Welcome to March!
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March, Week 1
Day 1
Primary
1. Read Matthew 8 and Mark 4:35-41.
2. Have you ever felt the way Jesus’s disciples did in the storm at sea — watching the waves of water fill the boat and questioning, “Master, carest thou not that we perish?” Sometimes we feel worried, troubled, or afraid, but our faith in Jesus Christ can comfort us. Just as Jesus can bring us peace when there is a storm outside, He can bring us peace in our hearts when we feel bad on the inside.
3. Watch the video Jesus Commands the Winds and the Waves.
4. Listen to the song “Books in the New Testament.” This time, listen to the whole song.
Youth
1. Read Matthew 8 and Mark 4:35-41.
2. Watch the video Calming the Tempest.
3. “Master, carest thou not that we perish?” the disciples cried to the Savior as the waves and wind battered their little ship. In times of despair, we may find ourselves desperate for help and questioning the Savior’s care for us. However desperate our situation may seem, Jesus Christ has the ability and power to ease our burdens, rebuke our troubles, and say to us, “Peace, be still.”
4. The Sea of Galilee is located in the Jordan Rift Valley at nearly 700 feet below sea level and is surrounded by high mountains on the west, north, and east. Winds can whip down the western slopes and create sudden, intense storms with formidable waves on this relatively small body of water. There are times in our lives when we may feel like we are in the midst of a raging storm. Sometimes these storms of life can cause us to be afraid. President Howard W. Hunter (1907–95) shared:
All of us have seen some sudden storms in our lives. A few of them, though temporary like these on the Sea of Galilee, can be violent and frightening and potentially destructive. As individuals, as families, as communities, as nations, even as a church, we have had sudden squalls arise which have made us ask one way or another, “Master, carest thou not that we perish?” And one way or another we always hear in the stillness after the storm, “Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?”
None of us would like to think we have no faith, but I suppose the Lord’s gentle rebuke here is largely deserved. This great Jehovah, in whom we say we trust and whose name we have taken upon us, is he who said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” ( Gen. 1:6 .) And he is also the one who said, “Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear.” ( Gen. 1:9 .) Furthermore, it was he who parted the Red Sea, allowing the Israelites to pass through on dry ground. (See Ex. 14:21–22 .) Certainly it should be no surprise that he could command a few elements acting up on the Sea of Galilee. And our faith should remind us that he can calm the troubled waters of our lives.
(Howard W. Hunter, “Master, the Tempest Is Raging,” Ensign, Nov. 1984, 33)
5. Listen to the song “Books in the New Testament.” This time, listen to the whole song.
Day 2
Primary
1. Read Luke 7.
2. Jesus performed many miracles, frequently miracles of healing. In this chapter are two different stories of Jesus healing someone. In the first story, a Roman centurion with a sick servant came to Jesus and asked him to heal the servant. Jesus came to heal the servant, but the centurion told him that he didn’t have to come all the way: if he just commanded that the servant be healed, he would be healed. Jesus said that the man had great faith, and the servant was healed.
3. In the second story, there was a widow whose son had died. The woman was very sad, because he was her only son, and her husband was also dead. This woman might have been alone in the world, without anyone to help take care of her. Jesus stopped the people carrying her son’s body, and raised him from the dead. The people were astonished and a little afraid, and said that there was a great prophet among them. How do you think the woman felt when her son was brought back to life?
4. Listen to the song “Tell Me the Stories of Jesus.”
Youth
1. Read Luke 7.
2. One of the ways Jesus demonstrated His power was through miraculous healings. What miracle of healing occurred in Luke 7:1-10? What principles can we learn from this account? By exercising faith in Jesus Christ, we can help bring blessings into others’ lives.
3. The day after the Savior healed the centurion’s servant, He performed another miracle. (Luke 7:11-18) Why was the death of this woman’s son particularly tragic? (Not only had this woman lost her only son to death, but she had also previously lost her husband. In addition to the great sorrow she must have felt, she may have had no one to support her financially.) Jesus Christ showed her great compassion, not only by raising her son from the dead, but by treating her with love and kindness. President Thomas S. Monson said:
“Few accounts of the Master’s ministry touch me more than His example of compassion shown to the grieving widow at Nain. …
“What power, what tenderness, what compassion did our Master thus demonstrate! We, too, can bless if we will but follow His noble example. Opportunities are everywhere. Needed are eyes to see the pitiable plight and ears to hear the silent pleadings of a broken heart. Yes, and a soul filled with compassion, that we might communicate not only eye to eye or voice to ear but, in the majestic style of the Savior, even heart to heart” (“Meeting Life’s Challenges,” Ensign, Nov. 1993, 71).
4. Watch the video “Widow of Nain.”
Day 3
Primary
1. Read Mark 2 and Luke 7:36-50.
2. Jesus forgave and healed a paralytic man and then called Matthew to follow Him. He taught the scribes and Pharisees about the Sabbath day. The Savior continued to heal many people, sent forth His Apostles to preach, and warned against speaking blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. Jesus also went to a feast with a man named Simon, where a woman came in and washed his feet. Simon thought Jesus should not have let the woman touch him, because she was a sinner. Jesus forgave the woman’s sins because she loved him and had faith in him.
3. Watch the video Jesus Forgives a Woman .
4. Listen to the song “I’m Trying to Be Like Jesus.”
Youth
1. Read Mark 2 and Luke 7:36-50.
2. Jesus forgave and healed a paralytic man and then called Matthew to follow Him. He taught the scribes and Pharisees about the Sabbath day. The Savior continued to heal many people, sent forth His Apostles to preach, and warned against speaking blasphemy against the Holy Ghost.
3. A Pharisee named Simon invited Jesus to a feast in his home. At feasts of this kind, guests would recline on cushions around a low table and extend their feet away from the table. Social customs of the day allowed people in need to collect leftover food from the banquets. Thus, it was not unusual for uninvited people to enter the home during a feast. What was the parable that Jesus taught there? What blessing did the woman receive from the Savior?
4. Elder Craig A. Cardon of the Seventy said:
The Lord loves us and wants us to understand His willingness to forgive. …
… All of us, including those struggling to overcome addictive behaviors such as substance abuse or pornography and those close to them, can know that the Lord will recognize our righteous efforts and will lovingly forgive when repentance is complete. (“The Savior Wants to Forgive,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2013, 16)
5. implicitly comparing Simon to the debtor who owes 50 pence, the Savior was suggesting that Simon also needed forgiveness for his sins. Read the following statement by Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:
There are many degrees of personal worthiness and righteousness. Yet repentance is a blessing to all of us. We each need to feel the Savior’s arms of mercy through the forgiveness of our sins.
Years ago, I was asked to meet with a man who, long before our visit, had had a period of riotous living. As a result of his bad choices, he lost his membership in the Church. He had long since returned to the Church and was faithfully keeping the commandments, but his previous actions haunted him. Meeting with him, I felt his shame and his deep remorse at having set his covenants aside. Following our interview, I placed my hands upon his head to give him a priesthood blessing. Before speaking a word, I felt an overpowering sense of the Savior’s love and forgiveness for him. Following the blessing, we embraced and the man wept openly.
I am amazed at the Savior’s encircling arms of mercy and love for the repentant, no matter how selfish the forsaken sin. I testify that the Savior is able and eager to forgive our sins. Except for the sins of those few who choose perdition after having known a fulness, there is no sin that cannot be forgiven. What a marvelous privilege for each of us to turn away from our sins and to come unto Christ. Divine forgiveness is one of the sweetest fruits of the gospel, removing guilt and pain from our hearts and replacing them with joy and peace of conscience” (“Repent … That I May Heal You,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2009, 40–41).
Jesus Christ has power to forgive us if we exercise faith in Him and repent.
Day 4
Primary
1. Today read Mark 4.
2. Jesus teaches parables in this chapter. The first one is the parable of the sower (someone who is planting seeds by throwing them out onto the ground). Not every seed that the sower threw would grow. Some got eaten by birds, others fell on stony ground and could not grow deep roots. Others fell among weeds and were choked out. A few landed on good ground, and grew into healthy plants. Jesus explained to his disciples that the seed was the word of God, or the gospel. Not everyone who hears the gospel will allow it to take root in their heart. How can we make sure that our heart is “good ground” for the gospel?
3. Look at the picture of the kinds of places the seeds fell.
4. Listen to the song “Did You Think to Pray?”
Youth
1. Today read Mark 4.
2. Jesus teaches parables in this chapter. The first one is the parable of the sower (someone who is planting seeds by throwing them out onto the ground). Not every seed that the sower threw would grow. Some got eaten by birds, others fell on stony ground and could not grow deep roots. Others fell among weeds and were choked out. A few landed on good ground, and grew into healthy plants. Jesus explained to his disciples that the seed was the word of God, or the gospel. Not everyone who hears the gospel will allow it to take root in their heart. How can we make sure that our heart is “good ground” for the gospel?
3. Read the article “Prepare Your Spiritual Soil.”
Week 2
Day 1
Primary
1. Today read Mark 5:24-34 and Matthew 9:20-22.
2. The Savior repeatedly showed His power to heal those who had faith in Him. In today’s reading there was a woman who had been sick for many years. None of the doctors could help her get better. She had faith that if she could just touch Jesus’s robe, that she would be healed. When she did what she had planned, she was healed. Jesus knew what she had done. He told her, “Thy faith hath made thee whole.” How can we be healed by our faith in Jesus Christ?
3. Watch the video A Woman Touches Jesus’s Clothes.
4. Listen to the song “Tell Me the Stories of Jesus.”
Youth
1.Today read Mark 5:24-34 and Matthew 9:20-22.
2. Today we read about a woman who had extraordinary faith in Jesus Christ and stretched out her hand to the Savior and drew on His power to be healed. On the way to heal the daughter of a man named Jairus, Jesus Christ was followed by a crowd. Among the crowd was a sick woman. She had been sick for 12 years, spend everything she had on medical treatment, and was unable to find a cure. She believed that if she could just touch the hem of Jesus’s garment, she would be healed. This was no easy task: multitudes followed Christ as he went about healing, and the woman had to struggle through the crowd to get close enough.
3. “The hem of his garment” refers to “an important part of an Israelite’s dress.” The hem was “a tassel at each ‘wing’ or corner of the tallith or mantle ( Matt. 14:36).” The tassels were bound by blue thread, symbolizing heaven. The tassel that hung over the shoulder at the back was the one that the woman touched. Her act of reaching up to touch the tassel represents a reach for the Savior’s heavenly power. The prophet Malachi prophesied that the Savior would “arise with healing in his wings” ( Malachi 4:2).
4. President Russell M. Nelson applied this account to our own lives.
Do you remember the biblical story of the woman who suffered for 12 years with a debilitating problem? She exercised great faith in the Savior, exclaiming, “If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.”
This faithful, focused woman needed to stretch as far as she could to access His power. Her physical stretching was symbolic of her spiritual stretching. …
When you reach up for the Lord’s power in your life with the same intensity that a drowning person has when grasping and gasping for air, power from Jesus Christ will be yours. When the Savior knows you truly want to reach up to Him — when He can feel that the greatest desire of your heart is to draw His power into your life — you will be led by the Holy Ghost to know exactly what you should do.
When you spiritually stretch beyond anything you have ever done before, then His power will flow into you.
(Russell M. Nelson, “Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2017, 41–42)
5. Watch the video “Jesus Heals a Woman of Faith.”
Day 2
Primary
1. Read Mark 5. You can skip the part we read yesterday.
2. In this chapter there was a man named Jairus, whose twelve-year-old daughter was dying. He asked Jesus to come heal her. As Jesus was traveling to Jairus’s house, a messenger came to meet them saying that the girl had died. Jesus told Jairus not to be afraid, but to believe. When they got to the house, everyone was crying. Jesus told them the girl was just sleeping. He took her hand and told her to get up. She did get up, and was alive.
3. Jairus’s Daughter is Raised from the Dead.
4. Listen to the song “I’m Trying to Be Like Jesus.”
Youth
1. Read Mark 5. You can skip the part we read yesterday.
2. In this section, a man named Jairus came to ask Jesus to heal his daughter. She was sick, and dying. Jesus came to heal her, but as he did they met messengers from the house who said that the girl had died. Jesus told Jairus not to be afraid, but to believe. When they reached the house everyone was crying and mourning. Jesus took the girl by the hand and told her to arise. She got up, and lived.
3. One truth taught in Mark 5 is that faith and fear are incompatible. The Savior admonished those He taught to replace their fear with faith in Him.
In an address to Church Educational System religious educators, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles asked students and teachers to “be not afraid, only believe.” He encouraged us to have complete confidence in God and to speak with conviction that the gospel of Jesus Christ is “the most certain, the most secure, the most reliable, and the most rewarding truth on earth and in heaven, in time and in eternity.” He testified that fears, doubts, and anxieties can be overcome as we focus on the “majestic, eternal, first-level truths [that are] central to the grandeur of the whole gospel message” — such as the plan of salvation, the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the First Vision, the restoration of the priesthood, and the Book of Mormon — and not set aside or dismiss the whole truth by “obsessing over second- or third- or fourth-level pieces of that whole.” (See “Be Not Afraid, Only Believe” [an evening with Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Feb. 6, 2015], lds.org/broadcasts.)
4. Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles also taught about overcoming our fear through faith in the Lord:
“Challenges, difficulties, questions, doubts—these are part of our mortality. But we are not alone. As disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, we have enormous spiritual reservoirs of light and truth available to us. Fear and faith cannot coexist in our hearts at the same time. In our days of difficulty, we choose the road of faith. Jesus said, ‘Be not afraid, only believe’ [Mark 5:36]” (“You Know Enough,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2008, 14).
5. Watch the video “Jesus Raises the Daughter of Jairus.”
Day 3
Primary
1. Read Matthew 10.
2. Jesus Christ called and instructed the Twelve Apostles and sent them forth to preach, minister, and heal the sick. At first the Apostles were sent only among the house of Israel. Later, the resurrected Savior commanded that they also preach the gospel among the Gentiles, or those not of the house of Israel. Today they are commanded to preach to all the world. The Lord calls Apostles to be special witnesses of the name of Christ in all the world and do His works. This is true both of the Savior’s Apostles anciently and of those He calls as Apostles today.
3. Listen to the song “Did You Think to Pray?”
Youth
1. Read Matthew 10.
2. Word of Jesus’s healing miracles was spreading quickly. Multitudes followed Him, hoping for relief from their sicknesses. But when the Savior looked upon the multitudes, He saw more than their physical ailments. Filled with compassion, He saw “sheep having no shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). “The harvest truly is plenteous,” He observed, “but the labourers are few” (Matthew 9:37). So He called twelve Apostles, “gave them power,” and sent them to teach and minister “to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:1, 6). Today the need for more laborers to serve Heavenly Father’s children is just as great. There are still twelve Apostles, but there are more disciples of Jesus Christ than ever before—people who can declare to all the world, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 10:7).
3. The instructions Jesus gave in Matthew 10 to His Apostles can apply to us as well, because we all have a part in the Lord’s work. What power did Christ give His Apostles to help them fulfill their mission? How can you access His power in the work you have been called to do?
4. Watch the video “Jesus Calls Twelve Apostles.”
Day 4
Primary
1. Read Luke 9.
2. In this chapter, Jesus sent his disciples out to teach, and performed a miracle where he fed 5,000 people with only five loaves and two fish. Another important thing that happened was that Peter testified that Jesus was the Son of God. Many people at the time were confused, and thought Jesus was a prophet that had come back from the dead, or John the Baptist. Peter knew that Jesus was Heavenly Father’s Son, and his testimony had come from revelation.
3. Watch the video “Peter Testifies of Christ.”
Youth
1. Read Luke 9.
2. Throughout His ministry, Jesus Christ invited people to follow Him and become His disciples. A disciple is someone who has been baptized, follows Jesus Christ, and strives to live according to His teachings. In Luke 9, we read about various principles that, if followed, can help us become Jesus Christ’s disciple. Considering what you know about Jesus Christ, why would it be worth great effort to become His disciple?
3. What did Jesus say we have to do to be his disciple? (Luke 9:23) This verse alludes to the physical cross Jesus Christ carried and suffered upon in order to fulfill His Father’s will. Although we are not asked to carry a physical cross like the Lord did, we are asked to follow Him by fulfilling Heavenly Father’s will for us even when it is difficult.
4. Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained what it means to take up our cross.
We learn through the scriptures that those who wish to take their cross upon themselves love Jesus Christ in such a way that they deny themselves of all ungodliness and of every worldly lust and keep His commandments.
Our determination to cast off all that is contrary to God’s will and to sacrifice all we are asked to give and to strive to follow His teachings will help us to endure in the path of Jesus Christ’s gospel—even in the face of tribulation, the weakness of our souls, or the social pressure and worldly philosophies that oppose His teachings.
(Ulisses Soares, “Take Up Our Cross,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2019, 113–14)
5. Ponder the following questions:
- Why do you need to deny yourself of any ungodliness or worldly lusts in your life?
- In what ways can denying yourself of ungodliness or worldly lusts be like carrying a cross?
- How do you think “taking up your cross” can help you be a true disciple of Jesus Christ?
Week 3
Day 1
Primary
1. Read Matthew 11.
2. Take a look at these oxen that are yoked together. A yoke is the wooden part that allows the oxen to pull together. Two oxen pulling together are able to pull a much heavier load than one oxen pulling alone. What do you think it means for us to take Jesus’s yoke upon us? How can working together with Jesus help us tackle bigger problems than we can by ourselves?
3. Here is the doctrinal mastery scripture in this chapter: Matthew 11:28-30.
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Youth
1. Read Matthew 11.
2. We all carry burdens—some resulting from our own sins and mistakes, some caused by the choices of others, and some that are nobody’s fault but are simply part of life on earth. Regardless of the reasons for our struggles, Jesus pleads with us to come unto Him so He can help us bear our burdens and find relief. Elder David A. Bednar taught, “Making and keeping sacred covenants yokes us to and with the Lord Jesus Christ.”
3. With this in mind, ponder questions like the following to better understand the Savior’s words in these verses: How do my covenants yoke me to and with the Savior? What do I need to do to come unto Christ? In what sense is the Savior’s yoke easy and His burden light?
4. Here is the doctrinal mastery scripture in this chapter: Matthew 11:28-30.
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Day 2
Primary
1. Read Matthew 12:1-30.
2. In these verses, we read about a man with a withered hand (that means that it was damaged and he couldn’t use it). Some people asked if it was all right to heal on the Sabbath, since healing was a kind of work. What did Jesus tell them? What does that tell us about what is okay to do on Sunday?
3. Listen to the song “I’m Trying to Be Like Jesus.”
Youth
1. Read Matthew 12:1-30.
2. The teachings of the Pharisees differed from the Savior’s in many ways, but especially in how to honor the Sabbath day. After Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath day, some of the Pharisees began seeking to destroy Him. When He healed someone possessed of a devil, they attempted to discredit Him in front of the people by accusing Him of performing those works by the power of the devil. Jesus knew their thoughts and asserted that, on the contrary, by casting out devils He was demonstrating that He was the Messiah and was establishing God’s kingdom.
3. According to verse 30, if we desire to be part of God’s kingdom, what must we do? If we desire to be part of God’s kingdom, we must be fully committed to Jesus Christ.
Day 3
Primary
1. Read Luke 11:1-26.
2. After listening to the Savior pray, one of His disciples asked if He would teach them how to pray, and the Savior did so. Heavenly Father loves us and knows how to bless us. If we persistently pray and seek Heavenly Father’s blessings in times of need, then He will answer our prayers in ways that bless us most.
3. Listen to the song “Did You Think to Pray?”
Youth
1. Read Luke 11:1-26.
2. After listening to the Savior pray, one of His disciples asked if He would teach them how to pray, and the Savior did so. After the Lord taught His disciples how to pray, He used analogies to teach additional truths about prayer, including God’s willingness to answer prayers.
3. Read Luke 11:5–13, looking for what the Lord taught about prayer. In the parable you read in verses 5–8, what did one friend ask of another? Why? Why do you think the second friend honored the request of the first? If the man in need represents us, and his friend with the bread represents our Father in Heaven, what did the Savior suggest we must do in times of need? If we persistently pray and seek Heavenly Father’s blessings in times of need, then He will answer our prayers in ways that bless us most.
4. Elder James E. Talmage of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles noted the differences between the friend in this parable and our Heavenly Father:
The Lord’s lesson was, that if man, with all his selfishness and disinclination to give, will nevertheless grant what his neighbor with proper purpose asks and continues to ask in spite of objection and temporary refusal, with assured certainty will God grant what is persistently asked in faith and with righteous intent. No parallelism lies between man’s selfish refusal and God’s wise and beneficent waiting. There must be a consciousness of real need for prayer, and real trust in God, to make prayer effective; and in mercy the Father sometimes delays the granting that the asking may be more fervent.
Day 4
Primary
1. Read Luke 11:29-54.
2. When we are washing dishes, is it enough for the outside of a cup or bowl to be clean, or does the inside need to be clean, too? Why or why not? The Savior taught that it is not enough to appear righteous to others. Our thoughts, feelings, and private actions must also be pure.
3. Sometimes people will act righteous when other people can see, but they will be unrighteous in their hearts and minds. Just like a cup that has only been washed on the outside, only keeping commandments other people can see is not enough.
4. Listen to the song “Tell Me the Stories of Jesus.”
Youth
1. Read Luke 11:29-54.
2. One of the Savior’s main criticisms of the Pharisees was that they tried to appear righteous but their intentions were not pure. When we are washing dishes, is it enough for the outside of a cup or bowl to be clean, or does the inside need to be clean, too? Why or why not? The Savior taught that it is not enough to appear righteous to others. Our thoughts, feelings, and private actions must also be pure.
3. Sometimes people will act righteous when other people can see, but they will be unrighteous in their hearts and minds. Just like a cup that has only been washed on the outside, only keeping commandments other people can see is not enough. We must have both clean hands (outer actions) and a pure heart (inner thoughts and feelings).
4. Elder David A. Bednar said:
Brothers and sisters, it is possible for us to have clean hands but not have a pure heart. Please notice that both clean hands and a pure heart are required to ascend into the hill of the Lord and to stand in His holy place.
Let me suggest that hands are made clean through the process of putting off the natural man and by overcoming sin and the evil influences in our lives through the Savior’s Atonement. Hearts are purified as we receive His strengthening power to do good and become better. All of our worthy desires and good works, as necessary as they are, can never produce clean hands and a pure heart. It is the Atonement of Jesus Christ that provides both a cleansing and redeeming power that helps us to overcome sin and a sanctifying and strengthening power that helps us to become better than we ever could by relying only upon our own strength. The infinite Atonement is for both the sinner and for the saint in each of us.
Week 4
Day 1
Primary
1. Today read Luke 13.
2. No matter how many times the Pharisees got mad at him, Jesus would not stop healing people on the Sabbath day. He said it is good to help people on the Sabbath.
3. Take a look at this picture of a hen with her chicks. In verse 30, Jesus compared himself to a hen trying to gather us under his wings. What does that tell you about how Jesus feels about us? What can we do to let Jesus gather us in?
3. Listen to the song “I’m Trying to Be Like Jesus.”
Youth
1. Today read Luke 13.
2. The Savior related a parable about a fig tree that would be cut down if it failed to produce fruit, which teaches that we will perish if we do not repent. He also healed another woman on the Sabbath, and once again tried to teach the lesson that it is okay to do good things and help people on the Sabbath day.
3. Take a look at this picture of a hen and her chicks. In verse 30, Jesus compared himself to a hen trying to gather us, his chicks, under his wings. The comparison between a hen gathering her chicks and the Lord gathering His people offers some interesting insights. A hen cares for her chicks and would sacrifice her life to protect them. When danger threatens, she gathers the chicks under her wings for protection. In a similar way, the Lord loves His people, the house of Israel. He gave His life for His people and has sought to gather them together so he could protect and nourish them. On many occasions, however, Israel has chosen to forsake the Lord.
Day 2
Primary*
1. Read Luke 8:1-15 and Matthew 13:1-23.
2. What kind of soil is good to grow plants in? Where are some bad places to grow plants? If our testimony is like a seed, how can we prepare our hearts to help it grow?
3. Print a copy of the coloring page a nd follow the directions.
Youth
1. Read Luke 8:1-15 and Matthew 13:1-23.
2. In Matthew 13:1–23, we read that the Savior compared different kinds of soil to the degrees of openness or spiritual receptivity of people’s hearts. Take a look at a diagram of this parable. As you study these verses, consider which kind of soil is most like the current condition of your heart.
3. A wayside is a path near fields that becomes hardened as people walk on it. The hardness of the wayside prevents seeds from taking root in the soil. Stony places are rocky surfaces covered by a thin layer of soil. Though seeds can develop shallow roots, the rock that lies just below the surface prevents the roots from going deeper. The ground with thorns is fertile soil, but the thorns crowd out the plants by depriving them of light, water, and needed nutrients. The good ground is fertile soil with sufficient depth for healthy roots.
4. The Savior’s disciples asked Him why He taught in parables. He explained that parables revealed the mysteries or truths of the kingdom of heaven to those who were ready to receive them, while hiding the meaning from those who were spiritually unprepared. (Matthew 13:10-13) What stopped the people from being able to understand the parables? (Matthew 13:14-15) If we harden our hearts, then we will not understand the word of God, be converted to the Savior, and be healed by Him.
Day 3
Primary
1. Read Matthew 13:24-43.
2. In this section, Jesus taught three more parables. One of them is the parable of the wheat and the tares. Tares are weeds. The wheat represents people who make righteous choices, and the tares represent people who do not. One day, Heavenly Father will gather the righteous people to live with Him.
3. The next parable was about a mustard seed. A mustard seed is very small (see picture). Over time, it can grow big enough for birds to roost in it (see picture). Our faith may be small, but if we let it grow, the results can be great.
4. The last parable in this part is about leaven. Leaven is the ingredient that is added to bread to make it rise and become soft. Even though only a small amount of leavening is added to the dough, it changes the entire batch.
5. Listen to the song “Tell Me the Stories of Jesus.”
Youth
1. Read Matthew 13:24-43.
2. Tares are a type of poisonous weed. Wheat and tares are almost identical when they sprout, but they can be distinguished once they mature. The wheat and the tares were sowed and allowed to grow together. Who sowed, or planted, the good seed? Who sowed, or planted, the tares? After it had grown, the wheat was gathered to the barn and the tares were bundled and burned. Why do you think the sower of good seed told his servants to allow the wheat and tares to “grow together until the harvest”? (If reapers tried to pull out the tares before the wheat and tares matured, they would likely destroy much of the wheat as well.) According to this parable, what will happen to the righteous and the wicked in the last days? The Lord will gather the righteous during the last days and then destroy the wicked at His coming.
3. Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said:
The Lord gathers His people when they accept Him and keep His commandments. …
… The Lord gathers His people to worship, to build up the Church, for a defense, and to receive counsel and instruction. …
“The Prophet Joseph Smith declared that in all ages the divine purpose of gathering is to build temples so that the Lord’s children can receive the highest ordinances and thereby gain eternal life. (“The Spirit and Purposes of Gathering” [Brigham Young University–Idaho devotional, Oct. 31, 2006], byui.edu)
4. The next parable was about a mustard seed. A mustard seed is very small (see picture). Over time, it can grow big enough for birds to roost in it (see picture). Our faith may be small, but if we let it grow, the results can be great.
5. The last parable in this part is about leaven. Leaven is the ingredient that is added to bread to make it rise and become soft. Even though only a small amount of leavening is added to the dough, it changes the entire batch.
6. Watch the video “Jesus Declares the Parable of the Wheat and Tares, Mustard Seed, and Leaven.”
Day 4
Primary
1. Read Matthew 13:45-58.
2. Membership in the church is a treasure. Sometimes we give up something good for something even better. In the parable of the pearl, what did the man sell so that he could have the pearl of great price? We do not have to sell everything that we have to get the Gospel, but sometimes we do have to give things up. What do you have to sacrifice so that you can live the Gospel?
3. Listen to the song “Did You Think to Pray?”
Youth
1. Read Matthew 13:45-58.
2. A mustard seed, leaven or yeast, a pearl, a small treasure chest, and a net. In several different parables, the Savior compared each of these items to the kingdom of heaven. (The kingdom of heaven represents the Savior’s Church and gospel.)
2. The restored Church of Jesus Christ will grow from a small beginning to fill the whole earth. President Joseph F. Smith taught how followers of Jesus Christ can be likened to leaven:
While it may be said, and it is in a measure true, that we are but a handful in comparison with our fellowmen in the world, yet we may be compared with the leaven of which the Savior spoke, that will eventually leaven the whole world. (Gospel Doctrine, 5th ed. [1939], 74)
What can we do as Latter-day Saints to help the Savior’s Church grow?
3. The Prophet Joseph Smith summarized the topic of Matthew 13 when he taught the following:
The sayings of the Savior, recorded in the 13th chapter of His Gospel according to St. Matthew, … afford us as clear an understanding upon the important subject of the gathering, as anything recorded in the Bible. (in History of the Church, 2:264)
President Russell M. Nelson taught that we can help gather Israel on both sides of the veil:
This doctrine of the gathering is one of the important teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. … We not only teach this doctrine, but we participate in it. We do so as we help to gather the elect of the Lord on both sides of the veil. …
… We gather pedigree charts, create family group sheets, and do temple work vicariously to gather individuals unto the Lord and into their families. (“The Gathering of Scattered Israel,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2006, 80–81)
4. At the end of the chapter we read that the people of Nazareth rejected the Savior and His teachings. Because of their unbelief, the Savior did not perform many miracles among them.
