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An Honest and Good Heart

A cut flower, a rooted plant, four kinds of ground, and why the Lord lets wheat and tares grow together

  • 🏔️ Youth 16–18
  • Week 12
  • 📅 Sunday, March 21, 2027
🤔 Forehead Guess🏆 Showdown
💡 The big idea

The word of God is always good seed; what we become depends on the ground we prepare, the roots we grow ourselves, and how much we’re willing to give for the kingdom of heaven.

I can make my heart good ground by clearing out the thorns, growing roots of my own testimony, and treating the gospel like the pearl it is.

Study it yourself firstRead Matthew 13; Luke 8; 13 in Gospel LibraryCome, Follow Me manualOpen this week (Matthew 13; Luke 8; 13)
Know the chapters

Matthew 13 gathers the Savior’s parables of the kingdom. There’s the sower, the wheat and the tares, the mustard seed and the leaven. There’s the treasure hidden in a field, the pearl of great price and the net. Luke 8 repeats the sower. It adds the women who ministered to Jesus “of their substance,” in Luke 8:1–3. Luke 13 adds a barren fig tree given one more year, in 13:6–9. There’s a woman bent over for eighteen years whom Jesus “loosed” on the Sabbath, in 13:11–17. And someone asks how many will be saved. Jesus answers, “Strive to enter in at the strait gate,” in 13:24.

The parable of the sower is really about the soil. The seed is the same every time. The difference is the ground. Jesus explains it Himself in Matthew 13:18–23. The wayside is someone who hears and doesn’t understand. Stony ground receives the word with joy, “yet hath he not root in himself.” It falls away under pressure. Thorns are “the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches.” Luke 8:14 adds “pleasures of this life.” Good ground hears, understands and bears fruit. Luke 8:15 describes good ground as an “honest and good heart” that bears fruit “with patience.” Alma 32:28–43 builds on the same image. The word is a seed we nourish until it becomes a tree of life.

The wheat and the tares in Matthew 13:24–30 and 36–43 needs a note. A tare was a weed that looks like wheat until it matures. Pulling it early would tear up wheat too. In D&C 86:1–7, the Lord applies the parable to the latter days. He holds back the angels from pulling up the tares while the wheat is still tender. Otherwise the wheat would be destroyed. He’ll gather the wheat first. Elder Neil L. Andersen taught from this parable in his October 2022 talk “Drawing Closer to the Savior.” He gave a tender reminder to be patient with ourselves as young wheat. The manual also points to the chapter on these parables in Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith.

For 16–18-year-olds, “not root in himself” is the heart of the lesson. Many have lived on their parents’ testimonies, seminary and a strong youth group. Within a year or two they may be on missions, at college or on their own. Borrowed roots won’t hold there. Be honest that everyone’s testimony starts partly borrowed, and that’s fine. The goal now is to grow roots of their own. That comes through personal prayer, scripture study and acting on what they believe. The pearl of great price in Matthew 13:45–46 asks the other big question for this age. What are you willing to give for the kingdom?

Only have 5 minutes?

Read Matthew 13:1–23. Hold up a cut flower and a rooted plant. Ask which will look better next week. Tell the parable of the sower from the screen with its questions. Read Luke 8:15 together. Keep two discussion questions and end quietly. Brought nothing? Tap “I brought nothing.” The opening demo has a hands-only version.

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. Read Matthew 13:1–23. Notice that Jesus explains this parable Himself in verses 18–23.
  2. Grab a cut flower or sprig, and a small plant with its roots still on.
  3. Think of when your testimony started to grow roots of its own, not just your parents’ or friends’. If you have time, read Elder Neil L. Andersen’s October 2022 talk “Drawing Closer to the Savior.”

If your class is wild

  • Let them pick the cut flower in the opening demo. Being a little wrong is what makes the point stick.
  • Tell the parable slowly. Point back to the flower and the plant as you go.
  • Some youth feel like their testimony is thin. Don’t let the lesson turn into “stony ground people are bad.” Everyone’s testimony starts partly borrowed. That’s a stage, not a verdict.
  • The bonus Soil Check is about how they received one talk or lesson. It’s not about how good a person they are. Say that out loud before anyone moves.
  • Let youth teach. Youth read the verses in the story, and a youth leads the discussion.

The 25-minute plan23 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

Cut Flower or Rooted Plant?

4 min

A quick demonstration opens the lesson’s big idea: something can look alive and still have no roots of its own.

  1. SAY“Which of these looks better right now?”
  2. Hold up the cut flower and the rooted plant. Most will pick the flower.
  3. Ask, “Which will look better next Sunday?” Then ask, “Why?” The flower has no roots. It’s already dying. It just doesn’t look like it yet.
  4. SAY“Jesus described a testimony like that. It springs up fast. It looks great. But it has ‘not root in himself.’ Let’s find where.”
🌪️ If someone says, “Just put the flower in water,” grin and say, “For how long?” That’s the point.

Class screen: 🌷 Which looks better today? Which will look better next Sunday? · Cut flower · Rooted plant

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: A cut flower, or any cut sprig from the yard, A small plant with its roots (a potted plant, or a weed pulled up whole and kept in a bag)

  1. SAY“Picture a bouquet of cut roses and a scraggly houseplant. Which looks better right now?”
  2. Most will pick the roses.
  3. Ask, “Which will look better next Sunday?” Then ask, “Why?” The roses have no roots. They’re already dying. They just don’t look like it yet.
  4. SAY“Jesus described a testimony like that. It springs up fast. It looks great. But it has ‘not root in himself.’ Let’s find where.”
2. Story

Tell the Story: A Sower Went Forth

7 min

The teacher tells the parable of the sower and Jesus’s own explanation, with questions woven in, so youth see the difference is always the ground.

  1. SAY“Jesus told a story about a farmer. Spoiler: it’s not really about the farmer.”
  2. Tell each scene in your own words. Have youth read the verses it names.
  3. Ask each scene’s question. Wait ten seconds, take one or two answers, then move on.
  4. After the last scene, say, “The seed didn’t change once. The ground is the part we get to work on.”

Class screen: 🌱 A sower, four kinds of ground, one seed · Matthew 13:3–9, 18–23

3. Scripture

An Honest and Good Heart

4 min

Youth learn Luke 8:15, Luke’s description of good ground, and notice the word “patience.”

  1. SAY“Luke tells us exactly what good ground is.”
  2. Read Luke 8:15 together with the memory hooks. Say it twice.
  3. Ask, “Why do you think it says ‘with patience’?” Take two answers.
  4. SAY“Roots grow underground, where nobody sees. Personal prayer. Your own study. Acting on what you believe.”

Class screen: 🌾 An honest and good heart brings forth fruit with patience. · Luke 8:15

4. Talk it over

Real Talk

5 min

Honest questions connect roots, thorns, and the wheat and tares to what youth are facing as they head toward independence.

  1. SAY“Let’s talk about roots for real.”
  2. A youth discussion leader reads the questions and calls on people. Pick two or three. Let silence work. Share one honest answer yourself.
  3. Before the wheat-and-tares question, briefly explain Matthew 13:24–30. Then read Elder Neil L. Andersen’s three sentences from the conference quote.
💬 Ask the class
  • Matthew 13:21 says “not root in himself.” What’s the difference between believing because your family does, and having roots of your own?
  • Think about the thorns for people our age. Which one chokes out the word fastest?
  • Why would the Lord let wheat and tares grow together, instead of pulling out the bad right now?
  • Luke 8:15 says good ground bears fruit “with patience.” Where do you need to be more patient with your own growth?

Class screen: 💬 Real talk

5. Testimony

Good Ground

3 min

A quiet, private commitment invites each youth to work on their own ground this week.

  1. SAY“Pick one thing that would make your ground better this week. Just one. Pull a thorn. Grow a root. Or soften the path. Don’t say it. Decide it.”
  2. Give fifteen seconds of quiet. Share when your testimony started to grow roots of its own. Testify that the seed is good and the Lord is patient.
  3. Introduce the Grow a Root challenge. Ask a youth to pray.

Class screen: 🌾 Pull a thorn. Grow a root. Soften the path. · Luke 8:15

6. Wiggle break

Soil Check

2 minBONUS

A bonus move-to-a-corner moment helps youth honestly assess how they received the word lately, without judging themselves or anyone else.

  1. SAY“Everyone stand. Think about how you received last Sunday’s sacrament meeting. Then go to the corner that fits. Path, rocks, thorns, or good ground.”
  2. Ask each corner, “What’s one thing that could turn this spot into better ground?” Phone away, ask a question, write one thing down, pray first.
  3. SAY“This is about one moment, not who you are. Soil can change. That’s the good news.”

Class screen: 🧭 How did you receive the word lately? · 🛤️ Path · 🪨 Rocks · 🌵 Thorns · 🟫 Good ground

7. Game

Scripture Showdown

4 minBONUS

A bonus team quiz reviews Matthew 13 and Luke 8 and 13.

  1. SAY“Two teams. Ten seconds to agree on each answer.”
  2. Tap Scripture Showdown. Give a bonus point if a team can name the verse.
▶ Play Scripture Showdown on the web

Class screen: 🏆 Scripture Showdown: Matthew 13; Luke 8; 13

Object lesson

A Sower Went Forth to Sow

Matthew 13:3–9, 18–23 ↗

Scenes

  1. 🧑‍🌾 A sower went forth to sow

    Jesus sat in a boat near the shore and taught a huge crowd with a story. A farmer went out to sow. He threw the seed generously. It landed everywhere. On the path. On rocks. In the weeds. And in good soil.

    🙌 Ask, “The seed is perfect. What could possibly go wrong?”

  2. 🐦 Some fell by the wayside

    Some seed fell on the hard path where people walk. It never even got into the ground. Birds came and ate it up.

    🙌 Ask, “What keeps the word from even getting in for people your age?”

  3. 🪨🌱 Some fell on stony places

    Some fell on rocky ground, with only a thin layer of soil. It sprang up fast. Faster than anything else. But it had no depth of earth.

    🙌 Point to the cut flower. Ask, “Fast growth looks great. Why doesn’t it help here?”

  4. ☀️🥀 No root, so they withered

    Then the sun came up hot. The fast-growing plants had no roots, so they were scorched and withered away.

    🙌 A youth reads Matthew 13:21. Ask, “What’s the ‘sun’ that tests a testimony at eighteen?”

  5. 🌵 Some fell among thorns

    Some fell among thorns. The seed grew, but the thorns grew too, and they grew faster. Slowly, they choked it.

    🙌 A youth reads Matthew 13:22. Ask, “What are the thorns for people our age?”

  6. 🌾 Some fell into good ground

    But some fell on good ground. It grew and grew. And it produced a harvest. Some a hundred times what was planted. Some sixty. Some thirty.

    🙌 Hold up the rooted plant. Ask, “What makes ground good?”

  7. 👂❤️ Jesus explains: the ground is the heart

    Later, Jesus explained it. The seed is the word. The path hears, but doesn’t understand. Rocky ground receives it with joy, but has no root of its own. The thorns are the cares of the world, and the lure of riches. Good ground hears, understands, and bears fruit.

    🙌 Read Matthew 13:23. Ask, “Same seed every time. What made the difference?”

Key verse

Luke 8:15 ↗
“But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.”
In plain words: Good ground is an honest, good heart that hears God’s word, holds on to it, and keeps growing, patiently.
🙌 Memory hooks: “good ground” = flat palm like soil · “honest and good heart” = hand on heart · “having heard the word” = hand cupped to ear · “keep it” = closed fist held close · “bring forth fruit with patience” = hands rise slowly like a growing plant.

More verses

Matthew 13:21 ↗
“Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.”
In plain words: A testimony without its own roots lasts for a while, but when hard times or pressure come, it falls away.
Matthew 13:22 ↗
“the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.”
In plain words: Worry, busyness, and wanting more stuff can choke out what God is growing in you.
Matthew 13:30 ↗
“Let both grow together until the harvest”
In plain words: The Lord lets good and evil grow side by side for now, and He will sort it out Himself at the harvest.
Matthew 13:45–46 ↗
“the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.”
In plain words: The kingdom of heaven is worth everything. When the merchant found it, he gave all he had to get it.

Forehead Guess words17 words

  • 🧑‍🌾 Sower
  • 🛤️ Wayside
  • 🪨 Stony ground
  • 🌳 Roots
  • 🌵 Thorns
  • 🟫 Good ground
  • 💯 Hundredfold
  • 🌿 Tares
  • 🌾 Wheat
  • 🌰 Mustard seed
  • 🍞 Leaven
  • 🪙 Hidden treasure
  • 💎 Pearl of great price
  • 🎣 Net
  • 🌳 Fig tree
  • 🚪 Strait gate
  • 🧎 Bent woman
Clues for each word
  • Sower: Scattered seed on every kind of ground
  • Wayside: Hard path where birds ate the seed
  • Stony ground: Sprang up fast, but no depth of earth
  • Roots: “Yet hath he not ___ in himself”
  • Thorns: Cares of the world that choke the word
  • Good ground: An honest and good heart
  • Hundredfold: The biggest harvest from good ground
  • Tares: Weeds that look like wheat until harvest
  • Wheat: Gathered into the barn
  • Mustard seed: Tiny seed that becomes a tree for birds
  • Leaven: Hidden in meal until the whole was risen
  • Hidden treasure: A man sold everything to buy the field
  • Pearl of great price: The merchant sold all he had for it
  • Net: Gathered fish of every kind
  • Fig tree: No fruit for three years, given one more
  • Strait gate: “Strive to enter in” at it
  • Bent woman: Couldn’t lift herself for eighteen years
▶ Play Forehead GuessFull screen, 60-second timer, works on any phone.

Scripture Showdown10 questions

  1. In the parable of the sower, what is the seed?
    • A. Money
    • B. The word of God
    • C. Good works
    Show answer

    ✅ B. The word of God Matthew 13:19; Luke 8:11. The seed is always good; the ground varies.

  2. What happened to seed that fell by the wayside?
    • A. Birds devoured it
    • B. It grew tall
    • C. It was scorched
    Show answer

    ✅ A. Birds devoured it Matthew 13:4. It never got into the ground at all.

  3. Why did the plants on stony ground wither?
    • A. Too much rain
    • B. Birds ate them
    • C. They had no root
    Show answer

    ✅ C. They had no root Matthew 13:6, 21. Fast growth, shallow roots.

  4. What do the thorns stand for?
    • A. Persecution
    • B. The care of this world and riches
    • C. False prophets
    Show answer

    ✅ B. The care of this world and riches Matthew 13:22. Luke 8:14 adds the pleasures of this life.

  5. Why didn’t the householder let his servants pull up the tares?
    • A. They might root up the wheat
    • B. He liked tares
    • C. It was the Sabbath
    Show answer

    ✅ A. They might root up the wheat Matthew 13:29. They’d be sorted at the harvest.

  6. What did the merchant do when he found the pearl of great price?
    • A. Hid it in a field
    • B. Gave it away
    • C. Sold all that he had and bought it
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Sold all that he had and bought it Matthew 13:46. The kingdom is worth everything.

  7. Luke 8:15 says good ground is an honest and good…
    • A. mind
    • B. heart
    • C. family
    Show answer

    ✅ B. heart It keeps the word and bears fruit with patience.

  8. The kingdom is like a tiny seed that grows into a tree. Which seed?
    • A. Mustard
    • B. Fig
    • C. Olive
    Show answer

    ✅ A. Mustard Matthew 13:31–32. Birds come and lodge in its branches.

  9. How long had the woman in Luke 13 been bent over?
    • A. Twelve years
    • B. Three years
    • C. Eighteen years
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Eighteen years Luke 13:11–13. Jesus said, “Woman, thou art loosed.”

  10. What did Jesus say about the strait gate?
    • A. Wait until it opens
    • B. Strive to enter in
    • C. Only a few may try
    Show answer

    ✅ B. Strive to enter in Luke 13:24. He answered a question about numbers with an invitation to effort.

▶ Play Scripture ShowdownTeams take turns on one screen.

From general conference

“You may at times not feel like a strong, mature strand of wheat. Be patient with yourself! The Lord said that the wheat would include tender blades springing up.”

— Elder Neil L. Andersen, “Drawing Closer to the Savior,” October 2022

Read in Real Talk, right before the wheat-and-tares question.

Read the talk ↗

Songs

  • How Firm a Foundation Hymns, no. 85

    A hymn about being rooted and grounded, for a lesson about roots of our own. Find it ↗

  • Come, Follow Me Hymns, no. 116

    Good ground doesn’t just hear the word; it follows. Find it ↗

This week’s challenge

Grow a Root

This week, grow one root that’s yours alone. Pray about one gospel truth and write what you feel. Or study one parable from Matthew 13 with the four decoding steps. Spot the details, match them to something spiritual, hear what the Lord is saying and make it personal. Then pull one thorn. Name one care, habit or app choking the word, and cut it back for seven days.

Text the parents

This week we compared a cut flower with a rooted plant. We studied the parable of the sower in Matthew 13. Ask your teen about the difference between a testimony with its own roots and one that’s borrowed. What helps a testimony grow roots?

📝 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?

🌿 Draw the Wheat and the Tares · 5 min

  1. Have pairs sketch the parable in Matthew 13:24–30. They label it with Jesus’s own explanation in 13:36–43.
  2. Then read D&C 86:1–7. Add what the Lord teaches about the latter days. Don’t pluck the tares while the blade is tender, and gather the wheat first.
  3. Ask, “Why would the Lord protect young wheat so carefully?”

🌳 One More Year · 3 min

  1. Read Luke 13:6–9. The owner wants the barren tree cut down. The gardener asks for one more year to dig and fertilize.
  2. Ask, “Who is the gardener? What does it say about how the Savior pleads for us?”
  3. Ask, “What’s one thing the Lord might be ‘digging around’ in your life right now?”

🧎 Woman, Thou Art Loosed · 3 min

  1. Read Luke 13:11–17. She couldn’t lift herself for eighteen years.
  2. Ask, “What bends people our age over? What does it look like for Jesus to loose them?”

🔍 Decode a Parable · 5 min

  1. Teach four decoding steps. Spot the details. Match each to something spiritual. Hear what the Lord is saying. Make it personal.
  2. Give each pair one parable and about ninety seconds. Mustard seed, Matthew 13:31–32. Leaven, 13:33. Treasure, 13:44. Pearl, 13:45–46. Net, 13:47–50.
  3. Each pair teaches in about 30 seconds: “The kingdom of heaven is like ___, which means ___, and for me that means ___.”

💎 Pearl Auction · 4 min

  1. Give two or three teams 1,000 points each. Auction these one at a time: a perfect GPA, a million followers, a full-ride scholarship.
  2. Keep going: your dream car, a sure testimony of Jesus Christ, an eternal family.
  3. When the points run out, read Matthew 13:45–46.
  4. Ask, “The merchant didn’t bid a lot. He sold all that he had. What’s the difference?”

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