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I Will Not Forget Thee

Names on the teacher’s hand, a silly log that can’t help anybody, and a Lord who never forgets

  • 🛡️ CTR 4–6
  • Week 40
  • 📅 Sunday, October 4, 2026
🤔 Forehead Guess🏆 Showdown
💡 The big idea

Jesus Christ will never forget me, and He makes me strong when I trust Him.

I can remember that Jesus knows my name, and I can trust Him when I feel sad, tired, or scared.

Study it yourself firstRead Isaiah 40–49 in Gospel LibraryCome, Follow Me manualOpen this week (Isaiah 40–49)
Know the chapters

Isaiah 40 opens with a gentle new word: “Comfort.” Isaiah wrote these chapters for Israelites who wouldn’t be born for a long time. More than a hundred years after Isaiah, Jerusalem and its temple would be destroyed. Families would be carried off to Babylon. Far from home, many felt the Lord had forgotten them, as Isaiah 49:14 says. The Lord’s answer runs through all ten chapters: “Fear not.” He even names Cyrus, long before Cyrus was born. Cyrus was the Persian king who would let them go home and rebuild the temple. See Isaiah 44:28, 45:1 and Ezra 1:1–4.

These chapters are full of pictures a young child can hold onto. In 40:11, the Lord is a shepherd who carries the little lambs close to His heart. In 40:31, He never gets tired, and He helps people who trust Him “mount up with wings as eagles.” In 43:1, He calls each of us by name. In 49:15–16, a mother might forget her baby, but He won’t forget us. He has “graven” us on the palms of His hands. The Lord speaking here is Jehovah, who is Jesus Christ. The resurrected Savior still has the marks of the nails in His hands, in 3 Nephi 11:14–15. It’s a tender reminder of how much He remembers us. Isaiah also pokes fun at idols in 44:14–17. A man burns half a log to cook dinner and bows down to the other half. A log can’t hear or help anybody.

Your class runs from four-year-olds who can’t read yet to six-year-olds getting ready for baptism. So this plan keeps one simple idea and says it many ways: “Jesus will never forget me.” You tell the story with pictures, and everyone joins in. Big kids can read captions and the key verse from your phone or tablet. Tie it to baptism and the sacrament. When we’re baptized and take the sacrament, we promise to always remember Jesus. Isaiah shows that He always remembers us.

You tell the whole story, including everything the Lord says. The kids join in from their seats. The idol part is meant to be silly, not scary. Keep Babylon’s army offstage with one simple sentence.

Only have 5 minutes?

Write each child’s name or first letter on your palm with a washable marker. Tell the story in Teach Mode. Say “yet will I not forget thee” with motions. Play He Won’t Forget You! with the Name Spinner, then close by looking at your hands. Brought nothing? Tap “I brought nothing” and write each name on your palm with your finger.

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. Just before class, write every child’s name on your palm with washable marker. Tiny letters are fine. Keep your hand in a fist.
  2. Add your kids’ names in the My Class tab so the Name Spinner can pick them.

If your class is wild

  • Echo lines are easy for little ones. Say a line in a whisper, and wait for the whisper to come back.
  • Give your wiggliest kid the Wings Leader job. Now their energy starts the “Whoosh!” for everyone.
  • Seat each 4- or 5-year-old by a 6-year-old buddy. Little ones copy the motions, and big kids love to help.
  • Scene 4 is the heart of the lesson. Drop to a whisper and look at your own palm. Kids will copy you.
  • In the Name Spinner game, everyone says the child’s name together. Kids who hear their name get calm and proud.

The 25-minute plan25 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

What’s in My Hand?

3 min

Seeing their own names on the teacher’s hand makes Isaiah’s promise personal.

  1. SAY“I have something super important in my hand. It’s something I never want to forget. Can you guess?”
  2. Take three guesses. Then open your palm.
  3. SAY“It’s you! I wrote your names so I’d remember every one of you.”
  4. Read each name, and that child waves.
  5. SAY“Today we’ll learn that Jesus will never, ever forget you.”

Class screen: ✋ What’s in my hand? · 🤲 Whose names?

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: A washable marker (to write every child’s name on your own palm)

Names on My Hand

  1. SAY“I’m going to write something super important on my hand.”
  2. Hold out your palm and pretend to write with your finger. Say each child’s name slowly as you write it. That child waves.
  3. SAY“Now I won’t forget any of you!”
  4. SAY“Today we’ll learn that Jesus will never, ever forget you.”

Class screen: ✋ Whose names are on my hand? · 🤲 Whose names?

2. Story

Story: The Lord Did Not Forget

7 min

A true story of families far from home shows that the Lord remembers His people and makes them strong.

  1. SAY“This is a true story from Isaiah’s time. Sometimes I’ll say a line, and you say it back to me.”
  2. Open the story in Teach Mode. When a line shows at the bottom, say it first. Then the class says it back.
  3. At scene 3, ask, “Can a log hear your prayers?” When they say no, add, “Heavenly Father and Jesus always can!”
  4. Slow down at scene 4. Let everyone look at their palms quietly before you whisper the promise.
🌪️ If the room drifts, say the next line in a whisper. They’ll whisper it back.

Class screen: 🦅 The Lord Did Not Forget · 🔁 Say it back! · 🤲 He won’t forget!

3. Wiggle break

Run, Walk, Soar!

2 min

Isaiah 40:31 becomes a quick stretch before the verse.

  1. SAY“Isaiah said people who trust the Lord can run and not get tired! Everyone stand up and run in place.”
  2. Call out, “Walk and not faint!” and walk in place. Then call, “Mount up with wings as eagles!” Flap and soar, feet on your spot.
  3. Do it twice, faster each time.
  4. SAY“Eagles land softly. Glide down into your seat.”

Class screen: 🦅 Run! Walk! Soar like an eagle!

4. Scripture

Key Verse: Isaiah 49:15

3 min

Motions help every age remember the Lord’s promise to never forget them.

  1. SAY“Here’s the Lord’s promise to you.”
  2. Show the verse on your phone or tablet. Let a big kid read it: “yet will I not forget thee.”
  3. SAY“Thee is an old way to say you. Jesus is saying, ‘I will not forget you.’”
  4. Teach the motions one word at a time. Then say it three ways: a tiny mouse voice, a normal voice and a big, strong eagle voice.
  5. Ask, “When you’re baptized, you promise to always remember Jesus. What does He promise you?” Help them answer, “He’ll never forget me!”

Class screen: 🤲 Yet will I not forget thee.

5. Game

He Won’t Forget You!

7 min

Every child hears the class say that Jesus won’t forget them by name, practicing the big idea.

  1. SAY“Jesus knows every single name in this room. Let’s see whose name comes up!”
  2. Tap Name Spinner. When it stops, everyone holds out their palms and says, “Jesus won’t forget [name]!”
  3. That child tells one thing they love, like a pet, a food or a person. Tell them, “Jesus knows that about you too!”
  4. Every few turns, ask, “What can we do when we feel sad, tired or scared?” Pray and trust Jesus! Then everyone flaps: “Whoosh!”
  5. Keep spinning until every child hears their name. No class list? Just point to each child in turn.
🌪️ Shy kids can whisper their answer to you, and you say it for them. Everyone still gets their name cheered.
🎡 Name Spinner (a class game in the Gospel Sparks app)

Class screen: 🎡 Jesus won’t forget YOU! · 🤲 Jesus won’t forget… · 💛 What do you love? · 🦅 Whoosh!

6. Testimony

Look at Your Hands

3 min

End quietly with the Savior’s hands and His promise to remember each child.

  1. SAY“Let’s hold out our hands and look at our palms. Be as quiet as a little lamb.”
  2. Wait until the room is still.
  3. SAY“When Jesus came back to life, He still had marks in His hands. He will never forget you.”
  4. Share a sentence or two of your own. Then show the Look at Your Hands challenge on the screen.
  5. Ask a child to say the closing prayer. Little ones can repeat after you, a few words at a time.

Class screen: 🤲 Jesus will never forget you. · Look at your hands · He remembers you

7. Game

Forehead Guess: Wings Like Eagles Edition

4 minBONUS

A quick Heads Up–style review of the story words.

  1. SAY“Let’s see what you remember! Give clues, but don’t say the word.”
  2. Tap Forehead Guess. The guesser holds your phone or tablet on their forehead. Everyone gives clues from their seats. Little ones can flap for eagle or say “baa” for lamb.
  3. Tilt down for “got it” and up to pass. Give each guesser about 30 seconds. Pair a little one with a big-kid buddy.
▶ Play Forehead Guess on the web

Class screen: 🤔 Forehead Guess! · Give clues, don’t say the word!

8. Game

Scripture Showdown

5 minBONUS

A fast team quiz reviews the lesson.

  1. SAY“It’s Team Eagles versus Team Lambs!”
  2. Split into two teams, mixing big and little kids. Tap Scripture Showdown.
  3. A big kid on each team reads the question out loud. The team whispers, then points to an answer.
  4. Tap the team that got it right to give them a point. Cheer for both teams.
▶ Play Scripture Showdown on the web

Class screen: 🏆 Scripture Showdown!

The story

The Lord Did Not Forget

Isaiah 40:1, 11, 31; 44:14–17, 28; 49:14–16; Ezra 1:1–4 ↗

Optional helpers

  • Wings LeaderStarts the big “Whoosh!” wing flap from their seat at the end of the story.
  • Sound HelperSits next to you and taps each scene’s sound on your phone or tablet.

Scenes

  1. 📜🤗 Isaiah writes a gentle word

    Long ago, the Lord gave the prophet Isaiah a message for people who would live many years later. The very first word was “Comfort.” Comfort means, “It’s going to be OK. I am here.”

    🙌

  2. 🚶😢 A long, sad walk to Babylon

    Many years later, an army came. The families had to walk far away to a land called Babylon. They missed their homes and their temple. They cried, “The Lord has forgotten us.”

    🙌 Say it back in a sad voice: “The Lord has forgotten us.”

  3. 🪵🤪 The silly log can’t help

    In Babylon, some people prayed to statues made of wood. Isaiah told about a man who cooked dinner with half a log. Then he bowed down to the other half! But a log can’t hear or help anybody.

    🙌 Knock on your knees: “Just a log!”

  4. 🤲✨ “Yet will I not forget thee”

    The Lord sent a promise. He had written His people on the palms of His hands! A mother would never forget her baby. And even if she did, the Lord said, “yet will I not forget thee.”

    🙌 Look at your palms. Say it back: “I will not forget thee.”

  5. 🐑💛 He carries the little lambs

    Isaiah said the Lord is like a kind shepherd. He gathers the little lambs in His arm and carries them close to His heart. That is how Jesus cares for you.

    🙌

  6. 👑📣 King Cyrus says, “Go home!”

    Then a new king named Cyrus let the Lord’s people go home. They could build the temple again! Isaiah had written his name more than a hundred years before Cyrus was born!

    🙌

  7. 🦅🏠 Strong like eagles, all the way home

    It was a long walk home. But Isaiah promised that people who trust the Lord get new strength. They “mount up with wings as eagles.” The Lord never forgot them. And He will never forget you.

    🙌 Flap big wings: “Whoosh!”

Key verse

Isaiah 49:15 ↗
“yet will I not forget thee”
In kid words: Jesus says, “I will never, ever forget you.”
🙌 “yet will I” = point up to heaven · “not” = shake your head · “forget” = tap your forehead and make a puzzled face · “thee” = point to a friend, then hug yourself.

More verses

Isaiah 49:16 ↗
“Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands”
In kid words: Look! I have written you on My hands.
Isaiah 43:1 ↗
“Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.”
In kid words: Don’t be scared. I saved you. I know your name. You are Mine.
Isaiah 40:11 ↗
“he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom”
In kid words: Like a kind shepherd, He picks up the little lambs and holds them close to His heart.
Isaiah 40:31 ↗
“they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary”
In kid words: When we trust the Lord, He makes us strong, like eagles flying high.

Forehead Guess words18 words

  • 🦅 Eagle
  • 🐑 Lamb
  • 🧑‍🌾 Shepherd
  • 🪵 Log
  • 🔥 Fire
  • ✋ Hand
  • 👶 Baby
  • 🏞️ River
  • 🌊 Wave
  • 👑 King
  • 📜 Scroll
  • 🏛️ Temple
  • 🏜️ Desert
  • 🧽 Sponge
  • 🌧️ Rain
  • 🌳 Tree
  • 💪 Muscles
  • 🤗 Hug
Clues for each word
  • Eagle: A big bird that flies high. Flap your wings!
  • Lamb: A baby sheep that says “baa”
  • Shepherd: Takes care of the sheep
  • Log: A piece of a tree. It can’t hear you!
  • Fire: Hot! You can cook on it
  • Hand: Five fingers. Wave it!
  • Baby: A mother would never forget hers
  • River: Water that flows. Peace is like one
  • Wave: Big water in the sea goes splash
  • King: Wears a crown. Cyrus was one
  • Scroll: Isaiah wrote on a rolled-up paper
  • Temple: The house of the Lord
  • Desert: Hot and sandy with no water
  • Sponge: Soaks up water and gets big
  • Rain: Water falling from the clouds
  • Tree: Grows tall with branches and leaves
  • Muscles: Show how strong you are!
  • Hug: Wrap your arms around someone
▶ Play Forehead GuessFull screen, 60-second timer, works on any phone.

Scripture Showdown8 questions

  1. What gentle word starts Isaiah 40?
    • A. Comfort 🤗
    • B. Hurry 🏃
    • C. Pizza 🍕
    Show answer

    ✅ A. Comfort 🤗 Comfort means, “It’s going to be OK. I am here.”

  2. Can a wooden log hear your prayers?
    • A. Yes, always
    • B. Only on Sunday
    • C. No! Only God can
    Show answer

    ✅ C. No! Only God can A log can’t hear, see, or help. Heavenly Father and Jesus always hear us.

  3. Where did the Lord say He wrote His people?
    • A. On a cloud ☁️
    • B. On His hands ✋
    • C. On a cookie 🍪
    Show answer

    ✅ B. On His hands ✋ Isaiah 49:16. He wrote us on the palms of His hands.

  4. How does the Lord carry the little lambs?
    • A. In His arm, close to His heart 🤗
    • B. In a bucket 🪣
    • C. In a truck 🚚
    Show answer

    ✅ A. In His arm, close to His heart 🤗 Isaiah 40:11. Jesus takes care of you like a kind shepherd.

  5. Which king told the families, “Go home!”?
    • A. King Kitty 🐱
    • B. King Cyrus 👑
    • C. King Cupcake 🧁
    Show answer

    ✅ B. King Cyrus 👑 Isaiah wrote Cyrus’s name more than a hundred years before he was born!

  6. People who trust the Lord fly up with wings like…
    • A. Chickens 🐔
    • B. Bees 🐝
    • C. Eagles 🦅
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Eagles 🦅 Isaiah 40:31. The Lord gives us new strength.

  7. When the Lord pours blessings on us, what do we do?
    • A. Grow 🌱
    • B. Shrink 🐜
    • C. Fall asleep 😴
    Show answer

    ✅ A. Grow 🌱 Like a thirsty sponge or a seed in the rain, His blessings help us grow.

  8. Will Jesus ever forget you?
    • A. Maybe
    • B. Only if I’m good
    • C. Never!
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Never! “Yet will I not forget thee.” He always remembers you, every single day.

▶ Play Scripture ShowdownTeams take turns on one screen.

Songs

  • I Feel My Savior’s Love Children’s Songbook, p. 74

    Sing it after Look at Your Hands. Jesus loves and remembers each of us. Find it ↗

  • Keep the Commandments Children’s Songbook, p. 146

    Isaiah said keeping the commandments brings peace like a river (Isaiah 48:18). Find it ↗

  • I Am a Child of God Children’s Songbook, p. 2

    Heavenly Father and Jesus know each of us by name. Find it ↗

This week’s challenge

Look at Your Hands

Every time you wash your hands this week, look at your palms and whisper, “Jesus will not forget me.” Then tell someone in your family that Jesus won’t forget them either.

Text the parents

This week we learned from Isaiah 49:15–16 that Jesus will never forget us. He said He has written us on the palms of His hands. We heard how the families of Israel walked far away to Babylon. They came home strong, “with wings as eagles.” We laughed at a man who prayed to a log. And every child heard the class say, “Jesus won’t forget you!” Ask your child, “What did the Lord say He wrote on His hands?” Then try the challenge together. Look at your palms when you wash your hands and say, “Jesus will not forget me.”

📝 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?

🧽 The Thirsty Sponge · 4 min

  1. Pass around a dry, crunchy kitchen sponge.
  2. SAY“Feel how hard it is? It’s thirsty!”
  3. Read Isaiah 44:3: “I will pour water upon him that is thirsty.”
  4. SAY“The Lord pours blessings on His children.”
  5. Each time a child names a blessing, pour a few drops of water on the sponge over a plate. Family, food, the scriptures and Jesus all count!
  6. Watch it puff up and get soft.
  7. SAY“The Lord pours blessings on us so we can grow too.”

🪴 Pour Out Blessings · 3 min

  1. Bring a small, droopy plant and a cup of water. Read Isaiah 44:3: “I will pour water upon him that is thirsty.”
  2. Each child names one blessing and pours a tiny splash of water on the plant.
  3. SAY“What happens to a plant when it gets water? It grows! And the Lord pours blessings on us, so we can grow too.”

✋ My Name in His Hand · 5 min

  1. Give each child a sheet of paper. Help them trace their hand.
  2. Big kids write “Jesus will not forget me” and their name inside the hand. Little ones can write their first letter or draw a heart.
  3. SAY“Take it home and hang it where you’ll see it. Every time you see it, remember that He has you in His hands.”

🐑 Find the Lost Lamb · 3 min

  1. While kids hide their eyes, hide a stuffed lamb or any soft toy in the room.
  2. Kids look for it with walking feet. When someone finds it, everyone says, “Baa! Found you!”
  3. SAY“The Lord gathers every little lamb. He never loses track of one of us.”
  4. Let the finder hide it next.

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 CTR 4–6 lessons