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Consider Your Ways

A bag with holes, a temple left half-built, and what it means to engrave “Holiness unto the Lord” on your everyday stuff

  • 🧭 Youth 12–13
  • Week 50
  • 📅 Sunday, December 13, 2026
🤔 Forehead Guess🏆 Showdown
💡 The big idea

When I put the Lord and His house first, He blesses my efforts and helps me make even ordinary parts of my life holy.

I can consider my ways, put the Lord’s house first, and make my everyday life holy to the Lord.

Study it yourself firstRead Haggai 1–2; Zechariah 1–4; 7–14 in Gospel LibraryCome, Follow Me manualOpen this week (Haggai 1–2; Zechariah 1–4; 7–14)
Know the chapters

After about seventy years of exile, some of the Jews came home from Babylon and started rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem. They laid the foundation with shouting and tears (Ezra 3:10–13), but their neighbors worked to frustrate them and the building stopped (Ezra 4:4–5, 24). Years went by. The people built themselves nice paneled homes while the Lord’s house sat unfinished. In the second year of King Darius, the Lord called the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to get them moving again (Ezra 5:1; Haggai 1:1).

Haggai’s message is short and sharp: “Consider your ways” (Haggai 1:5, 7). The people worked hard but never had enough, like earning wages and dropping them into “a bag with holes” (1:6). When they put the Lord’s house first, He promised, “I am with you” (1:13). Youth this age get this instantly: time and energy can leak out of a life through screens, games and busyness. Haggai’s question is not “Are you busy?” but “Are you busy with what matters most?” They finished the temple a few years later and dedicated it with joy (Ezra 6:15–16).

Zechariah encouraged the builders with visions. The high priest Joshua has his filthy clothes replaced with clean ones, a picture of the Savior’s power to make us clean (Zechariah 3:3–5). The governor Zerubbabel is told the work will succeed “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit” (4:6). Zechariah also saw a day when “HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD” would be written even on the bells of the horses and the cooking pots (14:20–21). Those same words were engraved on the high priest’s golden plate (Exodus 28:36), and they appear on temples today. The point: holiness isn’t only for the temple. It can mark ordinary things and ordinary days.

Zechariah also points straight at Jesus Christ. He foresaw the King coming “lowly, and riding upon an ass” (Zechariah 9:9; fulfilled in Matthew 21:1–11), thirty pieces of silver (11:12–13), and the wounds in His hands (13:6). For eleven- to fourteen-year-olds, this lesson connects naturally to the temple: many of them now hold (or will soon hold) a limited-use temple recommend for baptisms and confirmations for the dead. Helping them put the temple first is Haggai’s message for them.

Only have 5 minutes?

Read Haggai 1:4–8, Zechariah 4:6 and Zechariah 14:20–21. Tap “I brought nothing,” so every step uses its no-supplies version. Do Hole-y Pockets. Work through Owen’s Leaky Week from Teach Mode, one question at a time. “Engrave” Holiness unto the Lord with fingertips. Play Chair Temple, and share your testimony.

What to bring4 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. Cut four or five holes in the bottom corner of the bag, and test it. Split the cups into two equal stacks.
  2. Bookmark Haggai 1:4–8, Haggai 1:13, Zechariah 4:6 and Zechariah 14:20–21.
  3. Know where your youth are with the temple. Who has a limited-use recommend, and when is the ward’s next temple trip?

If your class is wild

  • The bag with holes is funny and memorable. Let a youth hold it while you “pay” them, and let the coins hit the floor.
  • Owen isn’t a bad kid, and neither is anyone in your class. Keep the case honest, with real pulls on both sides and real answers from the scriptures.
  • If a youth is nervous about their first temple trip, take it seriously. Let others who’ve gone share what it’s like.
  • Never shame anyone about screen time. Share your own “holes” first, then let them look at theirs.
  • Use “Consider your ways!” as your attention call. They answer “Build the house!” and freeze.

The 25-minute plan24 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

Payday in a Bag with Holes

3 min

A quick, funny object lesson makes Haggai’s “bag with holes” impossible to forget.

  1. SAY“You just mowed lawns all week. Payday!”
  2. Hand a youth the bag with holes. Drop coins in one at a time, and watch them fall out.
  3. Keep “paying” with a straight face. Ask, “Why aren’t you getting richer? I’m paying you!”
  4. Ask, “Where does your time or energy leak out, like coins from a bag with holes?”
  5. SAY“A prophet named Haggai used this exact picture. Let’s see how it fits a week that might sound a lot like yours.”
🌪️ If you used wrapped candy, check allergies and ward policy first. Then let them keep what lands on the floor. They’ll remember the lesson.

Class screen: 👛 Payday! Why isn’t the bag filling up? · Haggai 1:6

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: A zip-top bag with several holes cut in the bottom, plus a handful of coins or wrapped candy (if you use candy, check allergies and your ward’s treat policy first)

Hole-y Pockets

  1. SAY“Payday! You mowed lawns all week.”
  2. Everyone holds out cupped hands with fingers spread wide.
  3. Walk around and “pour” invisible coins into their hands. Tap ding on the Sound Board. They let the coins fall through their fingers.
  4. Ask, “Where does your time or energy leak out like this?”
  5. SAY“A prophet named Haggai had a name for this. He called it a bag with holes. Let’s see how it fits a week that might sound like yours.”

Class screen: 🤲 Payday! Why does it all fall through? · Haggai 1:6

2. Story

Case Study: Owen’s Leaky Week

8 min

Working through a realistic week with Haggai and Zechariah shows youth how putting the Lord first plays out in real choices.

  1. SAY“Meet Owen. Owen is thirteen, and this week might sound familiar. Two prophets dealt with the same problem twenty-five hundred years ago. Let’s work it through together.”
  2. Show each scene from Teach Mode and read it aloud. When a scene names a verse, a volunteer reads it from their seat.
  3. Pause on each question and take two or three answers. Don’t hand them the “right” answer. Ask, “What would that look like?”
  4. SAY“The Lord didn’t need a building. His people needed what happens in His house, and so does Owen.”
🌪️ Let youth argue for the gaming marathon too. The case only works if it’s honest, not preachy. Then weigh both sides with Haggai.

Class screen: 📱 Owen’s week leaked away. What would Haggai say? · Haggai 1 · Zechariah 4:6 · 14:20

3. Scripture

Holiness unto the Lord

5 min

Zechariah 14:20 shows them that holiness can be engraved on ordinary life, not just on the temple.

  1. SAY“Horse bells and cooking pots? Zechariah saw ‘Holiness unto the Lord’ written on those.”
  2. Have a youth read Zechariah 14:20–21.
  3. Explain that these words were engraved on the high priest’s gold plate, in Exodus 28:36. They’re on temples today. Ordinary things can be holy too.
  4. Hand out two sticky notes each. Everyone writes “Holiness unto the Lord” and sticks it on something they use daily, like a phone case or backpack.
  5. Ask, “If your phone really had those words on it, what would change?” Teach the motions and say Zechariah 14:20 together twice.

Class screen: 🔔 Holiness unto the Lord, even on horse bells and cooking pots · Zechariah 14:20 · What would you engrave it on?

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: Sticky notes (two per youth) and a few pens

  1. SAY“Horse bells and cooking pots? Zechariah saw ‘Holiness unto the Lord’ written on those.”
  2. Have a youth read Zechariah 14:20–21.
  3. Explain that these words were engraved on the high priest’s gold plate, in Exodus 28:36. They’re on temples today.
  4. Each youth picks one thing they use every day. They “engrave” the words on it with a fingertip while saying them.
  5. Ask, “If your phone really had those words on it, what would change?” Teach the motions and say Zechariah 14:20 together twice.
4. Game

Build the House

5 min

A competitive cup-temple race reviews the lesson and shows that small efforts add up when we keep building.

  1. SAY“Haggai said, ‘Build the house.’ Let’s see which team can.”
  2. Make two teams with captains, and give each team five cups. Tap Scripture Showdown. Each right answer earns three more cups.
  3. Ask five or six questions. Then call, “Go up to the mountain!” Teams get 45 seconds to build the tallest free-standing temple.
  4. The tallest standing temple wins. Ask, “What made it work?” Listen for a solid foundation, teamwork and not quitting when it fell.
▶ Play Scripture Showdown on the web

Class screen: 🏛️ Earn cups, then build the tallest temple in 45 seconds! · Right answer = 3 cups

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: 20–30 paper or plastic cups for the temple-building race

Chair Temple

  1. SAY“Haggai said, ‘Build the house.’ Let’s see which team can.”
  2. Make two teams with captains. Tap Scripture Showdown. Each right answer earns ten seconds of build time.
  3. Teams build a temple from chairs, jackets, scriptures and hymnbooks. Start the Big Timer with each team’s earned seconds.
  4. The other team rates it from one to ten for creativity and stability. It has to stand for five seconds.
  5. Ask, “What made the best temple work?” Listen for a plan, teamwork and a solid foundation.

Class screen: 🧍 Build a temple out of chairs and books!

5. Testimony

One Thing First

3 min

End quietly with testimony and one personal decision to put the Lord first this week.

  1. SAY“Haggai asked the people to consider their ways. Let’s end by considering ours.”
  2. Share briefly what the temple means to you.
  3. If it fits your class, mention the next temple trip. A limited-use recommend starts in January of the year you turn 12.
  4. Have everyone silently choose one “hole” to patch this week, and one way to put the Lord’s house first.
  5. Show the challenge. Then invite a youth to say the closing prayer.

Class screen: 🏛️ Patch one hole. Put the Lord’s house first. · Haggai 1:5 · I am with you. (Haggai 1:13)

6. Talk it over

Consider Your Ways

4 minBONUS

Honest questions help youth look at their own priorities and at the temple in their own life.

  1. SAY“Let’s take Haggai’s advice and consider our ways.”
  2. Show one question at a time and wait ten quiet seconds. Answer at least one yourself. Share your own “bag with holes,” and they’ll open up.
💬 Ask the class
  • The people built nice houses while the temple sat unfinished. What “nice houses” can crowd out the Lord in a teenager’s life?
  • If you’ve been to the temple for baptisms, what was it like? If not yet, what are you curious or nervous about?
  • Zechariah said the temple would be finished “not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit.” What’s something hard you can’t do on willpower alone?
  • Think about school, practice, your phone or chores. What’s one ordinary thing you could make “Holiness unto the Lord”?

Class screen: 🤔 Consider your ways

7. Wiggle break

Up to the Mountain

2 minBONUS

Haggai 1:8 becomes a fast-action workout that burns energy.

  1. SAY“Everyone up. Our caller gives the orders.”
  2. Pick a youth caller. “Go up to the mountain!” means climb. “Bring wood!” means carry a log. “Build the house!” means hammer. “Consider your ways!” means freeze.
  3. The caller speeds up. A wrong move means a slow-motion log carry across the room.
  4. Switch callers once. End on “Build the house!” Then say Haggai 1:8 together from the screen.
🌪️ If it gets rowdy, the caller calls “Consider your ways!” and holds the freeze for about 10 seconds.

Class screen: ⛰️ Climb the mountain, bring wood, build the house! · Haggai 1:8

Case study

Case Study: Owen’s Leaky Week

Haggai 1; Zechariah 4:6; 14:20 ↗

Scenes

  1. 📱⏳ Sunday night: where did the week go?

    Meet Owen. Owen is thirteen. On Sunday night, Owen checks screen time. Thirty-one hours this week. Homework is late. Practice was rough. And Owen still feels tired and behind. It’s like the whole week leaked out somewhere.

    🙌 Ask: “Ever had a week like Owen’s? Where does time leak out for people our age?”

  2. 👛🕳️ A prophet had a name for it

    Owen’s problem is ancient. When the Jews came home from Babylon, they built nice houses. But they left the Lord’s temple half-built for years. They worked hard but never had enough. The prophet Haggai called it “a bag with holes.”

    🙌 A volunteer reads Haggai 1:5–6. Ask: “What would Haggai say to Owen?”

  3. 🏛️🎮 Temple trip or gaming marathon?

    The ward temple trip is Saturday morning. Owen has a limited-use recommend and a family name ready. Then friends plan a gaming marathon that starts Friday night and runs late. Owen would be wiped out by morning.

    🙌 Quick vote: temple, marathon or a third option? Each side gives one honest reason.

  4. 🔨🙌 “I am with you”

    The people finally listened to Haggai and went back to building. Then the Lord sent a short message: “I am with you.” Owen wonders what putting the Lord’s house first would look like. Without ditching friends completely.

    🙌 A volunteer reads Haggai 1:8 and 1:13. Ask: “What’s a smart way Owen could honor both?”

  5. ⛰️💪 Willpower runs out on Tuesday

    Owen tries to quit extra screen time cold turkey. It lasts one day. The governor Zerubbabel faced a mountain of work too. The Lord told him it would get done not by might or power, but by His Spirit.

    🙌 A volunteer reads Zechariah 4:6. Ask: “How could Owen ask for the Lord’s help instead of just trying harder?”

  6. 🔔✨ Holiness on ordinary stuff

    Saturday comes and goes. Whatever Owen chose, Monday still brings the phone, the backpack, practice and chores. Zechariah saw “Holiness unto the Lord” written on horse bells and cooking pots. Owen’s everyday stuff could be holy too.

    🙌 Ask: “What’s one small change that would make Owen’s week feel less leaky?”

Key verse

Zechariah 14:20 ↗
“In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD’S house shall be like the bowls before the altar.”
In plain words: One day even horse bells and cooking pots will be marked “Holiness unto the Lord.” Ordinary things can be holy.
🙌 “In that day” = point far ahead · “bells of the horses” = jingle a bell and gallop in place · “HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD” = trace the words in the air like you’re engraving them · “the pots in the LORD’S house” = hold a big pot · “like the bowls before the altar” = lift the bowl up reverently

More verses

Haggai 1:5–6 ↗
“Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough … he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.”
In plain words: Think about how you’re living. You work hard and never have enough, like dropping your money into a bag with holes.
Haggai 1:8 ↗
“Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD.”
In plain words: Go get the wood and build My house. It will make Me glad.
Zechariah 4:6 ↗
“Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.”
In plain words: You won’t do this by being strong or powerful, but with the Lord’s Spirit.
Zechariah 9:9 ↗
“behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.”
In plain words: Look, your King is coming. He is fair, He saves, and He is humble, riding a young donkey.

Forehead Guess words16 words

  • 📣 Haggai
  • 🕯️ Zechariah
  • 🧭 Zerubbabel
  • 🧥 Joshua the High Priest
  • 🏛️ Temple
  • 🧱 Foundation
  • 👛 Bag with Holes
  • 🏯 Babylon
  • 🔔 Bells of the Horses
  • 🍲 Cooking Pots
  • 🫏 Donkey
  • 🪙 Thirty Pieces of Silver
  • ✋ Wounds in His Hands
  • 🎫 Temple Recommend
  • 🪵 Wood
  • 🕎 Candlestick
Clues for each word
  • Haggai: Told the people “Consider your ways”
  • Zechariah: Prophet who saw visions to encourage the builders
  • Zerubbabel: Governor who led the temple rebuilding
  • Joshua the High Priest: His filthy robes were replaced with clean ones
  • Temple: The Lord’s house that sat unfinished for years
  • Foundation: Laid with shouting and weeping
  • Bag with Holes: Where the people’s wages seemed to go
  • Babylon: Where the Jews had been in exile for about seventy years
  • Bells of the Horses: Zechariah saw “Holiness unto the Lord” written on them
  • Cooking Pots: Even these would be as holy as temple bowls
  • Donkey: Zechariah said the King would come riding one
  • Thirty Pieces of Silver: The price Zechariah foresaw, fulfilled with Judas
  • Wounds in His Hands: Zechariah 13:6 points to the Savior’s
  • Temple Recommend: Lets youth do baptisms for the dead
  • Wood: “Go up to the mountain, and bring…”
  • Candlestick: Golden object in Zechariah’s vision in chapter 4
▶ Play Forehead GuessFull screen, 60-second timer, works on any phone.

Scripture Showdown9 questions

  1. Where had the Jews been for about seventy years before coming home?
    • A. Egypt
    • B. Babylon
    • C. Nineveh
    Show answer

    ✅ B. Babylon They were carried to Babylon, and some returned to rebuild Jerusalem.

  2. Why did the temple building stop?
    • A. Neighbors opposed it
    • B. They ran out of stone
    • C. A flood came
    Show answer

    ✅ A. Neighbors opposed it Ezra 4:4–5, 24: opposition discouraged them and the work stopped for years.

  3. What did Haggai say the people’s wages went into?
    • A. A treasure chest
    • B. The temple
    • C. A bag with holes
    Show answer

    ✅ C. A bag with holes Haggai 1:6: they worked hard but never seemed to have enough.

  4. What phrase did Haggai repeat to the people?
    • A. “Build faster”
    • B. “Consider your ways”
    • C. “Fear not”
    Show answer

    ✅ B. “Consider your ways” Haggai 1:5 and 1:7: think about how you’re living and what comes first.

  5. What was taken off Joshua the high priest in Zechariah’s vision?
    • A. Filthy garments
    • B. A heavy crown
    • C. Chains
    Show answer

    ✅ A. Filthy garments Zechariah 3:4: a picture of the Savior making us clean.

  6. “Not by might, nor by power, but by my…”
    • A. Army
    • B. Gold
    • C. Spirit
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Spirit Zechariah 4:6: the work would succeed through the Lord’s Spirit.

  7. Zechariah saw “Holiness unto the Lord” written on the bells of what?
    • A. The temple
    • B. The horses
    • C. The city gates
    Show answer

    ✅ B. The horses Zechariah 14:20: even ordinary things can be holy.

  8. Zechariah said the King would come riding on what?
    • A. A chariot
    • B. A camel
    • C. A colt, the foal of an ass
    Show answer

    ✅ C. A colt, the foal of an ass Zechariah 9:9, fulfilled when Jesus entered Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1–11).

  9. How did the people feel when the temple was finally dedicated?
    • A. Joyful
    • B. Disappointed
    • C. Afraid
    Show answer

    ✅ A. Joyful Ezra 6:16: they dedicated the house of God with joy.

▶ Play Scripture ShowdownTeams take turns on one screen.

Songs

  • I Love to See the Temple Children’s Songbook, p. 95

    They sang it in Primary; now many of them actually get to go. Sing it with new meaning. Find it ↗

  • Come, Follow Me Hymns, no. 116

    Considering your ways is really asking, “Am I following Him?” Find it ↗

This week’s challenge

Engrave Your Week

Pick one everyday thing, like your phone, your backpack or your cleats. Make it “Holiness unto the Lord” this week. Use it in a way you’d be glad to show the Savior. Then patch one “hole” where your time leaks out. Use that time for the Lord, like family history, scripture study or getting ready for the temple.

Text the parents

Today in class we learned how the returning Jews left the temple half-built for years. Then the prophet Haggai told them, “Consider your ways,” in Haggai 1:5. Zechariah saw “Holiness unto the Lord” written even on horse bells and cooking pots, in Zechariah 14:20. Ask your youth what everyday thing they chose to make holy to the Lord this week. Is there a temple trip or family name you could prepare for together?

📝 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?

🔗 Prophecy Match-Up · 6 min

  1. Read these Zechariah prophecies aloud: 9:9, 11:12–13, 12:10 and 13:6.
  2. Teams race to match each one: Matthew 21:1–11, Matthew 26:14–16 and 27:3–7, John 19:37, and the Second Coming in Doctrine and Covenants 45:51–52.
  3. Ask, “Why would the Lord reveal these details about 500 years early? What does that teach you about Jesus Christ?”

⛰️ Mountain into a Plain · 4 min

  1. Read Zechariah 4:6–7. Have each youth name one “mountain” in their life right now, silently or out loud.
  2. Ask, “What would ‘not by might, but by my spirit’ look like for that mountain?”
  3. Share a time the Lord helped you do something you couldn’t do on your own.

🎫 Temple Trip Prep · 5 min

  1. Invite a youth who’s done baptisms for the dead to walk through what happens, step by step.
  2. Talk about getting a limited-use recommend. It’s an interview with a member of the bishopric, with questions about faith and living the gospel.
  3. If you can, bring up the ward’s next temple trip. Let them plan how to bring a family name.

🏗️ The Temple That Sat Unfinished · 4 min

  1. The Jews came home from Babylon and laid the temple’s foundation with shouting and tears, in Ezra 3:11–13. Then neighbors opposed them, and they stopped.
  2. That’s Ezra 4:4–5 and 24. Years later, Haggai and Zechariah got the work moving again, in Ezra 5:1. A youth reads Haggai 1:4.
  3. In Zechariah 3:3–5, the high priest Joshua’s filthy robes are replaced with clean ones. Ask, “What does that show about what Jesus Christ does for us?”
  4. Finish with the temple dedicated with joy, in Ezra 6:15–16.

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