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Beauty for Ashes

Isaiah’s last chapters describe what the Savior came to do: heal broken hearts, set captives free, and trade sadness for joy. Centuries later, Jesus read those very words in Nazareth and said they were about Him. This week your kids learn that they can help Him by fasting, sharing with people in need, and making the Sabbath a delight.

  • Week 42
  • 📅 Oct 12–18, 2026
  • 📖 Isaiah 58–66
Start with Monday
Read it togetherIsaiah 58–66 in Gospel LibraryCome, Follow Me manualOld Testament 2026, week 42

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

Jesus Reads Isaiah

📜 Unroll the scroll! Who did Isaiah mean?Make a scroll.Sit like the synagogue crowd.Gasp at the big surprise!

📖 Read together: Luke 4:16–22; Isaiah 61:1–3 ↗

  1. Make a quick scroll: tape a sheet of paper between two pencils or wooden spoons and roll it up.
  2. Tap Story and read each scene out loud. Your kids are the people of Nazareth: they sit in a row like the synagogue and do each scene’s action.
  3. Nobody plays Jesus. A parent reads His words while a child carefully unrolls the scroll.
  4. When Jesus says the scripture is fulfilled that day, everyone gasps and jumps up: “Isaiah was writing about Him!”
  5. SAY“Isaiah wrote about Someone who would heal hearts and set people free, and Jesus told the people those words were about Him.”

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

Talk about it
  • What did Jesus say about Isaiah’s words?
  • How has Jesus helped someone you know?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Let your little one be the scroll keeper who rolls and unrolls it at just the right time.
📚 Big kids (10–13)Have your older kid read Isaiah 61:1–2 and then Luke 4:21, and explain why the people were so amazed.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Have your teen read Luke 4:16–30 ahead of time and tell the family what happened after the story ends: the same hometown crowd tried to throw Jesus off a cliff. Ask why the people who watched Him grow up had such a hard time believing Him.
☕️ For grown-upsIn Nazareth, Jesus stopped reading in the middle of Isaiah 61:2, just before the words about “the day of vengeance” (compare Luke 4:19). His ministry opened with healing, freedom and good news. What might change in your home if that were the order of emphasis when you teach and correct?

Sticker for today: 📜

Tuesday · 8 min · Verse

Break the Chains

💥 Say the verse, then burst free!Wrists wrapped up.Say the verse.Liberty! Break free!

📖 Read together: Isaiah 61:1–3 ↗

  1. Tap Key Verse and read Isaiah 61:1 together. Explain: “anointed” means chosen for a special job, “meek” means humble, and “liberty” means freedom.
  2. Loosely wrap each kid’s wrists with a few loops of toilet paper. They are the captives!
  3. Say the verse together. On the part about liberty for the captives, everyone bursts free!
  4. Rewrap and repeat, a little faster each time. Do the last round in a whisper.
  5. SAY“Jesus can set us free from sins, sad feelings, and anything else that holds us back.”

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

Talk about it
  • What kinds of things can Jesus set us free from?
  • Who do you know with a broken heart that Jesus could help?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Wrap just one wrist of your little one and let them break free every time you say “Free!”
📚 Big kids (10–13)Have older kids try the verse from memory, then explain each phrase in their own words.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Ask your teen to read Isaiah 61:1–3 and list everything the Anointed One came to do. Which one do people their age need most: healing for the brokenhearted, freedom for captives, comfort for those who mourn? Let them lead the last round of the verse.
☕️ For grown-ups“Anointed” is the meaning behind both Messiah (Hebrew) and Christ (Greek). Isaiah 61 is His mission statement, and He claimed it as His own. Which part of it do you most need Him to do for you right now?

Sticker for today: 🕊️

Wednesday · 10 min · Activity

Watered Garden Science

🌈 Science time: watch water climb!Two full glasses, one empty.Build paper towel bridges.Wait… it’s climbing!

📖 Read together: Isaiah 58:10–11 ↗

  1. Set 3 glasses in a row. Fill the two outside glasses with water (add a few drops of food coloring if you have it) and leave the middle one empty.
  2. Fold two paper towels into long strips. Put one end of each strip in a full glass and the other end in the empty middle glass.
  3. While you wait, read Isaiah 58:10–11 together. Say: “When we fast and help people, the Lord promises we’ll be like a watered garden that never dries up.”
  4. Check back every few minutes: the water is climbing! By bedtime, the middle glass will be filling up.
  5. SAY“Like this water, the blessings of fasting and helping often come quietly, a little at a time.”
Talk about it
  • What did the Lord promise people who help the hungry?
  • How can our family help fill someone’s cup this week?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Let your little one pour the water and squeeze in the color, then check the middle glass with you.
📚 Big kids (10–13)Have older kids predict how long it will take, check the time, and explain the science (water travels up tiny gaps in the paper).
🧑 Teens (14–18)Let your teen run the science: predict, time it and explain capillary action. Then read Isaiah 58:6 together and ask what “heavy burdens” teens carry that a fast could help lift, for themselves or for a friend.
☕️ For grown-upsIn Isaiah 58:3–5 people fasted and complained that God didn’t notice. The Lord’s answer: the fast He wants is turned outward, toward the hungry and oppressed. If fasting has felt like mere endurance, try fasting for one specific person next time.

Sticker for today: 🌈

Thursday · 8 min · Game

Mystery Picture Night

🖼️ What’s hiding behind the tiles?Answer a question.A tile disappears.Guess the picture!
  1. Tap Mystery Picture. A picture from this week’s lesson is hiding behind tiles.
  2. Take turns answering a quick question: name a way to help someone in need, a way to make Sunday special, or something Jesus heals. Each answer removes a tile.
  3. Think you know the picture? Shout it out, then act it out!
  4. Play a few rounds. Whoever guesses right picks who answers next.

🧩 Play along: Mystery Picture with this week’s words (from the CTR 8 lesson; pick your kid’s class above for theirs)

Talk about it
  • Which picture was the hardest to guess?
  • How is Jesus like a potter, a gardener, or a healer?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Let your little one tap the tiles away and point to what they think the picture is.
📚 Big kids (10–13)Older kids must explain how the picture connects to Isaiah 58–66 before their guess counts.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Make your teen the question master: they write the questions that remove each tile, and at least one must come from Isaiah 65:17–25, what the earth will be like when the Savior comes again.
☕️ For grown-upsIsaiah 65:17–25 pictures the Millennium: houses built and lived in, no more weeping, the wolf and the lamb eating together. When the news is heavy, remember the story is heading somewhere good. What are you looking forward to about the Savior’s return?

Sticker for today: 🖼️

Friday · 10 min · Service

Share-Your-Bread Box

🥫 Pantry hunt: fill a box to share!Grab a box.Hunt the pantry.Share with someone hungry.

📖 Read together: Isaiah 58:6–7 ↗

  1. Read Isaiah 58:7 together. Say: “The Lord said the kind of fast He loves is one where we share our bread with hungry people.”
  2. Grab a box or bag. Kids hunt through the pantry for food to share: cans, pasta, cereal, peanut butter (a parent gives the final okay).
  3. Decorate the box with hearts and a kind note.
  4. Decide together where it goes: a food bank, a neighbor, or a friend who could use some help. Drop it off this weekend.
  5. SAY“When we give a fast offering, the bishop uses it to help people who need food and other help. That’s sharing our bread too.”
Talk about it
  • Why do you think Jesus cares so much about hungry people?
  • How does it feel to give something away?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Let your little one carry cans to the box and count them out loud.
📚 Big kids (10–13)Have older kids look up the most-needed items at a local food bank and lead the pantry hunt.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Have your teen plan the drop-off and add something of their own, money or time. Then read Isaiah 58:7 and ask who at school is hungry in a way food can’t fix, and what they could share with that person.
☕️ For grown-upsThe fast offering is one of the Church’s quietest miracles: members go without two meals, give at least what they would have spent, and bishops use it to help people nearby and around the world. Consider giving more generously this month and telling your kids why.

Sticker for today: 🥫

Saturday · 7 min · Activity

Sabbath Delight Grab Bag

🎁 Fill a bag with Sunday surprises!Three minutes of ideas.Write them on slips.Pull one tomorrow!

📖 Read together: Isaiah 58:13–14 ↗

  1. Read Isaiah 58:13–14 together. Say: “A delight is something that makes you really happy. The Lord wants the Sabbath to be a happy, holy day, not a boring one.”
  2. Tap Timer and set 3 minutes. Everyone calls out Sabbath delights: a family walk, calling Grandma, drawing a picture of Jesus, acting out a scripture story, looking at family photos, writing to a missionary.
  3. Write or draw each idea on a slip of paper, fold it, and drop it in a bag or bowl.
  4. Tomorrow after church, each kid pulls a slip and the family does it together.
  5. Get Sunday-ready: set out clothes, shoes, and scriptures by the door.

⏱️ Big Timer (in the Gospel Sparks app)

Talk about it
  • What makes Sunday feel special to you?
  • What’s one thing we can do to make tomorrow a delight?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Let your little one draw a picture slip (a heart, a sun, a family) and decide what it means.
📚 Big kids (10–13)Have older kids add a few “delight challenges,” like writing a thank-you note or memorizing a verse.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Ask your teen to add three Sabbath ideas they would genuinely enjoy, not just ones for the little kids, and one they could lead. Read Isaiah 58:13 and ask: what’s the difference between a day of rules and a day of delight?
☕️ For grown-upsIsaiah 58:13 pairs turning away from “thine own ways” with calling the Sabbath “a delight.” The Sabbath isn’t only about what we stop doing; it’s about turning toward the Lord and the people we love. What would make Sunday a delight for you, not just for the kids?

Sticker for today: 🎁

Sunday · 8 min · Sabbath

Crowns for Ashes

👑 Jesus trades sad for glad!Tell what you learned in Primary.Pull a Sabbath delight.Say one thank-you.

📖 Read together: Isaiah 61:3 ↗

  1. Ask: “What did you learn in Primary today? What was your favorite part?”
  2. Pull a slip from yesterday’s Sabbath Delight Grab Bag and do it together.
  3. Read Isaiah 61:3 together. Say: “Long ago, sad people put ashes on their heads. Isaiah says Jesus trades our ashes for a beautiful crown.”
  4. Each person names one time Jesus helped something sad turn out good, or one thing they’re grateful for.
  5. Share a short testimony that Jesus is the One Isaiah wrote about, then say a family prayer.
Talk about it
  • What did you learn in Primary today?
  • When has Jesus helped you feel happy again?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Make a pretend crown with your hands on your little one’s head and say, “Jesus makes us happy!”
📚 Big kids (10–13)Ask your older kid to share a time a hard thing turned into something good, and where they saw the Lord’s hand in it.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Ask your teen to read Isaiah 61:3 and choose the phrase that fits their life right now: beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, or the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. They don’t have to explain why unless they want to.
☕️ For grown-upsIsaiah 61:3 promises beauty for ashes, not a life without ashes. Some of the best things in our families grew out of what once looked like loss. Tell your kids one of those stories today, simply and honestly.

Sticker for today: 👑

Family challenge

Our Fast Sunday Plan

Plan your family’s next fast Sunday together. Choose one person or need to fast and pray for, decide who will fast and for how long (kids who aren’t ready to skip a meal can give up a snack or treat), and let the kids help give the fast offering.

Parent Corner

Isaiah’s last chapters move between the everyday and the far future. Chapter 58 is practical: the Lord rebukes people who fasted for show and quarreled while they did it, then describes the fast He actually wants: lifting heavy burdens, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, not hiding from our own family. The promised blessings are lavish: light breaking forth like the morning, the Lord answering “Here I am,” a soul like a watered garden (Isaiah 58:8–11). Chapter 61 is the Messiah’s mission statement, which Jesus read aloud in Nazareth and claimed as His own (Luke 4:16–21). Chapters 65–66 look ahead to new heavens and a new earth. Together they suggest that our small, ordinary acts of mercy, like a fast offering or a meal for a neighbor, are part of the same work the Savior is doing on the grandest scale.

  • Ponder: Is our Sabbath more about what we avoid or what we delight in, and what one change would tip it toward delight for us as parents?
  • Try this: Before your next fast Sunday, choose one specific person or need to fast for, write it down, and begin and end the fast with a prayer about it. Watch for what comes.

From general conference

“Your fast offering will do more than help feed and clothe bodies. It will heal and change hearts.”

— President Henry B. Eyring, ““Is Not This the Fast That I Have Chosen?”,” April 2015

Share on Friday while the family fills the Share-Your-Bread box, or when you plan your next fast Sunday.

Read the talk ↗

Dinner-table questions

  • What’s your favorite way to spend Sunday?
  • Who has a broken heart that we could help this week?
  • If you planted a garden, what would you grow?
  • Why do you think people fast when they want help from Heavenly Father?
  • What’s one way Jesus has made your life more beautiful?

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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