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Is There Not a Lie in My Right Hand?

Three readers bring Isaiah’s satire to life from their seats: a man prays to his firewood, then the Lord tells you who actually gets to name you

  • 🔥 Youth 14–15
  • Week 40
  • 📅 Sunday, October 4, 2026
🤔 Forehead Guess🏆 Showdown
💡 The big idea

My worth doesn’t come from anything I have to carry, feed or keep checking; it comes from the Lord who made me, redeemed me and calls me by name.

I can let the Lord, not likes, grades or other people’s opinions, tell me who I am.

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

Isaiah 40–49 is written to people who’d live long after Isaiah: the Jews carried off to Babylon. They’d lost their homes, their temple and a lot of their confidence. Some said the Lord had forgotten them, in 49:14. His answer runs through every chapter: “Fear not… I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine,” in 43:1. The Lord speaking is Jehovah, the premortal Jesus Christ. He promises to be with them through the waters and the fire, in 43:2. He’ll carry them to old age, in 46:4. And He keeps them engraved on His palms, in 49:16.

Right in the middle, Isaiah writes some of the sharpest satire in scripture, in 44:9–20. A man grows a tree and burns half of it to bake bread and warm his hands. Then he carves the leftovers into a god and prays to it: “Deliver me; for thou art my god.” He never asks the obvious question Isaiah puts in verse 20: “Is there not a lie in my right hand?” Two chapters later, Babylon’s famous idols Bel and Nebo get loaded onto worn-out animals and hauled away, in 46:1–2. Idols have to be carried. The Lord carries you.

Fourteen- to sixteen-year-olds don’t bow to logs. But they live inside a system that keeps telling them who they are. Follower counts, streaks, grades, rankings, group chats, how they look in a photo. None of those things are evil. They become idols when we let them name us and we have to keep feeding them. The For the Strength of Youth section “Walk in God’s light” tells youth not to compare their lives to what others seem to have online. It reminds them their worth comes from being a child of heavenly parents, not from social media. This lesson lets them say that in their own words instead of hearing a lecture.

This is General Conference weekend. The Lord calls His people “my witnesses,” in 43:10. Apostles are called as special witnesses of Jesus Christ, in Doctrine and Covenants 107:23. If you teach this another week or at home, the conference tie-in still works. Invite the youth to listen for what the Lord says about who they are.

Only have 5 minutes?

Read Isaiah 44:14–20 and 43:1–2. Open with the right-hand question. Everyone’s phone is already in their hand. Three readers read the Woodcarver readers’ theater from their seats, and you read the Lord’s lines. A youth leads Isaiah 43:1–2, and the discussion questions do the rest. End with a short testimony that the Lord knows their name. Brought nothing? Tap “I brought nothing.” Every step has a no-supplies version.

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. Text three readers on Saturday, or assign them in My Class. The Narrator reads Isaiah 44:14–20 and 46:1–2. The Woodcarver reads 44:16–17. The Voice of Zion reads 49:14.
  2. Text a fourth youth: “Will you lead a three-minute part of class? Read Isaiah 43:1–2 and 49:15–16. Come ready to ask what the ‘waters’ and ‘fire’ are for people our age.”
  3. Think of a time you let something besides the Lord tell you who you were, like a grade, a job title, a group or a number. Remember how you found your way back. You’ll share it briefly.

If your class is wild

  • Teens can smell a lecture coming. Let them say the point before you do. Your job is mostly to ask the next good question.
  • Readers stay in their seats. No props, no acting. Ask them to read slowly and let Isaiah’s sarcasm do the work.
  • Don’t make phones the villain. Most of them need phones for school and family. The question is who gets to tell them who they are, not whether screens are evil.
  • Some youth feel deeply unseen right now. Keep the name cards private. Nobody reads anyone else’s, ever.
  • If the room is quiet, have them tell the person next to them first. Then ask pairs to report.

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

What’s in Your Right Hand?

3 min

Starts with the thing already in most of their hands and raises the lesson’s real question: who gets to tell you who you are?

  1. SAY“Quick, no judgment. Hold up whatever’s in your right hand. Or whatever your right hand reaches for most all day.”
  2. Hold your phone up too.
  3. SAY“Honest question. Say a stranger only had your phone, your camera roll and your notifications. What would they think you’re like?”
  4. Let answers be funny. Then ask what that stranger would get wrong about them.
  5. SAY“In Isaiah forty-four, there’s a guy who never asks himself one question. It’s in verse twenty. ‘Is there not a lie in my right hand?’ Today, we’re asking it.”
🌪️ If someone jokes about another person’s phone, gently redirect. Say, “Only answer for your own.” Keep it light.

Class screen: ✋📱 What would a stranger think you are from your phone alone? · “Is there not a lie in my right hand?” – Isaiah 44:20

2. Story

Readers’ Theater: The Man Who Prayed to His Firewood

8 min

Three readers read Isaiah’s own satire aloud from their seats, and the class hears the point before anyone explains it: the things we make can’t save us, but the Lord who made us can.

  1. SAY“I need three readers, reading from your seats. No acting. Just read it like you mean it. I’ll read the Lord’s words.”
  2. Hand out parts from Roles in Teach Mode. Everyone else opens to Isaiah 44:14 and follows along.
  3. Show each scene, and readers read its verses. At scene 4, let the right-hand line land. Don’t explain it yet.
  4. Afterward, ask: “If Isaiah wrote this about a teenager today, what would the log be?”
  5. SAY“None of those things are evil. The question is whether they get to name you.”
🌪️ Give the Woodcarver part to someone with comic timing. The satire lands when they read “Aha, I am warm” like they mean it.

Class screen: 🪓 The Man Who Prayed to His Firewood (Isaiah 44) · Half for dinner. Half for a god. · What’s wrong with this picture?

3. Scripture

Youth-Led: Called by Name

4 min

A youth teaches the key verse and applies the Lord’s promises to the real “waters” and “fires” of being fifteen.

  1. SAY“Here’s the Lord’s answer to the Woodcarver.”
  2. The youth you texted reads Isaiah 43:1–2 while everyone follows along. Then they teach the motions once.
  3. The youth asks: “What are the ‘waters’ and the ‘fire’ for people our age?” Let answers come without comment.
  4. The youth reads Isaiah 49:15–16. They ask: “He doesn’t promise no water or no fire. So what does He promise?”
  5. Hand out cards. Each youth privately writes a label the world has put on them. On the back, they write “Isaiah 43:1, thou art mine.”
🌪️ If the youth teacher freezes, jump in as a co-teacher, not a rescuer. Say, “Great question. Let me add one…” Then hand it back.

Class screen: 🏷️ “I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.” · Isaiah 43:1–2 · The waters · the rivers · the fire

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: Index cards or scrap paper and a pen for each youth

Youth-Led: Called by Name (Phone Note Edition)

  1. SAY“Here’s the Lord’s answer to the Woodcarver.”
  2. The youth you texted reads Isaiah 43:1–2 while everyone follows along. Then they teach the motions once.
  3. The youth asks: “What are the ‘waters’ and the ‘fire’ for people our age?” Let answers come without comment.
  4. The youth reads Isaiah 49:15–16. They ask: “He doesn’t promise no water or no fire. So what does He promise?”
  5. Each youth privately types a label the world has put on them in a phone note. Then they delete it and type “Isaiah 43:1, thou art mine.”

Class screen: 🏷️ Delete the label. Type: Isaiah 43:1 – thou art mine. · Isaiah 43:1–2

4. Talk it over

Real Talk: Who Names You?

5 min

Honest questions let youth connect Isaiah’s promises to their own identity and to this weekend’s conference.

  1. SAY“Real talk. Answer for yourself, not for anyone else.”
  2. A youth reads the questions from the screen and chooses who answers.
  3. Share one honest answer of your own early. Your honesty sets the depth for everyone.
  4. Let the silence sit five seconds before you rescue a question.
💬 Ask the class
  • For the Strength of Youth says not to compare your life with what others seem to have online. Why is comparison so hard to turn off?
  • Isaiah 48:10 says the Lord refines us in “the furnace of affliction.” Can you think of a hard time that ended up shaping who you are?
  • In Isaiah 49:14, Zion says, “my Lord hath forgotten me.” What could you do this week for someone who feels that way?
  • In Isaiah 43:10, the Lord says, “Ye are my witnesses.” What could you honestly be a witness of right now, even something small?
  • Apostles are special witnesses of Jesus Christ. What’s one question you’d like the Lord to answer for you during General Conference?

Class screen: 💬 Real talk: who gets to tell you who you are?

5. Testimony

Engraved, Not Forgotten

3 min

A short, real testimony from the teacher shows what it looks like to let the Lord name you.

  1. SAY“Let me tell you about a time I let something else tell me who I was.”
  2. Share your story briefly, and how you came back to the Lord’s view of you.
  3. SAY“Idols have to be carried. But the Lord carries you. And He knows your name.”
  4. Add one sentence of testimony of Jesus Christ. Give the challenge: pick one conference talk and listen for what the Lord says about who you are.
  5. Invite a youth to pray.

Class screen: ✋ He knows your name. You’re engraved on His palms. · Isaiah 49:16

6. Wiggle break

Four Corners: What Pulls Hardest?

3 minBONUS

Getting up and choosing a corner makes an abstract idea (modern idols) personal without anyone having to confess anything.

  1. SAY“Walk to the corner you think pulls hardest on teens at your school.”
  2. Point out the four signs. Ask one person in each corner why they chose it.
  3. SAY“Now walk to the one that would be hardest for you to stop caring about. No need to explain.”
  4. SAY“Everyone to the middle. Isaiah 43:1 is the middle. Every corner is a voice telling you who you are. But only the middle knows your name.”

Class screen: 🧭 Which corner pulls hardest on teens you know? · Likes & followers · Grades & wins · What friends think · How I look

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: Four sheets of paper with big labels for the corners of the room: LIKES & FOLLOWERS · GRADES & WINS · WHAT FRIENDS THINK · HOW I LOOK (plus tape)

Four Walls: What Pulls Hardest?

  1. SAY“The front wall is likes and followers. The back wall is grades and wins. The left is what friends think. The right is how I look.”
  2. Leave the kid screen up.
  3. Round one, walk to the wall that pulls hardest on teens at your school. Round two, walk to the one you’d find hardest to stop caring about.
  4. Round three, everyone walks to the middle.
  5. SAY“Isaiah 43:1 is the middle. The middle is the only voice that knows your name.”
7. Game

Scripture Showdown

4 minBONUS

A quick team quiz reviews the reading and the promises.

  1. SAY“Two teams. You get ten seconds to decide, then point.”
  2. Tap Scripture Showdown. A team gets a bonus point for finding the verse in under twenty seconds.
▶ Play Scripture Showdown on the web

Class screen: 🏆 Scripture Showdown: Isaiah 40–49

Readers’ theater

Readers’ Theater: The Man Who Prayed to His Firewood

Isaiah 44:9–20; 46:1–4; 49:14–16; 43:1 ↗

Reading parts (volunteers, from their seats)

  • NarratorReads Isaiah 44 and 46 from their seat, with a straight face, like a nature documentary.
  • The WoodcarverReads the woodcarver’s own words (Isaiah 44:16–17) from their seat, completely pleased with himself.
  • Voice of ZionReads Isaiah 49:14 from their seat, like someone who feels completely forgotten.

Scenes

  1. 🌱🌧️ He plants a tree and waits for rain

    Isaiah sets the scene like a documentary. A man plants a tree. The rain waters it. Years pass. He cuts it down with his own hands. Notice this. Everything about that tree came from God’s rain and God’s earth. The man just did the chopping.

    🙌 The Narrator reads Isaiah 44:14.

  2. 🔥🍞 Half becomes dinner. “Aha, I am warm!”

    Half the log goes into the fire. He bakes bread. He roasts meat. He eats until he’s full, and he warms his hands. He is very pleased with himself. Isaiah even quotes him: “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire.”

    🙌 The Narrator reads Isaiah 44:15. The Woodcarver reads verse 16, very pleased with himself.

  3. 🗿🙏 The leftovers become his god

    Then he takes the other half. The leftovers. He carves a statue. He falls down in front of it, and he prays, “Deliver me; for thou art my god.” He’s asking his dinner scraps to save his life.

    🙌 The Woodcarver reads Isaiah 44:17. Then three full seconds of silence.

  4. ✋❓ The question he never asks

    Isaiah says nobody stops to think, “Wait. I cooked my lunch on the other half of this.” The man can’t save himself. Why? He never asks one honest question. “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

    🙌 The Narrator reads Isaiah 44:19–20. Everyone holds up their right hand and reads the last line together: “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

  5. 🫏😩 Babylon’s gods need a ride out

    Years later, Babylon falls. Its famous gods are Bel and Nebo. They can’t walk away. So they’re loaded onto tired animals and hauled off. Isaiah calls them “a burden to the weary beast.” The gods everyone trusted have to be carried.

    🙌 The Narrator reads Isaiah 46:1–2. Ask: “What’s funny about gods that have to be carried?”

  6. 😔💭 “my Lord hath forgotten me”

    Meanwhile, God’s people sit in captivity. They feel invisible. And one of them says what a lot of people feel but never say. The Lord has left me. The Lord has forgotten me.

    🙌 The Voice of Zion reads Isaiah 49:14 quietly. Let the room get still.

  7. ✋✨ Engraved on His palms

    The Lord answers. A mother might forget her baby, but “yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands.” Idols have to be carried. But the Lord carries you, from birth to gray hair.

    🙌 You read Isaiah 49:15–16 and 46:4. Everyone looks at their own palms for a quiet moment.

  8. 🏷️🙌 “I have called thee by thy name”

    Then comes the line that answers the whole reading: “Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.” The Woodcarver made his god. Your God made you. He bought you back. And He knows your name.

    🙌 Everyone reads Isaiah 43:1 together from their scriptures.

Key verse

Isaiah 43:1–2 ↗
“Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee”
In plain words: Don’t be afraid. I paid the price for you, I know your name, and you are Mine. When life feels like it’s pulling you under, I’ll be right there, and it won’t sweep you away.
🙌 “Fear not” = palm out, calm · “I have redeemed thee” = hand over heart · “called thee by thy name” = everyone quietly says their own first name at the same time · “thou art mine” = both hands open, facing up · “through the waters… not overflow thee” = hand flat, rising up like a wave, then holding steady above it.

More verses

Isaiah 44:20 ↗
“a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
In plain words: He’s been fooled so long he can’t even ask the obvious question: is the thing I’m holding onto actually lying to me?
Isaiah 46:4 ↗
“even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.”
In plain words: Idols need you to carry them. The Lord made you, and He carries you, all the way to gray hair.
Isaiah 49:15–16 ↗
“yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands”
In plain words: Even if the most loving mother forgot her baby, the Lord won’t forget you. You’re engraved on His hands.
Isaiah 40:30–31 ↗
“Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles”
In plain words: Even young, strong people burn out. The ones who trust the Lord get their strength renewed, like eagles catching the wind.

Forehead Guess words17 words

  • 🪓 Woodcarver
  • 🗿 Idol
  • 🔥 Firewood
  • ✋ Right hand
  • 🏰 Babylon
  • 🫏 Bel and Nebo
  • 🔓 Redeemed
  • 🏷️ Name
  • 🤲 Palms
  • 🦅 Eagle
  • ♨️ Furnace of affliction
  • 🙋 Witness
  • 👑 Cyrus
  • 📊 Comparison
  • 📱 Streak
  • ✨ Jehovah
  • 🎤 General Conference
Clues for each word
  • Woodcarver: Cooked lunch on half his god
  • Idol: Can’t hear, can’t help, has to be carried
  • Firewood: “Aha, I am warm”
  • Right hand: Where the lie might be (Isaiah 44:20)
  • Babylon: Empire that carried the Jews captive
  • Bel and Nebo: Babylon’s gods that needed a ride
  • Redeemed: Bought back; set free by paying the price
  • Name: The Lord calls you by it (43:1)
  • Palms: Where you’re engraved (49:16)
  • Eagle: Mount up with wings as these
  • Furnace of affliction: Hard times that refine you (48:10)
  • Witness: “Ye are my ___” (43:10)
  • Cyrus: Persian king named 150 years early
  • Comparison: The thief of joy online
  • Streak: Something you have to keep feeding daily
  • Jehovah: The LORD of the Old Testament: Jesus Christ
  • General Conference: Prophets and apostles speak this weekend
▶ Play Forehead GuessFull screen, 60-second timer, works on any phone.

Scripture Showdown9 questions

  1. What did the woodcarver do with the half of the log he didn’t burn?
    • A. Built a table
    • B. Carved a god and prayed to it
    • C. Sold it
    Show answer

    ✅ B. Carved a god and prayed to it Isaiah 44:17. He asked his leftover firewood to deliver him.

  2. Finish Isaiah 44:20: “Is there not a lie in my…”
    • A. right hand
    • B. house
    • C. heart
    Show answer

    ✅ A. right hand The question the woodcarver never asked. A good one for anything we hold onto.

  3. In Isaiah 46, who has to carry Babylon’s gods Bel and Nebo?
    • A. The priests
    • B. The king
    • C. Tired animals
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Tired animals Isaiah 46:1. Idols have to be carried; the Lord carries us (46:4).

  4. Isaiah 43:1 says the Lord has called you by your…
    • A. number
    • B. name
    • C. family
    Show answer

    ✅ B. name He knows you personally: “thou art mine.”

  5. Isaiah 43:2 promises that when you pass through the waters…
    • A. He will be with you
    • B. they will disappear
    • C. you won’t get wet
    Show answer

    ✅ A. He will be with you He doesn’t promise no hard things. He promises His presence in them.

  6. Where does Isaiah 49:16 say the Lord has engraved you?
    • A. On stone tablets
    • B. On the temple walls
    • C. On the palms of His hands
    Show answer

    ✅ C. On the palms of His hands A reminder of the marks in the Savior’s hands.

  7. Isaiah 40:30–31: even youths faint, but those who wait upon the Lord…
    • A. never get tired
    • B. renew their strength
    • C. become famous
    Show answer

    ✅ B. renew their strength Strength gets renewed, “with wings as eagles.”

  8. Who is the LORD (Jehovah) speaking in Isaiah?
    • A. An angel
    • B. Jesus Christ before His birth
    • C. King Cyrus
    Show answer

    ✅ B. Jesus Christ before His birth Jehovah is the premortal Jesus Christ. These are the Savior’s own words.

  9. Which For the Strength of Youth section talks about using social media to uplift?
    • A. Walk in God’s light
    • B. Truth will make you free
    • C. Your body is sacred
    Show answer

    ✅ A. Walk in God’s light It says your worth comes from being a child of heavenly parents, not from social media.

▶ Play Scripture ShowdownTeams take turns on one screen.

Songs

  • How Firm a Foundation Hymns, no. 85

    Its verses draw on Isaiah 41:10, 43:2 and 46:4. Challenge the youth to spot the Isaiah promises as they sing. Find it ↗

  • I Am a Child of God Hymns, no. 301

    The simplest answer to “who am I?” Worth singing again as a teenager, when it means more. Find it ↗

  • We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet Hymns, no. 19

    A fit for General Conference weekend. Find it ↗

This week’s challenge

Listen for Your Name

Watch at least one General Conference talk, live or later in Gospel Library. Listen for one thing the Lord says about who you are. Write it in your phone next to Isaiah 43:1. Bonus: take one day this week where you check your likes and views zero times. Notice how you feel.

Text the parents

This week in class we read Isaiah 44. A man burns half a log for dinner and prays to the other half. We asked Isaiah’s question: “Is there not a lie in my right hand?” We talked about how likes, grades and opinions can start telling us who we are. The Lord says instead, “I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine,” in Isaiah 43:1. Ask your teen what the modern log would be. And what did they hear at General Conference about who they are?

📝 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?

🪣 A Drop in the Bucket · 4 min

  1. Read Isaiah 40:15 and 22–23 together. Nations are like a drop in a bucket, and the powerful come to nothing.
  2. Ask: “Babylon was the superpower back then. What feels like a superpower in your life? A group, a person, an opinion, a platform?”
  3. Read Isaiah 40:26. God names every star, and not one is missing. Ask what that says about how well He knows them.

✍️ Rewrite It for Today · 6 min

  1. Pairs rewrite Isaiah 44:14–20 as a short modern story about a teenager. They pick one modern log, like a phone, a ranking or an image.
  2. The story has to end with the character asking the honest question from verse 20.
  3. Two pairs read theirs aloud from their seats. Ask what the Lord would say to that character. Then read Isaiah 43:1 as the answer.

♨️ The Refiner’s Fire · 4 min

  1. Read Isaiah 48:10. Explain that refining uses heat to burn away what doesn’t belong and keep what’s valuable.
  2. Ask how being burned up is different from being refined. Compare Isaiah 43:2. The flame won’t kindle upon you.
  3. Invite anyone who wants to share a hard experience that refined them. Share one of yours first.

⚖️ Idol or Tool? · 4 min

  1. Read a situation. “You check who viewed your story eight times in an hour.” “You practice volleyball two hours a day because you love it.” “You skip prayer for a week to keep a gaming streak.”
  2. A player says “Idol” or “Tool” with a one-sentence reason. The other team gets ten seconds to challenge. The best argument scores.
  3. Ask how you know a tool has become an idol. When you have to keep feeding it. When it decides how you feel about yourself.

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 14–15 lessons