Lesson 8

Here is another entry!  I got a bit behind in the class I was doing this for . . . so . . . there will be a flurry of entries during this day . . . and then I'll have to start coming up with stuff on my own rather than rely on the class for material.  

Questions are included as usual.  Thanks for reading!  

1. Review Mark 12:41–44 and the institute student manual commentary for Mark 12:41–44, “What Was the Significance of the Widow’s Gift?” (pg. 149). Write an explanation of how the widow lived what the Savior taught in Mark 12:28–30.

The widow gave everything that she had to the treasury.  She loved God with all of her soul.  Like the institute manual says, it’s not the quantity of the gift we give to God, it’s the quality, and hers was top quality. 

2. Even though the widow gave less money than wealthier people gave, according to Mark 12:44, how much of what she had did she give? Write a paragraph describing what this teaches about what constitutes an acceptable offering to the Lord. How does 2 Nephi 25:23 apply to what the widow did?

The widow literally did all that she could do with that donation.  There was no more to give from her in that regard.  She gave all her living, or in other words, everything that she had.  Jesus Christ sacrificed everything for us, he gave his entire living life in example and then sacrificed that life for our sins.  If we want to dwell where Christ dwells we also need to give our everything.  Nothing less will be sufficient.  And again, we don’t have to give what Christ gave in quantity, that’s impossible.  But the quality of our gift, (the best that we have) is what makes our offer enough. 

3. Write two or three sentences describing a way, aside from the donation of money, that you could better follow the widow’s example of sacrifice and obedience.

I’ve been working on daily scripture study before I get involved with anything else during the day.  It’s been going pretty well.  It’s been almost a month now, and I’ve only missed a day.  It might be time for a new goal.  I think I need to get to the temple more often . . . I’ll talk with Katie and figure out a plan to get to the temple more often during this break, and during our married life.