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Surely He Hath Borne Our Griefs

Isaiah pitches a Messiah no movie studio would buy, and it turns out He carries the stuff nobody sees

  • 🔥 Youth 14–16
  • Week 41
  • 📅 Sunday, October 11, 2026
🤔 Forehead Guess🏆 Showdown
💡 The big idea

Jesus Christ carried my sins and also my griefs and sorrows, even the ones nobody sees, so I never have to carry them alone, and I can help carry other people’s.

I can take my hidden griefs to Jesus Christ and stop looking away when someone else is struggling.

Study it yourself firstRead Isaiah 50–57 in Gospel LibraryCome, Follow Me manualOpen this week (Isaiah 50–57)
Know the chapters

Isaiah 53 may be the clearest description of the Savior’s Atonement in the Old Testament, written about 700 years before His birth. It doesn’t describe the Messiah many people expected: no royal glamour (v. 2), “despised and rejected,” “a man of sorrows” (v. 3), silent before His accusers (v. 7), counted with criminals (v. 12). Yet He “hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows” and “with his stripes we are healed” (vv. 4–5). The prophet Abinadi quoted this whole chapter to King Noah’s priests (Mosiah 14) and explained that it is about Jesus Christ (Mosiah 15). Philip taught the Ethiopian treasurer from this same chapter (Acts 8:32–35).

Notice that verse 4 is about griefs and sorrows, not only sins. Alma taught that the Savior would take upon Himself our pains, sicknesses and infirmities so He would know how to help us (Alma 7:11–12). For teens that matters enormously: a lot of what they carry isn’t sin at all. It’s anxiety, loneliness, a family situation, a friendship that fell apart, feeling left out, grief. The Savior carried those too.

The rest of the block is full of hope. The Lord’s servant “set my face like a flint” under abuse (50:7). The Lord’s kindness won’t depart even if the mountains do (54:10). He asks why we spend money “for that which is not bread” and labor for what doesn’t satisfy (55:2), an easy bridge to endless scrolling. And He insists that no outsider who takes hold of His covenant should ever say, “The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people” (56:3–7).

One honest line from verse 3 does a lot of work with this age: “we hid as it were our faces from him.” People looked away from the Savior. Teens look away from struggling classmates all the time, usually out of awkwardness, not cruelty. This lesson invites them not to. For the Strength of Youth (“Jesus Christ brings joy”) says it’s normal to feel sad or anxious from time to time, and that when those feelings don’t lift, help from a parent, leader or trusted professional is a blessing from Heavenly Father. If anything a youth shares suggests they or a friend may be unsafe, follow up privately after class and involve parents and the bishop.

Only have 5 minutes?

Read Isaiah 53 once, slowly. Open by having the class design the ultimate movie hero, then let four youth perform the Pitch Meeting from Teach Mode. Do the Arm Test wiggle, have a youth lead the pronoun swap on Isaiah 53:4–5, play Don’t Look Away with the timer, and close with your own short testimony that He carried what you couldn’t. Brought nothing? Tap “I brought nothing”: the hero list goes on the screen and the Arm Test uses empty arms.

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 a confident reader on Saturday: “Will you play Isaiah in a short ‘pitch meeting’ skit on Sunday? You’ll read parts of Isaiah 53 to a panel of skeptical movie executives.” Text a second youth: “Will you lead a 3-minute part of class on Isaiah 53:4–5? Read it with ‘I’ and ‘my’ instead of ‘we’ and ‘our’ and see how it feels.”
  2. Read Isaiah 53 in one sitting. Then read Mosiah 15:1–12 or Alma 7:11–12 so you can explain who it’s about.
  3. Draw two columns on the board: MOVIE HERO and ISAIAH’S MESSIAH. Leave them empty.
  4. Think of a time the Savior helped you carry something that wasn’t a sin: a grief, a fear, a loneliness. You’ll share one or two sentences.
  5. Decide ahead how you’ll respond if someone mentions self-harm in the game: thank them, affirm that telling a trusted adult is exactly right, and follow up privately after class.

If your class is wild

  • The pitch meeting works because the executives are genuinely skeptical. Cast your funniest, most sarcastic youth there. The sarcasm makes the reverent ending hit harder.
  • Don’t force anyone to share personal sorrows. Offer, don’t push. Pair talk first, then whole class.
  • If the class gets too silly during the Arm Test, go quiet yourself and read Isaiah 53:4 over the top of it. They’ll settle.
  • Teens often joke about dark things. If a joke touches self-harm or suicide, don’t shame it and don’t skip it: calmly say it matters and that talking to a trusted adult is what a real friend does.
  • Give the last word of each discussion to a youth, not to you.

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

Build the Ultimate Hero

3 min

Listing what makes a movie hero sets up the shock of Isaiah 53: the Savior is almost the opposite.

  1. Point to the MOVIE HERO column. Say: “You have 60 seconds. Build the ultimate movie hero. What do they need?” Write fast: strong, good-looking, popular, wins every fight, epic comeback, gets revenge, everybody loves them.
  2. SAY“About 700 years before Jesus was born, Isaiah pitched the Messiah. Let’s see how his pitch compares to yours.”
  3. Leave the ISAIAH’S MESSIAH column empty for now. You’ll fill it after the skit.

Class screen: 🦸 Build the ultimate movie hero in 60 seconds. · Looks? Powers? Fans? Revenge?

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: A whiteboard, chalkboard or big sheet of paper and a marker

  1. SAY“You have 60 seconds. Build the ultimate movie hero out loud. What do they need?” Have a youth type the list into their phone notes as the class calls it out: strong, good-looking, popular, wins every fight, epic comeback, gets revenge.
  2. SAY“About 700 years before Jesus was born, Isaiah pitched the Messiah. Let’s see how his pitch compares to yours.” Ask the note-taker to keep the list open for later.

Class screen: 🦸 Build the ultimate movie hero in 60 seconds. · Looks? Powers? Fans? Revenge?

2. Story

The Pitch Meeting: Isaiah 53

6 min

Skeptical “executives” react to Isaiah’s real words, and the youth discover for themselves how different the Savior is from the heroes the world sells.

  1. Hand out roles (tap Roles in Teach Mode). Isaiah reads every verse from real scriptures. Say: “Nobody plays Jesus. Isaiah is describing Him, and the Intern will tell us who He is.”
  2. Run the scenes. Let the execs ham it up early; the tone will turn on its own around scene 4.
  3. After scene 8, go back to the board and fill in ISAIAH’S MESSIAH together from the verses: no glamour, rejected, man of sorrows, carries others’ griefs, wounded for us, silent, prays for His enemies.
  4. Ask: “Why would the Savior come this way instead of like the movie hero?” (He had to experience our pain to know how to help us; His power is love, not force. Alma 7:11–12 if you want a cross-reference.)
🌪️ If the execs get carried away, let them. Just cue scene 4 with a quieter voice; the contrast is the lesson.

Class screen: 🎬 The Pitch Meeting: a Messiah no studio would buy · Isaiah 53 · Written about 700 years early

3. Wiggle break

The Arm Test

2 min

Holding weight until it hurts, then getting help, makes “borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows” something they feel in their shoulders.

  1. Everyone stands with a partner. One partner holds a book in each hand with arms straight out to the sides. Start the Big Timer for 90 seconds.
  2. At about 45 seconds, when arms start shaking, say: “Partners, you may now hold up their elbows.”
  3. Switch and repeat for 30 seconds if there’s time. Ask: “What changed when someone helped carry it?”
  4. Read Isaiah 53:4. Say: “Some of what you carry isn’t a sin at all. It’s just heavy. He carried that too, and He asks us to help carry each other’s (Mosiah 18:8).”
⏱️ Big Timer (a class game in the Gospel Sparks app)

Class screen: 💪 Arms out. Hold it. How long can you last alone? · “Surely he hath borne our griefs” – Isaiah 53:4

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: Two hardback books or full water bottles per pair of youth (for the Arm Test)

The Arm Test (Empty Hands)

  1. Everyone stands with a partner. One partner holds both arms straight out to the sides, palms down, no weight. Start the Big Timer for 90 seconds. (It gets surprisingly hard.)
  2. At about 45 seconds, say: “Partners, you may now hold up their elbows.” Ask: “What changed when someone helped carry it?”
  3. Read Isaiah 53:4. Say: “Some of what you carry isn’t a sin at all. It’s just heavy. He carried that too, and He asks us to help carry each other’s (Mosiah 18:8).”
4. Scripture

Youth-Led: The Pronoun Swap

4 min

Reading Isaiah 53:4–5 in the first person turns a famous prophecy into a personal one.

  1. The youth you texted reads Isaiah 53:4–5 aloud normally while everyone follows along, then teaches the motions once.
  2. The youth says: “Now read it silently again, but change every ‘we’ and ‘our’ to ‘I’ and ‘my.’ Surely He hath borne MY griefs…” Give 60 quiet seconds.
  3. The youth asks: “What felt different?” Take two or three answers.
  4. The youth reads Isaiah 53:3 and asks: “‘We hid as it were our faces from him.’ Where do people our age look away?” (The kid eating alone, the friend who went quiet, the person being mocked in the group chat.)
🌪️ If the youth leader gets nervous, ask them a question as if you were a student. It gives them something to answer and takes the spotlight off.

Class screen: 🔁 Swap “we” and “our” for “I” and “my.” Read it again. · Isaiah 53:4–5

5. Game

Don’t Look Away

4 min

A timed scenario game turns “we hid our faces” into practical, not-cringe ways to help carry a real person’s load.

  1. Split into two teams. Read a scenario and start the Big Timer for 30 seconds. Each team huddles and comes up with one real thing a 15-year-old could actually do (not cheesy, not preachy).
  2. Teams share. The other team votes whether they’d actually do it. A “yes” vote scores a point.
  3. Scenarios: “A friend posts a vague sad story at 1 a.m.” · “Someone in your class stopped coming to church and mutual.” · “The new kid eats alone every day.” · “A group chat starts roasting someone who isn’t in it.” · “A friend jokes that they don’t want to be here anymore.”
  4. On the last scenario, pause the game. Say: “That one isn’t a game. If a friend says something like that, it’s real, and the loving thing is to tell a parent, leader or other trusted adult right away. That’s not snitching. That’s carrying.”
⏱️ Big Timer (a class game in the Gospel Sparks app)

Class screen: 👀 Don’t look away. What would you actually do? · 30 seconds per scenario · Real, not cheesy

6. Talk it over

Real Talk: The Stuff Nobody Sees

4 min

Honest questions help youth see that the Atonement covers pain and loneliness, not only sin, and that they can bring it all to Him.

  1. Sit in a circle. A youth reads each question from the screen and picks who answers.
  2. Answer one question yourself, honestly and briefly.
  3. It’s fine to answer in general (“teens sometimes…”) instead of personally.
💬 Ask the class
  • Isaiah 53:4 says He carried our griefs and sorrows, not just our sins. Why does that difference matter to people our age?
  • Why do you think the Savior didn’t come as the kind of hero from our list on the board?
  • Isaiah 55:2 asks why we spend our money and effort on what doesn’t satisfy. What do teens spend hours on that never actually fills them up?
  • Isaiah 50:7 says, “I have set my face like a flint.” When do you need that kind of steadiness at school or online?
  • What’s one way you could let the Savior help carry something this week?

Class screen: 💬 Real talk: what do teens carry that nobody sees?

7. Testimony

He Carried It

2 min

A brief, personal testimony connects Isaiah 53 to a real experience of being helped by the Savior.

  1. Quietly share the time the Savior helped you carry something that wasn’t a sin: a grief, a fear, a loneliness. Keep it to a minute.
  2. SAY“Isaiah wrote ‘surely.’ Not maybe. Surely He has borne our griefs. I know He has borne mine.”
  3. Read President Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s words from April 2016 general conference (in the Conference section): “He knows your grief. Your silent pleadings. Your fears. Your tears.”
  4. Give the challenge and invite a youth to pray.

Class screen: 🫂 Surely He hath borne our griefs. · Isaiah 53:4

8. Game

Scripture Showdown

4 minBONUS

A quick team quiz reviews Isaiah 50–57.

  1. Same two teams. Tap Scripture Showdown.
  2. Teams have 10 seconds per question; a bonus point for finding the verse.
▶ Play Scripture Showdown on the web

Class screen: 🏆 Scripture Showdown: Isaiah 50–57

9. Game

Forehead Guess: Isaiah 53

3 minBONUS

A fast review of the images and words from the lesson.

  1. Tap Forehead Guess. One youth holds your phone or tablet on their forehead while the class gives clues.
  2. Clue-givers can’t say any word from the hint.
▶ Play Forehead Guess on the web

Class screen: 🤔 Forehead Guess: Isaiah 53

Story drama

The Pitch Meeting: Isaiah 53

Isaiah 53:1–12; Mosiah 14–15 ↗

Parts to hand out

  • IsaiahPitches the Messiah to a panel of movie executives by reading Isaiah 53 from real scriptures, calmly and seriously.
  • Exec 1Wants a blockbuster: good looks, big fights, a revenge ending. Unimpressed by everything.
  • Exec 2Only cares about popularity and ratings. Checks an invisible phone constantly.
  • Exec 3Asks the skeptical follow-up questions: “Wait, so what’s His superpower?”
  • The InternQuiet the whole time, then realizes what the pitch actually is and says the last lines.
  • AudienceEveryone else: studio staff who react, then read verse 6 together.

Scenes

  1. 🎬🤝 The pitch: a Messiah, 700 years early

    A prophet walks into a studio with a script written about 700 years before the story happens. The executives want the next big hero. Isaiah opens with a strange question: who is going to believe this?

    🎬 Isaiah reads Isaiah 53:1. The execs lean back with arms folded. Exec 2: “Does He at least have a big following?”

  2. 🌱🏜️ No glamour, no spotlight

    Isaiah says He’ll grow up like a small plant in dry ground. Nothing about His looks will make people want Him. No red carpet. No makeover scene.

    🎬 Isaiah reads Isaiah 53:2. Exec 1: “Not even good-looking? That’s a hard sell.”

  3. 💔🙈 Despised, rejected, a man of sorrows

    It gets worse for the execs. People will despise and reject Him. He’ll know grief personally. And people will hide their faces from Him: they’ll look away.

    🎬 Isaiah reads Isaiah 53:3. Everyone in the Audience slowly turns their face away. Exec 2: “He’s getting canceled in the first act.”

  4. 🎒🫂 His power: carrying everyone else’s sorrow

    Exec 3 asks what His superpower is. Isaiah’s answer: He carries other people’s griefs and sorrows. Not just their mistakes. Their pain, their sadness, the things they never told anyone.

    🎬 Isaiah reads Isaiah 53:4. Exec 3: “Wait. His power is… carrying other people’s sadness?” Pause. Nobody laughs.

  5. 🩹✨ Wounded for us, and we are healed

    He’s wounded, but not for anything He did. He’s wounded for what we did. The punishment that brings us peace lands on Him, and His wounds heal us.

    🎬 Isaiah reads Isaiah 53:5. The execs stop taking notes.

  6. 🐑🐑 All of us wandered off

    Isaiah turns the camera on the audience. Everyone, like sheep, wandered off their own way. And the Lord laid all of it on Him.

    🎬 The Audience reads Isaiah 53:6 together from their scriptures. Exec 1, quietly: “That’s… about us.”

  7. 🤐🐑 No comeback. No revenge.

    When He is mistreated, He doesn’t fight back or deliver a clever comeback. He stays silent, like a lamb. Then He is counted with criminals, pours out His life, and prays for the very people who wronged Him.

    🎬 Isaiah reads Isaiah 53:7 and 53:12. Exec 1: “No revenge ending?” Isaiah shakes his head.

  8. 🧑‍💻💡 “This isn’t a movie. This happened.”

    The Intern finally speaks. Centuries later a prophet named Abinadi read this whole chapter to a wicked king and said it was about the Savior (Mosiah 14–15). Jesus Christ lived every line of it in Gethsemane and on the cross, and He rose again.

    🎬 The Intern stands and says: “This isn’t a pitch. It already happened. His name is Jesus Christ.” Everyone stands in silence for five seconds.

Key verse

Isaiah 53:4–5 ↗
“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows … But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
In plain words: He carried our grief and sadness. He was hurt for the wrong things we did, He took the punishment that brings us peace, and His wounds heal us.
🙌 “borne our griefs… carried our sorrows” = hands cupped low, then lifted onto one shoulder · “wounded for our transgressions” = touch the palm of each hand · “the chastisement of our peace was upon him” = hand flat on the back of your own shoulder · “with his stripes we are healed” = hand over heart, then open outward.

More verses

Isaiah 53:3 ↗
“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him”
In plain words: People rejected Him. He knew sorrow personally. And people looked away from Him instead of seeing Him.
Isaiah 55:2 ↗
“Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not?”
In plain words: Why pour your time and money into things that never actually fill you up?
Isaiah 54:10 ↗
“For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee”
In plain words: Mountains could move before the Lord stops being kind to you.
Isaiah 50:7 ↗
“For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint”
In plain words: Because the Lord helps me, I won’t be thrown off; I can set my face like stone and not back down.

Forehead Guess words16 words

  • 💔 Man of sorrows
  • 🌱 Tender plant
  • 🐑 Lamb
  • 🐏 Sheep
  • 🩹 Stripes
  • 😢 Griefs
  • 🔥 Abinadi
  • 👑 King Noah
  • 🪨 Flint
  • ⛰️ Mountains
  • 🍞 Bread
  • 🙏 Intercession
  • 🫒 Gethsemane
  • ✨ Messiah
  • 🦸 Movie hero
  • 🤝 Covenant
Clues for each word
  • Man of sorrows: Isaiah 53:3 describes Him this way
  • Tender plant: Grows up out of dry ground
  • Lamb: Silent before the shearers
  • Sheep: “All we like ___ have gone astray”
  • Stripes: With His, we are healed
  • Griefs: He hath borne ours
  • Abinadi: Quoted Isaiah 53 to King Noah
  • King Noah: Heard Isaiah 53 and didn’t want to
  • Flint: “I have set my face like a ___”
  • Mountains: They can depart; His kindness won’t
  • Bread: Why spend money on what isn’t this?
  • Intercession: Pleading for someone else
  • Gethsemane: Garden where He took our sins and sorrows
  • Messiah: The Anointed One Isaiah described
  • Movie hero: Strong, famous, gets revenge
  • Covenant: “Take hold of my ___” (56:4)
▶ Play Forehead GuessFull screen, 60-second timer, works on any phone.

Scripture Showdown9 questions

  1. About how long before Jesus’s birth did Isaiah write chapter 53?
    • A. About 70 years
    • B. About 700 years
    • C. About 7,000 years
    Show answer

    ✅ B. About 700 years Isaiah prophesied around 700 years before Jesus Christ was born.

  2. Isaiah 53:3 calls Him “a man of…”
    • A. power
    • B. sorrows
    • C. fame
    Show answer

    ✅ B. sorrows “A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.”

  3. According to Isaiah 53:4, what did He carry besides sins?
    • A. Our griefs and sorrows
    • B. Our money
    • C. Our armor
    Show answer

    ✅ A. Our griefs and sorrows He carried pain and sadness too. Alma 7:11–12 says the same.

  4. “With his stripes we are…”
    • A. saved from war
    • B. made famous
    • C. healed
    Show answer

    ✅ C. healed Isaiah 53:5. His suffering brings us healing and peace.

  5. What animal does Isaiah compare us to in 53:6?
    • A. Sheep that went astray
    • B. Lost goats
    • C. Wandering camels
    Show answer

    ✅ A. Sheep that went astray “All we like sheep have gone astray.” All of us, not just some.

  6. How did He respond when He was mistreated (Isaiah 53:7)?
    • A. With a clever comeback
    • B. He opened not His mouth
    • C. He called down fire
    Show answer

    ✅ B. He opened not His mouth Like a lamb before its shearers, He stayed silent.

  7. Which Book of Mormon prophet quoted Isaiah 53 to King Noah’s priests?
    • A. Alma
    • B. Nephi
    • C. Abinadi
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Abinadi Mosiah 14 is Isaiah 53; Mosiah 15 explains it is about Christ.

  8. Isaiah 54:10: the mountains may depart, but what won’t?
    • A. The Lord’s kindness
    • B. The temple
    • C. The sea
    Show answer

    ✅ A. The Lord’s kindness “My kindness shall not depart from thee.”

  9. Isaiah 55:2 asks why we labor for things that…
    • A. cost too much
    • B. satisfy not
    • C. take too long
    Show answer

    ✅ B. satisfy not A good question to ask about how we spend our time.

▶ Play Scripture ShowdownTeams take turns on one screen.

From general conference

“He knows when you are lost, and He knows where you are. He knows your grief. Your silent pleadings. Your fears. Your tears.”

— President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “He Will Place You on His Shoulders and Carry You Home,” April 2016

Read it in the testimony, right after “Surely He hath borne our griefs.”

Read the talk ↗

Songs

  • I Know That My Redeemer Lives Hymns, no. 136

    Isaiah 53 ends in sorrow; this hymn answers it: He lives, and He comforts. Find it ↗

  • I Need Thee Every Hour Hymns, no. 98

    A quiet, honest prayer for anyone carrying something heavy. Find it ↗

This week’s challenge

Carry and Be Carried

Read Isaiah 53 once this week with “I” and “my” in place of “we” and “our.” Then tell Heavenly Father in prayer about one thing you’ve been carrying alone. And pick one person you’ve been looking away from and do one small, real thing for them.

Text the parents

This week in class the youth performed Isaiah 53 as a “pitch meeting” with skeptical movie executives, and discovered the Savior was nothing like a movie hero: “despised and rejected,” “a man of sorrows,” and the one who “hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows” (Isaiah 53:3–4). We talked about how He carries more than our sins, and how we can stop looking away from people who are struggling. Ask your teen: what did they come up with in the “Don’t Look Away” game?

📝 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?

🛞 Philip and the Chariot · 4 min

  1. Read Acts 8:26–35: an Ethiopian official is reading Isaiah 53 in his chariot and asks Philip who it’s about.
  2. Ask: “He asked, ‘How can I, except some man should guide me?’ Who helps you understand scripture?”
  3. Challenge pairs to explain Isaiah 53:4–5 in one sentence as if to a friend who has never heard of Jesus.

🚪 Nobody Is an Outsider · 4 min

  1. Read Isaiah 56:3–7. Explain that strangers and eunuchs were people who could feel shut out of Israel.
  2. Ask: “What does the Lord promise people who feel they don’t belong but take hold of His covenant?” (A place and a name in His house.)
  3. Ask: “Who feels like an outsider in our ward or school? What would ‘a house of prayer for all people’ look like here?”

📱 Doomscroll Audit · 4 min

  1. Read Isaiah 55:1–3: the Lord offers what satisfies “without money and without price.”
  2. Invite anyone willing to check their screen time and say which app took the most hours last week. Go first yourself.
  3. Ask: “Did it satisfy? What could 15 minutes of that time do if you gave it to something that does?”

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 14–16 lessons