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Seeds, Pearls and Hidden Treasure

Jesus tells parables, stories about seeds, soil, hidden treasure, a priceless pearl and a fishing net, to teach what God’s kingdom is like. Kids learn to make their hearts “good ground” where Jesus’s words can grow, and that the gospel is a treasure worth more than anything. Sunday is Palm Sunday, so the week ends by getting ready for a special Easter week together.

  • Week 12
  • 📅 Mar 15–21, 2027
  • 📖 Matthew 13; Luke 8; 13
Start with Monday
Read it togetherMatthew 13; Luke 8; 13 in Gospel LibraryCome, Follow Me manualNew Testament 2027, week 12

What your kids learn in class

Stories, verses and games for the week come from each child’s own Primary or youth lesson, so home matches Sunday.

Daily sparks

Five to ten minutes a day, Monday to Sunday. Grown-ups lead; kids act, play and answer. Where a step says to tap something, that’s in the Gospel Sparks app; on the web, use the “Play along” links.

Monday · 8 min · Story

Be the Seed!

🌱 You’re a seed! Where will you land?Curl up small.Watch out for birds!Grow up TALL!

📖 Read together: Matthew 13:3–8 ↗

  1. Open the story scenes and read them together.
  2. Have your kids curl up small on the floor as seeds. Read Matthew 13:3–8 slowly and let them act out each kind of ground:
  3. Path: birds swoop in (you flap and gently “peck”). Rocky ground: sprout fast, then wilt in the hot sun. Thorns: grow, then get tangled in a blanket. Good ground: grow up tall, stretch out branches, and wiggle fingers for fruit!
  4. SAY“Jesus teaches that God’s words are like seeds. We get to choose what kind of ground our hearts will be.”

🎭 Play along: the story scenes (from the CTR 8 lesson; pick your kid’s class above for theirs)

Talk about it
  • What are some “thorns” that crowd out good things (screens, grumpiness, being too busy)?
  • How can we make our hearts good ground?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Let your little one be the good-ground seed every time, growing tall and wiggling “fruit” fingers.
📚 Big kids (10–13)Have your 10–13-year-old read Jesus’s explanation in Matthew 13:18–23 and match each kind of ground to real-life examples.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Read Matthew 13:20–22 with your teen and ask which soil is most common for people their age: rocky ground (excited, then gone when it gets hard) or thorns (choked by cares and busyness). Which one are they most at risk of, honestly, and what would pull the thorns?
☕️ For grown-upsThe same heart can be every kind of soil in a single week. The parable isn’t mainly about sorting people; it’s an invitation to tend our own ground. What thorns have grown up in your life lately, maybe good things crowding out better ones?

Sticker for today: 🌾

Tuesday · 6 min · Verse

Ears to Hear

👂 Eyes, ears, heart! Point fast!Point when you hear it.Say the verse.Listen for the whisper!

📖 Read together: Matthew 13:15–16, 23 ↗

  1. Read Matthew 13:15–16. Each time you say eyes, ears or heart, your kids point to theirs as fast as they can.
  2. Open the key verse screen (Matthew 13:23) and learn it together with motions: cup your ear for “heareth,” tap your head for “understandeth,” and wiggle your fingers like growing fruit for “beareth fruit.”
  3. Play “Listen Close”: whisper a short instruction (“Tiptoe to the door and back”). Only people really listening can do it!
  4. SAY“Jesus wants us to listen with our ears AND our hearts, so His words can grow in us.”

📖 Play along: the key verse (from the CTR 8 lesson; pick your kid’s class above for theirs)

Talk about it
  • What helps you really listen at church?
  • How do you listen with your heart?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Play “Where are your eyes? Your ears? Your heart?” with your little one and cheer when they point.
📚 Big kids (10–13)Let your 10–13-year-old be the whisperer and make the instructions trickier.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Read Matthew 13:15 with your teen: hearts can grow hardened, ears dull and eyes closed. Ask how that happens gradually and what keeps a heart soft. Invite them to listen to one general conference talk this week with a single question: “What is God telling me?”
☕️ For grown-upsJesus told His disciples, “blessed are your eyes, for they see” (Matthew 13:16). Many around them heard the same words and missed them. What truth have you heard for years that you’re only now starting to see?

Sticker for today: 👂

Wednesday · 10 min · Activity

Plant a Tiny Seed

🫘 Plant a tiny seed and watch it grow!Tiny seed.Big tree!Water it every day.

📖 Read together: Matthew 13:31–32 ↗

  1. Read Matthew 13:31–32. Show the tiniest seed you have (mustard seed, a pepper seed or a sesame seed). Say: “Jesus said God’s kingdom starts tiny like this and grows huge!”
  2. Plant a few dry beans in a cup of soil, or tuck them in a damp paper towel inside a clear cup or zip bag.
  3. Write “My Testimony” on the cup. Say: “A testimony starts small too. We help it grow with prayer, scriptures and doing what Jesus teaches.”
  4. Set it in a sunny window. Check it every day and give it a little water, just like we give our testimonies a little care every day.
Talk about it
  • What helps a seed grow?
  • What helps your testimony grow?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Let your little one drop the beans in and pour the water (stay close: dry beans are a choking hazard for little ones).
📚 Big kids (10–13)Ask your 10–13-year-old to plant a second cup and try an experiment (sun vs. shade) to compare with Alma 32 in the Book of Mormon.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Have your teen read Alma 32:28–30 and treat it like a real experiment: what is the seed, what is the test, and what counts as evidence? Invite them to plant one small gospel habit this week and watch honestly for growth.
☕️ For grown-upsJesus compares His kingdom to a mustard seed and to leaven (Matthew 13:33): both small, both hidden, both changing everything around them. The quiet, small things you do with your kids every day are the kingdom working that way.

Sticker for today: 🌱

Thursday · 10 min · Game

Game Night: Treasure Hunt

💎 Find the hidden pearl!Warmer… colder…What’s your gospel treasure?Then Draw & Guess!

📖 Read together: Matthew 13:44–46 ↗

  1. Hide a “pearl” (a marble, button or cotton ball) and a paper treasure chest somewhere in the house. Give “warmer… colder…” clues until your kids find them.
  2. Read Matthew 13:44–46. Ask: “Why would someone sell everything they owned for one pearl?”
  3. Have each person write or draw a gospel treasure on a paper coin (our family forever, the sacrament, prayer, Jesus) and put it in the chest.
  4. Play Draw & Guess with this week’s words: seeds, birds, pearls and more.

🖍️ Play along: Draw & Guess with this week’s words (from the CTR 8 lesson; pick your kid’s class above for theirs)

Talk about it
  • What is the most precious gospel treasure in our chest?
  • What would you give up to follow Jesus?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Let your little one hide the pearl in an easy spot and help them draw a heart for their treasure coin.
📚 Big kids (10–13)Have your 10–13-year-old write clues for a real treasure hunt with three stops, each with a verse from Matthew 13.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Read Matthew 13:44–46 and ask your teen: the man sold everything “for joy.” Does following Jesus feel more like finding treasure or more like giving things up? What would help it feel like treasure?
☕️ For grown-upsIn Matthew 13:44 the man sells all he has “for joy.” Sacrifice for the gospel is meant to feel like trading up, not losing out. Where has duty crowded out the joy in your discipleship, and how could you find it again?

Sticker for today: 🦪

Friday · 7 min · Service

Lift Someone Up

🙌 Hunch down… then stand up TALL!Try to look up.Now stand up tall!Lift someone up today.

📖 Read together: Luke 13:11–13 ↗

  1. Read Luke 13:11–13. Have everyone hunch over and try to look up at the ceiling. Hard! Then straighten up tall together when Jesus heals the woman.
  2. SAY“For 18 years she couldn’t stand up straight. Jesus lifted her up. We can help lift people up too.”
  3. Make a “lift-up” plan: a compliment for a sibling, a thank-you for a teacher, playing with a kid who’s alone at recess.
  4. Tonight, have everyone share: “I lifted up ___ today by ___.”
Talk about it
  • How do you feel when someone says something kind to you?
  • Who needs lifting up this week?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Let your little one give out hugs or high-fives as their way of lifting people up.
📚 Big kids (10–13)Ask your 10–13-year-old to write a kind note or send a message to someone who has been having a hard time.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Read Luke 13:14–16 with your teen: the synagogue ruler was upset about the day, while Jesus saw a “daughter of Abraham” bound for eighteen years. Ask who they know who has been weighed down a long time, and what one real act could help lift them.
☕️ For grown-upsThe woman had been bent over for eighteen years (Luke 13:11). Some burdens last a long time. Jesus noticed her, touched her and named her dignity. Is there a long-bent person in your circle, maybe even you, who needs to be seen?

Sticker for today: 🙌

Saturday · 8 min · Game

Cast the Net

🐟 Swim fast! The net is coming!Be a fish.Play the quiz.Make palm leaves!

📖 Read together: Matthew 13:47–48 ↗

  1. Read Matthew 13:47–48. Hold a blanket as a “net.” Everyone swims around like fish until the net scoops them up. Say: “God’s kingdom gathers all kinds of people, and everyone is invited!”
  2. Play the family quiz for a quick review of the parables.
  3. Tomorrow is Palm Sunday, the start of Easter week. Cut a few long leaves out of green paper to be palm branches for Monday.
  4. Set out Sunday clothes so the morning starts peacefully.

🏆 Play along: Scripture Showdown (from the CTR 8 lesson; pick your kid’s class above for theirs)

Talk about it
  • Who is invited into God’s kingdom?
  • What do you know about the week before Easter?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Let your little one ride inside the net with a parent and help color the palm leaves.
📚 Big kids (10–13)Have your 10–13-year-old read Matthew 21:1–11 ahead of time so they can help lead the Palm Sunday parade on Monday.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Read the wheat and the tares with your teen (Matthew 13:24–30). Tares look like wheat until harvest, and the servants were told not to pull them early. Ask: why would the Lord let good and evil grow side by side, and what does that mean for living faithfully among friends who believe differently?
☕️ For grown-upsIn the parable of the net, at the end of the world, the angels do the separating (Matthew 13:49). That frees us to gather and love generously now and leave the judging to God.

Sticker for today: 🎣

Sunday · 6 min · Sabbath

Palm Sunday

🌿 Palm Sunday! Easter is one week away!Teach what you learned.Check your seed.Get ready for Easter week!

📖 Read together: Matthew 13:23 ↗

  1. After church, ask: “What did you learn in Primary today?” Let your kids teach you, and check on your testimony seed cup together.
  2. SAY“Today is Palm Sunday. Long ago, crowds waved palm branches to welcome Jesus into Jerusalem. Next Sunday is Easter!”
  3. Explain that starting tomorrow, your family will walk through Jesus’s last week, one day at a time, all the way to Easter morning.
  4. End with a quiet gratitude moment: each person thanks Heavenly Father for one gospel treasure, and a parent shares a short testimony of Jesus.
Talk about it
  • What did you learn in Primary today?
  • What are you excited about for Easter?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Let your little one wave a paper palm leaf and say “Hosanna!”
📚 Big kids (10–13)Invite your 10–13-year-old to help plan one part of your family’s Easter week.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Give your teen a real role in Easter week: have them read ahead in Matthew 21–28 and choose one day to lead, including what to read and what to ask. Teens remember what they teach.
☕️ For grown-upsBefore Easter week begins, decide what you personally hope to feel on Easter morning, then plan a few quiet moments this week to prepare for it. Kids can tell when a parent is spiritually present.

Sticker for today: 🌿

Family challenge

Grow Your Seed

Water your testimony seed cup every day this week. Each time someone waters it, they share one little thing they did to help their testimony grow: a prayer, a scripture, a kind act. See how much both grow by Easter!

Parent Corner

Jesus could have described His kingdom with armies and thrones. Instead He chose a seed, a pinch of leaven, a hidden treasure, a pearl and a fishing net. Parables work slowly: they stay closed to casual listeners and open to those who come back and ask, which is exactly what the disciples did (Matthew 13:10, 36). The parable of the sower is really about hearers, and it quietly asks which soil we are right now. The wheat and the tares warn that good and evil will grow side by side until harvest, and that pulling up tares too early would damage the wheat. The treasure and the pearl insist that the kingdom is worth everything, not as grim sacrifice but as a joyful trade. Small, hidden, patient and priceless: that is how God usually works.

  • Ponder: What small, hidden thing is God growing in you or your family right now that you might be tempted to dismiss because it’s small?
  • Try this: Take a short walk alone and look for real examples of hard paths, rocky ground, thorns and good soil. Pray about which one describes your heart this month and which one thorn you could pull.

From general conference

“You may at times not feel like a strong, mature strand of wheat. Be patient with yourself! The Lord said that the wheat would include tender blades springing up.”

— Elder Neil L. Andersen, “Drawing Closer to the Savior,” October 2022

For parents on Saturday, with the parable of the wheat and the tares.

Read the talk ↗

Dinner-table questions

  • If you could be one thing from Jesus’s parables (a seed, a pearl, a fish, a treasure), which would you be?
  • What is something that helps your testimony grow?
  • What “thorns” try to crowd out good things in our family?
  • What gospel treasure would you never trade?
  • Why do you think Jesus taught with stories?

Sources

Scripture quotations are from the King James Version, the Bible used by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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