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Open the Windows of Heaven

Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament, and it begins with the Lord saying, “I have loved you.” Malachi teaches that the Lord opens the windows of heaven when we pay tithing, that He calls His faithful people His jewels, and that Elijah would come to turn the hearts of families to each other, which happened in the Kirtland Temple in 1836. This week your family will act out Elijah’s return, make blessing windows, hunt for family “jewels,” and give the Lord your best, not your leftovers.

  • Week 51
  • 📅 Dec 14–20, 2026
  • 📖 Malachi
Start with Monday
Come, Follow Me manualOld Testament 2026, week 51

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 · 10 min · Story

Elijah Will Come!

🔑 The very last Old Testament promise… came true!Moroni visits Joseph Smith.Elijah comes to the temple.Families can be forever!

📖 Read together: Malachi 4:5–6 ↗

  1. Open the story scenes and read them together. Dim the lights for the parts where Moroni visits Joseph Smith at night.
  2. Give one child a flashlight to be the angel Moroni. Have them shine it on “Joseph Smith” (another child lying on the couch) while you read that Moroni repeated Malachi’s promise.
  3. For the Kirtland Temple scene, have everyone stand very still and reverent. Hand one child a real key to hold up high.
  4. SAY“Elijah brought the keys so families can be sealed together forever in the temple. Malachi’s last promise came true!”

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

Talk about it
  • What did Elijah bring to the Kirtland Temple?
  • Why is it wonderful that families can be together forever?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Let your little one hold up the key during the temple scene and say, “Families forever!”
📚 Big kids (10–13)Have your 10–13-year-old read Malachi 4:5–6 and then find the same promise in Joseph Smith—History 1:38–39 to see how Moroni said it.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Have your teen read Malachi 4:5–6, then Doctrine and Covenants 110:13–16, where Elijah came to the Kirtland Temple in 1836. Ask them to explain to the family what the sealing power makes possible, and why Moroni said the earth would be “wasted” without it (Joseph Smith—History 1:39).
☕️ For grown-upsThe Old Testament ends on a promise about families, and the Restoration opened by repeating it (Joseph Smith—History 1:38–39). Whatever your family tree looks like, the sealing power is how the Lord intends to heal and link it.

Sticker for today: 🔑

Tuesday · 10 min · Verse

Blessing Windows

🌧️ Open the windows! Blessings pour out!1 out of 10 for the Lord.Open your paper window.Malachi 3:10

📖 Read together: Malachi 3:10 ↗

  1. Open the key verse screen and read Malachi 3:10 together.
  2. Give each child a piece of paper. Fold both sides in toward the middle to make two window shutters.
  3. Draw a window frame on the outside. Inside, have them draw blessings the Lord pours out: family, food, a home, the temple, answered prayers.
  4. Count out 10 coins, crackers or buttons. Have each child set 1 aside for the Lord. Say: “Tithing is giving the Lord one out of every ten. He promises to open the windows of heaven.”
  5. Explain simply how your family pays tithing, and let kids who earn money set theirs aside this week.

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

Talk about it
  • What blessings did you draw behind your window?
  • Why do you think Heavenly Father asks us to pay tithing?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Let your little one open and close the shutters while you say “Open the windows of heaven!” each time.
📚 Big kids (10–13)Ask your 10–13-year-old to share a blessing they think comes from tithing that isn’t money, like faith or feeling close to the Lord.
🧑 Teens (14–18)If your teen earns money, walk them through paying tithing themselves this week, online or with a donation slip. Ask them to read Malachi 3:10–12 and talk about why the Lord asks for a tenth, not just whatever we feel like giving.
☕️ For grown-upsMalachi 3:10 is a rare invitation from the Lord to “prove me.” If tithing has become automatic for you, watch this week for the less obvious windows of heaven: wisdom with money, contentment, renewed faith.

Sticker for today: 🪟

Wednesday · 10 min · Activity

The Family Jewel Hunt

💎 Hunt for the jewels! You are one!Find a jewel.Name someone in your family.Tell something you remember!

📖 Read together: Malachi 3:16–17 ↗

  1. Before you start, hide some “jewels” around the house: buttons, foil balls, marbles or shiny wrapped candies (skip candy if anyone has food allergies, and keep small pieces away from toddlers).
  2. Read Malachi 3:16–17 together. Say: “The Lord keeps a book of remembrance, and He calls His faithful people His jewels. You are His jewel!”
  3. Start the timer and have your kids hunt for the jewels.
  4. For every jewel found, name a person in your family, living or passed on, and share one thing you remember about them.
  5. Start a “book of remembrance” page: write or draw one family memory and keep it somewhere safe.

⏱️ Big Timer (in the Gospel Sparks app)

Talk about it
  • Why would the Lord call people His jewels?
  • What’s a family memory you never want to forget?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Give your little one a cup to collect jewels in and let them name who each one is for.
📚 Big kids (10–13)Have your 10–13-year-old look up one ancestor on FamilySearch or in a family album and tell their story.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Have your teen read Malachi 3:13–16 and notice the “book of remembrance” was written when people who feared the Lord “spake often one to another.” Invite them to start their own: a note on their phone with one line each day about something the Lord did for them.
☕️ For grown-upsMalachi 3:16 says the Lord “hearkened, and heard” when faithful people talked with each other about Him. The small conversations of faith at your dinner table are noticed and remembered in heaven.

Sticker for today: 💎

Thursday · 10 min · Game

Windows of Heaven Game Night

🎨 Draw it fast! Can they guess it?Window. Key. Elijah. Jewels.No letters allowed!
  1. Gather everyone and play Draw & Guess with this week’s Malachi words.
  2. Take turns drawing a word on your phone or tablet while the rest of the family guesses.
  3. After each word, ask: “What does that have to do with Malachi?”
  4. Give a cheer (or a jewel from yesterday) for each correct guess.

🖍️ 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
  • Which drawing was the funniest?
  • Which word helps you remember the most important thing from Malachi?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Let your little one draw with a big helper holding their hand, or be the family’s official “guess shouter.”
📚 Big kids (10–13)Let your 10–13-year-old draw the hardest words, like Book of Remembrance, with no hints.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Add a teen round: have your teen draw “refiner’s fire” and “fuller’s soap” (Malachi 3:2–3) for the family to guess, then explain what those images say about how the Lord changes us: He purifies rather than destroys.
☕️ For grown-upsMalachi 3:3 says the Lord “shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.” A refiner sits close and watches the fire; if this year has felt like one, He hasn’t left the room.

Sticker for today: 🎨

Friday · 10 min · Service

Our Best, Not Our Leftovers

☎️ Call Grandma or Grandpa! Ask a question!What was Christmas like when you were a kid?Then make your BEST card.

📖 Read together: Malachi 1:8; 4:6 ↗

  1. Read Malachi 1:8. Say: “Some people gave the Lord their sick and hurt animals, their leftovers. The Lord wants our best, and giving our best to others is a gift to Him.”
  2. Help your kids call, video-chat, or record a message for a grandparent or older relative. Have them ask one question, like “What was Christmas like when you were a kid?”
  3. Have your kids make their best-ever Christmas card for that person, with their neatest writing and their favorite colors.
  4. Mail it or deliver it. Say: “When our hearts turn to our family, that’s Malachi 4:6 happening in our house!”
Talk about it
  • What did you learn about your grandparent or relative?
  • What’s the difference between giving your best and giving your leftovers?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Let your little one say “Merry Christmas!” on the call and add a handprint to the card.
📚 Big kids (10–13)Have your 10–13-year-old write down the relative’s answers to add to the family’s book of remembrance.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Let your teen lead the call with the grandparent and ask the follow-up questions, and (with permission) record the answers to save in FamilySearch Memories or a family folder.
☕️ For grown-upsIn Malachi 1:13 the priests sigh, “what a weariness is it!” about their offerings. An honest check: which of your offerings to the Lord (a calling, prayer, ministering) have become leftovers, and which one could you give your best this week?

Sticker for today: 💌

Saturday · 8 min · Game

Old Testament Finale

🏁 The last book! Old Testament Hall of Fame!Quiz first.Then act out your favorite story!

📖 Read together: Malachi 3:6 ↗

  1. SAY“We made it to the last book of the Old Testament! Let’s celebrate!”
  2. Play the quiz together to warm up for Primary tomorrow.
  3. Have a quick Old Testament Hall of Fame: each person acts out their favorite story from this year (Noah, Moses, David, Daniel, Jonah…) while the family guesses.
  4. Read Malachi 3:6. Say: “The Lord never changes. The same God who helped all those people helps us today.”
  5. Lay out Sunday clothes together.

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

Talk about it
  • What was your favorite Old Testament story this year?
  • Which prophet would you most like to meet?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Let your little one act out a favorite animal from the Old Testament, like a lion, a sheep or the great fish.
📚 Big kids (10–13)Challenge your 10–13-year-old to name as many Old Testament books as they can in one minute.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Challenge your teen to name the Old Testament story from this year that taught them the most about Jesus Christ, and explain why in 60 seconds.
☕️ For grown-upsYou made it through the Old Testament with your family this year, even the weeks you missed. Malachi 3:6, “I am the Lord, I change not,” is a good place to end: the God who helped Abraham, Hannah and Jonah is the same God who has been helping you.

Sticker for today: 🏆

Sunday · 6 min · Sabbath

“I Have Loved You”

❤️ What did you learn in Primary today?The Lord says: I love you!How do you know He loves you?

📖 Read together: Malachi 1:2 ↗

  1. Ask: “What did you learn in Primary today? Who is Elijah?”
  2. Read the first part of Malachi 1:2 together. Say: “The last book of the Old Testament starts with the Lord saying ‘I have loved you.’”
  3. Go around the family. Each person finishes this sentence: “I know the Lord loves me because…”
  4. End by quietly sharing your testimony of the temple and of families being together forever, and invite anyone who wants to share too.
Talk about it
  • What did you learn in Primary today?
  • How do you know the Lord loves you?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Help your little one finish the sentence with a simple answer like “He gave me my family.”
📚 Big kids (10–13)Invite your 10–13-year-old to share how the temple helps families, or to talk about a time they’ve been to the temple grounds.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Invite your teen to answer Israel’s question in Malachi 1:2 honestly: “Wherein hast thou loved us?” Where have they seen the Lord’s love this year, even in the hard parts?
☕️ For grown-upsIsrael’s reply to “I have loved you” was essentially “Prove it” (Malachi 1:2). If you’ve felt that way this year, you’re in scriptural company; the Lord’s answer across the whole Old Testament is to keep showing up.

Sticker for today: 💖

Family challenge

Heart-Turning Interviews

This week, each child interviews a parent, grandparent or older relative about when they were young. Write or draw one answer and add it to your family’s book of remembrance page. Share your favorite answer at dinner on Sunday.

Parent Corner

Malachi is the last voice of the Old Testament, and much of it is written as a conversation: the Lord makes a statement, the people push back with a question (“Wherein hast thou loved us?” “Wherein shall we return?”), and the Lord answers. That pattern invites honesty. The people were going through the motions, offering blind and lame animals and holding back their tithes, yet the Lord still opens with love and a promise: “Return unto me, and I will return unto you” (Malachi 3:7). Malachi closes by looking ahead to Elijah, who would “turn the heart of the fathers to the children” (Malachi 4:6). Latter-day Saints know that promise was kept in the Kirtland Temple in 1836 (Doctrine and Covenants 110:13–16), so the Old Testament’s final word is a promise you can watch being fulfilled every time a family is sealed or an ancestor’s name is taken to the temple.

  • Ponder: If the Lord asked you directly this Christmas, “Where do you need to return to Me?”, what would your honest answer be?
  • Try this: Before the year ends, take one family name to the temple, or spend an evening on FamilySearch finding one ancestor’s story, and share it with your kids at Christmas.

From general conference

“With access to the sealing power, our hearts naturally turn to those who have gone before.”

— Elder D. Todd Christofferson, “The Sealing Power,” October 2023

Share on Monday after the Elijah story, or on Wednesday during the Family Jewel Hunt.

Read the talk ↗

Dinner-table questions

  • If you could open a window in heaven, what blessing would you hope pours out?
  • What’s one thing you know about your great-grandparents?
  • What’s something you can give your best to this week?
  • Why do you think the Old Testament ends with a promise about families?
  • What would you want your own grandkids to remember about you someday?

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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