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Written in Their Hearts

Pairs search the scriptures and find one king who burns the scroll, one who’s afraid of being mocked, and one outsider who goes down into the mud

  • 🔥 Youth 14–15
  • Week 44
  • 📅 Sunday, November 1, 2026
🤔 Forehead Guess🏆 Showdown
💡 The big idea

The Lord wants His law written in my heart, not just on paper or enforced by other people, and a heart like that acts, even when it’s unpopular.

I can choose to live the gospel because it’s written in my heart, and act like Ebed-melech when someone needs help, even if others are watching.

Study it yourself firstRead Jeremiah 31–33; 36–39; Lamentations 1; 3 in Gospel LibraryCome, Follow Me manualOpen this week (Jeremiah 31–33; 36–39; Lamentations 1; 3)
Know the chapters

Jeremiah 31–33 is a burst of hope in a dark book. The Lord says He has loved His people “with an everlasting love,” in 31:3. He promises a “new covenant.” He’ll put His law “in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.” That’s 31:33. Rules carved on stone are different from a law written on the heart. One means obeying because someone’s watching. The other means obeying because you’ve changed. That’s what our covenants are meant to do, from baptism to the sacrament to the temple.

Chapters 36–39 show that difference in real people. King Jehoiakim hears the Lord’s warnings read from a scroll. Every few columns, he cuts off the part just read with a penknife and throws it in his fire. He keeps going until the whole scroll is gone, in 36:23. The Lord simply has Jeremiah and his scribe Baruch write it all again, in 36:28 and 32. King Zedekiah is different. He secretly asks Jeremiah for the truth and seems to believe him. But he admits he’s afraid of being handed over and mocked, in 38:14–19. He doesn’t act, and his city falls, in chapter 39.

Then there’s Ebed-melech, an Ethiopian servant in the palace, an outsider. Officials throw Jeremiah into a muddy pit to die. Ebed-melech goes straight to the king and gets permission. He takes thirty men. He even sends down old rags so the ropes won’t hurt Jeremiah’s armpits as they pull him out. That’s 38:7–13. The Lord later promises Ebed-melech safety “because thou hast put thy trust in me,” in 39:15–18. Lamentations mourns the fall of Jerusalem. Yet in the middle of the grief, it says the Lord’s mercies “are new every morning,” in Lamentations 3:22–23.

Teachers-age youth and Young Women are right at the age when testimony needs to move from their parents’ hearts to their own. Frame the three characters as three ways to respond to truth. Burn it, which means tune out, mute or scroll past. Believe it but freeze over what people will think. Or act. Don’t shame the Zedekiahs. Most of us are Zedekiah sometimes. The point is that the Lord keeps writing His word again and offers new mercies every morning. The For the Strength of Youth section “Ordinances and covenants give you access to God’s blessings” pairs well with Jeremiah 31:33.

Only have 5 minutes?

Read Jeremiah 36 and 38. Run the Swipe Test. Give each pair a passage from the Teach Mode scenes and have them report one insight. Or read each passage aloud yourself. Say Jeremiah 31:33 together and do the sleeve-or-heart moment. Ask Which King Is This? with the Name Spinner. Close with Lamentations 3:22–23. Brought nothing? Tap “I brought nothing.” Every step still works.

What to bring2 items

Tick what you have. Forgot something? Every step that needs a supply has a no-supplies version in the plan below.

Before class

  1. Read Jeremiah 36 and 38 once so you can help pairs find their verses.
  2. Think of your own Zedekiah or Ebed-melech moment, a time you froze or acted. Keep it to a minute.
  3. Optional: text a youth: “Will you lead the key verse, Jeremiah 31:33, and the sticky-note moment?”

If your class is wild

  • It’s the day after Halloween. Many will be tired, and some wired. Keep the search short and timed. The timer does the classroom management for you.
  • Pair a strong reader with a quieter youth, and let the quiet one report. It’s a low-risk way to speak up.
  • Nobody likes being called a Zedekiah. Talk about situations and choices, never people in the room.
  • If pairs report something slightly off, don’t correct them in front of everyone. Ask, “What verse shows that?” Let the text do the work.
  • If a debate starts about dating or other standards, stay calm and warm. Explain the counsel in For the Strength of Youth. Point out it’s given for their safety and happiness.

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 Swipe Test

3 min

Showing how quickly we swipe away messages we need gets youth ready to see how people in Jeremiah responded to the Lord’s word.

  1. SAY“I’ll describe a message. Do what you’d honestly do. Swipe left to ignore. Hand up to mute. Arms crossed to block. Thumbs up to actually read it.”
  2. Call out fast. “Mom texts, ‘We need to talk.’” “Your screen time is up forty percent.” “A friend says you hurt them.” “A prompting to apologize.”
  3. Ask: “Why do we swipe away the messages we most need?”
  4. SAY“A king in Jeremiah had a more dramatic swipe. A knife and a fire. Let’s find three ways people responded to the Lord’s word.”
🌪️ It’s the day after Halloween. Get hands moving in the first minute. It wakes the room up.

Class screen: 📱 Ignore, mute, block, or actually read it?

2. Story

Search: Three Responses to the Word

9 min

Pairs finding the story themselves in Jeremiah 36–39 see three responses to God’s word, and teach each other what they found.

  1. SAY“You’re the teachers today. Each pair gets a passage. Find one thing that surprises you and one line worth remembering. Three minutes.”
  2. Assign scenes 1 to 6 to pairs, doubling up if you’re short. Start the Big Timer. Walk around and help pairs find their verses.
  3. Go scene by scene on the screen. Each pair reads their key line and gives one insight in a sentence or two.
  4. Hold up three fingers. Jehoiakim burned it. Zedekiah believed but froze. Ebed-melech acted. Ask which is most common for teens. Honestly, it’s usually Zedekiah.
🌪️ Pair a strong reader with a quieter youth. If a pair finishes early, have them find the verse that shows how Jeremiah felt.
⏱️ Big Timer (a class game in the Gospel Sparks app)

Class screen: 🔎 Search it: one surprise, one line worth remembering · 3 minutes per pair

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: Scriptures or the Gospel Library app for each pair (phones are fine)

  1. SAY“Each pair gets a passage to listen for. I’ll read it. You catch one surprise and one line worth remembering.”
  2. Assign scenes 1 to 6 to pairs. Read each passage aloud while its scene is on the screen.
  3. After each passage, that pair gives their one insight in a sentence or two.
  4. Hold up three fingers. Ask: “Burned it, believed but froze, or acted. Which one is most common for teens?”
3. Scripture

Written in Your Heart

4 min

A private sticky-note moment shows the difference between standards on our sleeve and standards written in our heart.

  1. SAY“Scene one is our key verse.”
  2. Show Jeremiah 31:33. Teach the motions and say it together twice. Hand out two sticky notes each.
  3. SAY“Write a standard you keep mostly because someone expects it. Stick it on your sleeve. Then write one you really believe. Stick it over your heart. No sharing.”
  4. Ask: “What moves a standard from your sleeve to your heart?”
  5. Ask Elder David A. Bednar’s question: “Are the truths of the Savior’s gospel written in the fleshy tables of our hearts?” Let it sit.

Class screen: 💗 “I will… write it in their hearts” · Jeremiah 31:33

No supplies? Do this instead

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

  1. SAY“Scene one is our key verse.”
  2. Show Jeremiah 31:33. Teach the motions and say it together twice.
  3. SAY“Think of a standard you keep mostly because someone expects it. Touch your sleeve. Now think of one you really believe. Put your hand over your heart.”
  4. Ask what moves a standard from your sleeve to your heart. Then ask Elder Bednar’s question from Conference quotes and let it sit.
4. Talk it over

Which King Is This?

5 min

Real situations help youth recognize Jehoiakim and Zedekiah moments and turn them into Ebed-melech moments.

  1. SAY“Burn it, freeze, or act. For each situation, name the response. Then tell me what an Ebed-melech would actually do.”
  2. Tap the Name Spinner to pick who answers first. Then open it up.
  3. SAY“Most of us are Zedekiah a lot. But here’s the good news. The Lord wrote the scroll again. Every day, you get another chance to act.”
💬 Ask the class
  • You see someone shoved into a locker. You keep walking so you won’t be late. What would Ebed-melech do?
  • A lesson at church hits hard, so you get on your phone. Which response is that?
  • In Jeremiah 38:19, Zedekiah is more afraid of being mocked than of disobeying God. Why is that fear so powerful for teens?
  • Ebed-melech was an outsider, and he was the one who acted. Why is it sometimes the unexpected person who stands up?
  • Think of a gospel standard that’s moved from your sleeve to your heart. What made it move?
🌪️ Talk about situations and choices, never about people in the room. Nobody likes being called a Zedekiah.
🎡 Name Spinner (a class game in the Gospel Sparks app)

Class screen: 👑 Burn it, freeze, or act?

5. Testimony

New Every Morning

3 min

A quiet testimony of the Lord’s patience ends the lesson with hope.

  1. SAY“Listen to this, from the saddest book in the Bible.”
  2. Read Lamentations 3:22–23 quietly.
  3. Briefly share your own Zedekiah or Ebed-melech moment. Tell what you learned about the Lord from it.
  4. SAY“The king burned the scroll. And the Lord wrote it again. His mercy will be new tomorrow morning.”
  5. Give the challenge and invite a youth to pray.

Class screen: 🌅 His mercies are new every morning. · Lamentations 3:22–23

6. Wiggle break

Out of the Mud

3 minBONUS

Pulling each other up shows that rescue is a team effort and that real help includes the details.

  1. SAY“Pair up with someone about your size. One of you sits on the floor. The other grips forearms and slowly helps them stand. Then switch.”
  2. In round two, groups of four pull one person up.
  3. SAY“Ebed-melech brought thirty men. Rescue is a team sport.”
  4. Ask what rags we add when we help someone, like Ebed-melech did. Listen for being gentle, keeping it private and following up.
🌪️ Pull with hands only, and slowly. Anyone can opt out and cheer.

Class screen: 🪢 Out of the mud: rescue is a team sport · Jeremiah 38:11–13

7. Game

Scripture Showdown

4 minBONUS

A quick team quiz reviews Jeremiah 31–39 and Lamentations.

  1. SAY“Two teams. It’s time for Scripture Showdown.”
  2. Tap Scripture Showdown. Give ten seconds per question and a bonus point for finding the verse.
▶ Play Scripture Showdown on the web

Class screen: 🏆 Scripture Showdown: Jeremiah and Lamentations

Scripture search in pairs

Search: Three Responses to the Word

Jeremiah 31:31–34; 36:21–28; 38:4–20; 39:15–18; Lamentations 3:22–23 ↗

Scenes

  1. 💗✍️ Jeremiah 31:31–34 · A law written on hearts

    In one of the darkest books in the Bible, the Lord promises a new covenant. Not rules on stone tablets this time. Something written somewhere else.

    🙌 Look for this: where the Lord writes His law, and what He promises to forget.

  2. 🔥📜 Jeremiah 36:21–28 · The king and the scroll

    Jeremiah had a scribe named Baruch. Baruch wrote the Lord’s warnings on a scroll. It’s read aloud to King Jehoiakim. The king is sitting by a fire in his winter house.

    🙌 Look for this: what the king does with the scroll, and what the Lord does next.

  3. 🕳️😣 Jeremiah 38:4–6 · Into the mud

    Years later, under King Zedekiah, Babylon’s army surrounds Jerusalem. Some officials are sick of Jeremiah’s warnings.

    🙌 Look for this: why the officials wanted Jeremiah gone, and where they put him.

  4. 🦸🧵 Jeremiah 38:7–13 · Ebed-melech to the rescue

    One man in the palace can’t stand it. His name is Ebed-melech. He’s an Ethiopian servant. An outsider.

    🙌 Look for this: every detail that shows how carefully he helped. Don’t miss the rags.

  5. 🤫👑 Jeremiah 38:14–20 · The king’s secret meeting

    King Zedekiah secretly sends for Jeremiah and asks him for the truth. He seems to believe it.

    🙌 Look for this: what Zedekiah is really afraid of in verse 19.

  6. 🌅🛡️ Jeremiah 39:15–18 · Lamentations 3:22–23

    Jerusalem falls. But the Lord sends a personal message to one man. Lamentations is a book of grief. But in the middle of it comes a line people have held onto for thousands of years.

    🙌 Look for this: why the Lord protects Ebed-melech, and what’s new every morning.

Key verse

Jeremiah 31:33 ↗
“I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
In plain words: I won’t just give you rules from the outside. I’ll write My law inside you, on your heart. I’ll be your God, and you’ll be Mine.
🙌 “I will put my law in their inward parts” = hand from forehead down to stomach · “and write it in their hearts” = trace writing over your heart with one finger · “will be their God” = point up · “they shall be my people” = open arms to the whole circle.

More verses

Jeremiah 36:23 ↗
“he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed”
In plain words: The king cut up God’s word piece by piece and burned it until nothing was left.
Jeremiah 38:19 ↗
“I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me.”
In plain words: Zedekiah believed, but he was afraid of what people would do and afraid they’d mock him.
Jeremiah 39:18 ↗
“For I will surely deliver thee … because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the LORD.”
In plain words: The Lord told Ebed-melech: I will protect you, because you trusted Me.
Lamentations 3:22–23 ↗
“It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”
In plain words: We haven’t been wiped out because the Lord’s mercy never runs out. It’s brand new every morning.

Forehead Guess words16 words

  • 🧔 Jeremiah
  • ✍️ Baruch
  • 📜 Scroll
  • 🔪 Penknife
  • 🤴 Jehoiakim
  • 👑 Zedekiah
  • 🦸 Ebed-melech
  • 🟫 Mire
  • 🧵 Rags
  • 🪢 Cords
  • 🤝 New covenant
  • ❤️ Heart
  • 🏰 Babylon
  • 😢 Lamentations
  • 🌅 New every morning
  • 🔥 Winter house
Clues for each word
  • Jeremiah: Prophet thrown into a muddy pit
  • Baruch: Scribe who wrote the scroll twice
  • Scroll: The king burned it piece by piece
  • Penknife: What Jehoiakim cut the scroll with
  • Jehoiakim: King who burned God’s word
  • Zedekiah: King afraid of being mocked
  • Ebed-melech: Ethiopian who rescued Jeremiah
  • Mire: The mud Jeremiah sank into
  • Rags: Padding so the ropes wouldn’t hurt
  • Cords: Used to lower and lift Jeremiah
  • New covenant: Law written in hearts (31:31–33)
  • Heart: Where God writes His law
  • Babylon: Army that surrounded Jerusalem
  • Lamentations: Book of mourning for Jerusalem
  • New every morning: The Lord’s mercies (Lam. 3:23)
  • Winter house: Where the king sat by the fire
▶ Play Forehead GuessFull screen, 60-second timer, works on any phone.

Scripture Showdown10 questions

  1. Who wrote down Jeremiah’s words on the scroll?
    • A. Ebed-melech
    • B. Baruch
    • C. Zedekiah
    Show answer

    ✅ B. Baruch Jeremiah 36:4. Baruch was Jeremiah’s scribe.

  2. What did King Jehoiakim do with the scroll?
    • A. Cut it up and burned it
    • B. Hid it in the temple
    • C. Read it every day
    Show answer

    ✅ A. Cut it up and burned it Jeremiah 36:23. Piece by piece, into the fire.

  3. What did the Lord tell Jeremiah to do after the scroll burned?
    • A. Give up
    • B. Leave the country
    • C. Write it all again
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Write it all again Jeremiah 36:28, 32. God’s word can’t be burned out of existence.

  4. What was at the bottom of the pit Jeremiah was lowered into?
    • A. Water
    • B. Mire (mud)
    • C. Lions
    Show answer

    ✅ B. Mire (mud) Jeremiah 38:6. No water, just mud, and he sank in it.

  5. Who went to the king to rescue Jeremiah?
    • A. Ebed-melech the Ethiopian
    • B. Pashur
    • C. Baruch
    Show answer

    ✅ A. Ebed-melech the Ethiopian Jeremiah 38:7–13. An outsider in the palace was the one who acted.

  6. Why did Ebed-melech send down old rags?
    • A. To clean the mud
    • B. To pad the ropes under Jeremiah’s arms
    • C. To keep him warm
    Show answer

    ✅ B. To pad the ropes under Jeremiah’s arms Jeremiah 38:12. He cared about the details of helping.

  7. What was Zedekiah afraid of in Jeremiah 38:19?
    • A. The dark
    • B. Losing his crown jewels
    • C. Being handed over and mocked
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Being handed over and mocked He believed Jeremiah but feared what people would do and say.

  8. In the new covenant, where does the Lord write His law?
    • A. On stone tablets
    • B. On the temple doors
    • C. In their hearts
    Show answer

    ✅ C. In their hearts Jeremiah 31:33. Not just outside rules, but a changed heart.

  9. Lamentations 3:23 says the Lord’s mercies are new every…
    • A. morning
    • B. year
    • C. Sabbath
    Show answer

    ✅ A. morning “Great is thy faithfulness.” Every day is a fresh start.

  10. Why did the Lord promise to deliver Ebed-melech?
    • A. He was rich
    • B. He put his trust in the Lord
    • C. He was a priest
    Show answer

    ✅ B. He put his trust in the Lord Jeremiah 39:18: “because thou hast put thy trust in me.”

▶ Play Scripture ShowdownTeams take turns on one screen.

From general conference

“Are the truths of the Savior’s gospel written in the fleshy tables of our hearts?”

— Elder David A. Bednar, ““Abide in Me, and I in You; Therefore Walk with Me”,” April 2023

Ask it after the sticky notes in Written in Your Heart, and let it sit in silence for a moment.

Read the talk ↗

Songs

  • Choose the Right Hymns, no. 239

    Ebed-melech in a hymn: when the moment comes, act. Find it ↗

  • Count Your Blessings Hymns, no. 241

    Pairs with Lamentations 3:22–23: even in hard times, His mercies are new every morning. Find it ↗

  • I Need Thee Every Hour Hymns, no. 98

    A prayer for the Zedekiah moments when we know what’s right and need strength to do it. Find it ↗

This week’s challenge

Be an Ebed-melech

This week, watch for one person who’s in the mud. They might be left out, struggling or treated badly. Do one real thing to help, and add a rag. Make it gentle, private and kind. Each morning, read Lamentations 3:22–23 before you check your phone.

Text the parents

This week the youth searched Jeremiah in pairs and found three responses to God’s word. King Jehoiakim burned the scroll, in 36:23. King Zedekiah believed Jeremiah but was too afraid of being mocked to act, in 38:19. Ebed-melech, an outsider, rescued Jeremiah from a muddy pit and even padded the ropes with rags, in 38:7–13. We talked about the Lord writing His law “in their hearts,” in 31:33. His mercies are “new every morning,” in Lamentations 3:23. Ask your teen which response is hardest to avoid. And what would an Ebed-melech do at their school?

📝 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?

🌾 Buying a Field in a War Zone · 4 min

  1. Read Jeremiah 32:6–15. With Babylon’s army outside, the Lord tells Jeremiah to buy a field and seal the deed in a jar.
  2. Ask why anyone would buy land in a city about to be conquered. Read 32:15. Houses and fields will be owned again.
  3. Ask what field they could invest in now because they trust the Lord’s future. Education, a mission, a temple marriage, a talent.

🖤 Lamentations Honesty · 4 min

  1. Read Lamentations 1:1–2 and 3:17–18. The writer is brutally honest about grief.
  2. Then read 3:21–26. Ask: “What changed? What does he ‘recall to mind’?”
  3. Ask if it’s faithful to be honest with God about sadness. Invite youth to write a private, honest prayer. It ends with something they remember about the Lord.

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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