Your family's week · Week 1 · December 28–January 3
Be It unto Me According to Thy Word
📖 Matthew 1; Luke 1
This week: An angel promises Zacharias and Elisabeth a son, John. Gabriel tells Mary she will be the mother of Jesus, and she trusts God: “Be it unto me according to thy word.”
Small & Simple · Week 1 · December 28–January 3
Matthew 1; Luke 1 · “Be It unto Me According to Thy Word” · weakthings.com
What to do today
★ Life skill this week:Setting Goals · Thursday
How much time today?
Monday, Dec 28 Family lesson night
⏱ About 45 minutes · Monday is the same no matter which time you pick.
Today's truth from the lesson
“I can accept the Lord's will with trust in Him.”
Talk about it: What helped Mary say yes before she understood everything? How can we follow her example?
Then act it out: one person is Zacharias and, without words, tells everyone the baby's name is John. When someone guesses, everyone says, “His name is John!”
Go deeper optional, for teens and parents or extra time
Picture study (2 min): you saw Carl Bloch's Annunciation earlier tonight. Now look at how James Tissot painted the same moment. Ask one question at a time:
Tissot shows Mary in a simple room with mats and a checkered wall. How is it different from Bloch's painting?
Mary bows so low that we can't see her face. Why do you think Tissot painted her that way?
Which painting helps you feel what Mary felt? Why?
Two Book of Mormon prophets knew the name of the Savior's mother long before she was born: King Benjamin (Mosiah 3:8) and Alma (Alma 7:10). Read both and ask: why would the Lord tell His prophets her name?
Read D&C 112:10 together: “The Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers.” Like Zacharias, ask: “What prayer are we still waiting on?” 3 min
Go deeper optional, for teens and parents or extra time
President Susan H. Porter tells how a prayer was answered in an unexpected way in “Pray, He Is There.” Share a time your family's prayers were answered in an unexpected way.
Resilience moment, “When we have to wait.” Ask: “What's hard about waiting?” Little ones practice a calm breath (smell the flower, blow out the candle). Older kids write one thing they're waiting for and one thing they can do while they wait. 5 min
About 600 years before Gabriel came to Nazareth, the prophet Nephi saw Mary in a vision. Read 1 Nephi 11:13–21 and listen for what Nephi says about her. 5 min
Middle 8–11 Read Luke 1:26–38 and fill in your waiting jar.
Youth 12–18 Find every title of Jesus Christ in Luke 1:31–35.
Go deeper optional, for teens and parents or extra time
President Jeffrey R. Holland promised that our prayers “are heard and they are answered, though perhaps not at the time or in the way we wanted.” Read the talk together, or just that promise.
Ask: “How did Elisabeth know Mary's news before Mary told her?”
★ Life skill · Setting Goals
Read Galatians 6:9 together: “Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap.” Each person picks one goal for 2027 and its first “seed,” one small daily action. Little ones draw their goal, older kids write it on their card, and teens can fill in My Goal Tree: a private planner for the goal, its first small steps and who can help. It opens on this phone or computer and saves only here. 10 min
Read Galatians 6:9 together: “Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap.” Each person picks one goal for 2027 and its first “seed,” one small daily action. Little ones draw their goal, older kids write it on their card, and teens can fill in My Goal Tree: a private planner for the goal, its first small steps and who can help. It opens on this phone or computer and saves only here. 10 min
Go deeper optional, for teens and parents or extra time
Make an “impossible” list: name other things God has done that seemed impossible, from the scriptures or your own family. After each one, say together, “With God nothing shall be impossible.”
Titles of Jesus: Matthew 1 and Luke 1 call Him Jesus, Emmanuel, the Son of the Highest and the Son of God. Look one up in the Guide to the Scriptures. What does it teach about Him?
“Jesus Christ is the Son of Heavenly Father and Mary.”
Talk about it: Because Mary was His mother, Jesus could feel what we feel. Because Heavenly Father is His Father, He could overcome death. Why does that matter to us?
Each person shares one thing they learned or felt at church today. 5 min
Share one thing from church today. 5 min
🎬 Sunday film
Watch the first part of The Christ Child: A Nativity Story, from the start to about 9:00. It follows Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Then ask: “How did Mary and Joseph trust God?” 9 min
Watch The Christ Child: A Nativity Story together. It tells the story of Jesus's birth as Luke and Matthew tell it, with Mary, Joseph, the shepherds and the Wise Men. Afterward, each person names someone in the film and how that person showed faith in the Savior. 18 min
Youth: compare Luke 1 with the restored Church. Verse 5, Zacharias holds the office of priest. Verse 6, he and Elisabeth keep the ordinances. Verses 8–9, he serves in the temple. Verses 11–17, an angel brings a message. What do we have today that matches each one?
You don't need any of this to follow today's plan. Open a section when you want more.
What this week is about
The New Testament begins with the first chapters of Matthew and Luke. An angel tells the priest Zacharias that he and his wife Elisabeth, who had waited many years for a child, will have a son: John, who will prepare the way for the Savior. Then the angel Gabriel tells Mary she will be the mother of the Son of God. Mary trusts the Lord and answers, “Be it unto me according to thy word.” Mary visits Elisabeth, John is born, and an angel helps Joseph understand his part in God's plan.
What the official lesson teaches this week
I can accept the Lord's will with trust in Him.
Heavenly Father answers my prayers in His own time and way.
I can remain faithful to God even when my righteous desires are unfulfilled.
God can use me to help accomplish His plan.
With God nothing is impossible.
Jesus Christ is the Son of Heavenly Father and Mary.
The restored Church of Jesus Christ is similar to the Lord's Church in ancient times.
Plant small seeds and keep going: “Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap” (Galatians 6:9). Each person picks one goal for 2027 and one small daily action toward it.
Little: Draw a picture of your goal.
Middle: Write your goal and first step on your card and tape it to the fridge.
Youth: Fill in My Goal Tree, a private planner for your goal, its first small steps and who can help. It saves only on your own phone or computer.
Parents: Ask: “What is one goal Heavenly Father would like you to work on, and what is the first seed?”
“Jesus Christ has many titles in the scriptures. Each one reflects one of His roles in God's plan and teaches us about His divine attributes.”
Try it this week: when a title of Jesus comes up (Emmanuel, Son of the Highest, Son of God), stop and ask, “What does this name tell us about Him?” Friday's plan has a titles activity.
Mary didn't have all the answers; she trusted. Let your children know they can trust Jesus even when they have questions, and that waiting doesn't mean God isn't listening.
Family council · 5 questions
What's one thing we're grateful for from 2026?
What's one family goal for 2027?
Which night is our game night?
Who needs our help this week?
What are we waiting for together?
Printable child cards
Little · ages 3–7
Week 1 · Be It unto Me According to Thy Word
Memory verse: “With God nothing shall be impossible.”
Small & Simple is made by Weak Things, a small family business. It is not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Always start with the official Come, Follow Me lesson.
