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Repairer of the Breach

Why fasting can feel pointless, what Isaiah 58 says it’s actually for, and the mission Jesus announced from Isaiah 61

  • 🏔️ Youth 16–18
  • Week 42
  • 📅 Sunday, October 18, 2026
🤔 Forehead Guess🏆 Showdown
💡 The big idea

The fast the Lord chooses is aimed at lifting burdens, other people’s and our own, and when we fast that way, Jesus Christ answers, guides us, and makes us repairers of what’s broken.

I can plan my next fast with a real purpose, include someone else’s burden in it, give a generous fast offering, and make the Sabbath a delight.

Study it yourself firstRead Isaiah 58–66 in Gospel LibraryCome, Follow Me manualOpen this week (Isaiah 58–66)
Know the chapters

Isaiah 58–66 closes the book with some of its brightest chapters. Isaiah 58 redefines fasting and the Sabbath. Isaiah 59 promises that the Redeemer shall come to Zion (59:20). Isaiah 60 begins “Arise, shine; for thy light is come.” Isaiah 61:1–3 describes One anointed to heal the brokenhearted, free the captives, and give “beauty for ashes”; Jesus stood up in the synagogue at Nazareth, read this passage, and announced, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4:16–21). The last chapters look forward to the Savior’s Second Coming and a new heaven and a new earth (65:17–25), when even the wolf and the lamb will feed together.

Isaiah 58 starts with a complaint people still make: “Wherefore have we fasted… and thou seest not?” The Lord’s answer is blunt. They went hungry, but on the same day they chased their own pleasure, pushed their workers, and picked fights (58:3–5). The fast He chooses is aimed at burdens: loosing the bands of wickedness, undoing heavy burdens, freeing the oppressed, feeding the hungry, and not hiding from people in need (58:6–7). Then come the promises: light breaking forth like the morning, the Lord answering “Here I am,” continual guidance, a soul like a watered garden, and the title “repairer of the breach” (58:8–12).

How the Church fasts today: on one Sunday each month, members who are able go without food and drink for two consecutive meals (about 24 hours), pray with a purpose, and give a fast offering at least equal to the cost of those meals, and generously more if they can. The bishop uses fast offerings to help people in need. Important for this age group: not everyone should fast from food. The Church teaches that members who are physically able should fast (Gospel Principles, chapter 25), so health comes first. A youth with diabetes, another medical condition, or a history of disordered eating should talk with their parents and doctor and can keep the spirit of Isaiah 58 by fasting from something else (a phone, social media, a habit) while praying with purpose and giving. Never praise not eating, and never comment on anyone’s body.

Isaiah 58:13–14 invites us to call the Sabbath a delight by turning from our own pleasure to the Lord. Your 16- to 18-year-olds are about to live on their own at college, at work, or on a mission, where no parent will wake them for church or remind them it’s fast Sunday. Help them see fasting and the Sabbath as tools they choose, not rules they endure. Keep the tone honest: sometimes a fast doesn’t bring the answer we wanted, and the promise “Here I am” (58:9) is first a promise of His presence.

Only have 5 minutes?

Read Isaiah 58:3–12 and Luke 4:16–21. Open with the eyes-closed honest rating, let Teach Mode carry the Two Fasts case study, do the Back-to-Back Lift, and have the youth hunt the verbs in Isaiah 58:6–7. Spend your remaining time on two discussion questions and end with each youth quietly choosing who their next fast is for. Brought nothing? Tap “I brought nothing”: you read Isaiah 58 aloud while they call out the verbs, and the fast plans are told to a partner instead of written.

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 Isaiah 58 and Luke 4:16–21. Think about your own honest experience with fasting: when it felt empty and when it felt powerful.
  2. Text three youth before Sunday: a Narrator, someone to play Ava, and someone to play Marcus in the Two Fasts case study. Let them know Ava starts out grumpy on purpose.
  3. Be aware of any youth who can’t fast for health reasons. Plan to say out loud that fasting from food isn’t for everyone, so no one feels singled out.
  4. Add your youth’s names in the My Class tab.
  5. Think of one short, honest example of a fast that mattered to you, even if the answer wasn’t what you expected.

If your class is wild

  • The honest rating hook only works if you don’t react to low numbers. Thank them. The Lord put Israel’s complaint in scripture; you can handle a room of 2s.
  • Ava’s role is funny, but make sure the class doesn’t mock her. She’s all of us on a hungry Sunday, and she turns it around by the end.
  • The Back-to-Back Lift is awkward in Sunday clothes. If floor work won’t work, do the Trust Lean instead: partners face each other, press palms, both step back and lean on each other.
  • Teens often assume the teacher loves fasting. Admitting you’ve had empty fasts earns more trust than any quote.
  • If someone shares a real burden (a parent out of work, a sick sibling), thank them simply and offer to talk after. Don’t turn it into a class project without their permission.

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

Honest Rating

3 min

An anonymous rating lets youth admit how fasting really feels, which is exactly where Isaiah 58 starts.

  1. SAY“Everyone close your eyes. No one will see your answer but me.”
  2. Ask: “On a scale of 1 to 5, how meaningful does fast Sunday usually feel to you? 1 is ‘pointless, I’m just hungry.’ 5 is ‘powerful.’ Hold up fingers.”
  3. Eyes open. Describe the spread without names: “We’ve got some 2s, a few 3s, a 5.” Thank them for honesty.
  4. SAY“Good news. The Lord’s people asked this exact question, and He put it in the scriptures with His answer. Isaiah 58:3.” Read it.
🌪️ Don’t react to low numbers. A calm “thanks for being honest” is the whole point.

Class screen: 🖐️ Eyes closed. How meaningful does fast Sunday feel? Show 1 to 5. · 1 = pointless, just hungry · 5 = powerful

2. Story

Case Study: Two Fasts

6 min

A modern case study braided with Isaiah 58 shows the difference between going hungry and fasting with purpose.

  1. Hand out roles (tap Roles in Teach Mode). Everyone without a part is an Israelite.
  2. Your Narrator reads each scene; Isaiah reads the scripture lines from real scriptures.
  3. After scene 3, pause: “What made Ava’s fast empty? Be kind. We’ve all been Ava.”
  4. After scene 8, ask: “Neither of them solved everything. So what changed?” (Purpose, prayer, looking outward, acting on the answer, and the Lord’s presence.)
🌪️ If your Ava goes full comedy, great. Just make sure scene 8 lands sincerely: have her read it slowly.

Class screen: 🎭 Two fasts, one Sunday: what made the difference? · Isaiah 58:3–12

3. Wiggle break

Back-to-Back Lift

2 min

A team challenge shows physically what Isaiah 58 says spiritually: heavy things lift when people lift together.

  1. Pairs sit on the floor back-to-back, link elbows, and try to stand up together without using their hands.
  2. Once pairs succeed, try groups of four. Then, if you’re brave, the whole class.
  3. Ask: “Could you have done that alone the same way? What made it work?” (Pushing against each other, timing, trust.)
  4. SAY“‘Undo the heavy burdens.’ The Lord’s fast isn’t a solo endurance event. It’s built for lifting together.”
🌪️ In Sunday clothes, do the Trust Lean instead: partners face each other, press palms, step back, and lean on each other.

Class screen: 🤝 Back to back, arms linked: stand up together. · Pairs → fours → everyone

4. Scripture

Verb Hunt: The Fast He Chose

4 min

Hunting the verbs and promises in Isaiah 58 teaches a real study skill and shows fasting is about action, not just hunger.

  1. Teach Isaiah 58:6 with the memory hooks. Say it once together.
  2. Half the pairs hunt the verbs in 58:6–7 (what WE do). The other half hunt the promises in 58:8–11 (what HE does). Two minutes.
  3. Pairs call out what they found. (Loose, undo, let go free, break, deal, bring, cover, hide not · light, health, answer, guide, satisfy, watered garden.)
  4. Read Luke 4:18 next to Isaiah 61:1. Say: “Jesus used Isaiah 61 to announce His mission: healing, freeing, lifting. When we fast Isaiah 58’s way, we join His mission.”

Class screen: 🔍 Hunt the verbs in 58:6–7 and the promises in 58:8–11. · Isaiah 58:6–11 · Luke 4:18 · Isaiah 61:1

No supplies? Do this instead

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

Verb Shout-Out

  1. Teach Isaiah 58:6 with the memory hooks. Say it once together.
  2. Read Isaiah 58:6–11 aloud slowly from your own scriptures. Left side of the room calls out each verb (what WE do); right side calls out each promise (what HE does).
  3. Read Luke 4:18 and then Isaiah 61:1. Say: “Jesus used Isaiah 61 to announce His mission. When we fast Isaiah 58’s way, we join it.”

Class screen: 📣 Left side: shout the verbs. Right side: shout the promises. · Isaiah 58:6–11

5. Game

Showdown Lightning Round

3 min

A quick team quiz locks in Isaiah 58 and 61 before the discussion.

  1. Split into two teams. Tap Scripture Showdown.
  2. Lightning rules: 5 seconds per question, and play as many as fit in three minutes.
  3. Losing team picks the first discussion question. Winning team picks who answers it.
▶ Play Scripture Showdown on the web

Class screen: ⚡ Showdown lightning round: 5 seconds per question

6. Talk it over

Real Talk

4 min

Honest questions help youth decide what fasting and the Sabbath will mean when the choice is fully theirs.

  1. Sit in a circle. A youth discussion leader reads the questions and calls on people.
  2. When you get to fast offerings, share President Eyring’s line about what a fast offering does (see Conference below).
  3. Pick two or three. Say clearly at some point: “Fasting from food isn’t right for everyone’s health; the spirit of Isaiah 58 is for everyone.”
💬 Ask the class
  • What’s the difference between skipping two meals and fasting? What turns one into the other?
  • Isaiah 58:6 says the Lord’s fast looses bands and undoes burdens. Whose burden could your next fast be about, including maybe your own?
  • Isaiah 58:13 calls the Sabbath a delight. What actually makes a Sunday feel like a delight to you, not just a list of don’ts?
  • In a year or two, no one will wake you up for church or remind you it’s fast Sunday. What will you want your habits to be then, and why?
  • Jesus read Isaiah 61:1–3 to announce His mission. Which phrase describes something you’ve seen Him do for someone?

Class screen: 💬 Real talk

7. Testimony

My Next Fast

2 min

Each youth leaves with a concrete, private plan so their next fast has a purpose.

  1. Hand out cards. Say: “This is private. Write three things: who or what your next fast is for, one way you could lift someone’s burden that day, and what you’ll do with the time you’d spend eating or scrolling.”
  2. Give them 60 quiet seconds. Remind them: if fasting from food isn’t right for your health, fast from something else.
  3. Share your short experience with a fast that mattered. Testify that the Lord answers, even when the answer is first just “Here I am.”
  4. Introduce the challenge and ask a youth to pray.

Class screen: 📝 Who is your next fast for? · Isaiah 58:9

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: An index card or scrap of paper and a pen for each youth

  1. SAY“Close your eyes. Choose, silently, who or what your next fast is for, one way you could lift someone’s burden that day, and what you’ll do with the time you’d spend eating or scrolling.”
  2. Give them 60 quiet seconds. Remind them: if fasting from food isn’t right for your health, fast from something else.
  3. Share your short experience with a fast that mattered. Testify that the Lord answers, even when the answer is first just “Here I am.” Ask a youth to pray.
8. Game

Forehead Guess

4 minBONUS

A quick, fun review of the people, images and big words from Isaiah 58–66.

  1. Tap Forehead Guess. A volunteer holds your phone or tablet on their forehead facing the class.
  2. Older-youth rule: clue-givers can’t use any word from the hint.
  3. Rotate every 45 seconds.
▶ Play Forehead Guess on the web

Class screen: 🤔 Forehead Guess: Isaiah 58–66 edition

Story drama

Two Fasts

Isaiah 58:3–12 ↗

Parts to hand out

  • NarratorReads the modern case study and sets up each scene.
  • IsaiahThe prophet: reads the Lord’s answer from Isaiah 58 at key moments.
  • AvaA hungry, grumpy 17-year-old on fast Sunday who wonders why anyone bothers, and changes by the end.
  • MarcusA 16-year-old priest who fasts with a friend’s burden in mind.
  • EliMarcus’s friend, whose dad just lost his job; quiet, stressed, and grateful.
  • IsraelitesEveryone else: read Israel’s complaint in 58:3 together and react to each scene.

Scenes

  1. 📱🍩 Fast Sunday, 10:40 a.m.

    Ava hasn’t eaten since last night. She’s scrolling food videos in the hallway, her stomach is growling, and she mutters, “Why do we even do this? I skip two meals, I give an envelope, nothing happens.”

    🎬 Ava slumps on a chair, scrolling an invisible phone, groaning. The Israelites’ stomachs growl (everyone makes the sound).

  2. 📜❓ Israel asked the same thing

    Isaiah records the same complaint almost 2,700 years earlier. The people fasted and bowed their heads, then asked God why He didn’t seem to notice.

    🎬 The Israelites read together: “Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not?” Ava points at them: “Exactly!”

  3. 😠🍽️ Hungry and picking fights

    The Lord answered honestly: on your fast day you still do what you please, you push the people who work for you, and you fast for strife and debate. At home, Ava snaps at her little brother for taking the good seat and spends the afternoon counting the minutes until dinner.

    🎬 Isaiah reads the first part of Isaiah 58:4. Ava snaps, “Move!” at an invisible brother. The Israelites wince: “Oof.”

  4. 🧢💭 Marcus fasts with a name in mind

    Across town, Marcus is just as hungry. But this morning he prayed about his friend Eli, whose dad lost his job last week. Eli has been quiet and stressed. Marcus asked Heavenly Father what he could do, and spent the fast watching for an answer.

    🎬 Marcus kneels briefly, then stands and looks toward Eli, who sits alone with his head in his hands.

  5. 🔓🍞 “Is not this the fast that I have chosen?”

    The Lord described the fast He actually wants: loose the bands, undo heavy burdens, free the oppressed, share your bread, bring in people who are cast out, and don’t hide from people who need you.

    🎬 Isaiah reads Isaiah 58:6–7. On each verb, the Israelites mime it: unlock chains, lift a load, break a yoke, hand out bread.

  6. 🏠🍲 Marcus acts on the answer

    After church Marcus asks his parents whether Eli’s family can come over to break the fast with them. At dinner he mostly listens. Later he adds some of his own money to his family’s fast offering, knowing the bishop uses fast offerings to help people in need.

    🎬 Marcus walks over, taps Eli on the shoulder, and gestures “come eat with us.” Eli looks up, surprised, and nods.

  7. 🌅🌱 “Then shall thy light break forth”

    The Lord’s promises come next: your light will break out like the morning, He will guide you continually, you’ll be like a watered garden, and when you call, He’ll say, “Here I am.” Marcus doesn’t fix Eli’s family’s problems. But Eli says it’s the first time all week he didn’t feel alone.

    🎬 Isaiah reads Isaiah 58:9. Marcus and Eli stand shoulder to shoulder. The Israelites slowly raise their arms like a sunrise.

  8. 🧱🙂 Next month, Ava tries again

    Ava noticed. Next fast Sunday she chooses a purpose: her grandma, who is sick, and her own short temper. She calls her grandma instead of scrolling. It still isn’t easy. But it isn’t empty. Isaiah calls people like this “the repairer of the breach.”

    🎬 Ava holds an invisible phone to her ear and smiles: “Hi, Grandma.” Everyone pretends to stack bricks into a wall and says together, “Repairer of the breach.”

Key verse

Isaiah 58:6 ↗
“Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?”
In plain words: The fast God wants isn’t just skipping meals. It’s aimed at freeing people: breaking the chains of sin and lifting heavy burdens, theirs and ours.
🙌 Memory hooks: “loose the bands” = pull your wrists apart · “undo the heavy burdens” = lift a load off someone’s shoulders · “let the oppressed go free” = open your hands like releasing a bird · “break every yoke” = snap an invisible stick.

More verses

Isaiah 58:3 ↗
“Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge?”
In plain words: Israel asked: we went hungry, so why doesn’t God seem to notice? The Lord takes the question seriously and answers it.
Isaiah 58:9 ↗
“Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am.”
In plain words: When we fast His way, we call and He answers. Before anything else, He says: I’m here.
Isaiah 58:12 ↗
“thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.”
In plain words: People who fast and serve like this become known as the ones who fix broken walls and rebuild safe places to live.
Isaiah 61:3 ↗
“to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness”
In plain words: Jesus Christ trades our ashes for beauty, our mourning for joy, and our heaviness for praise. He read this passage to announce His mission.

Forehead Guess words15 words

  • 💵 Fast offering
  • 📅 Fast Sunday
  • 🧑‍💼 Bishop
  • 🐂 Yoke
  • 🎒 Heavy burdens
  • 🌱 Watered garden
  • 🧱 Repairer of the breach
  • 🕊️ Sabbath
  • 🏘️ Nazareth
  • 🌸 Beauty for ashes
  • 💔 Brokenhearted
  • ⛓️ Captives
  • 💛 Redeemer
  • 🌅 Arise, shine
  • 🐺 Wolf and lamb
Clues for each word
  • Fast offering: Money given to help people in need
  • Fast Sunday: One Sunday each month
  • Bishop: Uses fast offerings to help people in need
  • Yoke: Isaiah says break every one
  • Heavy burdens: The Lord’s fast undoes these
  • Watered garden: What your soul becomes (58:11)
  • Repairer of the breach: Title for people who fast and serve (58:12)
  • Sabbath: Isaiah says call it a delight
  • Nazareth: Where Jesus read Isaiah 61 in the synagogue
  • Beauty for ashes: What the Savior trades us (61:3)
  • Brokenhearted: The Savior was sent to bind them up
  • Captives: He proclaims liberty to them
  • Redeemer: “The ___ shall come to Zion” (59:20)
  • Arise, shine: Isaiah 60:1: thy light is come
  • Wolf and lamb: Will feed together in the Millennium (65:25)
▶ Play Forehead GuessFull screen, 60-second timer, works on any phone.

Scripture Showdown9 questions

  1. What did Israel complain about in Isaiah 58:3?
    • A. The food was bad
    • B. They fasted and God didn’t seem to notice
    • C. Church was too long
    Show answer

    ✅ B. They fasted and God didn’t seem to notice The Lord answered honestly: their fast was about themselves, not others.

  2. According to 58:4, what were people doing on their fast day?
    • A. Fighting and arguing
    • B. Singing hymns
    • C. Sleeping in
    Show answer

    ✅ A. Fighting and arguing They fasted “for strife and debate.” Hungry and picking fights.

  3. Which is NOT in the Lord’s description of His fast (58:6–7)?
    • A. Undo heavy burdens
    • B. Share your bread
    • C. Look as sad as possible
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Look as sad as possible He actually criticized bowing like a bulrush for show (58:5).

  4. When we call, what does the Lord promise to say (58:9)?
    • A. “Not now”
    • B. “Here I am”
    • C. “Try harder”
    Show answer

    ✅ B. “Here I am” The first promise is His presence.

  5. Isaiah 58:11 says your soul will be like a…
    • A. locked door
    • B. desert road
    • C. watered garden
    Show answer

    ✅ C. watered garden And like a spring whose waters don’t fail.

  6. Who read Isaiah 61:1–3 aloud in the synagogue at Nazareth?
    • A. Jesus
    • B. Peter
    • C. John the Baptist
    Show answer

    ✅ A. Jesus Luke 4:16–21: “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”

  7. Isaiah 61:3: the Lord gives beauty for…
    • A. gold
    • B. ashes
    • C. silver
    Show answer

    ✅ B. ashes He trades our ashes, mourning and heaviness for beauty, joy and praise.

  8. What does Isaiah 58:13 invite us to call the Sabbath?
    • A. A rest from God
    • B. A delight
    • C. A duty
    Show answer

    ✅ B. A delight Turning from our own pleasure to the Lord makes it a delight.

  9. Who uses fast offerings to help people in need in the ward?
    • A. The bishop
    • B. The seminary teacher
    • C. The Sunday School president
    Show answer

    ✅ A. The bishop Fast offerings help people with food, housing and other needs.

▶ Play Scripture ShowdownTeams take turns on one screen.

From general conference

“Your fast offering will do more than help feed and clothe bodies. It will heal and change hearts.”

— President Henry B. Eyring, “Is Not This the Fast That I Have Chosen?,” April 2015

Share in Real Talk or right before the testimony, when youth plan their next fast and fast offering.

Read the talk ↗

Songs

  • Did You Think to Pray? Hymns, no. 140

    Fasting and prayer go together; a good opener for a lesson about fasting with purpose. Find it ↗

  • Redeemer of Israel Hymns, no. 6

    Isaiah 59:20 and 63:16 call the Lord our Redeemer. Find it ↗

  • Come, Follow Me Hymns, no. 116

    Following Jesus means joining His Isaiah 61 mission: lifting and freeing people. Find it ↗

This week’s challenge

Fast with a Name

Before your next fast, write down who or what it’s for, including one specific person whose burden you’ll try to lift that day. Give a fast offering you actually think about. If you can’t fast from food, fast from your phone or another habit instead. This Sunday, do one thing that makes the Sabbath a delight rather than a list of don’ts.

Text the parents

This week we studied Isaiah 58–66: the Lord’s answer to people who fasted and felt nothing (Isaiah 58), and the mission Jesus announced from Isaiah 61 in Nazareth (Luke 4:16–21). Ask your teen: what’s the difference between skipping meals and fasting, and who could our family’s next fast be for?

📝 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?

🕊️ Sabbath Delight Draft · 4 min

  1. Read Isaiah 58:13–14. Two teams take turns “drafting” Sabbath activities onto their ideal Sunday afternoon.
  2. The rule: every pick must be something that turns them toward the Lord or other people, and that they would actually enjoy.
  3. Compare teams’ lists. Ask: “Which of these could you do this Sunday?”

🌅 Arise, Shine · 3 min

  1. Turn off the lights. Read Isaiah 60:1–3 while one youth slowly turns the lights back on (or brightens the screen).
  2. Ask: “Isaiah says nations will come to our light. What light do people see in you at school or work?”
  3. Connect to the gathering of Israel: people are drawn to the Savior through ordinary people who shine.

🐺 New Heaven, New Earth · 4 min

  1. Read Isaiah 65:17–25. List everything that changes in the Millennium.
  2. Ask: “Which promise do you most look forward to? Which one could we practice now?”
  3. Read 64:4 and talk about how the Lord prepares things for those who wait for 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