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Out of the Mud!

A king tried to burn God’s word, and a prophet was dropped into a muddy pit, but God’s word came right back and a brave servant named Ebed-melech pulled Jeremiah out. This week your kids learn that the scriptures are God’s word, that He can write it in their hearts, and that they can be brave when someone needs help. Saturday is Halloween and Sunday is fast Sunday, so those days are short and simple.

  • Week 44
  • 📅 Oct 26 – Nov 1, 2026
  • 📖 Jeremiah 31–33; 36–39; Lamentations 1; 3
Start with Monday
Read it togetherJeremiah 31–33; 36–39; Lamentations 1; 3 in Gospel LibraryCome, Follow Me manualOld Testament 2026, week 44

What your kids learn in class

Stories, verses and games for the week come from each child’s own Primary or youth lesson, so home matches Sunday.

Daily sparks

Five to ten minutes a day, Monday to Sunday. Grown-ups lead; kids act, play and answer. Where a step says to tap something, that’s in the Gospel Sparks app; on the web, use the “Play along” links.

Monday · 10 min · Story

The Scroll and the Muddy Pit

🕳️ Pull! Pull! Get Jeremiah out of the mud!Build a pit.Burn the scroll? Write it again!Rescue crew, pull!

📖 Read together: Jeremiah 36:20–28; 38:6–13 ↗

  1. Make a “pit”: a laundry basket, a gap between couch cushions, or a blanket on the floor. Twist a bath towel into a “rope.”
  2. Tap Story and read each scene out loud while your kids act out the actions.
  3. At the fire scene, the king tears up a scrap-paper “scroll” and tosses it into a pretend fire (a bowl). Everyone cheers when Jeremiah writes it all again!
  4. At the pit scene, one kid sits in the pit and sinks with a sad “squelch.” Everyone else is Ebed-melech’s rescue crew: tuck a pillow under their arms (the soft old rags) and gently pull them out with the towel rope.
  5. SAY“A king can burn paper, but he can’t stop God’s word. And one brave person can change everything.”

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

Talk about it
  • Why did the king burn the scroll?
  • What made Ebed-melech brave?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Let your little one be the one in the pit so they get rescued, or hold the rope with you and shout “Pull!”
📚 Big kids (10–13)Have older kids play Baruch the scribe: write a few words on the scroll, then rewrite them fast after the king burns it.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Ask your teen to read Jeremiah 36:22–24 and notice the chilling details: the king cut the scroll with a penknife a few columns at a time, fed it to the fire he was warming himself by, and no one was afraid. Ask: how do people today “cut out” the parts of God’s word they don’t like?
☕️ For grown-upsThe king heard God’s word and felt nothing, while a few officials begged him not to burn it and were ignored (Jeremiah 36:24–25). Hard hearts rarely start with open rebellion; they start with indifference. What counsel have you been quietly tuning out?

Sticker for today: 🪢

Tuesday · 8 min · Verse

The Disappearing Verse

❤️ Tear it up, but keep it in your heart!Say the verse.Tear off a word.Say it again until it’s all in your heart!

📖 Read together: Jeremiah 31:31–34 ↗

  1. Tap Key Verse and read Jeremiah 31:33 together.
  2. Write the verse in big letters on a strip of paper.
  3. Say it together. Tear off the last word and say it again. Keep tearing off one word at a time until the paper is gone.
  4. Point to your heart and say: “The paper is gone, but the words are still here! When God’s word is in our hearts, no one can take it away.”
  5. Connect it to Monday: “King Jehoiakim burned the paper. He couldn’t burn what was in people’s hearts.”

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

Talk about it
  • What does it mean to have God’s word written in your heart?
  • What’s a scripture or truth you already know by heart?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Let your little one do the tearing and shout “It’s in my heart!” every time.
📚 Big kids (10–13)Have older kids write the verse themselves and try to say it with the paper face down after just three rounds.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Ask your teen to read Jeremiah 31:31–34 and explain the difference between a law written on stone and one written in the heart. Then ask: what’s one standard they keep because they’ve chosen it, not because someone told them to?
☕️ For grown-upsThe new covenant Jeremiah describes isn’t a new rulebook; it’s a changed heart. That is the long goal of gospel parenting too: not children who obey while you watch, but children who make the Lord’s ways their own. Where are you already seeing signs of it?

Sticker for today: 💖

Wednesday · 8 min · Activity

Everlasting Hunt

♾️ Find what lasts, and what melts away!Race for two minutes.Sort into two piles.Which pile is God’s love?

📖 Read together: Jeremiah 31:3 ↗

  1. Read Jeremiah 31:3 together. Say: “Everlasting means it never, ever ends.”
  2. Put an ice cube on a plate. Tap Timer for 2 minutes. Kids race to find things that don’t last long (a banana, a flower, a cookie, a bubble) and things that last a really long time (a rock, a coin, a family photo).
  3. Sort them into two piles. Check the ice cube: how much has melted?
  4. Ask: “Which pile does Heavenly Father’s love go in?” (Neither! It lasts longer than a rock. It never ends.)
  5. SAY“Even when you make mistakes, His love for you doesn’t melt away like that ice cube.”

⏱️ Big Timer (in the Gospel Sparks app)

Talk about it
  • What’s something that lasts a really long time?
  • How do you know Heavenly Father and Jesus love you?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Give your little one the ice cube to hold and watch it drip: “God’s love never melts!”
📚 Big kids (10–13)Have older kids read Lamentations 3:22–23 and explain what “new every morning” adds to “everlasting.”
🧑 Teens (14–18)Give your teen Lamentations 3:19–26 and ask: this was written after Jerusalem burned. Why would someone at their lowest point write that the Lord’s mercies are “new every morning”? What does that say about where hope comes from?
☕️ For grown-upsLamentations 3:22–23 sits in the middle of a book of grief, written over the ruins of Jerusalem. The writer doesn’t deny the loss; he finds the Lord’s mercy inside it. If you’re carrying a loss right now, you don’t have to choose between honest grief and hope.

Sticker for today: 🧊

Thursday · 8 min · Game

Team Rope vs. Team Rags

🏅 Team Rope vs. Team Rags: who wins?Pick your team.Right answer: heave-ho!Wrong answer: sink in the mud!
  1. Split into Team Rope and Team Rags.
  2. Tap Quiz. Read each question out loud. Teams whisper, then point to an answer.
  3. Right answer? That team does a big “Heave-ho!” rope pull in the air. Wrong answer? Sink into the mud (squat low) until the next question.
  4. The winning team picks tonight’s bedtime story.

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

Talk about it
  • Which question was the hardest?
  • What would you have done if you were Ebed-melech?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Let your little one be their team’s rope puller who does the heave-ho for every right answer.
📚 Big kids (10–13)Have older kids be the quizmasters and add one bonus question of their own about the story.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Let your teen coach one team and write a bonus question comparing King Zedekiah, who kept asking Jeremiah for the Lord’s word but wouldn’t follow it, with Ebed-melech. Afterward ask: which one is easier to be?
☕️ For grown-upsKing Zedekiah secretly asked Jeremiah what the Lord wanted, then didn’t do it (Jeremiah 38:14–20). It’s a very human pattern: wanting counsel without wanting to change. Is there counsel you keep asking for but not acting on?

Sticker for today: 🏅

Friday · 8 min · Service

Ropes and Rags Mission

🦸 Be a brave and gentle rescuer today!Pick a rope: help someone.Pick a rag: be gentle.Practice brave words!

📖 Read together: Jeremiah 38:10–13; 39:15–18 ↗

  1. Read Jeremiah 38:11–12 together. Point out that Ebed-melech brought old rags so the ropes wouldn’t hurt Jeremiah’s arms. He was brave AND gentle.
  2. SAY“Today you’re a rescuer. A rope is something that helps someone out of a hard spot. A rag is a gentle touch that makes it easier.”
  3. Each kid picks one rope and one rag for someone: help a sibling clean up (rope) and do it cheerfully (rag), include someone at recess (rope) and invite them to sit by you (rag).
  4. Practice a quick scene: a stuffed animal is being teased. Who will speak up like Ebed-melech? Practice brave words: “Hey, that’s not kind. Come play with us.”
  5. At dinner, share your rescues.
Talk about it
  • Who might need a rescuer this week?
  • What brave words can you say when someone is being unkind?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Let your little one rescue a stuffed animal from a box “pit” with a sock rope and give it a gentle hug.
📚 Big kids (10–13)Have older kids think of a real situation at school or online where someone needs an Ebed-melech, and plan what they’d do.
🧑 Teens (14–18)Ask your teen to read Jeremiah 38:7–10 and notice that Ebed-melech, a foreign servant, went straight to the king to speak up for someone unpopular. Where in their world (school, team, group chats) does someone need an advocate, and what would it cost to be one?
☕️ For grown-upsEbed-melech risked his place to rescue an unpopular prophet, and the Lord later promised to protect him “because thou hast put thy trust in me” (Jeremiah 39:18). His courage and his kindness grew out of trust. Tell your kids about a time you spoke up, or wish you had.

Sticker for today: 🦸

Saturday · 5 min · Activity

Rescue Crew Huddle

🎃 Rescue Crew huddle: brave and kind tonight!Hands in!Watch for someone who needs help.Tomorrow is fast Sunday.
  1. Keep it short today! If your family is heading out for Halloween, gather at the door for a two-minute Rescue Crew huddle.
  2. SAY“Tonight, watch for someone who needs an Ebed-melech: a little kid who’s scared, someone who got left behind, a friend who needs a hand.”
  3. Everyone puts a hand in the middle and shouts: “Brave and kind!”
  4. Before bed, talk about tomorrow: it’s fast Sunday. Say: “Fasting means going without food for a little while so we can pray and draw closer to Heavenly Father. Our fast offering helps people who need food.”
  5. Decide what your family will fast and pray for. Kids who aren’t ready to skip a meal can give up a snack or a treat instead.
Talk about it
  • Who did you notice or help tonight?
  • What will our family fast and pray for tomorrow?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Your little one can shout “Brave and kind!” and help pick one treat to share with a sibling.
📚 Big kids (10–13)Invite older kids to fast for a meal if they’re ready, and to help choose what the family will fast for.
🧑 Teens (14–18)If your teen is going out with friends tonight, quietly give them the Ebed-melech job: watch for anyone left out or uncomfortable and be the one who helps. Invite them to fast tomorrow and choose something personal to fast for.
☕️ For grown-upsKids understand fasting best when they know why you’re doing it. Tonight, tell them in a sentence or two what you’ll be fasting for tomorrow, as much as is right to share.

Sticker for today: 🎃

Sunday · 8 min · Sabbath

New Every Morning

🌅 Every morning is a brand-new start!Tell what you learned in Primary.End the fast with a prayer.Share one thank-you.

📖 Read together: Lamentations 3:22–26 ↗

  1. Ask: “What did you learn in Primary today? What happened in the story?”
  2. Read Lamentations 3:22–23 together. Say: “After Jerusalem was destroyed, people were very sad. But right in the middle of their sad poems is this promise: the Lord’s kindness is new every single morning.”
  3. End your fast together with a family prayer, thanking Heavenly Father for His love and asking for help with what you fasted for.
  4. Each person shares one thing they’re grateful for today.
  5. Share a sentence or two of testimony about the scriptures, or about how the Lord helps us start fresh.
Talk about it
  • What did you learn in Primary today?
  • How did fasting or praying feel today?
🧸 Little ones (2–5)Let your little one open the curtains or flip on a light and say, “Good morning, fresh start!”
📚 Big kids (10–13)Ask your older kid how the scriptures have helped them choose better, like the Lord hoped Jeremiah’s scroll would (Jeremiah 36:3).
🧑 Teens (14–18)Invite your teen to share a short testimony in fast and testimony meeting or at home as you end the fast, even two sentences. First have them read Lamentations 3:25–26: what does it mean to hope and “quietly wait” for the Lord?
☕️ For grown-upsAs you end the fast, sit with Lamentations 3:24: “The LORD is my portion.” What would it mean for the Lord to be enough for you this month, even if what you fasted for doesn’t come the way you hoped?

Sticker for today: 🌅

Family challenge

Family Rescue Rope

Hang a long strip of paper or a piece of yarn on the fridge. Every time someone in your family helps someone out of a hard spot (a spill, a sad moment, a tricky homework problem), add a paper link or tie a knot. See how long your rescue rope gets by Sunday.

Parent Corner

These chapters hold some of the darkest scenes in the Old Testament: a king burning scripture, a prophet sinking in the mud of a dungeon, Jerusalem and its temple destroyed. Yet right in the middle of them Jeremiah delivers some of the most hopeful words in the Bible: a new covenant, the Lord’s law written on hearts, sins remembered no more (Jeremiah 31:31–34). While Babylon’s army surrounded the city, the Lord even had Jeremiah buy a field and seal the deed in a jar, as a sign that houses and fields would be bought in that land again (Jeremiah 32:6–15). It’s a good pattern for hard seasons of family life: don’t pretend nothing is falling apart, but keep making small investments that show you believe the Lord will redeem it.

  • Ponder: What “field” could we buy right now, some small act of faith in our family’s future, while things still feel uncertain?
  • Try this: Read Lamentations 3:1–33 on your own this week. Notice where the writer’s tone turns (around verse 21) and write down what helped him hope again.

From general conference

“Regardless of how desperate things may seem or how desperate they may yet become, please believe me, you can always have hope. Always.”

— Elder M. Russell Ballard, “The Joy of Hope Fulfilled,” October 1992

For parents on Sunday, with Lamentations 3:21–26 as you end your fast, or save it for a hard day.

Read the talk ↗

Dinner-table questions

  • If you were Baruch, would you be nervous to read the scroll to the king?
  • What’s your favorite scripture story?
  • When have you seen someone be brave for another person?
  • What does it feel like to get a fresh start?
  • What words from God do you want written in your heart?

Sources

Scripture quotations are from the King James Version, the Bible used by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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