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According to Thy Word

A priest who waited for decades, a young woman who said yes, and a God for whom nothing is impossible

  • 📖 Adult Sunday School
  • Week 1
  • 📅 Sunday, January 3, 2027
💡 The big idea

Zacharias, Elisabeth, Mary and Joseph each had their lives rewritten by God. Their faithful waiting, their honest questions and Mary’s trusting “be it unto me according to thy word” show us how to follow the Lord when His will is bigger than anything we could have planned.

I can stay faithful while I wait on the Lord, bring my honest questions to Him, and answer His will with trust: “be it unto me according to thy word.”

Study it yourself firstRead Matthew 1; Luke 1 in Gospel LibraryCome, Follow Me manualOpen this week (Matthew 1; Luke 1)
Know the chapters

Welcome to the New Testament. Matthew and Luke open two different doors into the same story. Matthew writes with Jewish readers in mind. In Matthew 1:1 he starts with a genealogy that ties Jesus to Abraham and David. He tells Joseph’s side of the story. Luke was the “beloved physician” and Paul’s companion, as Colossians 4:14 says. In Luke 1:1–4 he explains that he gathered accounts from eyewitnesses. He wanted Theophilus to “know the certainty” of what he’d been taught. Luke gives us Zacharias, Elisabeth and Mary.

Zacharias belonged to the priestly course of Abia. See Luke 1:5 and 1 Chronicles 24:10. It was one of twenty-four groups that took turns serving at the temple. Priests were chosen by lot to burn incense in the holy place. So the moment in Luke 1:9 was likely a rare honor. In 1:10 the people pray outside. In 1:13 the angel Gabriel says, “thy prayer is heard.” In 1:6 Luke calls Zacharias and Elisabeth “righteous before God” and “blameless.” Yet they’d been childless for years. Their long wait wasn’t a punishment. Doctrine and Covenants 84:28 adds that John was “ordained by the angel of God at the time he was eight days old.”

Compare two questions. In Luke 1:18 Zacharias asks, “Whereby shall I know this?” He’s asking for proof, and his silence becomes the sign. In 1:34 Mary asks, “How shall this be?” She believes and asks how. Both were honest, and the Lord was patient with both. Mary’s answer in 1:38 is the heart of the week: “be it unto me according to thy word.” Joseph was “a just man.” In Matthew 1:19 he’s already planned a quiet, merciful course before the angel comes. In 1:24 he “did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him.” The manual quotes Elder Jeffrey R. Holland’s October 2020 promise. Sincere prayers are heard and answered, though maybe not when or how we wanted.

Handle this week with care. Your class may include people waiting for a child, a spouse, a healing or a family member’s return. Elisabeth’s story is hope, not a formula. Don’t promise anyone the same outcome. With 25 minutes, walk through Luke 1 in five short readings. Compare the two questions, and give While We Wait the most time. Joseph’s side of the story in Matthew 1 is ready as a bonus step. The parallels between Luke 1 and the restored Church are in the extras.

Only have 5 minutes?

Read Luke 1 in five short stops: verses 5–7, 11–13, 18–20, 34–38 and 60–64. Open by asking the class to think silently of something that feels impossible. Ask one question after each stop. Then put Luke 1:18 and 1:34 side by side. Give the most time to While We Wait. Close with Luke 1:37, and invite everyone to end this week’s prayers with Mary’s words.

What to bring2 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 Luke 1 straight through, then Matthew 1:18–25. Mark verses 6, 13, 18, 34, 37, 38 and 63 in Luke 1. They carry the lesson.
  2. Think of a prayer of your own that was answered late or differently than you expected. If the room is quiet, you may share it first.

Discussion tips

  • Tender topic. Waiting for children, marriage, healing or a wayward family member is real pain for many adults. Luke 1:6–7 says Zacharias and Elisabeth were righteous and still waiting. Honor that. Never suggest someone’s wait means they lack faith.
  • Someone asks why Zacharias was silenced when Mary wasn’t? Gabriel names the reason plainly in Luke 1:20. And in 1:64 the silence ends in praise. Both questions were answered. Neither person was abandoned.
  • Questions about how Jesus was conceived? Stay with what the scriptures say. In Luke 1:35, the Holy Ghost came upon Mary and the power of the Highest overshadowed her. So the child would be called the Son of God. See also 1 Nephi 11:18–21. Don’t speculate beyond that.
  • New year, new faces. Welcome visitors and new members by name. Say briefly that the class follows Come, Follow Me through the New Testament this year. Never ask anyone to read aloud without checking first.
  • One voice filling every pause? Thank them warmly, then say, “Let’s hear from someone who hasn’t had a chance yet.”
  • One question catches fire? Stay with it. A great discussion doesn’t cover every question. Let the rest go.

The 25-minute plan25 min + bonus

Bonus steps are for when you have extra time. Each “On the screen” line is what the class sees on a shared screen in Teach Mode in the Gospel Sparks app; on paper, read it aloud or write it on the board.

1. Hook

What Feels Impossible?

3 min

Opens with a quiet, personal question the chapter will answer.

  1. SAY“Think of something that feels impossible right now. Maybe in your life, or for someone you love. No one has to say it out loud.”
  2. Give them about 20 seconds of quiet. Then ask, “What makes something feel impossible to us?” Take three or four answers.
  3. SAY“Luke opens the New Testament with two impossible announcements. Let’s watch how two faithful people responded.”

On the screen: 🤐 What feels impossible to you right now?

2. Story

Luke 1 in Five Short Stops

10 min

Walks through Luke 1 a few verses at a time, from the temple to Nazareth to John’s naming, with one question at each stop.

  1. SAY“We’ll walk through Luke 1 in five short readings. Listen for two people who hear from the same angel and ask him two different questions.”
  2. Show one scene at a time. Give the one-line setup. You or a volunteer reads the passage.
  3. After each reading, ask the scene’s question and take two or three answers. Keep each stop about two minutes.
  4. After the last reading, sum up verses 78–80. Zacharias prophesies of “the dayspring from on high,” and the child grows strong in spirit. Let the quiet sit.

On the screen: 👼 Luke 1: an old priest in the temple, a young woman in Nazareth, and two impossible promises · Five short readings: 1:5–7 · 11–13 · 18–20 · 34–38 · 60–64

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: The shared screen (TV or device) with Teach Mode open

  1. SAY“We’ll walk through Luke 1 in five short readings. Listen for two different questions.”
  2. Read verses 5–7, 11–13, 18–20, 34–38 and 60–64. Give each setup in your own words first. You or a volunteer reads.
  3. After each reading, ask the scene’s question aloud and take two or three answers. Keep each stop about two minutes.
3. Scripture

Two Questions

3 min

Compares Zacharias’s and Mary’s questions, then studies Luke 1:38 closely.

  1. SAY“Both of them asked Gabriel a question.”
  2. Read Luke 1:18 and 1:34 one after the other while the class follows on the screen.
  3. Ask, “What makes the two questions different?” Draw it out. Zacharias asked for proof. Mary believed and asked how. The Lord was patient with both.
  4. Read Luke 1:38 slowly. Ask, “You can’t see how it ends. What does it take to say, ‘be it unto me according to thy word’?”

On the screen: ❓ “Whereby shall I know this?” and “How shall this be?” What’s the difference? · Luke 1:18, 34, 38

4. Talk it over

While We Wait

6 min

Helps adults draw strength from Zacharias and Elisabeth’s faithfulness during a long, unexplained wait.

  1. SAY“Zacharias and Elisabeth were righteous and still waited for years. Many of us are waiting for something right now. Let’s talk about the meantime.”
  2. Pick two or three questions. Ask one, wait, then ask its follow-up before you move on.
  3. Before the last question, share Elder Holland’s promise from “From general conference” below. Never suggest a long wait means weak faith.
💬 Ask the class
  • What prayer of yours was answered late, or differently than you expected? Follow-up: What did you learn in the waiting that you couldn’t have learned any other way?
  • What do you notice about how Zacharias and Elisabeth lived while they waited? Follow-up: What keeps you faithful in your own meantime?
  • How can we support someone in the ward who is still waiting, without offering easy answers? Follow-up: What has someone done for you that truly helped?
  • Elder Holland promised that our prayers “are heard and they are answered, though perhaps not at the time or in the way we wanted.” Which part is hardest to trust? Follow-up: What helps you trust it?

On the screen: ⏳ Righteous, blameless, and still waiting: what do we do in the meantime? · Luke 1:5–25, 57–64

5. Testimony

Nothing Shall Be Impossible

3 min

Ends with testimony of the God of the impossible and a concrete invitation for the week.

  1. SAY“Gabriel told Mary, ‘For with God nothing shall be impossible.’”
  2. SAY“Would one or two of you share a time the Lord did something you thought impossible? Or carried you through a wait?”
  3. Bear a short testimony. Heavenly Father hears every prayer. His Son came to do what no one else could do.
  4. Invite: “This week, take your impossible thing to the Lord in prayer. End with Mary’s words: ‘Be it unto me according to thy word.’”

On the screen: ✨ For with God nothing shall be impossible. · Luke 1:37 · This week: pray about your impossible thing. End with “be it unto me.”

6. Talk it over

Joseph’s Quiet Yes

4 minBONUS

Shows how Joseph’s character and prompt obedience prepared him for his role.

  1. SAY“Matthew tells Joseph’s side of the story.”
  2. Read Matthew 1:19–21, then verse 24.
  3. Point out verse 19. Joseph had already chosen a quiet, merciful course before the angel came.
  4. Ask one or two questions with follow-ups, then close on time.
💬 Ask the class
  • Before the dream, Joseph planned to act privately and mercifully. That’s verse 19. What does that tell you about his character? Follow-up: Where could you choose that kind of mercy this week?
  • Matthew 1:24 says he “did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him.” What helps you act promptly on revelation, even when it rearranges your plans? Follow-up: When did acting quickly matter?
  • Mary said yes to an angel, and Joseph said yes to a dream. How do the people around us make our own yes possible? Follow-up: Whose yes could you support right now?

On the screen: 💤 Joseph woke up and did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him. · Matthew 1:19–21, 24

Read it together

Two Impossible Announcements

Luke 1:5–7; Luke 1:11–13; Luke 1:18–20; Luke 1:34–38; Luke 1:60–64 ↗

Scenes

  1. 🕯️ Righteous, faithful, and still waiting

    Luke opens with his reason for writing. It’s so we can “know the certainty” of what we’ve been taught. Now read Luke 1, verses 5 to 7. Notice two phrases side by side: “righteous before God,” and “they had no child.”

    💬 Ask: Why do you think Luke wanted us to see those two phrases together? Follow-up: What does that say to someone still waiting?

  2. 👼 “Thy prayer is heard”

    In verses 8 to 10, the lot falls to Zacharias. He’ll burn incense in the temple while the people pray outside. Now read verses 11 to 13. Notice the angel’s first words: “thy prayer is heard.”

    💬 Ask: Zacharias may have stopped asking for a son long ago. What does it mean to you that heaven had heard every one of those prayers?

  3. 🤐 “Whereby shall I know this?”

    In verses 14 to 17, Gabriel describes John’s mission. He’ll “turn the hearts of the fathers to the children.” Now read verses 18 to 20. Here’s a righteous priest. He’s in the temple, face to face with an angel. And he still asks for proof. The sign is silence.

    💬 Ask: Faith and doubt showed up in the same good man, in the same moment. When has that been true for you? Follow-up: What helped?

  4. 🙏 “Be it unto me according to thy word”

    In verses 21 to 33, Zacharias goes home speechless. Elisabeth conceives. Six months later, Gabriel greets Mary in Nazareth: “Hail, thou that art highly favoured.” Now read verses 34 to 38. Gabriel points her to Elisabeth as evidence.

    💬 Ask: Elisabeth was living proof that God keeps His word. Who has been an “Elisabeth” for you, someone whose life helped you believe?

  5. ✍️ “His name is John”

    In verses 39 to 59, Mary visits Elisabeth, and the babe leaps. Mary praises the Lord. And John is born. The relatives want to name him Zacharias. Now read verses 60 to 64. His first words in months are praise.

    💬 Ask: Elisabeth held firm on the name before Zacharias could speak. How do we carry each other’s faith through a long wait?

Key verse

Luke 1:38 ↗
“And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.”
In plain words: Mary didn’t understand everything that was coming, but she trusted the Lord completely: I am Yours; let it happen the way You said.

More verses

Luke 1:37 ↗
“For with God nothing shall be impossible.”
In plain words: Gabriel gave Mary this promise along with the evidence of Elisabeth. The God who did both of these things can work in our lives too.
Luke 1:13 ↗
“But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.”
In plain words: Years of prayer had not been wasted. Heaven had heard every one.
Luke 1:45 ↗
“And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.”
In plain words: Elisabeth blesses Mary for believing. What the Lord promises, He performs.
Matthew 1:24 ↗
“Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:”
In plain words: Joseph woke up and obeyed right away, even though it changed all his plans.

From general conference

“So while we work and wait together for the answers to some of our prayers, I offer you my apostolic promise that they are heard and they are answered, though perhaps not at the time or in the way we wanted.”

— Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “Waiting on the Lord,” October 2020

Share in While We Wait, before the last question.

Read the talk ↗

Songs

  • Did You Think to Pray? Hymns, no. 140

    Zacharias and Elisabeth’s story is about prayers that are heard. A good opening hymn. Find it ↗

  • Come, Follow Me Hymns, no. 116

    The first Sunday of a year spent following the Savior through the New Testament. Find it ↗

This week’s invitation

Be It unto Me

This week, bring the thing that feels impossible to the Lord in prayer. Or bring the blessing you’ve waited for longest. Tell Him honestly how you feel. Then close with Mary’s words from Luke 1:38: “Be it unto me according to thy word.” Notice how that changes the rest of your day.

Take it home

In Sunday School we read Luke 1. Zacharias and Elisabeth waited years for an answer. Mary answered an impossible message with “be it unto me according to thy word.” That’s Luke 1:38. At dinner, read Luke 1:37 together. Have each person share one “impossible” thing the Lord has done, in the scriptures or in your family.

📝 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?

🌳 Four Women in the Family Line · 4 min

  1. Read Matthew 1:3–6. Look for the women Matthew names before Mary. They’re Thamar, Rachab, Ruth, and “her that had been the wife of Urias.”
  2. Briefly recall their stories. They’re in Genesis 38, Joshua 2, Ruth 1–4 and 2 Samuel 11–12.
  3. Ask, “Why might Matthew include these women in the Savior’s family line?” Follow-up: “What does it tell us about who belongs in His story?”

📜 Prophets Knew Her Name · 4 min

  1. Read 1 Nephi 11:18–20, Mosiah 3:8 and Alma 7:10. Prophets see or name Mary long before she was born.
  2. Ask, “What does it mean to you that the Lord knew Mary’s name and mission centuries ahead?”
  3. Ask, “What might the Lord know about your life that you can’t see yet?”

🎶 Two Songs of Praise · 5 min

  1. Read Mary’s words in Luke 1:46–50, then Hannah’s in 1 Samuel 2:1–2. Listen for echoes.
  2. Read Zacharias’s praise in Luke 1:76–79. Point out the “dayspring from on high” in verse 78.
  3. Ask, “In verse 49, Mary speaks of ‘great things.’ What great things has the Lord done for you?” Follow-up: “What would it mean for your soul to ‘magnify the Lord’?”

🏛️ The Church Then and Now · 4 min

  1. Read Luke 1:13–17. Notice what you recognize. There’s priesthood, temple service, prayer, angels, a law about food and drink, and promised blessings.
  2. Read Articles of Faith 1:6.
  3. Ask, “Zacharias got his answer while serving in the temple. What have you received in the Lord’s house?”

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.

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