“Thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21
A hard situation, a just and gentle man, a dream, and a name that tells who the child would be. Walk the map, look closer, and put Joseph’s steps in order.
Joseph was engaged to Mary when he learned she was expecting a child, and he knew the child was not his. Being a righteous and kind man, he decided to end the engagement quietly instead of shaming her in public.
While he was still thinking it over, an angel came to him in a dream. The angel told him the child was from the Holy Ghost, that Joseph should name Him Jesus, “for he shall save his people from their sins.” Joseph woke up and did exactly what the angel said: he took Mary as his wife, and when the baby was born, he named Him Jesus.
Who’s who
Joseph: a righteous man of King David’s family, engaged to Mary
Mary: expecting a child by the power of the Holy Ghost
The angel of the Lord: sent to Joseph in a dream
Where and when
Most likely Nazareth, where Mary lived (Luke 1:26–27), shortly before Jesus was born.
Watch for the Savior
The two names in this story tell who the child is: Jesus, the One who saves, and Emmanuel, “God with us.”
Eight stops, from a troubled evening in the workshop to an open door. Scroll, or tap a number on the map.
Part 2 of 7
The story, plainly
Four scenes: evening, night, morning and home. Look for the Savior in each one.
Read it plainly
The words that trip people up
Tap any dotted word for its meaning. The scripture stays exactly as written.1
Matthew 1:18 “the birth of Jesus Christ was on this Meaning: way, manner.”
Matthew 1:18 “When as his mother Mary was Meaning: betrothed, legally promised in marriage. (See Part 5.) to Joseph, before they Meaning: began living together as husband and wife.”
Matthew 1:19 “Meaning: not wanting. to make her a Meaning: a public disgrace.”
Matthew 1:19 “was Meaning: intended, planned. to put her away Meaning: privately, quietly.”
Matthew 1:22 “that it might be Meaning: made to come true. which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet”
Matthew 1:23 “Meaning: Hebrew for “God with us.” (See Part 5.), which being Meaning: translated. is, God with us”
Matthew 1:24 “did as the angel of the Lord had Meaning: told, commanded. him”
Part 3 of 7
Look closer
This is a true account, not a parable. Some cards are details in the text; others share insights from prophets and Church resources, and each card says which.
0 of 9 turned
All nine. A craftsman, a royal line, a just heart, a dream, a quick rise and an open door, all for the child named Jesus. Matthew 1:18–25
Part 4 of 7
Where are you in the decision?
Joseph moved from a hard surprise to quiet faithfulness. Which step feels most like you right now?
A next step for you
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Try it
Joseph’s steps
Joseph never says a word in scripture, but his choices speak. Tap his steps in the order they happened. When a step is right, it moves into place with its verse.
“Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him.” Matthew 1:24
Part 5 of 7
Their world, their words
A little background helps us see what Joseph faced. Outside sources are labeled.
Church manual
Betrothal
After the families agreed, “the couple was betrothed,” or espoused. Betrothal “was regarded as the final part of a solemn covenant.”9,10
Joseph was already bound to Mary by covenant. He had to decide how to keep it.
Church manual
Joseph’s choices
He could have pursued a public divorce, or “had his betrothal to Mary privately annulled before two witnesses,” or married her. “Joseph was inclined to show mercy to Mary by quietly annulling the betrothal agreement.”10
He chose mercy before he knew the whole truth.
Apostle · Talmage
Son of David
Elder Talmage: Jesus was “not begotten by Joseph, who was the reputed, and according to the law of the Jews, the legal, father.”8 Matthew’s genealogy traces Joseph’s royal line.1
Through Joseph, Jesus belonged legally to the house of David.
Scripture
Isaiah’s sign
Isaiah: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Nephi copied the same words onto the plates.2
Matthew wanted every reader to know: this child is God with us.
Word study · Hebrew
Yeshua Ἰησοῦς · “Jesus” (Matthew 1:21, 25)
Iēsous is “a Greek form of the Hebrew name” Yeshua, which means Jehovah saves.9Church manual
The angel explained the name in the same sentence: “for he shall save his people from their sins.”1 “Jesus was Jehovah in the premortal life.”9 His name is His mission.
Word study · Hebrew
Immanuel Ἐμμανουήλ · “Emmanuel” (Matthew 1:23)
From Hebrew words meaning God with us.9Church manual
Matthew’s Gospel begins with “God with us” and ends with the Savior’s promise, “lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”5,10 “He is always with us.”9
What the text does not say
Matthew calls the messenger only “the angel of the Lord”; he never gives a name. He also records no words from Joseph at all, and Luke doesn’t either.1 Scripture doesn’t give Joseph’s age. Elder Holland suggested he was “older than his young wife.”6 “Carpenter” comes from neighbors’ words years later (Matthew 13:55), and the Greek word can describe a builder or craftsman.4,12
Part 6 of 7
Look to Him
Joseph’s story is about the child he named: Jesus, who saves, and Emmanuel, God with us.
The first thing Joseph was asked to do for this child was give Him a name: “thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.” The name was the mission.
“An angel came to Joseph giving him courage to marry this young woman who was mysteriously already with a child, a commandment that he instantly and faithfully rose to obey.”
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “The Dreams of Bethlehem,” December 20206
“Just think how much Heavenly Father trusted Joseph. He trusted Joseph to raise His Beloved Son with loving care. He trusted Joseph to protect both Jesus and Mary.”
Elder Richard J. Maynes, “The Christmas Story Is a Family Story,” December 20147
“Joseph was a just man, a strict observer of the law, yet no harsh extremist; moreover he loved Mary and would save her all unnecessary humiliation, whatever might be his own sorrow and suffering.”
“Four dreams from God! Joseph must have been an exceptionally visionary and spiritually sensitive man.”
Gerald N. Lund, later of the Seventy, quoted in the New Testament Student Manual10
Another Testament
Alma knew her name
“He shall be born of Mary … she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God.” Alma 7:10
Another Testament
Isaiah on the plates
Nephi copied Isaiah’s words: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” 2 Nephi 17:14
Part 7 of 7
Seek Him today
The angel’s first words
“Joseph, thou son of David, fear not.” Matthew 1:20
Joseph wasn’t afraid of doing wrong. He was afraid of what doing right might cost. “Fear not” came with a reason: the child was “of the Holy Ghost.”1 What would you do this week if you weren’t afraid?
Try it today
Each thing you do is one of Joseph’s steps. It saves on this device, one day at a time.
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Six of Joseph’s steps. Come again tomorrow.
A quiet moment
“They shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”
Read Matthew 1:23 slowly. Where is God with you right now: in the hard thing, in the waiting, in the ordinary day? Tell Heavenly Father what you notice. Matthew 1:23
A verse to hold
Talk about it
Joseph wanted to protect Mary even before the angel came. What does that teach us about him?
What do you think Joseph felt when he woke up?
Scripture records no words from Joseph. How can someone teach us without words?
What does the name Jesus mean, and why does it matter to you?
Open
For adults and deeper study
Go deeper
Longer readings, harder questions, and where to study next. Each one says what it is before you click.
Apostle
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “The Dreams of Bethlehem” (2020)
On the first Christmas family, the angels who “marked the path to this manger for centuries,” and Joseph’s instant obedience.6
Quotations checked against the linked pages on October 7, 2026. Scripture is quoted from the King James Version as published in the Gospel Library.
“And he called his name Jesus”
He pondered, he listened, he rose, he obeyed, and he took Mary home. Then he gave the child the name that tells us who He is: Jehovah saves. Matthew 1:25
Everything on this page as a 11-page letter-size PDF: the map, scenes, cards, activity, word studies, tracker, Go deeper and sources. For home, class or a quiet Sunday.
Joseph’s Dream is part of the Scripture Story Sketch Notes for the New Testament, set alongside Come, Follow Me for December 28, 2026–January 3, 2027 (Matthew 1; Luke 1).
Independent study notes from Weak Things, not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Scripture quotations are from the King James Version. This is a true account, not a parable; the insights in “Look closer” are labeled by source.
