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Holiness to the Lord

A temple left half-built for 15 years, a high priest’s dirty clothes made clean, and a race to match Zechariah’s prophecies to Jesus

  • ⭐ Valiant 9–11
  • Week 50
  • 📅 Sunday, December 13, 2026
🤔 Forehead Guess🏆 Showdown
💡 The big idea

When I put the Lord first and keep my covenants, He makes me clean and holy, and Jesus Christ is the King Zechariah promised.

I can put the Lord first, keep my baptismal covenant, and get ready to go to His holy house.

Study it yourself firstRead Haggai 1–2; Zechariah 1–4; 7–14 in Gospel LibraryCome, Follow Me manualOpen this week (Haggai 1–2; Zechariah 1–4; 7–14)
Know the chapters

After about 70 years in Babylon, the Jews were allowed to go home, and King Cyrus of Persia told them to rebuild the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem (Ezra 1). When the foundation was laid, many shouted for joy while the old men who remembered Solomon’s temple wept out loud (Ezra 3:10–13). Then enemies stirred up trouble and the work stopped for about 15 years (Ezra 4:24). The people told themselves, “The time is not come” (Haggai 1:2), and spent their energy on their own “cieled houses,” homes paneled with fine wood (1:4). Around 520 B.C. the Lord sent Haggai and Zechariah to get the work moving again (Ezra 5:1–2).

Haggai’s message was short and sharp: “Consider your ways.” The people worked hard but never had enough, like a worker who puts his wages “into a bag with holes” (Haggai 1:5–7). The Lord told them to go up to the mountain, bring wood and build His house (1:8). They listened! Led by Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the high priest, they were back at work in a little over three weeks (1:1, 14–15), and the Lord promised, “Be strong… and work: for I am with you” (2:4). The temple was finished a few years later and dedicated with joy (Ezra 6:15–16). Nine- to eleven-year-olds get this immediately: Haggai’s people weren’t doing anything evil; they had simply put good things ahead of the most important thing. The early Saints heard a similar message about the Kirtland Temple (Doctrine and Covenants 95), the temple where Elijah would come (next week’s lesson).

Zechariah encouraged the builders with visions. Joshua the high priest stood before an angel in “filthy garments,” and the Lord had them replaced with clean ones: “I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee” (Zechariah 3:3–5). That is a picture of what Jesus Christ does for us through baptism, the sacrament and repentance. Zerubbabel’s mountain of problems would be leveled “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit” (4:6–7). And Zechariah saw a day when even horses’ bells and cooking pots would carry the words “HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD” (14:20–21). Today “Holiness to the Lord” is written on every temple. Your 11-year-olds can receive a limited-use temple recommend in January of the year they turn 12 to do baptisms for the dead, so this is the perfect week to help them start getting ready.

Zechariah also prophesied of Jesus Christ more than 500 years before His birth: a humble King riding a donkey into Jerusalem (Zechariah 9:9; Matthew 21:1–11), thirty pieces of silver (11:12; Matthew 26:14–16), a shepherd struck and sheep scattered (13:7; Matthew 26:31), and people looking on the One who was pierced (12:10; John 19:37). He also saw the Savior’s Second Coming, when He will show the wounds in His hands (Zechariah 13:6; 14:4; Doctrine and Covenants 45:48–53). The match-up game lets your class find these fulfillments themselves. Keep the details of the Crucifixion gentle and focus on what they teach: Jesus is the promised Messiah, and He knew exactly what He came to do.

Only have 5 minutes?

Read Haggai 1:2–8, Zechariah 3:1–5 and Zechariah 9:9. Do the Holiness hook on any board, let Teach Mode run the drama (a jacket and a white towel make the clean-clothes scene unforgettable), teach the Haggai 1:7–8 motions, and play Forehead Guess. If you’re short on time, do Prophecy Match-Up out loud without cards: tap “I brought nothing” and the app switches it for you.

What to bring6 items

Tick what you have. Forgot something? Every step that needs a supply has a no-supplies version in the plan below.

Before class

  1. On the board, write the hook puzzle and cover it or draw it right before class: H _ _ _ _ _ _ _ TO THE LORD (HOLINESS has 8 letters).
  2. Make 4 “Zechariah” cards: Zechariah 9:9 (the King rides a donkey) · Zechariah 11:12 (thirty pieces of silver) · Zechariah 12:10 (they look on the one they pierced) · Zechariah 13:7 (strike the shepherd, the sheep scatter).
  3. Make 4 “Fulfillment” cards with references only, so kids have to read to match them: Matthew 21:5–9 · Matthew 26:14–15 · John 19:37 · Matthew 26:31. Lay them face up on a table or chair.
  4. Smudge the old jacket a little if you like (or just call it filthy). Fold the white towel to drape over Joshua’s shoulders.
  5. Add your kids’ names in the My Class tab so you can hand out story parts with one tap. Give Haggai, Zechariah and the Angel to confident readers; they read their own verses.

If your class is wild

  • Make “Consider your ways!” your freeze call: everyone stops and puts a finger on their chin like they’re thinking hard.
  • Let your most energetic kids be the Grumpy Neighbors in the drama. Complaining loudly, on cue, is a great outlet.
  • In Prophecy Match-Up, only one runner per team may be at the card table at a time. Everyone else reads and hunts.
  • Give a quiet or older kid the job of Scorekeeper for the whole lesson. Responsibility calms a lot of wiggles.
  • If they come in bouncing, start with Mountain, Wood, Build! and do the hook right after.

The 25-minute plan25 min + bonus

Bonus steps are for when you have extra time. Steps that mention Teach Mode, the Sound Board or other class games refer to the Gospel Sparks app; on the web you can play Forehead Guess and Scripture Showdown from this page.

1. Hook

H _ _ _ _ _ _ _ to the Lord

2 min

A quick letter-guessing race introduces the words written on every temple.

  1. Show the puzzle on the board: H _ _ _ _ _ _ _ TO THE LORD. Split into two teams.
  2. Teams take turns guessing one letter. A right letter scores 1 point; solving the whole thing scores 3.
  3. Reveal HOLINESS TO THE LORD. Ask: “Where have you seen these words?” (On every temple, with “The House of the Lord.”)
  4. SAY“The prophet Zechariah saw a day when these words would be written on horses’ bells and cooking pots. Why would God want holiness written on ordinary stuff? Let’s find out.”
🌪️ Guesses only count from the team whose turn it is. Blurting gives the other team a free letter.

Class screen: 🔤 What words are written on every temple? · H _ _ _ _ _ _ _ TO THE LORD

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: A whiteboard and marker, or a big sheet of paper and a marker

Human Letter Tiles

  1. Line up 8 kids facing the class as the letter tiles (with fewer kids, some hold two letters). Whisper the first tile “H” and have them say it. The screen shows the puzzle.
  2. Two teams take turns guessing letters. For a right letter, whisper it to the matching tile kid, who flips around and shouts it. 1 point per letter, 3 for solving.
  3. Reveal HOLINESS TO THE LORD. Ask: “Where have you seen these words?” (On every temple, with “The House of the Lord.”)
  4. SAY“The prophet Zechariah saw a day when these words would be written on horses’ bells and cooking pots. Why would God want holiness written on ordinary stuff? Let’s find out.”
2. Story

Story Drama: Build It Again!

6 min

Acting out the stalled temple and Zechariah’s visions shows what happens when we put the Lord first.

  1. Hand out roles (tap Roles in Teach Mode). Put Joshua in the old jacket and give the Angel the white towel.
  2. Everyone else is the Builders & Sound Crew.
  3. Read each scene aloud and pause for the action cue. Haggai, Zerubbabel, the Angel and Zechariah read their verses straight from the scriptures.
  4. At scene 7, slow down. After the towel goes on, ask: “When does the Savior do this for us?” (Baptism, repentance, the sacrament every week.)
  5. End with the Hosanna shout, then ask: “Haggai’s people weren’t doing anything evil. So why was the Lord unhappy with them?”
🌪️ When you call “Consider your ways!”, everyone freezes with a finger on their chin.

Class screen: 🎭 Story Drama: Build It Again! · Readers: your verse is in the scene · Everyone else: Builders & Sound Crew

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: An old, muddy-looking jacket, sweatshirt or towel (the “filthy garments”) and a clean white towel or pillowcase (the clean ones)

  1. Hand out roles (tap Roles in Teach Mode). Everyone else is the Builders & Sound Crew.
  2. Read each scene aloud and pause for the action cue. Pass your scriptures to Haggai, Zerubbabel, the Angel and Zechariah so they can read their verses.
  3. At scene 7, Joshua acts covered in mud: slumped, dusting off, embarrassed. The Angel reads Zechariah 3:4, then pretends to lift a heavy dirty coat off Joshua and wrap a bright clean one around him. Joshua stands up tall.
  4. Ask: “When does the Savior do this for us?” (Baptism, repentance, the sacrament every week.)
  5. End with the Hosanna shout, then ask: “Haggai’s people weren’t doing anything evil. So why was the Lord unhappy with them?”
3. Wiggle break

Mountain, Wood, Build!

2 min

Haggai’s commands turn into a fast action game that burns off energy.

  1. Teach the moves: “Go up to the mountain!” = high knees · “Bring wood!” = squat and heave a log · “Build the house!” = hammer fists · “Bag with holes!” = pat your pockets in a panic · “Consider your ways!” = freeze, finger on chin.
  2. Call them slowly, then faster and in a mixed-up order.
  3. No one is out; the goal is for the whole class to move in perfect sync.
  4. Let a kid lead the last round.
🌪️ If it gets rowdy, call “Consider your ways!” and hold the freeze for 5 silent seconds before the next command.

Class screen: 🪵 Mountain! Wood! Build! Consider your ways! · Haggai 1:7–8

4. Scripture

Scripture Spotlight: Haggai 1:7–8

3 min

Motions and a real-life question help them remember to put the Lord first.

  1. Have a kid read Haggai 1:4. Ask: “A ‘cieled’ house had fancy wood-paneled walls. Was building a nice house evil?” (No, but they put it first.)
  2. Show the key verse on the screen and teach the motions phrase by phrase. Say it together twice, getting faster.
  3. Ask: “What’s your ‘paneled house,’ a good thing that sometimes crowds out the Lord?” Take two quick answers and share one of your own.
  4. SAY“The Lord gave the early Saints almost the same message about the Kirtland Temple (Doctrine and Covenants 95). He still wants His house, and His place in our lives, to come first.”

Class screen: 🤔 Consider your ways! Go up, bring wood, build! · Haggai 1:7–8

5. Game

Prophecy Match-Up

4 min

Teams race to find where Zechariah’s prophecies about Jesus came true, using real cross-references.

  1. Split into two teams with scriptures. Give each team two Zechariah cards. The four Fulfillment cards lie face up on the table.
  2. Teams read their Zechariah verse, then look up the Fulfillment references to find the match. A runner brings the matching pair to you.
  3. Each correct pair scores 2 points; a wrong pair goes back, and the team keeps hunting.
  4. When all four are matched, have each team read one pair aloud. Ask: “Zechariah wrote these more than 500 years early. What does that tell you about Jesus?”
🌪️ One runner per team at the table. Runners speed-walk; runners who run go back and tag a teammate to be the new runner.

Class screen: 🧩 Match Zechariah’s prophecies to Jesus’s life! · Read it · Find it · Match it

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: Scriptures for each team (their own, a classroom set from the library, or Gospel Library on a parent-approved device), 8 index cards or half sheets of paper and a marker for Prophecy Match-Up (see prep)

Prophecy Match-Up: Out Loud

  1. Split into two teams. Say: “I’ll read a prophecy Zechariah wrote more than 500 years before Jesus. Huddle, then stand when you know which moment in Jesus’s life it describes.”
  2. Read Zechariah 9:9, then 11:12, then 13:7, then 12:10. The first team standing with the right answer scores 2 points.
  3. After each one, hand your scriptures to a kid from the other team to read the fulfillment: Matthew 21:5 · Matthew 26:15 · Matthew 26:31 · John 19:37.
  4. Ask: “Zechariah wrote these more than 500 years early. What does that tell you about Jesus?”

Class screen: 🧩 Which moment in Jesus’s life did Zechariah see? · Huddle · Stand · Answer

6. Game

Forehead Guess: Temple Builders Edition

3 min

A Heads Up–style guessing game with harder words reviews the people, places and prophecies.

  1. Keep the same teams. Tap Forehead Guess. One kid holds your phone or tablet on their forehead, screen facing their team.
  2. Teammates give clues without saying the word. Tilt down for “got it,” up to pass. 45-second turns.
  3. Add the scores to your Prophecy Match-Up points to crown today’s champions.
🌪️ Pick guessers with the Name Spinner. Clue-givers stay seated.
▶ Play Forehead Guess on the web

Class screen: 🤔 Forehead Guess: Temple Builders Edition · No saying the word!

7. Game

Scripture Showdown

5 minBONUS

A fast team quiz reviews the whole lesson.

  1. Split into two teams and pick a captain for each. Tap Scripture Showdown.
  2. Read each question aloud. Teams huddle for 10 seconds; only the captain may answer.
  3. Bonus point if the team can name the chapter where the answer is found.
▶ Play Scripture Showdown on the web

Class screen: 🏆 Scripture Showdown!

8. Talk it over

Consider Your Ways

3 min

Deeper questions connect Haggai and Zechariah to their priorities, covenants and future temple trips.

  1. Sit in a circle. Toss the soft ball to whoever answers next.
  2. Ask one question at a time. Pick the two or three that fit your class best, and share your own answer too.
💬 Ask the class
  • Haggai’s people were busy with good things. How can good things, like sports, games or even homework, crowd out the Lord? How do you put Him first?
  • In Zechariah’s vision, what do the filthy clothes and the clean clothes stand for? How does the sacrament let that happen every week?
  • “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit.” What’s a mountain in your life you can’t move just by trying harder?
  • What would it look like to have “Holiness to the Lord” written on your backpack, your phone or your soccer cleats?
  • Eleven-year-olds can go to the temple for baptisms for the dead starting in January of the year they turn 12. How can you get ready now?

Class screen: 💬 Consider your ways: let’s talk

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: A soft ball or a rolled-up pair of socks

  1. Sit in a circle. Pass an invisible hammer to whoever answers next; they give two taps on the floor before speaking.
  2. Ask one question at a time. Pick the two or three that fit your class best, and share your own answer too.
9. Testimony

Testimony & Holiness Sticky Notes

2 min

End reverently with a daily reminder to put the Lord first.

  1. Lower your voice. Share one or two sentences about how you know Jesus Christ is our King, or how putting the Lord first has blessed you.
  2. Hand each child a sticky note to write “Holiness to the Lord” on. Say: “Stick it on something you use every day.”
  3. Introduce the challenge on the screen.
  4. Ask a child to say the closing prayer.

Class screen: 🔔 Write Holiness to the Lord on your everyday things · Backpack · phone · mirror · controller · Is the Lord first in this?

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: One sticky note per child and a few pens

  1. Lower your voice. Share one or two sentences about how you know Jesus Christ is our King, or how putting the Lord first has blessed you.
  2. Have everyone “engrave” HOLINESS on the palm of their hand with one finger. Say: “Tonight, write it on a sticky note or scrap of paper and put it on something you use every day.”
  3. Introduce the challenge on the screen.
  4. Ask a child to say the closing prayer.

Story drama

Build It Again!

Ezra 3–6; Haggai 1–2; Zechariah 3–4; 9:9; 14:20 ↗

Parts to hand out

  • HaggaiThe prophet who asks the hard question and reads “Consider your ways.”
  • ZechariahThe prophet who sees visions and reads Zechariah 4:6.
  • ZerubbabelThe governor who leads the builders and reads Haggai 2:4.
  • Joshua the High PriestWears the filthy garment, then receives clean clothes.
  • The AngelReads Zechariah 3:4 and swaps Joshua’s filthy clothes for clean ones.
  • Old-TimersRemember Solomon’s beautiful temple and weep loudly at the new foundation.
  • Grumpy NeighborsComplain to the king until the building stops.
  • Builders & Sound CrewEveryone else: haul wood, hammer, shiver, cheer and wave branches.

Scenes

  1. 🧱🏚️ Home from Babylon to a pile of rubble

    After about 70 years far away in Babylon, God’s people were finally allowed to go home. King Cyrus even told them to rebuild the Lord’s house. But when they reached Jerusalem, the beautiful temple was just a pile of broken stones.

    🎬 Builders trudge in from the door, see the rubble, and groan together: “Ohhhh no.”

  2. 🎺😭 Shouting and weeping at the same time

    The builders laid the foundation, and many people shouted for joy! But the Old-Timers remembered Solomon’s glorious temple. This one looked so small that they wept out loud. It was so noisy that nobody could tell the shouting from the crying.

    🎬 Half the Builders cheer; the Old-Timers wail. Everyone gets louder… then freezes on your signal.

  3. 🛑🏡 The work stops… for 15 years

    Grumpy neighbors complained to the king, and the building stopped. Years went by. People said, “The time is not come.” They meant it wasn’t the right time to build the Lord’s house. Meanwhile, they built themselves nice homes with fancy wood-paneled walls.

    🎬 Grumpy Neighbors wag their fingers. Builders drop their tools, shrug, “Maybe later!” and happily polish their own pretend walls.

  4. 💰🕳️ Wages in a bag with holes

    Something was wrong. They planted lots but harvested little. They ate but were still hungry. They got dressed but were still cold. Their money vanished as if they were putting it into a bag with holes.

    🎬 Haggai reads Haggai 1:6. Builders rub hungry tummies, shiver, and drop pretend coins through a pretend hole in their pockets.

  5. 📣🪵 “Consider your ways!”

    The Lord sent the prophet Haggai with a question: was it time for them to live in their paneled houses while His house lay in ruins? Then He told them to think hard about their choices, go up to the mountain, bring wood, and build.

    🎬 Haggai reads Haggai 1:7–8. Builders jump up, climb the mountain in place, and heave heavy logs onto their shoulders.

  6. 💪🔨 “Be strong… and work: for I am with you”

    And the people listened! In a little over three weeks, Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the high priest had everyone building again. The Lord sent a promise that made them brave: be strong and work, because He was with them.

    🎬 Zerubbabel reads Haggai 2:4. Builders hammer in rhythm: “Knock, knock, knock!”

  7. 🧥✨ Filthy clothes traded for clean ones

    Zechariah saw a vision. Joshua the high priest stood before an angel in filthy clothes. The angel said, “Take away the filthy garments,” and Joshua was dressed in clean clothes. It showed how the Savior takes away our sins and makes us clean.

    🎬 Joshua stands in the dirty jacket. The Angel reads Zechariah 3:4, takes the jacket away and drapes the white towel on Joshua’s shoulders. Everyone: “Clean!”

  8. ⛰️➡️🏞️ Not by might, nor by power

    Zerubbabel still faced a mountain of problems. Zechariah gave him the Lord’s message: he wouldn’t win by being strong or powerful, but by the Lord’s Spirit. With God’s help, the mountain would become flat ground, and Zerubbabel’s hands would finish the temple.

    🎬 Builders stand tall with arms up as a mountain. As Zechariah reads Zechariah 4:6, they slowly flatten into a plain on the floor.

  9. 🎉🔔 The temple is finished!

    A few years later, the Lord’s house was finished, and everyone celebrated with great joy. Zechariah saw an even bigger future: a day when “Holiness unto the Lord” would be written even on horses’ bells and cooking pots, because everything would belong to the Lord.

    🎬 Everyone cheers, then rings pretend horse bells: “Ding-a-ling!” and traces HOLINESS in the air with one finger.

  10. 🫏🌿 Behold, thy King cometh!

    Zechariah saw even further ahead. Jerusalem’s King would come humbly, riding on a donkey. More than 500 years later, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, and crowds spread their clothes and branches on the road and shouted, “Hosanna!”

    🎬 Everyone faces the door, waves pretend palm branches and shouts, “Hosanna!” No one plays Jesus.

Key verse

Haggai 1:7–8 ↗
“Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD.”
In kid words: The Lord says: think hard about your choices. Go get the wood and build My house, and I will be glad about it.
🙌 “Thus saith the LORD of hosts” = point up · “Consider your ways” = finger on your chin, thinking hard · “Go up to the mountain” = climb in place with high knees · “and bring wood” = heave a heavy log onto your shoulder · “and build the house” = hammer one fist on the other · “I will take pleasure in it” = big smile, thumbs up · “and I will be glorified” = sweep both arms up and out

More verses

Zechariah 3:4 ↗
“Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.”
In kid words: Take off his dirty clothes. I have taken away your sins, and I will dress you in clean clothes.
Zechariah 4:6 ↗
“Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.”
In kid words: You won’t do it by being strong or powerful, but with the help of My Spirit.
Zechariah 9:9 ↗
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.”
In kid words: Celebrate! Your King is coming. He is fair, He brings salvation, and He comes humbly, riding on a young donkey.
Zechariah 14:20 ↗
“In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD”
In kid words: One day even the bells on horses will say, “Holiness unto the Lord.”

Forehead Guess words19 words

  • 📣 Haggai
  • 👁️ Zechariah
  • 🧑‍🔧 Zerubbabel
  • 🧥 High Priest
  • 🤴 King Cyrus
  • 🏯 Babylon
  • 🧱 Foundation
  • 💰 Bag with Holes
  • 🏡 Paneled House
  • 🧺 Filthy Garments
  • ⛰️ Mountain
  • 💨 Not by Might
  • ✨ Holiness
  • 🔔 Horse Bells
  • 🫏 Donkey
  • 🌿 Hosanna
  • 🪙 Thirty Pieces of Silver
  • 🐑 Shepherd
  • 🏛️ Temple
Clues for each word
  • Haggai: Prophet who said “Consider your ways”
  • Zechariah: Prophet who saw visions and a King on a donkey
  • Zerubbabel: Governor who led the rebuilding of the temple
  • High Priest: Joshua’s job; his filthy clothes were made clean
  • King Cyrus: Persian king who let the Jews go home and rebuild
  • Babylon: Where the Jews lived as captives for about 70 years
  • Foundation: Laid with shouting and weeping at the same time
  • Bag with Holes: Where Haggai said their wages seemed to go
  • Paneled House: Fancy “cieled” homes built before the Lord’s house
  • Filthy Garments: What the angel took away from Joshua
  • Mountain: Zerubbabel’s problem that would become a plain
  • Not by Might: “…nor by power, but by my spirit”
  • Holiness: Written on every temple: “____ to the Lord”
  • Horse Bells: Zechariah saw holy words written on them
  • Donkey: The humble King rode one into Jerusalem
  • Hosanna: What the crowds shouted when Jesus rode in
  • Thirty Pieces of Silver: Zechariah’s price that matches Judas’s betrayal
  • Shepherd: Zechariah said when He was struck, the sheep would scatter
  • Temple: The house of the Lord they finally finished
▶ Play Forehead GuessFull screen, 60-second timer, works on any phone.

Scripture Showdown10 questions

  1. What excuse did the people give in Haggai 1:2?
    • A. “The time is not come”
    • B. “We have no stones”
    • C. “The king said no”
    Show answer

    ✅ A. “The time is not come” They kept saying “later” while they built their own nice houses.

  2. Haggai said their wages went into a bag with…
    • A. gold
    • B. holes
    • C. stones
    Show answer

    ✅ B. holes Haggai 1:6. Without the Lord first, their hard work never seemed to be enough.

  3. What did the Lord say twice, in Haggai 1:5 and 1:7?
    • A. “Build faster”
    • B. “Fear not”
    • C. “Consider your ways”
    Show answer

    ✅ C. “Consider your ways” He wanted them to stop and think about their priorities.

  4. Who was the governor who led the temple rebuilding?
    • A. Zerubbabel
    • B. Nehemiah
    • C. Cyrus
    Show answer

    ✅ A. Zerubbabel Zechariah 4:9: Zerubbabel’s hands laid the foundation and finished it.

  5. In Zechariah 3, what was taken away from Joshua the high priest?
    • A. His crown
    • B. His filthy garments
    • C. His sword
    Show answer

    ✅ B. His filthy garments “I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee”: a picture of the Savior cleansing us.

  6. “Not by might, nor by power, but by my…”
    • A. army
    • B. gold
    • C. spirit
    Show answer

    ✅ C. spirit Zechariah 4:6. Big mountains move with the Lord’s help.

  7. Zechariah 9:9 says the King would come riding on what?
    • A. A chariot
    • B. A donkey’s colt
    • C. A white horse
    Show answer

    ✅ B. A donkey’s colt Jesus fulfilled it when He rode into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:5–9).

  8. Which Zechariah prophecy matches Judas’s betrayal of Jesus?
    • A. Thirty pieces of silver
    • B. Bells of the horses
    • C. A bag with holes
    Show answer

    ✅ A. Thirty pieces of silver Zechariah 11:12 and Matthew 26:15.

  9. Zechariah saw HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD written on what?
    • A. Sandals
    • B. Swords
    • C. The bells of the horses
    Show answer

    ✅ C. The bells of the horses Zechariah 14:20. Even everyday things can be dedicated to the Lord.

  10. Jesus quoted Zechariah: strike the shepherd, and the sheep will…
    • A. scatter
    • B. multiply
    • C. sleep
    Show answer

    ✅ A. scatter Matthew 26:31, quoting Zechariah 13:7, the night before the Crucifixion.

▶ Play Scripture ShowdownTeams take turns on one screen.

Songs

  • I Love to See the Temple Children’s Songbook, p. 95

    Sing it after the hook: every temple says “Holiness to the Lord.” Find it ↗

  • When I Am Baptized Children’s Songbook, p. 103

    Pairs perfectly with Joshua’s clean clothes in Zechariah 3. Find it ↗

  • Joy to the World Hymns, no. 201

    A Christmas welcome for the King Zechariah told us to rejoice about. Find it ↗

This week’s challenge

Holiness to the Lord

Put your “Holiness to the Lord” note on something you use every day: your phone, backpack, game controller or mirror. Each time you see it, ask, “Is the Lord first in this?” Eleven-year-olds: talk with a parent about getting ready for a temple recommend interview in January.

Text the parents

Today in Primary we learned how Haggai told the Jews to “consider your ways” and finish the Lord’s house after a pause of about 15 years (Haggai 1:5–8), and how Zechariah saw a high priest’s filthy clothes replaced with clean ones, a picture of the Savior cleansing us (Zechariah 3:4). We also matched Zechariah’s prophecies to events in Jesus’s life. Ask your child: where did you put your “Holiness to the Lord” note, and what’s one way our family can put the Lord first this week?

📝 After class

What worked? Who needs a check-in this week? Jot it here on a printed copy, or in the app’s private class notes.

Got extra time?

💧 The Bag with Holes · 4 min

  1. Over a sink or bucket, poke 4–5 holes in a zip-top bag with a pencil and pour in water. Watch it drain away.
  2. Read Haggai 1:6. Ask: “What ‘holes’ drain our time and energy when we don’t put the Lord first?”
  3. Now push pencils through a fresh bag full of water and leave them in: it barely leaks. Ask: “What ‘plugs’ help? Prayer, scriptures, keeping covenants?”

🔁 Kirtland Déjà Vu · 5 min

  1. Read Haggai 1:2–8. Then summarize Doctrine and Covenants 95:1–3, 8, 11: the Lord chastened the early Saints for delaying the Kirtland Temple and promised blessings if they built it.
  2. In pairs, list what’s the same in both stories.
  3. SAY“The Saints built it, and in that temple, Elijah came. That’s next week’s story!”

🗓️ My Day, Considered · 5 min

  1. Each kid lists 8–10 things they do on a normal school day, including prayer, scriptures, chores and screens.
  2. Ask them to “consider their ways”: star the things the Lord would call most important, and circle one thing that sometimes crowds those out.
  3. Invite them to set one Children and Youth goal to put the Lord first.

🗝️ Temple Ready · 4 min

  1. Explain that youth can receive a limited-use temple recommend starting in January of the year they turn 12, to do baptisms and confirmations for the dead.
  2. SAY“The interview asks about your faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and how you’re living the gospel. It’s not a test to fear. It’s a chance to talk with a member of your bishopric.”
  3. Ask: “What habits could you build now so you feel ready?”

Sources

Scripture quotations are from the King James Version, the Bible used by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Tap or click a reference to open it in Gospel Library. Start with the official Come, Follow Me manual; these ideas are here to help it come alive.

All Valiant 9–11 lessons