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Who’s Your Nineveh?

A made-up but very real grudge, a prophet who ran, a fish, a city that changed, and the uncomfortable question of who deserves a second chance

  • 🔥 Youth 14–15
  • Week 48
  • 📅 Sunday, November 29, 2026
🤔 Forehead Guess🏆 Showdown
💡 The big idea

The Lord’s mercy is bigger than our grudges: He gives second chances to me and to the people I’d rather He didn’t, and He speaks through prophets to call all of us home.

I can seek the Lord, follow His prophets, and want good things even for people who have hurt me or who I think don’t deserve it.

Come, Follow Me manualOpen this week (Amos; Obadiah; Jonah)
Know the chapters

Amos was a herdsman who tended sycamore figs in Tekoa. He wasn’t a trained religious professional when the Lord called him to warn the northern kingdom of Israel. That’s Amos 1:1 and 7:14–15. The nation was rich, religious on the surface and cruel to the poor. Amos taught that the Lord reveals His plans to His prophets, in 3:7. He made the point with everyday cause-and-effect questions, in 3:3–8. When a lion roars, people fear. When the Lord speaks, a prophet has to speak. A priest named Amaziah told him to go home and stop prophesying. Amos answered that the Lord had sent him, in 7:10–15. Amos warned of “a famine… of hearing the words of the LORD,” in 8:11–12. Latter-day Saints see that fulfilled in the Apostasy and ended by the Restoration and living prophets.

Amos 4 lists hardship after hardship. It repeats a heartbreaking line five times: “yet have ye not returned unto me,” in 4:6–11. In chapter 5 the Lord pleads, “Seek ye me, and ye shall live,” in 5:4. Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament. It ends with “saviours shall come up on mount Zion,” in 1:21. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that we become saviors on Mount Zion by doing temple ordinances for the dead. Many of your youth already do that work in baptistries.

Jonah is famous for the fish, but the book is really about mercy. The Lord sent Jonah to Nineveh, capital of Assyria, the brutal empire that was Israel’s enemy. Jonah ran the other way, toward Tarshish, in 1:1–3. Then came the storm, the lots and the great fish “prepared” by the Lord, in 1:17. Jonah prayed from the depths, in 2:2. And “the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time,” in 3:1. He preached, and the whole city fasted and turned from violence, from the king down. The Lord spared them, in 3:5–10. Then comes the twist. Jonah was furious. He admits he ran because he knew the Lord was “gracious… and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness,” in 4:2. He didn’t want his enemies forgiven. The book ends on an open question from the Lord about caring for a city full of people, in 4:10–11. It leaves the answer to us.

Jesus pointed to Jonah as a sign of His own death and Resurrection. He said the people of Nineveh repented at Jonah’s preaching, in Matthew 12:40–41. For fourteen- to sixteen-year-olds, this lesson is about grudges, call-outs and cancel culture. It’s about running from what the Lord asks. And it’s about whether we really want mercy for everyone, or just for us. November 29 is a fifth Sunday. If your ward combines classes under the bishopric’s direction, this lesson works well for a combined group.

Only have 5 minutes?

Read Jonah 1–4 and Amos 5:4. Run the hot takes on the walls. Tell the case of Caleb and Tyler from Teach Mode, with a Jonah verse and question on each scene. Say Amos 5:4 together and ask a few Who’s Your Nineveh? questions. Close by inviting everyone to pray for their Nineveh. Brought nothing? Tap “I brought nothing.” Every step still works.

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. Read Jonah 1–4. It’s short. Then read Amos 3:7 and 5:4.
  2. Skim the case scenes so you can tell them in your own words.
  3. Think of a second chance the Lord gave you. Keep it to a minute.

If your class is wild

  • The hook can get personal. Set the rule: no names, and no real stories about people in your ward or school.
  • Caleb and Tyler are made up. If the story lands too close to something real in your class, change the details before you teach.
  • If a youth shares real hurt from someone who wronged them, don’t rush them to forgive. Say, “The Lord gets it. He was patient with Jonah too.” Wanting good for someone never means staying where you’re being hurt. For the Strength of Youth, in “Love God, love your neighbor,” says to set healthy boundaries. It says to talk to a trustworthy adult about bullying or abuse.
  • Captain’s Orders is loud. Start with the Sound Board waves. Stop the sound suddenly to freeze the room.
  • Goldfish crackers are a cheap, funny reward. Keep them optional so the no-supplies plan still works.

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

Hot Takes: Second Chances

3 min

Taking a side on second chances sets up a prophet who ran so his enemies wouldn’t get one.

  1. SAY“The window wall means agree. The door wall means disagree. No names and no real stories. Just what you think.”
  2. Read each one. “Some people don’t deserve a second chance.” “Once someone gets called out online, they should stay canceled.” “You should forgive someone even if they never apologize.”
  3. After each, ask one person from each side for a one-sentence reason.
  4. SAY“An Old Testament prophet thought his enemies didn’t deserve a second chance. He ran from God to make sure they wouldn’t get one.”
🌪️ Set the rule. No names, and no real stories about people in your ward or school.

Class screen: 🔥 Hot take: does everyone deserve a second chance? · Agree wall · Disagree wall

2. Story

Case: The Kid Who Made Seventh Grade Awful

8 min

A realistic grudge, walked through beside the book of Jonah, lets youth feel Jonah’s problem and work out their own answer.

  1. SAY“Caleb and Tyler are made up. But this kind of thing happens. I’ll tell it in pieces, with Jonah alongside. You decide what Caleb should do.”
  2. Tell each scene, read its Jonah verses, then ask its question. Take two or three answers.
  3. At scene 5, don’t rush. Some youth will say one apology isn’t enough. Let that be a real answer.
  4. At scene 7, hold five seconds of silence.
  5. SAY“The book never tells us what Jonah answered. Maybe the question is for us.”
🌪️ If a youth says Caleb should never trust Tyler again, agree that trust is rebuilt slowly. Wanting good for someone isn’t pretending nothing happened.

Class screen: 🐋 What should Caleb do? And what did Jonah do? · A case study · Jonah 1–4

3. Scripture

Seek Ye Me

4 min

Amos’s invitation and his teaching about prophets show a Lord who keeps calling everyone home.

  1. SAY“Jonah wasn’t the only prophet this week.”
  2. Show Amos 5:4. Teach the motions and say it together twice.
  3. Read Amos 3:7. Ask: “Say someone at school asks why anyone needs a prophet today. What would you tell them?”
  4. SAY“Amos wasn’t a professional. He was a herdsman who took care of fig trees. The Lord calls ordinary people. And He still speaks through a living prophet.”

Class screen: 🔎 “Seek ye me, and ye shall live” · Amos 5:4

No supplies? Do this instead

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

  1. SAY“Jonah wasn’t the only prophet this week.”
  2. Show Amos 5:4 on your phone or tablet. Teach the motions and say it together twice.
  3. Read Amos 3:7 aloud. Ask: “Why would anyone need a prophet today?”
  4. SAY“Amos was a herdsman. The Lord calls ordinary people. And He still speaks through a living prophet.”
4. Talk it over

Who’s Your Nineveh?

6 min

Honest questions help youth see their own grudges, their own Tarshish and their own second chances.

  1. SAY“There are no gold-star answers here. Honest beats polished.”
  2. Show one question at a time. Let two or three people answer each. Skip any that don’t fit your class.
  3. Share your own honest answer to one question.
💬 Ask the class
  • In Jonah 4:2, Jonah admits he ran because he knew God was merciful. Why is it sometimes hard to want mercy for people who hurt us?
  • What’s a “Tarshish” people our age run to when they don’t want to do what the Lord asks?
  • The Lord gave Jonah the same assignment “the second time.” When has the Lord given you a second chance?
  • In Amos 8:11, Amos warns of a famine of hearing God’s word. You can scroll for hours and still be starving. What actually feeds you?

Class screen: 🏙️ Who’s your Nineveh?

5. Testimony

The Second Time

3 min

A private name and a short testimony turn the lesson toward the Lord’s mercy for everyone, including us.

  1. SAY“Privately, write the initials of someone who’s hard for you to want good things for. Your Nineveh. Nobody will see it.”
  2. Hand out the cards.
  3. SAY“This week, pray for them by name. Not that they get what’s coming. Pray that the Lord blesses them. It might change you more than them.”
  4. Briefly testify of a second chance the Lord gave you. Give the challenge and invite a youth to pray.

Class screen: 🙏 The word came the second time. · Jonah 3:1

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: Index cards or scrap paper and pens, one per person

  1. SAY“Close your eyes. Think of someone who’s hard for you to want good things for. Your Nineveh. Nobody will know who.”
  2. SAY“This week, pray for them by name. Not that they get what’s coming. Pray that the Lord blesses them.”
  3. Briefly testify of a second chance the Lord gave you. Give the challenge and invite a youth to pray.
6. Wiggle break

Captain’s Orders: Storm Edition

3 minBONUS

A fast, loud movement game replays Jonah’s voyage and burns off energy.

  1. SAY“Orders! Starboard means right wall. Port means left wall. Man overboard, drop to one knee. Great fish, groups of three, fast. Nineveh, sit with your head bowed.”
  2. Tap the Sound Board and play waves. Call orders faster and faster. Whoever’s last becomes a caller with you.
  3. End with “Nineveh!” so everyone’s sitting and quiet.
🔊 Sound Board (a class game in the Gospel Sparks app)

Class screen: ⚓ Captain’s Orders: Storm Edition

7. Game

Scripture Showdown: Amos, Obadiah, Jonah

4 minBONUS

A quick team quiz reviews Amos, Obadiah and Jonah.

  1. SAY“It’s Team Tarshish versus Team Nineveh.”
  2. Tap Scripture Showdown. Teams confer ten seconds, then answer. The losing team picks the stakes for the last question.
▶ Play Scripture Showdown on the web

Class screen: 🏆 Scripture Showdown: Amos, Obadiah, Jonah

Case study

Case: The Kid Who Made Seventh Grade Awful

Jonah 1–4 ↗

Scenes

  1. 📹😳 Seventh grade, the video

    In seventh grade, a kid named Tyler filmed Caleb tripping in the cafeteria. He added a mean caption and posted it. It went around the whole school. Caleb is fifteen now. He still hates that week.

    🙌 Ask: “Be honest. What would you want to happen to Tyler?”

  2. ⛪😬 Guess who just moved into the ward

    This fall, Tyler’s family moves into Caleb’s ward. Tyler walks into Sunday School and sits alone. Afterward, a leader asks Caleb, “Would you sit by him and invite him on Wednesday?”

    🙌 A youth reads Jonah 1:1–3. Ask: “What’s Caleb’s Tarshish, his way to run?”

  3. 🏃🌊 Caleb runs

    Caleb skips Wednesday. He tells himself he’s busy. But all week he snaps at his family and can’t sleep. Running from what the Lord asked isn’t as restful as he hoped.

    🙌 A youth reads Jonah 1:4 and 1:17. Ask: “How does running from a prompting usually go?”

  4. 📖🔁 The word came the second time

    Saturday night, Caleb does his Come, Follow Me reading. He lands on Jonah 3:1. Same assignment. Second time. No lecture. No replacement. He groans out loud.

    🙌 A youth reads Jonah 3:1. Ask: “Why doesn’t the Lord just pick someone else?”

  5. 🙇🤝 Tyler says sorry

    Caleb goes the next Wednesday. Near the end, Tyler says quietly, “Hey. That video in seventh grade. That was really messed up. I’m sorry.” He doesn’t make excuses.

    🙌 Turn to a neighbor for ten seconds. Ask: “What would you say back to Tyler?”

  6. 😤🎉 Now everybody likes Tyler

    A month later, Tyler is everyone’s favorite. He’s funny. He helps set up. The leaders love him. Caleb sits in the parking lot, furious. “He doesn’t deserve this.”

    🙌 A youth reads Jonah 4:1–2. Ask: “Why is it hard to want mercy for someone who hurt us?”

  7. ❓🌿 The question with no ending

    The book of Jonah ends with the Lord asking Jonah a question. And we never hear the answer. Caleb’s story ends the same way. What does he do next?

    🙌 Read Jonah 4:10–11 slowly. Ask: “If you were Caleb, what would you do next?”

Key verse

Amos 5:4 ↗
“For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live”
In plain words: The Lord’s offer is simple: come looking for Me, and you’ll find real life. Not a performance, not a perfect record. Just seek Him.
🙌 “Thus saith the LORD”: point up. “Seek ye me”: hand shading your eyes, scanning. “And ye shall live”: hand on heart, then open it outward.

More verses

Jonah 4:2 ↗
“for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness”
In plain words: Jonah ran because he knew exactly how merciful God is, and he didn’t want that mercy for his enemies.
Jonah 3:1 ↗
“And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time”
In plain words: The Lord gave Jonah the same assignment again. He gives second chances, including to us.
Amos 8:11 ↗
“not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD”
In plain words: The worst hunger isn’t for food. It’s being cut off from God’s word. Living prophets end that famine.
Obadiah 1:21 ↗
“And saviours shall come up on mount Zion”
In plain words: When we do temple work for our ancestors, we help the Savior bring them home.

Forehead Guess words18 words

  • 🧔 Jonah
  • 🏙️ Nineveh
  • ⛵ Tarshish
  • ⚓ Joppa
  • ⛈️ Storm
  • 🎲 Casting Lots
  • 🐋 Great Fish
  • 3️⃣ Three Days
  • 🧎 Sackcloth and Ashes
  • 🌿 Gourd
  • 🐛 Worm
  • 2️⃣ Second Chance
  • 🐄 Amos
  • 📜 Prophet
  • 🍞 Famine
  • 📄 Obadiah
  • ⛰️ Mount Zion
  • ⛪ Temple
Clues for each word
  • Jonah: Prophet who ran the other way
  • Nineveh: Enemy city that repented
  • Tarshish: Where Jonah tried to run
  • Joppa: Port where Jonah caught a ship
  • Storm: The Lord sent a great wind
  • Casting Lots: How the sailors found out it was Jonah
  • Great Fish: Prepared by the Lord as a rescue
  • Three Days: How long Jonah was inside
  • Sackcloth and Ashes: What the king of Nineveh wore and sat in
  • Gourd: Plant that shaded Jonah
  • Worm: Ate Jonah’s shade plant
  • Second Chance: The word came to Jonah “the second time”
  • Amos: Herdsman called to be a prophet
  • Prophet: The Lord reveals His secrets to them
  • Famine: Amos warned of one for God’s word
  • Obadiah: Shortest book in the Old Testament
  • Mount Zion: Where saviours shall come up
  • Temple: Where we become saviors for our ancestors
▶ Play Forehead GuessFull screen, 60-second timer, works on any phone.

Scripture Showdown10 questions

  1. Where did the Lord send Jonah?
    • A. Nineveh
    • B. Tarshish
    • C. Jerusalem
    Show answer

    ✅ A. Nineveh Jonah 1:2. Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, Israel’s enemy.

  2. What was Jonah doing while the storm nearly broke the ship?
    • A. Rowing
    • B. Praying
    • C. Sleeping
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Sleeping Jonah 1:5–6. The captain had to wake him up.

  3. How did the sailors figure out who caused the storm?
    • A. A dream
    • B. Casting lots
    • C. A voice from heaven
    Show answer

    ✅ B. Casting lots Jonah 1:7. The lot fell on Jonah.

  4. Who prepared the great fish?
    • A. The sailors
    • B. The king of Nineveh
    • C. The Lord
    Show answer

    ✅ C. The Lord Jonah 1:17. The fish was a rescue, not a punishment.

  5. What did the king of Nineveh do when he heard Jonah?
    • A. Sat in ashes and called a fast
    • B. Arrested Jonah
    • C. Laughed it off
    Show answer

    ✅ A. Sat in ashes and called a fast Jonah 3:6–9. The whole city turned from its violence.

  6. Why was Jonah angry at the end?
    • A. He got sunburned
    • B. God spared Nineveh
    • C. The sailors left him
    Show answer

    ✅ B. God spared Nineveh Jonah 4:1–2. He knew God was merciful and didn’t want his enemies forgiven.

  7. What was Amos’s job before the Lord called him?
    • A. A priest
    • B. A king’s scribe
    • C. A herdsman and fig tender
    Show answer

    ✅ C. A herdsman and fig tender Amos 7:14–15. The Lord calls ordinary people.

  8. Amos warned of a famine of what?
    • A. Hearing the words of the LORD
    • B. Bread and water
    • C. Gold and silver
    Show answer

    ✅ A. Hearing the words of the LORD Amos 8:11. Latter-day Saints see it ended by the Restoration.

  9. Obadiah says who will come up on mount Zion?
    • A. Kings
    • B. Saviours
    • C. Armies
    Show answer

    ✅ B. Saviours Obadiah 1:21. Temple work for the dead helps the Savior bring families home.

  10. What did Jesus say Jonah’s three days in the fish pointed to?
    • A. The Flood
    • B. The Exodus
    • C. His own death and Resurrection
    Show answer

    ✅ C. His own death and Resurrection Matthew 12:40. Three days, then new life.

▶ Play Scripture ShowdownTeams take turns on one screen.

Songs

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

    Amos 3:7: the Lord speaks through prophets, and we have a living one today. Find it ↗

  • Israel, Israel, God Is Calling Hymns, no. 7

    The Lord calling His people home, just as He called Nineveh and Jonah. Find it ↗

This week’s challenge

Pray for Your Nineveh

Every day this week, pray by name for the person you thought of in class. Ask the Lord to bless them. And seek the Lord on purpose once a day. Spend five minutes reading or listening to the living prophet’s words from the latest general conference.

Text the parents

This week in class we debated whether some people deserve second chances. We worked through a made-up case of a teen asked to befriend the kid who once humiliated him. Alongside it, we followed Jonah’s whole story, including the part where he’s angry that God spared his enemies. We also talked about Amos’s promise, “Seek ye me, and ye shall live.” Your teen’s challenge is to pray for someone who’s hard to love. Ask them why they think Jonah was mad that God was merciful.

📝 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?

⛪ Saviors on Mount Zion · 6 min

  1. Read Obadiah 1:21. Explain that Joseph Smith taught we become saviors on Mount Zion by doing temple ordinances for the dead.
  2. Youth with the FamilySearch app open it and look for an ancestor who still needs ordinances. A parent can help later if needed.
  3. Ask: “How is doing ordinances for someone else a small picture of what Jesus Christ did for all of us?”

🦁 The Lion Has Roared · 4 min

  1. Read Amos 3:3–8 aloud as a rapid-fire list of questions.
  2. Youth make up their own modern cause-and-effect questions, like “Does a phone buzz unless someone texted?”
  3. End with 3:8. When the Lord speaks, prophets must speak. Talk about why prophets sometimes say unpopular things.

🔁 Yet Have Ye Not Returned · 5 min

  1. Read Amos 4:6–11. Count how many times the Lord says, “yet have ye not returned unto me.” It’s five.
  2. Ask: “Why do hard times sometimes push people toward God and sometimes away?”
  3. Invite anyone who wants to share a hard time that brought them closer to 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.

All Youth 14–15 lessons