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Ears to Hear

A mystery bag of parables, then the story of four kinds of ground, told with a question at every one

  • 🧭 Youth 12–13
  • Week 12
  • 📅 Sunday, March 21, 2027
🤔 Forehead Guess🏆 Showdown
💡 The big idea

How much the word of God grows in me depends on the ground I give it, and I can clear out rocks and thorns so an honest, patient heart bears fruit, even in a world where good and bad grow side by side.

I can prepare my heart to receive God’s word, keep it when life gets rocky or crowded, and value the gospel like a hidden treasure.

Study it yourself firstRead Matthew 13; Luke 8; 13 in Gospel LibraryCome, Follow Me manualOpen this week (Matthew 13; Luke 8; 13)
Know the chapters

Matthew 13 is Jesus’s great chapter of parables. They’re short stories about ordinary things: seeds, weeds, bread dough, buried treasure, a pearl and a fishing net. Each one teaches about the kingdom of heaven. The crowd was so big that He taught from a boat while everyone stood on the shore. Luke 8 retells the sower. Luke 13 adds the mustard seed and the leaven. It also has a fig tree that gets one more year, and a woman bent over for eighteen years whom Jesus heals. The manual notes something teens will like. Many of these parables compare God’s kingdom to something small, like a seed or a pinch of yeast. Then it grows far beyond its size.

Today’s story is the parable of the sower, in Matthew 13:3–9 and 18–23 and in Luke 8:4–15. Jesus explains it Himself. The seed is the word of God. Wayside ground hears but doesn’t understand, so the evil one snatches the word away. Stony ground gets excited fast but has no root, so it quits when trouble comes. Thorny ground hears, but worries and riches choke the word. Good ground hears, understands, keeps it and bears fruit. Luke adds “with patience.” Here’s the good news for youth: ground can change. Rocks get dug out and thorns get pulled. Prayer, study, the sacrament and acting on what we learn break up hard ground.

The wheat and the tares, in Matthew 13:24–30 and 36–43, is a parable teens live every day. A tare was a poisonous weed that looks almost exactly like wheat until it’s grown. The Lord let both grow together until the harvest so the wheat wouldn’t get uprooted. Doctrine and Covenants 86:1–7 explains it for the latter days. Elder Neil L. Andersen spoke about this parable in “Drawing Closer to the Savior,” in October 2022. He told those who don’t feel like strong wheat yet to be patient with themselves. Youth see good and bad in every hallway and feed. That’s a hopeful message. Grow strong roots, don’t panic, and let the Lord handle the harvest.

The hidden treasure and the pearl of great price, in Matthew 13:44–46, ask a real question. What is the gospel worth to me? Both men gave up everything they had. The first did it “for joy.” For a new deacon or Young Woman, that might be a phone-free hour or a Saturday at the temple. It might be standing up for what they believe. Keep the tone joyful. These are people who found something amazing, not people making grim sacrifices.

Only have 5 minutes?

Read Matthew 13:1–23 and Luke 8:15. Open the Mystery Bag, or play the clue version. Tell the parable of the sower from Teach Mode, with a question at each kind of ground. Teach Luke 8:15 and let a youth run the discussion. Close by asking which ground each youth wants to work on. Brought nothing? Tap “I brought nothing” and the bag becomes a clue game.

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. Put the five objects in the bag so they can’t be seen.
  2. Read Matthew 13:1–23 twice. Jesus explains the parable Himself in verses 18–23.
  3. Think of a time the word of God grew slowly in you. Or think of a “thorn” you cleared out to keep your testimony growing. You’ll share it in two sentences.

If your class is wild

  • You tell it, and they answer. Keep each scene to about a minute so the whole parable lands, including Jesus’s own explanation.
  • The Mystery Bag works best with a rule. Feel only, no peeking. Whisper your guess to your team, not the room.
  • Don’t ask anyone which ground they are right now in front of friends. Save that for the quiet testimony moment.
  • Give out jobs. A scorekeeper for the bag. A youth to read the discussion questions. A DJ if you get to Soil Signs.

The 25-minute plan23 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

The Mystery Bag

3 min

Youth identify five everyday objects by touch and discover that Jesus used exactly these ordinary things to teach about God’s kingdom.

  1. SAY“There are five mystery objects in this bag. Feel one. No peeking. Then whisper your guess to your team.”
  2. Pass the bag around both teams.
  3. Teams call out their five guesses. Reveal the objects one at a time: seed, yeast or bread, pearl, coin, net. Give a point for each right guess.
  4. SAY“Every one of these is in Matthew 13. Jesus used them to teach about God’s kingdom. Why a seed and some yeast, instead of a palace and an army?”

Class screen: 👜 Five things in the bag. Feel it. Don’t peek. · Whisper your guess to your team

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: A paper or cloth bag with five small objects: a seed or seed packet, a packet of yeast or a piece of bread, a bead or fake pearl, a coin, and a mesh produce bag or hairnet (for the net)

  1. SAY“I’m thinking of five small things. You get up to three clues each.”
  2. Split into two teams.
  3. Read the clues. Tiny, goes in dirt, becomes a tree: seed. A pinch makes bread rise: yeast. Grows in an oyster: pearl. Buried in a field: treasure. Thrown in the sea: net.
  4. SAY“Every one of these is in Matthew 13. Jesus used them to teach about God’s kingdom. Why a seed and yeast, instead of a palace and an army?”
2. Story

Tell It: The Sower

8 min

You tell the parable of the sower with one question at every kind of ground, so youth see what each does to God’s word, and that ground can change.

  1. SAY“Jesus told this story from a boat, to a huge crowd on the shore. Listen for which ground sounds like people you know.”
  2. Open Teach Mode.
  3. Read each scene aloud and ask its question. Take two or three answers, then move on.
  4. After the last scene, ask: “If the seed is God’s word, what’s one way to turn rocky or thorny ground into good ground?”
🌪️ If they get restless, do the scene’s motion together before the question. Flap for birds, wilt for rocks, tangle for thorns, sway for grain.

Class screen: 🌱 Same seed. Four kinds of ground. Four very different endings. · Matthew 13:1–23

3. Scripture

Good Ground, with Patience

4 min

The class memorizes what good ground looks like, including the part Luke adds: with patience.

  1. SAY“Luke adds two words about good ground that matter a lot. ‘With patience.’”
  2. Read Luke 8:15 together.
  3. Teach the motions. Say it twice together, then once with just the motions.
  4. Ask: “Why would patience be part of good ground?” Listen for: testimonies grow slowly, and fruit takes a season.

Class screen: 🌾 An honest and good heart… with patience. · Luke 8:15

4. Talk it over

Ground Work

5 min

Honest questions connect the sower, the tares and the treasure to how a young person actually receives the word.

  1. SAY“Let’s talk about our own ground. Anyone can pass.”
  2. A youth reads each question from your phone or tablet and picks who answers.
  3. Keep answers short so more voices get in. Add one honest answer of your own.
💬 Ask the class
  • What are the biggest “thorns” for people your age? I mean things that crowd out the word without being obviously bad.
  • Rocky ground grows fast and quits when it gets hard. What helps a testimony grow roots before the hot sun comes?
  • Wheat and tares look almost the same while they grow. How do you tell good influences from bad ones in your feed or friend group?
  • The man with the treasure sold everything “for joy.” What have you given up for the gospel that turned out to be worth it?

Class screen: 💬 Ground work

5. Testimony

Your Ground

3 min

Each youth privately picks one thing to clear out of their ground, and hears the teacher’s witness that the word grows in patient, honest hearts.

  1. SAY“Nobody is all good ground all the time. Is there a rock to dig out or a thorn to pull? Pick one. Keep it to yourself.”
  2. Share Elder Neil L. Andersen’s words from Conference quotes. They’re from “Drawing Closer to the Savior.”
  3. Share your two-sentence story. Maybe the word grew slowly in you, or you cleared out a thorn.
  4. Testify that the seed is good and patient hearts bear fruit. Give the challenge and ask a youth to pray.

Class screen: 🌱 One rock to dig out. One thorn to pull. · An honest and good heart… with patience. Luke 8:15

6. Wiggle break

Soil Signs

3 minBONUS

A fast freeze-and-sign round burns energy and locks in the four kinds of ground.

  1. SAY“Four hand signs. For path, a flat palm. For rocks, a fist. For thorns, clawed fingers. For good ground, fingers spreading up like a sprout.”
  2. Tap Freeze Dance. When the music stops, call out a ground. The last person to show the right sign sits down.
  3. Speed it up each round. The last two standing do the final round together.
🧊 Freeze Dance (a class game in the Gospel Sparks app)

Class screen: 🌾 Music stops. Soil called. Show the sign! · 🐦 Path · 🪨 Rocks · 🌵 Thorns · 🌾 Good ground

7. Game

Scripture Showdown

5 minBONUS

A team quiz reviews the sower, the wheat and tares, and the short parables of the kingdom.

  1. SAY“Same teams as the Mystery Bag. You get ten seconds to decide, then point.”
  2. Tap Scripture Showdown and read each question aloud. The winning team gets a bonus point for naming the verse.
▶ Play Scripture Showdown on the web

Class screen: 🏆 Scripture Showdown!

Story and questions

The Sower

Matthew 13:1–23 ↗

Scenes

  1. 🛶 So many people, Jesus teaches from a boat

    Crowds gathered by the Sea of Galilee. So many that Jesus climbed into a boat and sat down. He taught the whole crowd standing on the shore. He told them stories about ordinary things. The first one was about a farmer.

    🙌 Ask: “Why do you think Jesus taught with stories about seeds instead of just saying the point?”

  2. 🧑‍🌾 A sower went forth to sow

    A farmer went out to plant. Back then, farmers didn’t usually drop seeds one at a time into neat rows. They grabbed handfuls and flung them across the field. So some seed landed in places they didn’t mean.

    🙌 Everyone flings one pretend handful of seed. Ask: “Same seed everywhere. What decides what grows?”

  3. 🐦 Seeds on the path: the birds get them

    Some seed fell on the hard, packed path where people walked. It just sat on top. Birds swooped down and ate it before it could do anything.

    🙌 Ask: “What’s it like when you hear a lesson but it never sinks in?”

  4. 🪨 Seeds on rocks: fast growth, no roots

    Some fell where rock was just under a thin layer of soil. Those seeds shot up fast. Faster than any others. But when the sun came up hot, they had no roots to reach water. And they withered.

    🙌 Ask: “The rocky seeds grew fastest. Why isn’t fast the same as strong?”

  5. 🌵 Seeds among thorns: slowly choked out

    Some fell in ground full of thorn roots. The seeds grew. But so did the thorns, faster and thicker. Until the good plants got crowded out and couldn’t produce anything.

    🙌 Ask: “What crowds out good things for people your age, without being obviously bad?”

  6. 🌾 Good ground: a hundred, sixty, thirty times

    But some seed fell on good ground. It rooted deep. It grew tall. And it produced grain. Some a hundred times what was planted. Some sixty. Some thirty. Then Jesus said, “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”

    🙌 Ask: “How does a farmer fix rocky or thorny ground? How do we?”

  7. 👂 Jesus explains: the seed is God’s word

    Later, Jesus explained it. The seed is the word of God. The path is someone who hears but doesn’t understand. So the evil one snatches it away. The rocks are someone who loves it at first, but quits when it gets hard. The thorns are worries and wanting riches. They choke the word. And good ground? Someone who hears, understands, keeps it and bears fruit.

    🙌 A youth reads Matthew 13:23. Ask: “Which ground is hardest to spot in yourself?”

Key verse

Luke 8:15 ↗
“But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.”
In plain words: Good ground is an honest heart that hears God’s word, holds on to it, and keeps growing, even when it takes a while.
🙌 “On the good ground” = palms flat, smoothing soil · “an honest and good heart” = hand on heart · “having heard the word” = cup hand behind ear · “keep it” = close your fist and hold it to your chest · “bring forth fruit” = hands rise like a growing plant · “with patience” = arms fold, nod slowly.

More verses

Matthew 13:23 ↗
“he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit”
In plain words: Good ground doesn’t just hear the word. It understands it and does something with it.
Matthew 13:30 ↗
“Let both grow together until the harvest”
In plain words: Good and bad grow side by side for now. Grow strong roots and let the Lord handle the harvest.
Matthew 13:44 ↗
“the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field”
In plain words: The gospel is worth everything, and giving for it feels like joy, not loss.
Matthew 13:31–32 ↗
“The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed … Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree”
In plain words: Something tiny, like a first testimony, can grow into something huge.

Forehead Guess words19 words

  • 📖 Parable
  • 🧑‍🌾 Sower
  • 🛤️ Wayside
  • 🐦 Birds
  • 🪨 Stony ground
  • ☀️ Scorched
  • 🌵 Thorns
  • 🌾 Good ground
  • 💯 Hundredfold
  • 🌱 Mustard seed
  • 🍞 Leaven
  • 💰 Hidden treasure
  • ⚪ Pearl of great price
  • 🕸️ Net
  • 🌾 Wheat
  • 🌿 Tares
  • 🧺 Harvest
  • 👂 Ears to hear
  • 🛶 Boat
Clues for each word
  • Parable: A short story with a hidden spiritual meaning
  • Sower: The farmer who flung the seed
  • Wayside: Hard path where birds ate the seed
  • Birds: Snatched the seed off the path
  • Stony ground: Grew fast, no root, withered
  • Scorched: What the sun did to rootless plants
  • Thorns: Choked the word with worries and riches
  • Good ground: Hears, understands and bears fruit
  • Hundredfold: The biggest harvest in the parable
  • Mustard seed: Least of all seeds, becomes a tree
  • Leaven: Yeast that spreads through all the dough
  • Hidden treasure: Found in a field; sold everything for joy
  • Pearl of great price: A merchant sold all to buy it
  • Net: Cast into the sea, gathered every kind
  • Wheat: The good grain gathered into the barn
  • Tares: Weeds that look like wheat until grown
  • Harvest: When wheat and tares are finally separated
  • Ears to hear: Who hath these, let him hear
  • Boat: Where Jesus sat to teach the huge crowd
▶ Play Forehead GuessFull screen, 60-second timer, works on any phone.

Scripture Showdown9 questions

  1. Where did Jesus sit to teach the huge crowd in Matthew 13?
    • A. On a mountain
    • B. In a boat
    • C. In the temple
    Show answer

    ✅ B. In a boat Matthew 13:2. The whole crowd stood on the shore.

  2. In the parable of the sower, what is the seed?
    • A. The word of God
    • B. Money
    • C. Good friends
    Show answer

    ✅ A. The word of God Matthew 13:19. The word of the kingdom.

  3. What happened to seed that fell by the wayside?
    • A. It grew huge
    • B. The sun scorched it
    • C. Birds devoured it
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Birds devoured it Matthew 13:4, 19. It never got in, so it was snatched away.

  4. Why did the plants on stony ground wither?
    • A. Too much rain
    • B. They had no root
    • C. Birds ate them
    Show answer

    ✅ B. They had no root Matthew 13:6, 21. Fast growth without roots quits when things get hard.

  5. Which two things choke the word like thorns?
    • A. Cares of the world and deceitfulness of riches
    • B. Rain and wind
    • C. Birds and sun
    Show answer

    ✅ A. Cares of the world and deceitfulness of riches Matthew 13:22. Busy worries and wanting stuff can crowd out God’s word.

  6. According to Luke 8:15, good ground brings forth fruit with what?
    • A. Speed
    • B. Pride
    • C. Patience
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Patience Honest and good hearts keep the word and keep growing.

  7. Why didn’t the householder let his servants pull up the tares?
    • A. They would uproot the wheat too
    • B. Tares taste good
    • C. He was too tired
    Show answer

    ✅ A. They would uproot the wheat too Matthew 13:29–30. Both grow together until the harvest.

  8. The mustard seed starts as the least of seeds and becomes a what?
    • A. A vine
    • B. A tree
    • C. A flower
    Show answer

    ✅ B. A tree Matthew 13:32. Birds even lodge in its branches.

  9. How did the man feel when he sold everything for the hidden treasure?
    • A. Angry
    • B. Nervous
    • C. Joyful
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Joyful Matthew 13:44. “For joy thereof.” The gospel is worth it.

▶ Play Scripture ShowdownTeams take turns on one screen.

From general conference

“You may at times not feel like a strong, mature strand of wheat. Be patient with yourself! The Lord said that the wheat would include tender blades springing up.”

— Elder Neil L. Andersen, “Drawing Closer to the Savior,” October 2022

Share in the testimony, before your own witness.

Read the talk ↗

Songs

  • Search, Ponder, and Pray Children’s Songbook, p. 109

    Searching, pondering and praying are how we plow good ground for the word to grow. Find it ↗

  • How Firm a Foundation Hymns, no. 85

    A hymn about building on God’s word, the deep roots that keep a testimony standing in hot sun. Find it ↗

This week’s challenge

Pull One Thorn

Pick one rock or thorn in your ground. It could be a distraction, a worry or a habit. Do one thing about it this week, like moving your phone out of your room during scripture time. Read a few verses every day and write down one thing you understand. Memorize Luke 8:15.

Text the parents

This week in class we heard the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:1–23. We talked about the path, the rocks, the thorns and the good ground. We opened a mystery bag of Jesus’s other parables: a seed, yeast, a pearl, a coin and a net. Ask your youth: what’s one thorn that crowds out God’s word in our family, and how could we pull it?

📝 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?

🧍 Bent Over Eighteen Years · 4 min

  1. Have everyone bend forward and try to look at the ceiling for about fifteen seconds. Then read Luke 13:10–13.
  2. Ask: “What did the woman do the moment she stood up straight?” She glorified God.
  3. Read Luke 13:14–17. Ask: “What does Jesus loose us from today?”

🌳 One More Year for the Fig Tree · 4 min

  1. Read Luke 13:6–9. Ask: “Who asked for one more year, and what did he promise?” He’d dig around the tree and fertilize it.
  2. Ask: “How is the Savior like the one who pleaded for the tree?”
  3. Ask: “What digging and fertilizing could help your testimony bear fruit this year?”

🌿 Wheat and Tares Explained · 5 min

  1. Read Matthew 13:24–30, then Jesus’s explanation in verses 36–43. Match each piece: sower, field, good seed, tares, enemy, harvest, reapers.
  2. Explain that Doctrine and Covenants 86:1–7 applies this parable to our day.
  3. Ask: “Why does the Lord let both grow together instead of pulling the weeds right away?”

🔍 Decode the Parable · 5 min

  1. Give each team one short parable from Matthew 13: mustard seed, leaven, hidden treasure, pearl or net. They’re in verses 31 to 50.
  2. Each team answers three things. What’s the key detail? What could it stand for? What’s the message for someone our age?
  3. Each team reports in about thirty seconds. Ask: “The first man sold everything ‘for joy.’ What’s the gospel worth to you?”

🧪 Soil Check · 4 min

  1. Teach four hand signs. Flat palm is the path. A fist is rocks. Clawed fingers are thorns. Fingers spreading up are good ground.
  2. Read a situation, like “felt the Spirit at youth conference, forgot it by Wednesday.” Teams show a sign on three.
  3. Give a bonus point for one sentence on how to make it good ground.

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 Youth 12–13 lessons