charity to us was a great act of service in the Lords eyes. Her willingness to give shows that she loves the Lord with all her heart, soul, and mind, because she put him before her earthly desires.
          In verse 44 the Savior further expounds, saying: "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." So not only did the poor widow give, but she gave all that she had. The most acceptable gifts that we can give to the Lord are the gifts that we have to make sacrifices to give. In the Book of Mormon in 2 Nephi 25:23 it says "For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children,  and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know it is by his grace that we are saved, after all that we do." When we choose the right and follow the commandments that the Lord has given us, we do so because we recognize that it is through his grace that we are saved, but we won't be saved if we don't do all that we can first.
          Giving of our money isn't the only way that we can show our willingness to sacrifice and be obedient. We can also sacrifice our time and gifts to serve others, go the extra mile to help someone, or try extra hard to magnify our church duties that we have been given. As a primary teacher, meaning I teach Sunday school to little kids, I try to do my best as I prepare and teach my lessons. I don't have to do this. I have a manual that I could just skim through and read off to them for a lesson, but that wouldn't do anyone any good. As I do my best I know that it strengthens my testimony of God and it makes me more willing to serve and give more of myself. I know that giving of myself more than what is necessary is what the Lord wants, because I see the blessings in my life when I do so.