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Consider Your Ways

A bag with holes, a temple left half-built for fifteen years, a high priest’s dirty clothes made clean, and holiness stamped on everyday stuff

  • 🔥 Youth 14–16
  • Week 50
  • 📅 Sunday, December 13, 2026
🤔 Forehead Guess🏆 Showdown
💡 The big idea

When I put the Lord first, my time and effort stop leaking out of a bag with holes, and through Jesus Christ He can make me clean and make even my ordinary life holy.

I can consider my ways, put the Lord first, and let Jesus Christ make my everyday life holy.

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 older people who remembered Solomon’s temple wept (Ezra 3:10–13). Then opposition came, the work stopped, and it stayed stopped for about fifteen years (Ezra 4:24). The people told themselves, “The time is not come” (Haggai 1:2), while they finished their own “cieled houses,” homes paneled with fine wood (1:4).

Around 520 B.C. the Lord sent Haggai and Zechariah (Ezra 5:1–2). Haggai’s message was blunt: “Consider your ways.” The people worked hard but never had enough, like someone who earns wages only “to put it into a bag with holes” (Haggai 1:5–6). Nobody in this story was doing anything scandalous. They had simply let good, busy things push out the most important thing. That’s the teenage version of the problem too: school, sports, jobs, friends and phones all matter, and all of them can quietly take the Lord’s place. The people listened, went back to work in a little over three weeks, and heard the Lord say, “I am with you” (1:13–15; 2:4). The temple was finished a few years later (Ezra 6:15–16).

Zechariah encouraged the builders with visions. Joshua the high priest stood in “filthy garments,” and the Lord had them replaced with clean clothing: “I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee” (Zechariah 3:3–5), a picture of what the Savior does through repentance, baptism and the sacrament. 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 horse bells and cooking pots would say “HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD” (14:20–21). Today every temple carries the words “Holiness to the Lord.” The point: holiness isn’t only for the temple; it can be stamped on backpacks, phones, jobs and friendships. Your youth may already hold a limited-use temple recommend, so this is a natural week to talk about the temple and worthiness without pressure.

Zechariah also prophesied of Jesus Christ more than 500 years early: a humble King riding a donkey into Jerusalem (Zechariah 9:9; Matthew 21:1–11), thirty pieces of silver (11:12–13; Matthew 26:14–15; 27:3–10), people looking on the One who was pierced (12:10; John 19:37), and, at His Second Coming, the Savior showing the wounds in His hands (13:6; see Doctrine and Covenants 45:51–53). Two weeks before Christmas, this is a great reminder that the baby in Bethlehem is the King Zechariah was waiting for.

Only have 5 minutes?

Read Haggai 1:2–8 and Zechariah 3:1–5 and 14:20. Open with the no-supplies Screen Time Guess, let Teach Mode carry the scripture scene, do the Consider Your Ways audit from the key verse, then play the Holiness to the Lord game by naming things in people’s pockets and bags. Close with the One Thing First commitment.

What to bring5 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. Poke four or five holes in the bottom of a zip-top bag with a pen. Test it over the sink so you know how fast it drains.
  2. On six sticky notes, write “HOLINESS TO THE LORD.” Keep a few blank ones for the game.
  3. Mark Ezra 3:11–12, Haggai 1:2–8 and 2:4, Zechariah 3:3–5, 4:6 and 14:20 in one set of scriptures, or ask the readers to bookmark them in Gospel Library.
  4. Add your class in the My Class tab so you can assign scene parts quickly. Joshua the high priest needs someone willing to put on the muddy jacket.
  5. Decide what you’ll share at the end: one small thing you put first each day and what difference it makes.

If your class is wild

  • Don’t turn the hook into a phone-shaming session. Teens already hear that. Keep it curious: “Where does your time go, and does it fill you up?” and include yourself.
  • The muddy jacket moment is funny first and tender second. Let them laugh, then slow way down when the clean shirt goes on.
  • Give the Human Temple challenge a strict timer and a winner; competition does the classroom management for you.
  • If someone pushes back (“So God wants me to quit sports?”), welcome it. Haggai never said stop building houses; he said don’t let the Lord’s house sit in ruins while you do.
  • Keep temple talk warm and pressure-free. Some youth may not have a recommend or may have family situations that make it complicated.

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

The Bag with Holes

3 min

A leaking bag makes Haggai’s image unforgettable and opens an honest look at where our time and energy go.

  1. Hold the holey bag over a bowl. Say: “This is your Saturday.” Pour in water. As it drains, narrate: “Two hours of scrolling… an hour of a show you weren’t even watching… random videos…”
  2. Ask: “Have you ever had a day that was completely full and still felt empty at the end?”
  3. Have a volunteer read Haggai 1:5–6. Ask: “What’s the ‘bag with holes’ in this verse?”
  4. SAY“Haggai’s people weren’t doing anything terrible. They were just busy. Today we’re going to figure out what was leaking, and how they fixed it.”
🌪️ Hand the pouring to a youth and let them narrate their own “leaks.” They’re funnier and more honest than we are.

Class screen: 🕳️ Ever had a full day that still felt empty? · Haggai 1:5–6

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: A zip-top bag with several holes poked in the bottom (or a paper cup with holes), a water bottle, and a bowl or trash can to catch the drips

Screen Time Guess

  1. SAY“Quick guess, no judgment: how many hours a day do you think you spend on your phone? Hold up fingers.” Hold up your own honest guess too.
  2. SAY“If you want, check your screen time privately. Don’t share the number, just notice if it surprised you.”
  3. Have a volunteer read Haggai 1:5–6. Ask: “Have you ever had a day that was completely full and still felt empty? What’s the ‘bag with holes’?”
  4. SAY“Haggai’s people weren’t doing anything terrible. They were just busy. Let’s see what was leaking, and how they fixed it.”

Class screen: 📱 Guess your daily screen time. No judgment. · Haggai 1:5–6

2. Story

Scripture Scene: Fifteen Years of “Not Yet”

6 min

Youth act out the stalled temple, Haggai’s wake-up call and Zechariah’s vision of clean clothes, and see themselves in the builders.

  1. Hand out parts (tap Roles in Teach Mode). The marked scriptures pass from Haggai to Zechariah. Everyone else is a Builder.
  2. Let the Narrator read each scene while the screen shows it. Pause for each reading and action.
  3. In scene 6, Joshua wears the muddy jacket, then someone takes it off him and puts the clean white shirt on his shoulders. Point out: he didn’t clean himself.
  4. After scene 3, ask: “What are some ‘paneled houses’ for people our age: good things that can quietly crowd out the Lord?”
  5. After the last scene, ask: “Why do you think the Lord wanted ‘Holiness to the Lord’ on everyday things like bells and pots?”
🌪️ Let the Builders compete for the most creative excuse in scene 2 (“The time is not come… because I have practice”).

Class screen: 🧱 A temple left half-built for fifteen years. Why? · Readers read their own lines · Everyone else: the Builders

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: Scriptures for each pair (their own, a classroom set, or Gospel Library on their phones), An old, muddy-looking jacket or hoodie and a clean white shirt or towel

  1. Hand out parts (tap Roles in Teach Mode). Everyone else is a Builder.
  2. Keep your own scriptures. When Haggai or Zechariah has a line, read it one phrase at a time and they echo it.
  3. In scene 6, Joshua pretends to peel off a heavy, muddy coat and drop it; then the class mimes wrapping him in a bright white robe. Point out: he didn’t clean himself.
  4. After scene 3, ask: “What are some ‘paneled houses’ for people our age: good things that can quietly crowd out the Lord?”
  5. After the last scene, ask: “Why would the Lord want ‘Holiness to the Lord’ on everyday things like bells and pots?”
3. Wiggle break

Human Temple Challenge

2 min

A fast team build gets everyone up and moving and reinforces the image of building the Lord’s house together.

  1. Split into two teams. Say: “You have 45 seconds to build a temple using only your bodies. Spire required. Go!” Start the Big Timer.
  2. When time is up, each team freezes and the other team names one thing that works about it.
  3. Round two: 30 seconds, and the spire has to be someone standing on the floor, not on furniture.
  4. SAY“The builders in Haggai’s day needed everybody. So does the Lord’s work now.”
🌪️ Safety rule up front: no lifting people and no standing on chairs.
⏱️ Big Timer (a class game in the Gospel Sparks app)

Class screen: 🏛️ 45 seconds: build a temple with your bodies. Spire required. · Round 2: 30 seconds

4. Scripture

Scripture Spotlight: Consider Your Ways

4 min

Youth turn Haggai’s question on their own week and find one leak to patch.

  1. Show the key verse and say it together with the motions.
  2. Ask a youth to teach the class what “sown much, and bring in little” means in one sentence. Then ask another to read Haggai 1:7–8 and explain what the Lord told them to do instead.
  3. Private audit: everyone thinks (or types in their notes) three answers. Where does most of my time go? What fills me up? What’s the Lord’s ‘house’ in my life that I keep saying ‘not yet’ to? (Maybe scripture study, prayer, seminary, the temple, a person I should reach out to.)
  4. Ask for volunteers to share only if they want. Say: “Haggai’s people didn’t fix everything at once. They went back to work, and the Lord said, ‘I am with you.’”

Class screen: 🔍 Consider your ways: where does your time actually go? · Where does my time go? · What fills me up? · What have I been saying “not yet” to?

5. Game

Holiness to the Lord: Label Everything

5 min

A fast, funny team challenge turns Zechariah 14:20 into practical ideas for making ordinary life holy.

  1. Read Zechariah 14:20 together. Say: “If horse bells can be holy, what about your stuff?”
  2. Split into two teams. Each team gets three “HOLINESS TO THE LORD” sticky notes and 60 seconds to stick them on everyday things they have with them: a phone, earbuds, a backpack, car keys, a water bottle, a shoe.
  3. Each team then pitches each item: “This could be holy this week if…” (earbuds: playing music that invites the Spirit; car keys: driving a friend to youth activities; phone: texting someone who’s struggling).
  4. The other team votes with a thumbs up if the pitch is real and doable. Most thumbs wins.
  5. SAY“The words on the temple say ‘Holiness to the Lord.’ Zechariah’s point is that they can be written on the rest of your life too.”
🌪️ Ban the easy answer (“I’ll read scriptures on it”) after it’s been used once; creativity wins points.

Class screen: 🔔 Holiness to the Lord: how could your everyday stuff be holy? · Label it · Pitch it · Vote on it

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: Sticky notes (or masking tape) and markers

  1. Read Zechariah 14:20 together. Say: “If horse bells can be holy, what about your stuff?”
  2. Split into two teams. Each team picks three everyday things they have with them (a phone, earbuds, a backpack, car keys, a shoe) and holds them up one at a time.
  3. For each item, the team pitches: “This could be holy this week if…” (earbuds: music that invites the Spirit; car keys: driving a friend to youth activities; phone: texting someone who’s struggling).
  4. The other team votes with a thumbs up if the pitch is real and doable. Most thumbs wins.
  5. SAY“The words on the temple say ‘Holiness to the Lord.’ Zechariah’s point is that they can be written on the rest of your life too.”
6. Game

Prophecy Match-Up

4 minBONUS

Youth find Zechariah’s prophecies of Jesus Christ fulfilled in the New Testament.

  1. Split into four pairs or small groups. Give each one a Zechariah reference: 9:9 · 11:12–13 · 12:10 · 13:6.
  2. Each group reads its verse and races to find the New Testament match: Matthew 21:1–11 · Matthew 26:14–15 and 27:3–10 · John 19:34–37 · (for 13:6, read the summary of Doctrine and Covenants 45:51–53 about the Second Coming).
  3. Each group reports in one sentence: what Zechariah saw, and what happened.

Class screen: 🧩 Zechariah saw it 500 years early. Find the match. · Zechariah 9:9 · 11:12–13 · 12:10 · 13:6

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: Scriptures for each pair (their own, a classroom set, or Gospel Library on their phones)

  1. Read Zechariah 9:9 from your own scriptures. Ask: “What event is this?” (Jesus riding into Jerusalem, Matthew 21.)
  2. Summarize Zechariah 11:12–13 (thirty pieces of silver), 12:10 (the One they pierced) and 13:6 (wounds in His hands). For each, the class calls out the event it points to.
  3. Ask: “Why do you think the Lord let His prophets see these details so far ahead?”
7. Game

Scripture Showdown

5 minBONUS

A fast team quiz reviews the whole lesson.

  1. Split into two teams and pick captains. Tap Scripture Showdown.
  2. Teams huddle for ten seconds; only the captain answers.
  3. Steal rule: if a team misses, the other team can steal by naming the chapter.
▶ Play Scripture Showdown on the web

Class screen: 🏆 Scripture Showdown!

8. Talk it over

Real Talk: What’s Leaking?

3 min

Honest questions connect the stalled temple and the clean clothes to their real lives.

  1. Sit wherever they’re comfortable. One question per screen.
  2. Wait through the silence. Answer one yourself, honestly and briefly.
💬 Ask the class
  • The people said “the time is not come.” What are some things people our age put off with “not yet”?
  • Is it possible to be busy with good things and still have your priorities wrong? How would you know?
  • Joshua didn’t clean his own clothes; it was done for him. What does that teach about repentance and the Savior?
  • What would it take for your phone, your job or your friendships to have “Holiness to the Lord” written on them?
  • Zechariah 4:6 says the work gets done by the Lord’s Spirit, not our might. Where do you need that right now?

Class screen: 💬 Real talk: what’s leaking, and what’s first?

9. Testimony

Testimony & One Thing First

2 min

End with one small, concrete way to put the Lord first each day this week.

  1. Lower your voice. Share the one small thing you put first each day (prayer before your phone, a verse with breakfast) and what difference it makes. Bear testimony that the Savior makes us clean.
  2. Invite each youth to silently pick one thing to put first each day this week.
  3. Show the challenge and invite someone to give the closing prayer.

Class screen: ☝️ One thing first, every day this week · Before the phone · Before the rush

Story drama

Fifteen Years of “Not Yet”

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

Parts to hand out

  • NarratorReads each scene, including what the Lord and His angel said (no one voices the Lord).
  • HaggaiThe prophet with the blunt message: reads Haggai 1:4 and 1:5–6.
  • ZechariahThe prophet with visions: describes the clean clothes and reads Zechariah 4:6.
  • ZerubbabelThe governor leading the rebuild; faces a “mountain” of problems.
  • Joshua the High PriestPuts on the muddy jacket, then trades it for the clean white shirt.
  • The Old-TimersTwo people who remember Solomon’s temple and weep at the small new foundation.
  • The BuildersEveryone else: shout, stall, make excuses, then get back to work.

Scenes

  1. 🏚️🎺 Home from Babylon, and a foundation laid

    After about seventy years as captives, the Jews were finally home. King Cyrus told them to rebuild the Lord’s temple. When they laid the foundation, many builders shouted for joy. But the old-timers who remembered Solomon’s glorious temple wept out loud. The shouting and the crying were so mixed you couldn’t tell them apart.

    🎬 Builders cheer. The Old-Timers sob dramatically. Both at once, then freeze.

  2. 🛑⏳ Opposition. The work stops. For fifteen years.

    Enemies stirred up trouble and got the work stopped. Months passed. Then years. About fifteen of them. The foundation sat there collecting weeds. And the people’s excuse was simple: “The time is not come.” Not now. Maybe later.

    🎬 Builders sit down one by one, check imaginary phones and mutter, “Not yet… later… maybe next year.”

  3. 🏡✨ Meanwhile, their own houses look amazing

    The strange thing? The people weren’t idle. They were busy building their own houses, with fine wood paneling on the walls. They had time and money for their own projects. Just not for the Lord’s.

    🎬 Builders mime hammering and admiring their fancy walls. Haggai walks in and reads Haggai 1:4.

  4. 💰🕳️ Haggai: Consider your ways

    Haggai told them to stop and look at their lives. They planted a lot and harvested little. They ate and weren’t full. They earned money and it vanished, like putting wages into a bag with holes. Something was leaking, and it wasn’t their bank accounts. It was their priorities.

    🎬 Haggai reads Haggai 1:5–6. Builders pat their pockets and look confused: “Where did it all go?”

  5. 👷🔨 They listened, and got back to work

    Here’s the surprise: the people listened. In a little over three weeks, Zerubbabel the governor, Joshua the high priest and all the people were back at work on the temple. And the Lord sent them a message through Haggai: be strong, and work, for I am with you.

    🎬 Zerubbabel and Joshua lead the Builders back to work: lifting, passing stones, hammering in rhythm. The Narrator reads Haggai 2:4.

  6. 🧥➡️🤍 Zechariah’s vision: dirty clothes made clean

    Zechariah saw a vision of Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord in filthy clothes. The angel commanded that the dirty clothes be taken off him and clean ones put on. Your sin has been taken away, he told Joshua. Joshua didn’t scrub himself clean. It was done for him.

    🎬 Joshua stands in the muddy jacket, head down. On “taken off,” someone helps him out of it and drapes the clean white shirt over his shoulders. Zechariah reads Zechariah 3:4.

  7. ⛰️➡️🟫 Not by might, nor by power

    Zerubbabel faced a mountain of problems: enemies, money, discouragement. Zechariah gave him the Lord’s word: this would not be done by strength or power, but by the Lord’s Spirit. The mountain in front of him would become flat ground.

    🎬 Builders crouch into a “mountain” in front of Zerubbabel. Zechariah reads Zechariah 4:6, and the mountain slowly flattens to the floor.

  8. 🏛️🔔 The temple finished, and holiness everywhere

    A few years later the temple was finished and dedicated with joy. And Zechariah saw a day when even the bells on horses and the cooking pots in people’s kitchens would carry the words “Holiness unto the Lord.” Not just the temple. Everything.

    🎬 Everyone stands. Two Builders jingle imaginary horse bells. The Narrator reads Zechariah 14:20. All: “Holiness to the Lord!”

Key verse

Haggai 1:5–6 ↗
“Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little … he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.”
In plain words: Stop and look at your life. You’re working hard but getting little out of it, like earning money and dropping it into a bag with holes.
🙌 “Consider your ways” = tap your temple twice, then open your hands like a book · “sown much” = scatter seeds wide · “bring in little” = pinch a tiny amount · “a bag with holes” = cup your hands and let your fingers spread so it all drains 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 plain words: Take the dirty clothes off him. Then the angel told Joshua that his sin was taken away and he would be given clean clothes.
Zechariah 4:6 ↗
“Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.”
In plain words: Not by your strength or your power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord.
Zechariah 14:20 ↗
“In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD”
In plain words: Someday even the everyday stuff, like the bells on horses, will say “Holiness to the Lord.”
Zechariah 9:9 ↗
“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 plain words: Look, your King is coming! He is fair and He saves, and He comes humbly, riding a young donkey.

Forehead Guess words16 words

  • 📢 Haggai
  • 🔭 Zechariah
  • 🧱 Zerubbabel
  • 🧥 Joshua the High Priest
  • 🕳️ Bag with Holes
  • 🏡 Paneled Houses
  • 🏗️ Foundation
  • 👑 King Cyrus
  • 🏯 Babylon
  • 🧺 Filthy Garments
  • ⛰️ Mountain
  • 🔔 Horse Bells
  • 🫏 Donkey
  • 🪙 Thirty Pieces of Silver
  • 🎫 Temple Recommend
  • ✨ Holiness
Clues for each word
  • Haggai: Prophet who said “Consider your ways”
  • Zechariah: Prophet with visions of clean clothes and horse bells
  • Zerubbabel: Governor who led the temple rebuild
  • Joshua the High Priest: His filthy clothes were replaced with clean ones
  • Bag with Holes: Where Haggai said their wages were going
  • Paneled Houses: The fancy homes they built instead of the temple
  • Foundation: Laid with shouting and weeping, then ignored for years
  • King Cyrus: Persian king who let the Jews go home and rebuild
  • Babylon: Where the Jews had been captives for about 70 years
  • Filthy Garments: What was taken off the high priest in the vision
  • Mountain: Zerubbabel’s problems, flattened by the Lord’s Spirit
  • Horse Bells: Zechariah saw “Holiness unto the Lord” written on them
  • Donkey: The humble King rides one into Jerusalem
  • Thirty Pieces of Silver: A price Zechariah saw, fulfilled with Judas
  • Temple Recommend: What youth show to do baptisms in the temple
  • Holiness: Written on every temple: ___ to the Lord
▶ Play Forehead GuessFull screen, 60-second timer, works on any phone.

Scripture Showdown9 questions

  1. What excuse did the people give for not rebuilding the temple?
    • A. “We have no wood”
    • B. “The time is not come”
    • C. “The prophet said wait”
    Show answer

    ✅ B. “The time is not come” Haggai 1:2. Not now, maybe later: about fifteen years of it.

  2. About how long did the temple rebuild sit stalled?
    • A. Fifteen years
    • B. Fifteen days
    • C. Seventy years
    Show answer

    ✅ A. Fifteen years Opposition stopped the work, and the people let it stay stopped.

  3. What were the people building for themselves instead?
    • A. City walls
    • B. Ships
    • C. Paneled (cieled) houses
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Paneled (cieled) houses Haggai 1:4. Their homes were beautiful while the Lord’s house lay in ruins.

  4. Haggai said their wages went into what?
    • A. A locked chest
    • B. A bag with holes
    • C. The king’s treasury
    Show answer

    ✅ B. A bag with holes Haggai 1:6. Working hard, getting nowhere.

  5. What did the Lord promise when the builders went back to work?
    • A. “I am with you”
    • B. “You will be rich”
    • C. “No more enemies”
    Show answer

    ✅ A. “I am with you” Haggai 1:13 and 2:4. Be strong and work, for I am with you.

  6. In Zechariah’s vision, what happened to Joshua the high priest?
    • A. He was crowned king
    • B. He was sent away
    • C. His filthy clothes were replaced with clean ones
    Show answer

    ✅ C. His filthy clothes were replaced with clean ones Zechariah 3:3–5. A picture of how the Savior takes away our sins.

  7. Zechariah 4:6: not by might, nor by power, but by what?
    • A. By my Spirit
    • B. By your works
    • C. By the sword
    Show answer

    ✅ A. By my Spirit The Lord’s work gets done by His Spirit, not our muscle.

  8. Where did Zechariah see “HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD” written?
    • A. On the city gate
    • B. On the bells of the horses
    • C. On the king’s crown
    Show answer

    ✅ B. On the bells of the horses Zechariah 14:20. Even ordinary things can be holy.

  9. Zechariah 9:9 says the King comes riding on what?
    • A. A war horse
    • B. A chariot
    • C. A donkey’s colt
    Show answer

    ✅ C. A donkey’s colt Fulfilled when Jesus rode into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1–11).

▶ Play Scripture ShowdownTeams take turns on one screen.

Songs

  • High on the Mountain Top Hymns, no. 5

    A hymn about the Lord’s house rising, just like the temple Haggai’s builders finished. Find it ↗

  • Come, Follow Me Hymns, no. 116

    Putting the Lord first means following Him in the ordinary parts of life. Find it ↗

  • Joy to the World Hymns, no. 201

    Zechariah said “Rejoice greatly… thy King cometh.” Two weeks before Christmas, sing it. Find it ↗

This week’s challenge

One Thing First

Pick one thing to put first every day this week, before your phone and before the rush: a prayer, a few verses, a Come, Follow Me reading or a text to someone who needs it. Then choose one everyday thing (your phone, your earbuds, your car keys) and make it “Holiness to the Lord” this week.

Text the parents

Today in class we studied Haggai and Zechariah. God’s people let the temple sit half-built for about fifteen years while they finished their own nice houses, and Haggai told them to “consider your ways” (Haggai 1:5–6). Zechariah saw a high priest’s filthy clothes replaced with clean ones, a picture of what the Savior does for us (Zechariah 3:4). Ask your teen: what’s one thing you decided to put first each day this week, and how can the family help?

📝 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 Glory of the Latter House · 4 min

  1. Read Ezra 3:11–13 and Haggai 2:3–9. The old-timers thought the new temple looked like nothing next to Solomon’s.
  2. Ask: “Why do you think the Lord promised this smaller temple would have greater glory?” (One answer: the Savior Himself would one day teach in this temple, after Herod enlarged it.)
  3. Ask: “Have you ever felt like what you had to offer was small? What does Haggai 2 say about that?”

🫏 Your King Is Coming · 4 min

  1. Read Zechariah 9:9, then Matthew 21:1–11.
  2. Ask: “Why would the King of kings choose a donkey instead of a war horse? What does that say about how He comes into our lives?”
  3. Connect it to Christmas: He came first as a baby in a stable. Humility is His style.

🎫 The Temple and You · 5 min

  1. Invite someone who’s done temple baptisms recently to share what it was like (one minute, no pressure).
  2. Ask: “Why does the temple say ‘Holiness to the Lord’ on the outside? What does it mean to walk in with a recommend?”
  3. If you have time, plan a ward youth temple trip together, or remind them how to talk to the bishop about a recommend.

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 Youth 14–16 lessons