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Only Believe

A father kept waiting, a woman who wouldn’t give up, and the Savior’s first missionary training for the Twelve

  • 🏔️ Youth 16–18
  • Week 10
  • 📅 Sunday, March 7, 2027
🤔 Forehead Guess🏆 Showdown
💡 The big idea

When fear and delay come, Jesus Christ asks us to keep believing, and He sends His disciples, then and now, to freely give what they have freely received.

I can keep believing in Jesus Christ when I’m afraid or when His help seems late, and I can prepare now to be sent out as His witness.

Study it yourself firstRead Matthew 9–10; Mark 5; Luke 9 in Gospel LibraryCome, Follow Me manualOpen this week (Matthew 9–10; Mark 5; Luke 9)
Know the chapters

Mark 5:22–43 weaves two miracles together. Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue (a respected local leader), begs Jesus to come heal his dying 12-year-old daughter. On the way, a woman who has suffered a flow of blood for twelve years and spent everything on doctors pushes through the crowd, touches His clothes, and is healed. Jesus stops, asks who touched Him, and waits until she tells Him “all the truth.” Under the law of Moses her condition had made her ritually unclean for twelve years (Leviticus 15:25), so being publicly called “Daughter” and sent away in peace healed more than her body. Meanwhile, word arrives that Jairus’s daughter has died. Jesus’s answer to the father is today’s key verse: “Be not afraid, only believe.”

Matthew 10 is the Savior’s first missionary training. He names the Twelve Apostles (Matthew 10:2–4), gives them power to heal, and sends them out with almost nothing: no money, no extra coat, no spare shoes. He warns them plainly about rejection and persecution and promises them the Spirit will give them words “in that same hour” (Matthew 10:19–20). The word apostle means “one sent forth,” and today’s Apostles are called as special witnesses of the name of Christ in all the world (D&C 107:23). Luke 9:1–6 tells the same sending.

Hard verses worth being honest about: Matthew 10:34–37 says the Savior came to bring “a sword,” and that following Him could divide families. He wasn’t endorsing conflict; He was warning that choosing Him would sometimes cost His followers relationships. Some of your youth may be the only active members in their homes. Luke 9:23–25 and Matthew 10:38–39 teach that disciples take up their cross and find their lives by losing them for His sake. The Joseph Smith Translation (JST Matthew 16:26, in the footnote to Matthew 16:24) explains that taking up the cross means denying ourselves all ungodliness and worldly lusts and keeping His commandments.

For 16–18-year-olds: many are within a year or two of mission papers, college, or the temple, and fear of the unknown is real. The woman’s effort and Jairus’s patience are both forms of faith. President Russell M. Nelson described her pushing through the crowd as spiritual stretching (“Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives,” April 2017), and Elder Jeffrey R. Holland’s April 2022 talk “Fear Not: Believe Only!” was addressed directly to the youth of the Church.

Only have 5 minutes?

Read Mark 5:22–43 and skim Matthew 10. Open with Rank the Fears, let Teach Mode carry the Jairus scene, do the Stretch wiggle, and run the Fill-in Race straight from the screen. Skip the pair study of Matthew 10 if you’re short, but keep two discussion questions and end with Mark 5:36. Brought nothing? Tap “I brought nothing”: you read one Matthew 10 section at a time and the class calls out instruction or promise.

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 Mark 5:22–43 slowly, twice: once from Jairus’s point of view and once from the woman’s.
  2. Text two youth before Sunday: a Narrator for the Jairus scene (they read the Savior’s words) and someone to play Jairus, who has the most lines.
  3. Read Matthew 10 and note the five sections used in the scripture step: 1–8, 9–15, 16–23, 24–33, 34–42.
  4. If you have a returned missionary in the ward, you could ask them ahead of time for one sentence about a time the right words came “in that same hour.”
  5. Optional: read Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “Fear Not: Believe Only!” (April 2022). You’ll read one line from it in the discussion.

If your class is wild

  • Fast Sunday: some youth may be hungry and flat. Keep people standing and moving in the scene and the wiggle.
  • Rank the Fears asks about “people our age,” not “you.” That keeps it safe and still gets honest answers.
  • The Crowd in the scene should actually crowd: shoulder to shoulder, jostling. The woman has to work to get through.
  • Future missionaries in the room will light up at Matthew 10. Invite one to lead the pair study.
  • If a youth has lost someone they prayed for, the raising of Jairus’s daughter can sting. Acknowledge it gently: faith doesn’t always change the outcome, but Jesus never leaves.
  • Let youth lead: the Narrator runs the scene, a youth leads the race, and someone offers the closing prayer.

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

Rank the Fears

3 min

Naming the fears people their age carry makes Jesus’s words to Jairus feel aimed at real life, not just a Bible story.

  1. Show the list on the screen. Say: “Not you personally. People our age. On a scale of 1 to 5 fingers, how heavy is each one?”
  2. Read each fear and let everyone hold up fingers at once. Point out any surprises.
  3. Ask: “What makes fear worse: bad news, or waiting for news?” Let two people answer.
  4. SAY“Today we meet a dad who got both. He asked Jesus for help, and then Jesus stopped for someone else.”

Class screen: 😬 How heavy is each fear for people our age? · The future: college, jobs, mission calls · Someone I love getting sick · Not being enough · The news · Being alone

2. Story

Scripture Scene: Interrupted

7 min

Acting out Mark 5 lets youth feel Jairus’s waiting and the woman’s effort, and hear “Be not afraid, only believe” at the worst possible moment.

  1. Hand out roles (tap Roles in Teach Mode). The Narrator reads the Savior’s words; no one plays Jesus. Set the Daughter on two chairs across the room.
  2. Your Narrator reads each scene while the cast acts. The Crowd should really crowd.
  3. After scene 5, pause and ask Jairus (in character): “How are you feeling right now?”
  4. After scene 8, ask: “Both people had waited twelve years in some way. What did faith look like for the woman? What did it look like for Jairus?” (She pushed and reached; he waited and kept believing.)
  5. SAY“Sometimes faith is stretching out your hand. Sometimes it’s standing there while He helps someone else first.”
🌪️ If the Crowd gets too rowdy, remind them the Woman has to be able to get through. The shove-fest ends at scene 4.

Class screen: 🎭 Interrupted: Jairus, a crowd, and a woman who reached out · Mark 5:22–43

3. Wiggle break

Stretch

2 min

A physical stretch makes the woman’s reach into a picture of the spiritual effort it takes to draw on the Savior’s power.

  1. Everyone stands. Say: “Reach for the ceiling as high as you can. Hold it.” Wait five seconds. “Now reach two inches higher.”
  2. Ask: “Where did those two inches come from?” (You found more when you were asked.)
  3. SAY“Sick, out of money and unclean under the law of Moses, she pushed through the crowd anyway and reached. President Nelson called that kind of effort spiritual stretching.”
  4. Turn to a neighbor: name one small “two more inches” you could try this week (a real prayer, five more minutes in the scriptures, going to the temple).

Class screen: 🙆 Reach high. Now reach two inches higher. · What’s your spiritual “two more inches” this week?

4. Scripture

The First Missionary Training

5 min

Pairs read Matthew 10 like a mission call letter, pulling out the Savior’s instructions and promises for anyone He sends.

  1. SAY“Matthew 10 is the first missionary training ever given. Read it like it’s your call letter.”
  2. Give each pair a section: 1–8 · 9–15 · 16–23 · 24–33 · 34–42. They find one instruction and one promise. Start the Big Timer for two minutes.
  3. Each pair reports in 20 seconds. Point out 10:8 (freely give), 10:19–20 (the Spirit gives the words), and 10:29–31 (sparrows, and you are worth more).
  4. Ask: “Which of these would help a nervous missionary most? A nervous new college student? A nervous you?”
  5. If you asked a returned missionary ahead of time, have them share their one sentence now.
⏱️ Big Timer (a class game in the Gospel Sparks app)

Class screen: ✉️ Read Matthew 10 like it’s your call letter. · 1–8 · 9–15 · 16–23 · 24–33 · 34–42 · Find one instruction and one promise

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: Scriptures: the youth’s own Gospel Library app, or a printed Bible for each pair

Instruction or Promise?

  1. SAY“Matthew 10 is the first missionary training ever given. I’ll read lines from it. Stand up if it’s an instruction. Stay seated if it’s a promise.”
  2. Read from your own scriptures: 10:7 · 10:8 · 10:9–10 · 10:16 · 10:19–20 · 10:29–31 · 10:39 · 10:42.
  3. After each, ask one youth to say it in their own words.
  4. Ask: “Which of these would help a nervous missionary most? A nervous new college student? A nervous you?”

Class screen: ✉️ Stand for an instruction. Sit for a promise. · Matthew 10

5. Game

Fill-in Race: Matthew 9–10

3 min

A fast team race locks in the memorable phrases from the Savior’s charge to the Twelve.

  1. Two teams stand in lines. Read a phrase with a blank; the first person in each line races to answer, then goes to the back.
  2. Phrases: “Freely ye have received, freely ___” (give) · “wise as serpents, and harmless as ___” (doves) · “as sheep in the midst of ___” (wolves) · “the very hairs of your head are all ___” (numbered) · “ye are of more value than many ___” (sparrows) · “shake off the ___ of your feet” (dust) · “he that loseth his life for my sake shall ___ it” (find) · “the harvest truly is plenteous, but the ___ are few” (labourers)
  3. After each answer, give the verse (Matthew 10:8, 16, 16, 30, 31, 14, 39; Matthew 9:37) and one sentence about what it means for a disciple.
🌪️ If it gets loud, switch to Tug of War on your phone or tablet: whoever answers right gets ten seconds of tapping for their team.
🪢 Tug of War (a class game in the Gospel Sparks app)

Class screen: ⚡ Fill in the blank. First voice wins. · Matthew 9:37 · Matthew 10

6. Talk it over

Real Talk

3 min

Honest questions connect fear, waiting, and being sent to the choices youth are facing now.

  1. Sit in a circle. A youth discussion leader reads the questions and calls on people.
  2. Before the last question, read Elder Jeffrey R. Holland’s one line from this lesson’s conference quote.
  3. Pick two or three. Let silence work, and share one honest answer yourself.
💬 Ask the class
  • Jairus had to wait while Jesus helped someone else, and then the worst news came. When has it felt like God was helping everyone but you? What does Mark 5:36 say to that moment?
  • The woman spent twelve years and all her money on other fixes first. What do people our age try first before turning to the Savior?
  • Jesus sent the Twelve out with almost nothing (Matthew 10:9–10). Why do you think He wanted them to travel light? What would traveling light look like on a mission today?
  • Matthew 10:19–20 promises the words will come “in that same hour.” How ready do you have to feel before you serve, share, or say yes to a calling?
  • What helps you keep believing while some of your questions are still unanswered?

Class screen: 💬 Real talk

7. Testimony

Only Believe

2 min

Ending with Mark 5:36 gives each youth the Savior’s words for whatever they are afraid of right now.

  1. Wait for real quiet. Show Mark 5:36 and teach the memory hooks. Say it together once.
  2. SAY“Think of the fear you’d put at the top of your own list. Now imagine Him turning to you, the way He turned to Jairus, and saying these five words.” Give 15 seconds of silence.
  3. Share a short time when you were afraid and kept believing, and what the Lord did, even if it wasn’t what you asked for. Testify that He always turns toward us.
  4. Introduce the challenge and ask a youth to pray.

Class screen: 🙌 “Be not afraid, only believe.” · Mark 5:36

8. Game

Scripture Showdown

5 minBONUS

A team quiz reviews Mark 5, Matthew 9–10, and Luke 9.

  1. Split into two teams. Tap Scripture Showdown.
  2. Teams get 10 seconds to agree. Bonus point if they can name the chapter.
▶ Play Scripture Showdown on the web

Class screen: 🏆 Scripture Showdown: Matthew 9–10; Mark 5; Luke 9

Story drama

Interrupted

Mark 5:22–43 ↗

Parts to hand out

  • NarratorReads each scene, including the Savior’s words. No one plays Jesus.
  • JairusA synagogue leader who falls at Jesus’s feet for his dying daughter, then has to wait.
  • The WomanTwelve years sick, out of money, pushes through the crowd to touch His clothes, then tells the truth.
  • PeterPoints out the obvious: the whole crowd is touching You! Later goes into the house.
  • MessengerBrings Jairus the worst news: “Thy daughter is dead.”
  • The DaughterTwelve years old. Lies still, then rises and walks. No lines.
  • Crowd and MournersEveryone else: jostle in the street, then wail and laugh in scorn at the house.

Scenes

  1. 🙇 A synagogue leader falls at Jesus’s feet

    Jairus was an important man, a ruler of the synagogue. But when he saw Jesus, he fell at His feet in front of everyone. My little daughter is dying, he begged. Please come and lay your hands on her, and she will live.

    🎬 Jairus drops to one knee. The Daughter lies still across two chairs on the far side of the room.

  2. 👥 The crowd presses in

    Jesus went with him. But a huge crowd went too, pressing in from every side. Every step toward Jairus’s house was slow.

    🎬 The Crowd packs shoulder to shoulder around Jairus, moving slowly across the room. Jairus keeps glancing toward his daughter.

  3. 🤲 “If I may touch but his clothes”

    In that crowd was a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. She had spent everything she had on doctors, and she only got worse. She thought: if I can just touch His clothes, I will be healed. So she pushed through from behind.

    🎬 The Woman works her way through the Crowd, stretches out her arm, and touches the Narrator’s sleeve.

  4. ✨ “Who touched my clothes?”

    Instantly she felt that she was healed. And Jesus knew power had gone out of Him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, Who touched my clothes? His disciples couldn’t believe it: You see this crowd, and You ask who touched You?

    🎬 Everyone freezes. Peter gestures at the Crowd: “Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?”

  5. 😰💬 She told Him all the truth

    He kept looking. Finally the woman came forward, shaking, fell down before Him, and told Him the whole story. He called her Daughter. Your faith has made you whole, He said. Go in peace.

    🎬 The Woman kneels and pantomimes telling her story. Jairus paces behind her, checking the time.

  6. 📨 “Thy daughter is dead”

    While He was still speaking, messengers came from Jairus’s house. Your daughter is dead, they said. Why trouble the Master any further?

    🎬 The Messenger runs in and says, “Thy daughter is dead.” Jairus sinks down. The Crowd goes silent.

  7. 🛡️ “Be not afraid, only believe”

    Jesus heard it and turned straight to the father: Be not afraid, only believe. He took only Peter, James, and John. At the house, the mourners were wailing. When He said the girl was only sleeping, they laughed at Him. He sent them all out.

    🎬 The Crowd becomes Mourners, wailing, then laughing in scorn. The Narrator waves them out of the “house.” Jairus stands back up.

  8. 🌅 “Talitha cumi”: she arose

    He took the girl by the hand and said, Talitha cumi, which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. She stood up and walked. She was twelve years old. Everyone was astonished, and Jesus told them to give her something to eat.

    🎬 The Daughter sits up, stands, and walks to Jairus. Everyone reacts in stunned silence, then quiet joy.

Key verse

Mark 5:36 ↗
“Be not afraid, only believe.”
In plain words: Don’t let fear decide. Keep trusting Jesus Christ, even when the news is bad.
🙌 Memory hooks: “Be not afraid” = hand out flat like a stop sign to your fear · “only” = one finger up · “believe” = hand over heart.

More verses

Mark 5:34 ↗
“Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.”
In plain words: Jesus called her Daughter and told her that her faith had made her whole.
Matthew 10:8 ↗
“Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.”
In plain words: Jesus sent the Twelve to bless people and told them: you received for free, so give for free.
Matthew 10:19–20 ↗
“take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.”
In plain words: Don’t panic about what to say. When the moment comes, the Spirit will give you the words.
Luke 9:23 ↗
“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”
In plain words: Following Jesus means putting Him ahead of yourself and choosing Him again every single day.

Forehead Guess words16 words

  • 🙇 Jairus
  • 🕛 Twelve years
  • 🧥 His clothes
  • 👥 Crowd
  • 📨 Messenger
  • 😭 Mourners
  • 🌅 Talitha cumi
  • 🧭 Apostle
  • 🧾 Matthew the publican
  • 🐦 Sparrows
  • 🕊️ Serpents and doves
  • 🐺 Wolves
  • 👟 Dust
  • 🌾 Laborers
  • ✝️ Cross
  • 🧳 Missionary
Clues for each word
  • Jairus: Synagogue ruler whose daughter was dying
  • Twelve years: The woman’s illness and the girl’s age
  • His clothes: “If I may touch but ___, I shall be whole”
  • Crowd: Thronged Jesus on the way to Jairus’s house
  • Messenger: Brought the news: “Thy daughter is dead”
  • Mourners: Wailed, then laughed Him to scorn
  • Talitha cumi: “Damsel, I say unto thee, arise”
  • Apostle: Means “one sent forth”
  • Matthew the publican: Left his tax table to follow Jesus
  • Sparrows: Not one falls without the Father
  • Serpents and doves: Be wise like one, harmless like the other
  • Wolves: The Twelve were sent like sheep among them
  • Dust: Shake it off your feet when rejected
  • Laborers: The harvest is plenteous, but they are few
  • Cross: Take it up daily and follow Him
  • Missionary: Sent out today, like the Twelve were then
▶ Play Forehead GuessFull screen, 60-second timer, works on any phone.

Scripture Showdown9 questions

  1. What did Jairus ask Jesus to do?
    • A. Teach in his synagogue
    • B. Lay hands on his dying daughter
    • C. Heal his servant
    Show answer

    ✅ B. Lay hands on his dying daughter Mark 5:23. He fell at Jesus’s feet and begged.

  2. How long had the woman been sick?
    • A. Twelve years
    • B. Three days
    • C. Forty years
    Show answer

    ✅ A. Twelve years Mark 5:25. The same number as the daughter’s age (5:42).

  3. What did Jesus call the woman after she told Him the truth?
    • A. Sister
    • B. Friend
    • C. Daughter
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Daughter Mark 5:34: “Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole.”

  4. What did Jesus say to Jairus after the news of death?
    • A. “Go home and mourn”
    • B. “Be not afraid, only believe”
    • C. “She is with God”
    Show answer

    ✅ B. “Be not afraid, only believe” Mark 5:36. Five words for the worst moment.

  5. Which three disciples went into Jairus’s house?
    • A. Peter, James, and John
    • B. Andrew, Philip, and Thomas
    • C. Matthew, Judas, and Simon
    Show answer

    ✅ A. Peter, James, and John Mark 5:37. The same three later saw the Transfiguration.

  6. “Freely ye have received…”
    • A. “…so keep it safe”
    • B. “…freely give”
    • C. “…then rest”
    Show answer

    ✅ B. “…freely give” Matthew 10:8, from the Savior’s charge to the Twelve.

  7. The Twelve were sent like sheep among…
    • A. shepherds
    • B. lambs
    • C. wolves
    Show answer

    ✅ C. wolves Matthew 10:16. So be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.

  8. What did Jesus promise about what to say when on trial?
    • A. The Spirit will give the words
    • B. Write a speech ahead
    • C. Stay silent
    Show answer

    ✅ A. The Spirit will give the words Matthew 10:19–20: “it shall be given you in that same hour.”

  9. What was Matthew doing when Jesus called him?
    • A. Fishing
    • B. Collecting taxes
    • C. Farming
    Show answer

    ✅ B. Collecting taxes Matthew 9:9. He sat “at the receipt of custom,” then arose and followed.

▶ Play Scripture ShowdownTeams take turns on one screen.

From general conference

“So please, please, stay for the whole feast even if you are not sure about the broccoli.”

— Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “Fear Not: Believe Only!,” April 2022

Read in Real Talk, right before the last question about believing while some questions are unanswered.

Read the talk ↗

Songs

  • Called to Serve Hymns, no. 249

    Matthew 10 is the first missionary call. Great for a room full of future missionaries. Find it ↗

  • How Firm a Foundation Hymns, no. 85

    A hymn of the Lord’s promises to the fearful, for a lesson built on “Be not afraid.” Find it ↗

  • Come, Follow Me Hymns, no. 116

    Matthew called from his tax table, the Twelve sent out: it all starts with following. Find it ↗

This week’s challenge

Read Your Call Letter

This week, read Matthew 10 as if the Savior wrote it to you, and mark one instruction and one promise you want to live by now, not someday. Then use something you’ve freely received (a talent, a ride, your testimony, your time) to freely give to one person.

Text the parents

This week we acted out Jairus and the woman who touched Jesus’s clothes (Mark 5) and read Matthew 10 like a mission call letter. Ask your teen: what did Jesus say to Jairus when the worst news came, and which promise in Matthew 10 would help them most right now?

📝 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?

🧳 Pack Like the Twelve · 4 min

  1. Read Matthew 10:9–10. If you brought the optional coat, shoes, and empty wallet, hold them up and set them aside one at a time.
  2. Ask: “What did the Twelve have to rely on instead?” (The Lord, the Spirit, and the kindness of the people they served.)
  3. Ask: “What do you rely on that you might need to set down to rely on Him more?”

🧭 Special Witnesses Today · 4 min

  1. Read Matthew 10:1–4 and D&C 107:23.
  2. Ask youth to name any of today’s Apostles and one thing they remember one of them teaching.
  3. Ask: “How is an Apostle’s calling like the Twelve’s in Matthew 10? How is your future mission like it?”

🚜 The Hand on the Plough · 3 min

  1. Read Luke 9:57–62. Explain that a farmer who looks back while ploughing cuts a crooked furrow.
  2. Ask: “What might pull someone your age to keep looking back after deciding to follow Him?”

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 16–18 lessons