John the Baptist is the son of Zacharias and Elisabeth from week 1. Now he preaches in the wilderness in camel’s hair, living on locusts and wild honey, in Matthew 3:4. His message is repentance, and his images are vivid. There’s an axe at the root of trees that bear no good fruit. A winnowing fan separates wheat from chaff. Valleys are filled and crooked paths made straight. See Luke 3:4–9, 17 and Isaiah 40:3–4. He warns people not to lean on their ancestry: “We have Abraham to our father.” He calls for “fruits worthy of repentance,” in Luke 3:8. That means change you can see.
The most practical verses are Luke 3:10–14. The people, the tax collectors and the soldiers each ask, “What shall we do?” John gives each one a specific answer. Share your extra coat and food. Don’t collect more than you’re supposed to. Don’t use force or false accusations, and be content with your wages. Your 16- to 18-year-olds have first jobs, car keys, group chats and growing independence. For them, this is repentance in real clothes. The manual invites them to notice the attitudes and actions that show someone is truly repenting. It points to “Jesus Christ Will Help You” in For the Strength of Youth: A Guide for Making Choices.
Jesus had no sin, yet He came to be baptized. John protested that he needed to be baptized by Jesus instead. Jesus answered that it was right to “fulfil all righteousness,” in Matthew 3:13–15. 2 Nephi 31:5–9 explains that He showed us the way and witnessed His obedience to the Father. When He came up out of the water, the heavens opened. The Spirit came down like a dove, and the Father’s voice declared His beloved Son. That’s Matthew 3:16–17. Three separate members of the Godhead were there at one moment. John also promised that the One coming after him would baptize “with the Holy Ghost, and with fire,” in Matthew 3:11. The gift of the Holy Ghost is an ongoing, refining baptism. See 2 Nephi 31:17 and 3 Nephi 9:20.
John held the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood. He came back as a resurrected being in 1829. He restored that priesthood to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. See D&C 13:1 and Joseph Smith—History 1:68–72. Priests in your class hold the authority to baptize today, in D&C 20:46. Every youth in the room, young women and young men alike, made the same baptismal covenant. They can all help “prepare the way” for friends and family. Mark 1 adds two quick scenes worth mentioning. Fishermen left their nets “straightway,” in Mark 1:16–20. And Jesus rose early to pray alone, in Mark 1:35.
