A Nameless Memorial

In his talk at the general women's meeting, President Eyring spoke about the woman in the New Testament who was criticized for using expensive oil to annoint the Savior when it could have been sold and the money given to the poor.  At the end of the account in Mark we read these words of the Savior: "Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her” (Mark 14:6).  After quoting the account President Eyring said, "That short scripture is sweet and wise counsel for the faithful sisters in the Lord’s kingdom in tumultuous times.  You will pray to know whom the Father would have you serve out of love for Him and for our Savior.  And you will not expect a public memorial, following the example of the woman in Mark’s scriptural account, whose holy deed to honor the Savior of the world is remembered but not her name" (see here).

I think this is an interesting and important observation: although the Savior promised that the account of this deed would be spoken of wherever the gospel was preached, we do not know the name of the woman who did the deed.  President Eyring's point was that we likewise should not seek to be recognized for our alms.  To me this thought helps connect two pieces of counsel from the Savior that may seem contradictory: we are told, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven," but on the other hand in the same sermon the Lord said, "Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them... but when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly" (Matt. 5:16, 6:1, 2-3).  We should do good works that can be seen of men so that they can glorify the Savior, but we don't do good works so that we can be known as their doer.  Like this faithful woman, we want our good works to silently make a difference in the world.  

                We have a few other examples in the scriptures of the unnamed persons who performed great works for the glory of the Lord.  Perhaps the most famous are the wise men that came to visit the young child Jesus.  We don’t know their names or even how many of them there were—we simply know that they “came from the east to Jerusalem” and brought gifts of “gold, and frankincense, and myrrh” to the Savior (Matt. 2:1, 11).  They clearly sacrificed much to travel a great distance and bring an offering to their King.  But like the woman who anointed the Savior, their sacrifice and gifts are remembered wherever the gospel is preached and inspire us to also give to the Lord.  A second example is the “woman of Canaan” who came to the Savior pleading for Him to heal her daughter.  We don’t know her name, but we know that her faith was so strong that the Lord could make an exception to the restriction He was given of His Father that His earthly ministry was to be to the House of Israel alone.  He said of her, “O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt” (Matt. 15:22, 28).  In the same way as the woman who gave oil, we remember this faithful Gentile for her belief in the Savior and her story in the gospel goes wherever the teachings of Christ are sent.  A third example is that of the woman in the story of the widow’s mite.  As Jesus watched the treasury “there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites.”  Jesus remarked, “This poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury” (Mark 12:42-43).  And like the woman with the oil, we remember this nameless woman wherever the gospel is preached, and are reminded that we too should silently sacrifice “all that [we have]” to our Savior without trying to be known of the world.