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Read This, I Pray Thee

A sealed book, a professor in New York City, a farm boy with a gift, and a fallen star who said “I will” five times

  • 🏔️ Youth 16–18
  • Week 39
  • 📅 Sunday, September 27, 2026
🤔 Forehead Guess🏆 Showdown
💡 The big idea

God brings forth His marvelous work through people humble enough to be taught, not through pride or credentials, and the Book of Mormon in our hands is the proof Isaiah saw coming.

I can stay teachable as I get more educated, build my testimony of the Book of Mormon line upon line, and trust the Lord with the big decisions in front of me.

Study it yourself firstRead Isaiah 13–14; 22; 24–30; 35 in Gospel LibraryCome, Follow Me manualOpen this week (Isaiah 13–14; 22; 24–30; 35)
Know the chapters

Isaiah preached in Jerusalem about 700 years before Christ, while Assyria was swallowing up nations. This week’s chapters jump between his day and the last days. Chapters 13–14 predict proud Babylon’s fall, and 14:12–15 turns to Lucifer, the “son of the morning,” who said in his heart “I will” five times and was brought down. Latter-day revelation confirms this is Satan’s premortal rebellion (Moses 4:1–4; Doctrine and Covenants 76:25–27). In chapter 22, a proud official is replaced by Eliakim, whom the Lord fastens “as a nail in a sure place” and gives the key of the house of David, words later applied to Jesus Christ (Revelation 3:7). Chapters 24–27 look to the end of the world as we know it, where the Lord is a refuge from the storm (25:4), swallows up death in victory (25:8), and keeps in perfect peace the mind stayed on Him (26:3). Chapters 28–30 warn leaders who trusted Egypt instead of God, and chapter 35 ends with the desert blossoming as the rose.

The centerpiece for this class is Isaiah 29:11–14. Isaiah saw a sealed book handed to a learned man who says “I cannot; for it is sealed,” then to an unlearned man who says “I am not learned,” and the Lord announcing “a marvellous work and a wonder.” On September 22, 1827 (199 years ago this week), 21-year-old Joseph Smith received the gold plates (Joseph Smith—History 1:59). In February 1828, Martin Harris took characters copied from the plates to Professor Charles Anthon in New York City. By Martin’s account, Anthon praised the characters and wrote a certificate, then tore it up when he heard an angel was involved, asked for the plates, and, told part was sealed, replied that he could not read a sealed book (Joseph Smith—History 1:63–65). Nephi’s longer version of the prophecy, 2 Nephi 27:15–20, adds that the learned man wants the book for the glory of the world and for gain, and that the Lord says He is able to do His own work.

Honest heads-up for a sharp class: Anthon later wrote two letters (1834 and 1841) saying he had warned Harris of a hoax, and the two letters don’t agree with each other about whether he gave Harris anything in writing. What we can say with confidence: Martin Harris came home convinced enough to later mortgage his farm to pay for printing the Book of Mormon, which went on sale in March 1830. The Church teaches that Isaiah 29:4, a voice speaking “out of the dust,” also points to the Book of Mormon (see 2 Nephi 26:16). Model for your youth how to take a hard question seriously without letting it run the show.

The thread tying it all together is pride versus teachability. Lucifer wanted to be above God; the Son said, “Thy will be done” (Moses 4:1–2). The learned man trusted his own credentials; God worked through someone willing to be taught. Your 16- to 18-year-olds are about to be very learned: college, trade school, mission training. Nephi teaches that being learned is good when we listen to God’s counsel (2 Nephi 9:28–29). Isaiah 28:10 describes learning “line upon line”; in Isaiah’s setting the phrase comes from people mocking the prophet’s simple repetition, but Nephi uses the same words to promise that God keeps giving more to those who receive (2 Nephi 28:30). That is how testimony of the Book of Mormon grows too.

Only have 5 minutes?

Read Isaiah 29:11–14 and Joseph Smith—History 1:63–65. Seal an envelope with a card inside, open with “Read this, I pray thee,” and let Teach Mode carry the scripture scene. Do the Five I Wills wiggle, then spend most of your time on Real Talk. Close by holding up a Book of Mormon and bearing a one-sentence testimony. Brought nothing? Tap “I brought nothing”: your own closed scriptures become the sealed book, and you read the cross-references aloud.

What to bring3 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. Read Isaiah 29:9–24 and Joseph Smith—History 1:59–65 once, side by side. Then skim 2 Nephi 27:15–26 to see how Nephi fills in Isaiah’s prophecy.
  2. Make the sealed envelope: draw a row of made-up symbols on a card, write Isaiah 29:14 on the back, seal it inside and write SEALED on the front.
  3. Text two youth before Sunday: one to be the Narrator for the scene and one to lead the Unseal It search. Send them the references so they can look ahead.
  4. Add your youth’s names in the My Class tab so the role list and Name Spinner can call on them.
  5. Think of one honest line from your own testimony of the Book of Mormon, or a time you learned something from the Lord “here a little, and there a little.” Keep it short; you’ll share it at the end.

If your class is wild

  • Pick a good sport for the hook. Handing the sealed envelope to the class valedictorian is funny only if they’re in on the joke.
  • Professor Anthon is a great role for your most dramatic youth: praise the characters grandly, then rip up the certificate with a flourish.
  • In the Five I Wills wiggle, let them go big: tiptoes, arms stretched high, then drop fast on “brought down.” The physical crash makes the point for you.
  • Older youth hate being handed answers. In Unseal It, don’t explain the connection between the two passages; wait until they find it.
  • If someone raises a hard question about the Book of Mormon, thank them, answer what you honestly know, and offer to study the rest together. That respect teaches more than a perfect answer.

The 25-minute plan24 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

Read This, I Pray Thee

3 min

Acting out Isaiah’s exact exchange with a sealed envelope makes the prophecy feel real before anyone opens a scripture.

  1. Hand the sealed envelope to a volunteer (a good sport). Say: “Read this, I pray thee.” When they reach for the flap, say: “No opening it.” Let them say, “I can’t, it’s sealed.”
  2. SAY“Congratulations. You just fulfilled half of Isaiah 29. He wrote that exact conversation about 2,700 years ago.”
  3. Hand the envelope to a second youth and say: “Read this, I pray thee.” Let them open it. They’ll find squiggles on the front and Isaiah 29:14 on the back. Have them read the reference aloud.
  4. SAY“This week, 199 years ago, on September 22, 1827, a 21-year-old farmer was handed a book that Isaiah saw coming. Today: why God picked the guy with no credentials.”
🌪️ If the first volunteer rips it open anyway, laugh and say, “And that’s why the plates had an angel guarding them.” Then keep going.

Class screen: 🔏 “Read this, I pray thee.” “I cannot; for it is sealed.” · Isaiah 29:11–12

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: An envelope sealed shut with SEALED written across it; inside, a card with a row of made-up squiggly symbols on the front and “Isaiah 29:14” on the back

The Sealed Scriptures

  1. Hold your own scriptures shut with both hands. Ask a volunteer to try reading them while you keep them clamped closed. Say: “Read this, I pray thee.” Let them say, “I can’t, it’s sealed.”
  2. SAY“Congratulations. You just fulfilled half of Isaiah 29. He wrote that exact conversation about 2,700 years ago.”
  3. Hand the scriptures to a second youth, open, and ask them to turn to Isaiah 29:14 and read the first line aloud.
  4. SAY“This week, 199 years ago, on September 22, 1827, a 21-year-old farmer was handed a book that Isaiah saw coming. Today: why God picked the guy with no credentials.”
2. Story

Scripture Scene: The Book the Professor Couldn’t Read

6 min

Acting out the prophecy and its 1828 fulfillment side by side shows youth a real, checkable Old Testament prophecy about the Restoration.

  1. Hand out roles (tap Roles in Teach Mode). Everyone without a part is the crowd in New York City and makes the sound effects.
  2. Your Narrator reads each scene; pause for the action. Let Isaiah deliver his lines from the side like a narrator from the future.
  3. At scene 7, slow down and let “I cannot read a sealed book” land. Then ask: “Why would a brilliant man want the book but not the angel?”
  4. After scene 8, point out Nephi’s version (2 Nephi 27:15–20): the learned man wanted it for the glory of the world and for gain, and the Lord said He is able to do His own work.
  5. Ask: “What did Joseph have that the professor didn’t?” (Not intelligence or training. Humility, a willingness to be taught, and God’s power.)
🌪️ If Professor Anthon steals the show, let him. The bigger the tear-up, the more the class remembers the line that follows.

Class screen: 🎭 700 BC prophecy, 1828 New York City: watch it come true · Isaiah 29:11–14 · Joseph Smith—History 1:59–65

3. Wiggle break

Five I Wills

2 min

Physically climbing with Lucifer’s five boasts and crashing on verse 15 makes pride’s fall unforgettable.

  1. Everyone crouches low. Say: “Isaiah 14 describes Lucifer. Every time I read an ‘I will,’ go higher.”
  2. Read slowly: “I will ascend into heaven” (half stand) · “I will exalt my throne above the stars of God” (stand) · “I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation” (tiptoes) · “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds” (arms up) · “I will be like the most High” (stretch as high as you can and hold it).
  3. Hold it… then read verse 15: “Yet thou shalt be brought down.” Everyone drops back into their seats.
  4. SAY“Five I wills. Now listen to what the Savior said in the same council (Moses 4:2): ‘Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.’ Pride says ‘I will.’ Christ says ‘Thy will.’”
🌪️ No standing on chairs; tiptoes are plenty. If they drop too loudly, call it a dramatic reading and move on.

Class screen: ⬆️ Five “I wills,” then one big fall · Isaiah 14:12–15 · Moses 4:1–2

4. Scripture

Unseal It

4 min

Youth practice a real study skill: using a latter-day scripture as the key that unlocks a hard Isaiah passage.

  1. Your youth leader (texted before class) teaches Isaiah 29:14 with the memory hooks.
  2. Pairs each take one lock and its key: Isaiah 29:11–12 + Joseph Smith—History 1:64–65 · Isaiah 29:13 + Joseph Smith—History 1:19 · Isaiah 29:4 + 2 Nephi 26:16 · Isaiah 28:9–10 + 2 Nephi 28:30.
  3. Two minutes: read both passages and find how the second one unlocks the first. Tap a footnote in the Isaiah verse to see if it leads you there on its own.
  4. Each pair reports in one sentence: “Isaiah said ___, and it points to ___.”
🌪️ Make it a race: first pair to report correctly picks who goes next with the Name Spinner.

Class screen: 🗝️ Every sealed passage has a key. Find yours. · 29:11–12 + JS—H 1:64–65 · 29:13 + JS—H 1:19 · 29:4 + 2 Nephi 26:16 · 28:9–10 + 2 Nephi 28:30

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: Scriptures: the youth’s own Gospel Library app, or a few printed copies of the scriptures (one per pair)

  1. Your youth leader teaches Isaiah 29:14 with the memory hooks.
  2. Read Isaiah 29:13 aloud from your own scriptures, then Joseph Smith—History 1:19. Ask: “Where did Joseph hear Isaiah’s words again?” (From the Savior in the Sacred Grove.)
  3. Read Isaiah 28:10, then 2 Nephi 28:30. Ask: “What does Nephi add?” (God keeps giving more to those who receive what they already have.)
  4. Two youth each finish the sentence out loud: “Isaiah said ___, and it points to ___.”
5. Game

Tug of War: Learned vs. Unlearned

3 min

A fast, loud review that locks in the facts of the prophecy and its fulfillment.

  1. Split into two teams: the Learned and the Unlearned. Tap Tug of War.
  2. Before each pull, read a question. The team that answers correctly first gets a three-second head start before the other team can tap.
  3. Questions: What did the learned man say? (I cannot; for it is sealed.) · Who carried the characters to New York? (Martin Harris.) · Why did Anthon tear up the certificate? (He heard an angel was involved.) · How many “I wills” did Lucifer say? (Five.) · What does the desert blossom as in Isaiah 35:1? (The rose.)
  4. Winner’s bragging rights: they pick the closing hymn.
🌪️ Keep the team names playful. Remind them the Unlearned team is the one Isaiah was rooting for.
🪢 Tug of War (a class game in the Gospel Sparks app)

Class screen: 🪢 Tug of War: the Learned vs. the Unlearned · Answer first, pull first

6. Talk it over

Real Talk

4 min

Honest questions connect Isaiah to the education, doubts and decisions these youth are facing right now.

  1. Sit in a circle. Hand your phone or tablet to a youth discussion leader who reads the questions and calls on people.
  2. Pick two or three questions; depth beats coverage. Share one honest answer of your own.
  3. If college comes up, point to 2 Nephi 9:28–29: being learned is good when we still listen to God. The problem was never the education; it was the pride.
💬 Ask the class
  • You’re about to be the “learned” ones: college, trade school, a mission. What’s the difference between being educated and being proud? How do you stay teachable?
  • Anthon made up his mind the moment he heard “angel.” When have you seen someone decide before looking at the evidence? How do you want to handle hard questions about the Restoration?
  • Lucifer said “I will” five times. Where does “I will be above everyone” show up at school, in sports or online?
  • Isaiah 28:10 says truth comes line upon line. If your testimony of the Book of Mormon feels small right now, what would one more line look like this week?
  • Isaiah 26:3 promises perfect peace to a mind stayed on the Lord. With big decisions ahead, what helps keep your mind stayed on Him when the future feels loud?

Class screen: 💬 Real talk

7. Testimony

Out of the Dust

2 min

Ending with the Book of Mormon itself turns an ancient prophecy into a personal witness.

  1. Wait for real quiet. If you brought one, hold up a Book of Mormon.
  2. SAY“Isaiah saw a voice speaking out of the dust (29:4), a sealed book, and a desert that would blossom as the rose (35:1). The Book of Mormon came out of the ground and has been making dry places bloom ever since.”
  3. Share your short line of testimony about the Book of Mormon, or a time the Lord taught you here a little and there a little.
  4. Introduce the challenge and invite a youth to pray.

Class screen: 🌸 The desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. · Isaiah 35:1 · Isaiah 29:4

8. Game

Scripture Showdown

5 minBONUS

A team quiz reviews Isaiah 13–14; 22; 24–30; 35 and the story of the sealed book.

  1. Split into two teams. Tap Scripture Showdown.
  2. Teams get 10 seconds to agree on an answer. Bonus point if they can name the verse.
▶ Play Scripture Showdown on the web

Class screen: 🏆 Scripture Showdown: the sealed book

9. Game

Forehead Guess

4 minBONUS

A quick, fun review of the people, images and big words from these chapters.

  1. Tap Forehead Guess. A volunteer holds your phone or tablet on their forehead facing the class.
  2. Older-youth rule: clue-givers can’t use any word from the hint.
  3. Rotate every 45 seconds so several people get a turn.
▶ Play Forehead Guess on the web

Class screen: 🤔 Forehead Guess: sealed book edition

Story drama

The Book the Professor Couldn’t Read

Isaiah 29:11–14 ↗

Parts to hand out

  • NarratorReads each scene like a true-crime documentary, jumping from 700 BC to 1828.
  • IsaiahStands on the side and announces each line of the prophecy right before it comes true.
  • The Sealed PlatesStands with arms folded tight across the chest like a book locked shut. Never opens, no matter who asks.
  • Joseph SmithA 21-year-old farmer who receives the plates, copies characters, and humbly says, “I am not learned.”
  • Martin HarrisA respected farmer who carries the characters all the way to New York City and back.
  • Professor AnthonA celebrated scholar: impressed, then suspicious, then tears up the certificate and says, “I cannot read a sealed book.”

Scenes

  1. 📜👁️ 700 BC: Isaiah sees a sealed book

    Around 700 years before Christ, Isaiah sees a vision of the last days. In it there is a book that is sealed. He sees people carry it to an expert and say, “Read this, I pray thee.”

    🎬 Isaiah points dramatically at The Sealed Plates, who folds arms even tighter.

  2. 🎓🚫 The learned: “I cannot; for it is sealed”

    The learned man says, “I cannot; for it is sealed.” Then the book goes to someone who is not learned at all. He says, “I am not learned.” Isaiah says the Lord will use this moment to begin a marvelous work and a wonder.

    🎬 Isaiah reads Isaiah 29:11–12 aloud. Professor Anthon and Joseph Smith each step forward and say their line, then freeze.

  3. ⛰️✨ September 22, 1827: a farm boy receives plates

    Fast-forward about 2,500 years. On a hill in New York, an angel gives a 21-year-old farmer named Joseph Smith a set of gold plates. That was 199 years ago this very week.

    🎬 The Sealed Plates walks over and stands next to Joseph. Joseph looks at the class like, “Why me?”

  4. ✍️🔣 Joseph copies the strange characters

    Joseph and Emma move to Harmony, Pennsylvania. That winter he copies characters off the plates and, by the gift of God, translates some of them. Martin Harris, a respected farmer who had already helped them with fifty dollars, offers to take the characters to the experts.

    🎬 Joseph pantomimes copying symbols onto paper and hands the invisible page to Martin Harris, who tucks it into his coat.

  5. 🏙️🎓 February 1828: New York City

    Martin travels to New York City and shows the characters to Professor Charles Anthon, a famous scholar. According to Martin, Anthon says the characters are genuine and the translation is correct, and he writes a certificate saying so.

    🎬 Professor Anthon studies the invisible page through an invisible monocle, nods grandly, and scribbles a certificate. Martin pockets it proudly.

  6. 📄✂️ “An angel?” The certificate gets torn up

    Martin is heading out the door when Anthon calls him back and asks how the young man found the plates. Martin says an angel of God showed him. Anthon asks for the certificate back and tears it to pieces, saying there are no such things as angels anymore.

    🎬 Professor Anthon rips the invisible certificate into tiny pieces and throws them in the air. Everyone makes a loud ripping sound together.

  7. 🔒😶 “I cannot read a sealed book”

    Anthon says, “Bring me the plates and I’ll translate them.” Martin explains that part of the plates is sealed and he is not allowed to bring them. Anthon answers, “I cannot read a sealed book.” Isaiah’s words from 2,500 years earlier, nearly word for word.

    🎬 Isaiah reads his line, “I cannot; for it is sealed,” and Professor Anthon answers right after, “I cannot read a sealed book.” The Sealed Plates doesn’t budge.

  8. 📖🌸 The unlearned man and a marvelous work

    The Lord doesn’t need the professor. Through the unlearned farmer and the gift and power of God, the Book of Mormon is translated and goes on sale in March 1830. Nephi records the Lord’s answer: I am able to do mine own work (2 Nephi 27:20).

    🎬 Joseph says, “I am not learned.” The Sealed Plates unfolds one arm, like one part of the book opening. Everyone says together, “A marvellous work and a wonder!”

Key verse

Isaiah 29:14 ↗
“Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.”
In plain words: God promised a work so amazing that the world’s experts couldn’t explain it or stop it. It came through the Restoration and the Book of Mormon, and you’re part of it.
🙌 Memory hooks: “I will proceed” = take one big step forward · “a marvellous work and a wonder” = hands burst open like fireworks · “the wisdom of their wise men shall perish” = tap your temple, then let your hand fall · “shall be hid” = cover your eyes with both hands.

More verses

Isaiah 29:11–12 ↗
“And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.”
In plain words: Isaiah saw a sealed book handed to an expert who said he couldn’t read it, then to someone with no credentials at all. In 1828 it happened almost exactly that way.
Isaiah 14:12–15 ↗
“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! … I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.”
In plain words: Lucifer wanted to put himself above God. Every “I will” pushed him higher in his own mind, and every one ended in a fall. Pride always overestimates itself.
Isaiah 28:10 ↗
“For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:”
In plain words: Truth usually doesn’t download all at once. God teaches a little, then a little more, to people who keep receiving it.
Isaiah 26:3 ↗
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”
In plain words: When your mind stays anchored on the Lord and you trust Him, He gives a peace the future can’t shake.

Forehead Guess words18 words

  • 📜 Isaiah
  • 🔏 Sealed book
  • 📀 Gold plates
  • 👨‍🌾 Joseph Smith
  • 🧑‍🌾 Martin Harris
  • 🎓 Professor Anthon
  • 🔣 Characters
  • 📄 Certificate
  • ⭐ Lucifer
  • 🦚 Pride
  • 🏛️ Babylon
  • 🔩 Nail in a sure place
  • ⛈️ Refuge
  • 🕊️ Perfect peace
  • 📏 Line upon line
  • 🎆 Marvelous work
  • 📖 Book of Mormon
  • 🌹 Desert rose
Clues for each word
  • Isaiah: Prophet who saw the sealed book 2,500 years early
  • Sealed book: “I cannot; for it is sealed”
  • Gold plates: Joseph received them September 22, 1827
  • Joseph Smith: The unlearned farmer who translated by God’s power
  • Martin Harris: Carried the characters to New York City
  • Professor Anthon: Tore up the certificate when he heard “angel”
  • Characters: Symbols copied off the plates
  • Certificate: Written, then ripped to pieces
  • Lucifer: “Son of the morning” who fell from pride
  • Pride: Five “I wills” and a long way down
  • Babylon: Proud empire Isaiah said would fall
  • Nail in a sure place: How the Lord fastened Eliakim (22:23)
  • Refuge: The Lord is one from the storm (25:4)
  • Perfect peace: For the mind stayed on the Lord (26:3)
  • Line upon line: How God teaches: here a little, there a little
  • Marvelous work: “…and a wonder” (29:14)
  • Book of Mormon: The voice that spoke out of the dust
  • Desert rose: What the wilderness blossoms as (35:1)
▶ Play Forehead GuessFull screen, 60-second timer, works on any phone.

Scripture Showdown9 questions

  1. In Isaiah 29:11, why can’t the learned man read the book?
    • A. It’s in another language
    • B. It is sealed
    • C. He lost his glasses
    Show answer

    ✅ B. It is sealed “I cannot; for it is sealed.” Anthon said nearly the same words in 1828.

  2. What does the unlearned man say when handed the book?
    • A. “I am not learned.”
    • B. “Give it to someone else.”
    • C. “I cannot; it is sealed.”
    Show answer

    ✅ A. “I am not learned.” Isaiah 29:12. God works through people humble enough to be taught.

  3. Who took the characters from the plates to New York City?
    • A. Oliver Cowdery
    • B. Hyrum Smith
    • C. Martin Harris
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Martin Harris Joseph Smith—History 1:63–64. He later mortgaged his farm to help print the book.

  4. Why did Professor Anthon tear up the certificate?
    • A. The translation was wrong
    • B. He learned an angel was involved
    • C. Martin was rude
    Show answer

    ✅ B. He learned an angel was involved Joseph Smith—History 1:64–65. He said there were no such things as angels anymore.

  5. Joseph received the gold plates on September 22 of which year?
    • A. 1820
    • B. 1830
    • C. 1827
    Show answer

    ✅ C. 1827 Joseph Smith—History 1:59. That was 199 years ago this week.

  6. Isaiah 29:14 calls the Lord’s latter-day work “a marvellous work and a…”
    • A. wonder
    • B. warning
    • C. war
    Show answer

    ✅ A. wonder A marvelous work and a wonder: the Restoration and the Book of Mormon.

  7. How many times does Lucifer say “I will” in Isaiah 14:13–14?
    • A. Three
    • B. Five
    • C. Seven
    Show answer

    ✅ B. Five Five boasts, then verse 15: “Yet thou shalt be brought down.”

  8. Isaiah 28:10 says God teaches precept upon precept and…
    • A. line upon line
    • B. day after day
    • C. book after book
    Show answer

    ✅ A. line upon line Here a little and there a little. Nephi promises more to those who receive (2 Nephi 28:30).

  9. In Isaiah 35:1, the desert rejoices and blossoms as the…
    • A. lily
    • B. cedar
    • C. rose
    Show answer

    ✅ C. rose The Lord can make the driest places in a life bloom again.

▶ Play Scripture ShowdownTeams take turns on one screen.

Songs

  • Oh, How Lovely Was the Morning Hymns, no. 26

    The First Vision, where the Savior echoed Isaiah 29:13 to Joseph (Joseph Smith—History 1:19). A strong opener. Find it ↗

  • The Spirit of God Hymns, no. 2

    A Restoration anthem: Isaiah’s marvelous work and a wonder, set to music. Find it ↗

  • How Firm a Foundation Hymns, no. 85

    The Lord as a refuge from the storm (Isaiah 25:4), a sure foundation (28:16) and a nail in a sure place (22:23). A calm close after the testimony. Find it ↗

This week’s challenge

Seven Lines

Read one chapter of the Book of Mormon every day this week. After each one, write one line: what I learned, or what I’ll do. By next Sunday you’ll have seven lines, precept upon precept. On day seven, read Moroni 10:3–5 and ask God about the book yourself.

Text the parents

This week we studied Isaiah 29: a sealed book the learned man couldn’t read, given to someone “not learned.” It came true in 1828 when Martin Harris showed characters from the gold plates to Professor Charles Anthon (Joseph Smith—History 1:63–65), and Joseph received the plates 199 years ago this week. Ask your teen: how do you stay teachable as you get more educated, and what’s one “line” they added to their testimony 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?

🔩 A Nail in a Sure Place · 5 min

  1. Read Isaiah 22:20–23. The Lord replaces a proud official with Eliakim, gives him the key of the house of David, and fastens him “as a nail in a sure place.”
  2. Read Revelation 3:7, where the same key language describes Jesus Christ. Ask: “What does it mean for Christ to be the sure place we hang everything on?”
  3. Read verse 25 too: interpreters differ on whom it means, but it’s a reminder that any human peg can give way, and only Christ never does. Ask: “What are you tempted to hang your future on? Grades, a relationship, a plan? What happens when that nail gives way?”
  4. Each youth names one decision this year they want fastened to Christ first.

🌅 Death Swallowed Up · 4 min

  1. Read Isaiah 25:4 and 25:8. Then read 1 Corinthians 15:54–55, where Paul quotes Isaiah about the Resurrection.
  2. Ask: “Who do you know who needs a refuge from the storm right now, or who has lost someone?”
  3. Be gentle: someone in the room may be grieving. Let them share only if they want to.
  4. Testify that because of Jesus Christ, death is temporary and every tear will be wiped away.

🏺 A Voice from the Dust · 5 min

  1. Read Isaiah 29:4 and 2 Nephi 26:16. Ask: “Why would people who were destroyed long ago ‘speak out of the dust’?”
  2. Read Mormon 8:26 and Moroni 10:3–5. Moroni buried the record expecting it to come forth and speak for his people.
  3. Challenge: pick one Book of Mormon prophet this week and ask, “What did they want someone in my generation to hear?”

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 16–18 lessons