Israel kept the outward forms of fasting and the Sabbath; the Lord asked for hearts turned toward the burdened and toward Him
The Lord’s holy days are not about going without or checking boxes; the fast He chooses lifts other people’s burdens, the Sabbath He blesses turns us toward Him, and both make us like a watered garden whose waters do not fail.
I can make my fasting and my Sabbath about lifting others and drawing near to the Lord, and trust Him to guide me continually.
Isaiah 58–66 closes the book with some of its brightest chapters. Isaiah 58 redefines fasting and the Sabbath. Isaiah 59 admits that sin separates us from God. Then it promises in 59:20 that “the Redeemer shall come to Zion.” Isaiah 60 begins, “Arise, shine; for thy light is come.” Isaiah 61:1–3 describes One anointed to bind up the brokenhearted and give “beauty for ashes.” Jesus read it in the synagogue at Nazareth. He said, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” That’s Luke 4:16–21. In 63:3 the Lord comes in red garments, having “trodden the winepress alone.” Doctrine and Covenants 133:46–51 echoes it. Chapters 65 and 66 look ahead to new heavens and a new earth.
This lesson centers on Isaiah 58. The people seem devout. In 58:2 they seek the Lord “daily” and “delight to know my ways.” Yet in 58:3 they complain, “Wherefore have we fasted… and thou seest not?” The Lord answers directly in verses 3 to 5. On fast days they chase their own business, drive their workers and pick fights. In verses 6 and 7, the fast He chooses goes after burdens. It looses bands and undoes heavy loads. It frees the oppressed, shares bread, houses the poor and clothes the naked. And it doesn’t hide “from thine own flesh.” Then come the promises in verses 8 to 12, each starting with “then.” Light breaks forth. The Lord answers, “Here I am.” He guides continually. You become a watered garden and a repairer of the breach.
The chapter ends by applying the same idea to the Sabbath in 58:13–14. Turn away from “doing thy pleasure on my holy day.” Call the Sabbath “a delight,” and “then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord.” In Doctrine and Covenants 59:13–14, the Lord ties fasting and the Sabbath together again. He calls it “rejoicing and prayer.” Today, members are invited to fast on fast Sunday, usually by skipping two meals. They’re also invited to give a generous fast offering to help people in need.
Twenty-five minutes is enough for Isaiah 58 in five short readings and an honest discussion. Isaiah 61 and Luke 4 are ready as a bonus step if you have time.
Read Isaiah 58 in five short stops: verses 1–3, 6–7, 8–9, 10–12 and 13–14. Sum up verses 4–5 in a sentence. Open by asking what people usually think about when they fast. Ask one question at each stop. Spend the most time on The Fast That I Have Chosen. Close with 58:9, a testimony or two, and an invitation to lift one burden this week.
Tick what you have. Forgot something? Every step that needs a supply has a no-supplies version in the plan below.
Before class
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.
Opens with the familiar practice of fasting and asks what it is actually for.
On the screen: 🍽️ When you fast, what are you usually thinking about?
Walks through Isaiah 58 a few verses at a time, from frustrated worshippers to the fast the Lord chooses, with one question at each stop.
On the screen: 📯 Isaiah 58: “Wherefore have we fasted, and thou seest not?” · Five short readings: 58:1–3 · 6–7 · 8–9 · 10–12 · 13–14
Instead of: The shared screen (TV or device) with Teach Mode open
Studies Isaiah 58:11 closely so class members see what the Lord promises those who fast His way.
On the screen: 🌿 Thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. · Isaiah 58:11 · Satisfied in drought, not spared from it.
Helps adults turn fasting and fast offerings outward, toward real burdens in their ward and world.
On the screen: ⛓️ To loose the bands, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free. · Isaiah 58:6–7
Ends with testimony that the Lord answers and guides those who lift others, and one simple invitation.
On the screen: 🙋 Thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. · Isaiah 58:9 · This week: lift one specific burden.
Shows the Savior announcing His mission in Isaiah’s words, the same mission Isaiah 58 invites us to share.
On the screen: 📜 “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” · Isaiah 61:1–3 · Luke 4:17–21
Scenes
📯 “Wherefore have we fasted?”
The Lord tells Isaiah to cry aloud, like a trumpet. But look who He’s speaking to. People who seek Him daily. People who delight in worship. Let’s read Isaiah 58, verses 1 to 3. Listen for their complaint: “thou seest not.”
💬 Ask: Have you ever done all the right religious things and felt God didn’t notice? Follow-up: What did you do with that feeling?
⛓️ “Is not this the fast that I have chosen?”
In verses 4 and 5, the Lord answers plainly. On fast days they still quarrel. They bow their heads “as a bulrush,” but nothing changes inside. Then He describes the fast He wants. Read verses 6 and 7. Notice how every verb reaches toward someone else.
💬 Ask: Verse 7 says, “hide not thyself from thine own flesh.” Who might we be hiding from, even without meaning to?
🌅 “Then shall thy light break forth”
Now the promises begin. Each one starts with “then.” Read verses 8 and 9. The people complained that God didn’t see them. Listen to what He says now: “Here I am.”
💬 Ask: When we lift someone else’s burden, the Lord says, “Here I am.” Why do you think that is?
🌿 A watered garden
Now verses 10 to 12. Those who “draw out thy soul to the hungry” become like a watered garden. It never dries up. And they get a new name: “The repairer of the breach.”
💬 Ask: Who has been a repairer of the breach for you or your family? Follow-up: What did they rebuild?
🕯️ “Call the sabbath a delight”
The chapter ends by turning the same idea to the Sabbath. Read verses 13 and 14. Notice three things to set aside. Our own ways. Our own pleasure. Our own words.
💬 Ask: What makes the Sabbath feel like a delight for you? Follow-up: What makes it feel like a list?
“And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.”
More verses
“Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?”
“If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:”
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;”
“In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.”
“Just as the receipt of the blessing of your fast offering and mine can change hearts, so does fasting for the good of another.”
— President Henry B. Eyring, ““Is Not This the Fast That I Have Chosen?”,” April 2015
Share in The Fast That I Have Chosen, after the class talks about fast offerings.
Read the talk ↗Pick one real burden this week. Maybe it’s someone lonely, sick, out of work or overwhelmed. Do one thing to help lift it. Make your next fast about that person, and give a generous fast offering.
In Sunday School we read Isaiah 58, the Lord’s teaching on fasting and the Sabbath. In verses 6 and 7, the fast He chooses lifts other people’s burdens. In verse 11 He promises we’ll be “like a watered garden.” At home, pick one person to help this week. Then talk about what would make next Sunday a delight.
📝 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.
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.
