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Return unto Me

A leftover gift, the windows of heaven, and a promise about Elijah that came true in a temple in 1836

  • 🧭 Youth 12–13
  • Week 51
  • 📅 Sunday, December 20, 2026
🤔 Forehead Guess🏆 Showdown
💡 The big idea

The Lord loves me and asks for my best, not my leftovers, and through Elijah’s keys I can help turn hearts and bind families together in the temple.

I can give the Lord my best, pay an honest tithe, and turn my heart to my family by doing temple and family history work.

Come, Follow Me manualOpen this week (Malachi)
Know the chapters

Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament, written about four centuries before the Savior’s birth. The temple had been rebuilt, but worship had gone stale. Malachi opens with the Lord saying, “I have loved you,” and the people answering, in effect, “Oh really? How?” (Malachi 1:2). The whole book reads like a conversation: the Lord makes a point, the people push back with “Wherein?”, and the Lord answers. It’s a very teenage format, and a good way in.

The priests were offering blind, lame and sick animals on the altar, animals they would never dare give to the governor (Malachi 1:8, 13). In other words, God got the leftovers. The Lord also asks, “Will a man rob God?” and answers: in tithes and offerings (3:8). Then comes the famous promise: bring all the tithes into the storehouse, and He will open the windows of heaven (3:10). Many eleven- to fourteen-year-olds are starting to earn their own money from babysitting, mowing or birthday gifts. Help them see tithing as their own covenant, not their parents’. Elder David A. Bednar’s talk “The Windows of Heaven” (October 2013 general conference) teaches that these blessings are often spiritual and quiet, not just money.

Malachi ends with a promise: before the great day of the Lord, God will send Elijah the prophet to turn the hearts of the fathers and children to each other (Malachi 4:5–6). The resurrected Savior gave Malachi’s words to the Nephites (3 Nephi 24–25). In September 1823 the angel Moroni quoted these verses to Joseph Smith a little differently: the Lord would reveal the priesthood by the hand of Elijah, and plant in children’s hearts the promises made to their fathers (Joseph Smith—History 1:36–39).

On April 3, 1836, a week after the Kirtland Temple was dedicated, the Savior appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery there, and then Moses, Elias and Elijah came. Elijah committed the keys of the sealing power, fulfilling Malachi’s prophecy (Doctrine and Covenants 110). Those keys are why families can be sealed and why youth can be baptized for their ancestors. Many of your class may do baptisms for the dead for the first time in the new year. This lesson is their launch pad.

Only have 5 minutes?

Read Malachi 1:6–8, 3:7–10 and 4:5–6, plus Doctrine and Covenants 110:13–16. Tap “I brought nothing,” so every step uses its no-supplies version. Play Would You Rather Give. Run the five-group Search Party from Teach Mode. Teach Malachi 4:5–6 with motions, and play the Tithing Speed Round. End with a quiet moment thinking of one family member.

What to bring3 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. Fill the two gift bags. Make the leftover bag look just as nice on the outside as the good one.
  2. Skim the search passages so you can help stuck groups: Malachi 1:2, 6–8, 3:1–3, 3:7–10, 3:16–17, 4:5–6 and D&C 110:13–15.
  3. Find out when your ward’s next youth temple trip is.

If your class is wild

  • Malachi’s “Wherein?” back-and-forth is perfect for a class that likes to argue. Let them push back. That’s how the book is written!
  • During the search, walk from group to group. Ask, “What did you notice?” instead of giving answers.
  • Put your most skeptical youth in charge of scorekeeping for the Tithing Speed Round. Responsibility beats eye-rolling.
  • Be sensitive. Some youth have complicated families or no Church members at home. Keep family talk as an invitation, and never ask who pays tithing.
  • Use “Elijah!” as your attention call. They answer “Turn your hearts!” and turn to face you.

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

The Leftover Gift

3 min

A funny gift reveal makes Malachi’s point about giving God our leftovers hit home.

  1. SAY“I brought a gift. One volunteer gets to pick a bag.”
  2. Hold up the two matching gift bags. A youth picks one and opens it. Either way, reveal both: the nice treat and the sad leftover.
  3. Ask, “Would you give the leftover one to your coach, your principal or the bishop?” Then ask, “Why not?”
  4. SAY“In Malachi’s day, people gave God the sick animals they’d never give the governor. Today you’ll dig into Malachi yourselves and see what God really asks.”
🌪️ Let the youth who picked keep the good treat either way. Generosity is the point.

Class screen: 🎁 Two gift bags. One is a leftover. Would you give it? · Malachi 1:8

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: Two gift bags: one with a nice treat inside (check allergies and your ward’s policy first), one with a sad “leftover” (a bruised banana or an empty wrapper)

Would You Rather Give…

  1. SAY“Would you rather give your coach a fresh cookie, or a cookie someone already licked? Fresh cookie, walk to the left wall. Licked cookie, walk to the right.”
  2. Keep going, faster and sillier. A new jersey or your sweatiest socks? Your best effort, or what’s left after gaming till one in the morning?
  3. Ask, “Why does nobody pick the leftovers for the coach?”
  4. SAY“In Malachi’s day, people gave God the sick animals they’d never give the governor. Today you’ll dig into Malachi and see what God really asks.”

Class screen: 🍪 Would you rather give… Pick a wall! · Malachi 1:8

2. Story

Search Party: Malachi’s Last Words

9 min

Searching Malachi themselves, then teaching each other, helps youth own what the last Old Testament prophet says about God’s love, tithing and Elijah.

  1. SAY“Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament. Five groups, five passages. Each group finds one thing God wants you to know and reports it.”
  2. Make pairs or threes, and give each group a passage from the Teach Mode scenes. Start the Big Timer for three minutes.
  3. Groups report in order, one insight in one or two sentences. Show that group’s scene while they talk.
  4. After Group 3, share Elder Bednar’s words about “subtle blessings” from Conference quotes. After Group 5, add that Elijah gave Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery the sealing keys.
  5. Ask, “Which insight surprised you most?”
🌪️ Small class? Give each pair two passages. Big class? Give two groups the same passage, and let them compare.

Class screen: 🔎 Five groups, five passages: find one thing God wants you to know · Malachi 1–4 · D&C 110

3. Scripture

Turn the Hearts

4 min

The last words of the Old Testament become a promise youth can help fulfill through family history and the temple.

  1. SAY“Malachi’s very last words are a promise. Let’s make them ours.”
  2. Have a youth read Malachi 4:5–6.
  3. SAY“Elijah brought back the sealing power. Because of that, families can be sealed forever. And youth your age can be baptized for ancestors.”
  4. Teach the motions. Say Malachi 4:5–6 together twice.
  5. Ask, “What does turning your heart to your family look like, including ancestors you’ve never met?”
🌪️ Some youth have complicated families. Remind them that turning hearts includes ancestors, friends and ward family.

Class screen: 💞 Elijah came to turn the hearts of families · Malachi 4:5–6

4. Game

Tithing Speed Round

5 min

A fast mental-math race makes tithing practical and shows that youth can live it right now.

  1. SAY“Tithing is one-tenth of what you receive. Two teams. The first to shout the right tithing amount scores.”
  2. Try these. Babysitting 4 hours at $10. $25 in a birthday card. Mowing 3 lawns at $20. Selling your old bike for $70. A $100 summer-job week.
  3. True or false: “Only job money counts.” False, birthday money counts too. True or false: “It’s one-tenth for rich and poor.” True.
  4. Let a youth read the last rounds and keep score. Mention that youth can pay online or with a donation slip.
🌪️ Never ask who pays tithing. Some youth don’t earn money yet, and some families are struggling.
⏱️ Big Timer (a class game in the Gospel Sparks app)

Class screen: 💵 Tithing Speed Round: shout the amount first! · 10% of the money you receive

5. Testimony

One Name

3 min

End quietly with testimony and a personal step toward the temple.

  1. SAY“Malachi ends with families. So will we.”
  2. Share your testimony of temples and families. Or tell about an ancestor whose name you took to the temple.
  3. Hand out cards. Each youth writes one family member, living or not, whose heart they want to turn toward. Then one step they’ll take this week.
  4. Show the challenge. Then invite a youth to say the closing prayer.

Class screen: 💞 Turn your heart: one name, one step · Write one name · Choose one step

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: One index card per youth and a few pens

  1. SAY“Malachi ends with families. So will we.”
  2. Share your testimony of temples and families. Or tell about an ancestor whose name you took to the temple.
  3. Have everyone close their eyes and think of one family member whose heart they want to turn toward. Then one step they’ll take this week.
  4. Show the challenge. Then invite a youth to say the closing prayer.
6. Talk it over

Real Talk

4 minBONUS

Honest questions connect Malachi to their offerings, their money and their family.

  1. SAY“Real talk. Take a few seconds before you answer.”
  2. Show one question at a time, and give ten quiet seconds. Answer at least one yourself, especially about the temple or tithing.
💬 Ask the class
  • What does giving God your best, not your leftovers, look like for a teenager?
  • Why do you think the Lord says “prove me” about tithing?
  • What does it mean to turn your heart to your family, including ancestors you’ve never met?
  • If you’ve done baptisms for the dead, what did it feel like? If not yet, what would make it meaningful for you?

Class screen: 💬 Real talk

7. Wiggle break

Turn Your Hearts

2 minBONUS

A reflex game gets them moving and drills the words of Malachi 4:6.

  1. SAY“Everyone up. ‘Fathers’ means face the back wall. ‘Children’ means face the front. ‘Elijah’ means spin all the way around.”
  2. Call them out faster, with tricks: “fathers… children… farmers… Elijah… chilly… fathers…” A wrong turn means one slow-motion spin.
  3. Let a youth take over as caller for the last round.
🌪️ If they get dizzy and wild, whisper “Elijah… is here.” Everyone sits down silently.

Class screen: 🔄 Fathers: turn back. Children: turn front. Elijah: spin! · Malachi 4:6

Scripture search in pairs

Search Party: Malachi’s Last Words

Malachi 1–4; Doctrine and Covenants 110:13–16 ↗

Scenes

  1. 💗❓ Group 1: “Wherein hast thou loved us?”

    Read Malachi 1:2 and 1:6–8. The Lord says, “I have loved you.” The people basically answer, prove it. Then He points out what they’re offering Him. Blind, lame and sick animals they’d never give the governor.

    🙌 Report: How is feeling God’s love tied to giving Him our best?

  2. 🔥🪙 Group 2: The refiner’s fire

    Read Malachi 3:1–3. The Lord will come like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. A refiner heats silver until the impurities come out. A fuller scrubs cloth clean.

    🙌 Report: What does the Savior do with our hard times and mistakes?

  3. 🪟🌧️ Group 3: “Prove me now herewith”

    Read Malachi 3:7–10. “Return unto me, and I will return unto you.” The Lord invites His people to bring their tithes and test Him. He promises to open the windows of heaven.

    🙌 Report: Why do you think the Lord says “prove me” about tithing?

  4. 📖💎 Group 4: The book of remembrance

    Read Malachi 3:16–17. People who feared the Lord talked with each other about Him. The Lord listened. And a book of remembrance was written. He calls them His jewels.

    🙌 Report: How does the Lord see people who talk about Him and try?

  5. 🔑🏛️ Group 5: Elijah’s promise comes true

    Read Malachi 4:5–6, then Doctrine and Covenants 110:13–15. The Old Testament ends with a promise to send Elijah. In eighteen thirty-six, Elijah came to the Kirtland Temple. He said the time had fully come.

    🙌 Report: What did Elijah’s coming make possible for your family?

Key verse

Malachi 4:5–6 ↗
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers”
In plain words: God promised to send Elijah before the Second Coming to turn parents’ and children’s hearts toward each other, across every generation.
🙌 “Behold, I will send you” = point forward · “Elijah the prophet” = trace a swirl of fire rising · “before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD” = hands spread wide, look up · “turn the heart of the fathers to the children” = hand on heart, turn right · “and the heart of the children to their fathers” = hand on heart, turn left

More verses

Malachi 1:2 ↗
“I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us?”
In plain words: The Lord says, “I love you.” The people answer, “Oh yeah? How?”
Malachi 1:8 ↗
“if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee”
In plain words: You’d never give your leftovers to the governor. Why give them to God?
Malachi 3:7 ↗
“Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.”
In plain words: Come back to Me, and I’ll come back to you.
Malachi 3:10 ↗
“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”
In plain words: Pay your full tithing and test Me on it: I’ll open heaven’s windows and pour out more blessings than you have room for.

Forehead Guess words16 words

  • 📜 Malachi
  • 🔥 Elijah
  • 👼 Moroni
  • 🧑 Joseph Smith
  • ✍️ Oliver Cowdery
  • 🏛️ Kirtland Temple
  • 🔑 Sealing Keys
  • 💵 Tithing
  • 🪟 Windows of Heaven
  • 🏚️ Storehouse
  • 🍌 Leftovers
  • 🎩 Governor
  • 🌳 Family Tree
  • 💧 Baptism for the Dead
  • 🎫 Temple Recommend
  • 💞 Hearts
Clues for each word
  • Malachi: Last book of the Old Testament
  • Elijah: Taken to heaven in a chariot of fire; came back in 1836
  • Moroni: Angel who quoted Malachi to Joseph Smith in 1823
  • Joseph Smith: Received the sealing keys in the Kirtland Temple
  • Oliver Cowdery: Knelt beside Joseph when Elijah came
  • Kirtland Temple: Where Elijah appeared in 1836
  • Sealing Keys: Power Elijah gave to bind families forever
  • Tithing: One-tenth of the money you receive
  • Windows of Heaven: What the Lord promises to open in Malachi 3:10
  • Storehouse: Where Malachi says to bring the tithes
  • Leftovers: What the priests were offering God, like lame animals
  • Governor: Malachi asked: would you give him a sick animal?
  • Family Tree: Where you find names to take to the temple
  • Baptism for the Dead: Temple ordinance youth can do for ancestors
  • Temple Recommend: What youth need to do baptisms for ancestors
  • Hearts: Elijah turns them: fathers to children, children to fathers
▶ Play Forehead GuessFull screen, 60-second timer, works on any phone.

Scripture Showdown9 questions

  1. What are the Lord’s first words to the people in Malachi?
    • A. “Repent now”
    • B. “I have loved you”
    • C. “Build the temple”
    Show answer

    ✅ B. “I have loved you” Malachi 1:2. Everything in the book starts from His love.

  2. What kind of animals were the priests offering?
    • A. Blind, lame and sick
    • B. The very best
    • C. Only doves
    Show answer

    ✅ A. Blind, lame and sick Malachi 1:8: leftovers they’d never give the governor.

  3. Malachi says people “robbed” God in what?
    • A. Songs and prayers
    • B. Gold and silver
    • C. Tithes and offerings
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Tithes and offerings Malachi 3:8. Tithing is how we give back a tenth to the One who gave us everything.

  4. What does the Lord promise to open for those who pay tithing?
    • A. The gates of the city
    • B. The windows of heaven
    • C. The doors of the temple
    Show answer

    ✅ B. The windows of heaven Malachi 3:10. The blessings are often spiritual, not just money.

  5. “Return unto me, and I will…”
    • A. “return unto you”
    • B. “forget you”
    • C. “send a prophet”
    Show answer

    ✅ A. “return unto you” Malachi 3:7: the Lord is always ready to come back when we do.

  6. Who did Malachi say the Lord would send before the great day?
    • A. Moses
    • B. Isaiah
    • C. Elijah the prophet
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Elijah the prophet Malachi 4:5: the last promise in the Old Testament.

  7. Who quoted Malachi’s promise to Joseph Smith in 1823?
    • A. The angel Moroni
    • B. Elijah
    • C. Oliver Cowdery
    Show answer

    ✅ A. The angel Moroni Joseph Smith—History 1:36–39, with some wording different from the Bible.

  8. In what temple did Elijah appear in 1836?
    • A. The Nauvoo Temple
    • B. The Kirtland Temple
    • C. The Salt Lake Temple
    Show answer

    ✅ B. The Kirtland Temple Doctrine and Covenants 110, one week after the Kirtland Temple was dedicated.

  9. What did Elijah give Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery?
    • A. Golden plates
    • B. A seer stone
    • C. The keys of the sealing power
    Show answer

    ✅ C. The keys of the sealing power Those keys let families be sealed forever and make temple work for ancestors possible.

▶ Play Scripture ShowdownTeams take turns on one screen.

From general conference

“as we live the law of tithing, we often receive significant but subtle blessings that are not always what we expect and easily can be overlooked.”

— Elder David A. Bednar, “The Windows of Heaven,” October 2013

Share after the “Prove Me” search group reports, when you ask whether the windows of heaven always mean money.

Read the talk ↗

Songs

  • Family History—I Am Doing It Children’s Songbook, p. 94

    A fun, upbeat reminder that youth can do the work Elijah’s keys made possible. Find it ↗

  • Families Can Be Together Forever Children’s Songbook, p. 188

    The sealing keys Elijah brought are exactly what makes the promise in this song possible. Find it ↗

This week’s challenge

Your Best, Not Your Leftovers

This week, give the Lord something first instead of last. Pay tithing on any money you’ve earned or been given. Then spend 15 minutes with a parent, a leader or the FamilySearch app finding one ancestor’s name or story. If you have a temple recommend, ask about taking that name on the next temple trip.

Text the parents

Today in class we finished the Old Testament with Malachi. The Lord said, “I have loved you,” and asked for our best instead of our leftovers. In Malachi 3:10 He promised to open the windows of heaven for tithe payers. He also promised to send Elijah, who came to the Kirtland Temple in 1836, in Doctrine and Covenants 110. Could you spend 15 minutes with your youth this week finding one ancestor’s name or story?

📝 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?

🔍 Spot the Difference · 5 min

  1. Half the class reads Malachi 4:5–6. The other half reads Joseph Smith—History 1:38–39.
  2. Race to list every difference in how Moroni quoted it.
  3. Ask, “What does ‘plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers’ mean?” Think of the covenant promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

📖 Book of Remembrance · 4 min

  1. Read Malachi 3:16–17. The Lord keeps a book of remembrance for those who fear Him and think on His name.
  2. Ask, “What would you want in a book of remembrance about you? About your grandparents?”
  3. Invite them to write or record one family memory this week and share it with a relative.

🔥 Refiner’s Fire · 4 min

  1. Read Malachi 3:2–3. A refiner heats silver until the impurities rise to the top. Then he removes them, and the silver is pure.
  2. Ask, “How can hard things work like a refiner’s fire? Why does it matter that the Lord ‘shall sit’ by the fire as the Refiner?”

🌳 Family Tree Race · 5 min

  1. Give each team a sheet of paper. Say, “Draw your family tree back as far as you can. First names are enough. Go!” Give them 2 minutes.
  2. Count the names. Ask: “Who got to great-grandparents? Where did you get stuck?”
  3. SAY“Where you got stuck is where the work begins. That’s Elijah’s promise in action.”

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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