Before Jesus was born, God sent the angel Gabriel with two announcements. First, in the temple at Jerusalem, Gabriel appeared to an older priest named Zacharias. He and his wife, Elisabeth, had prayed for a child, and Gabriel promised they would have a son, John, who would “make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Zacharias doubted, and he could not speak until the promise came true.
Six months later Gabriel came to Mary in the village of Nazareth, who was engaged to Joseph. He told her she would be the mother of the Son of God. Mary asked how this could be, then answered in faith: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.”
Who’s who
Zacharias: a priest who served in the temple
Elisabeth: his wife, and Mary’s cousin
Gabriel: an angel sent from God
Mary: a faithful woman of Nazareth, engaged to Joseph
Where and when
First the temple in Jerusalem, then, six months later, the town of Nazareth in Galilee.
Watch for the Savior
Both announcements point to Jesus: John would prepare the way, and Mary’s Son would be called “the Son of the Highest.”
Nine stops, from the Holy Place in the temple to a small house in Nazareth. Scroll, or tap a number on the map.
Part 2 of 7
The story, plainly
Four scenes, two visits from the same messenger. 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
Luke 1:5 “of the Meaning: the division of priests who served in turn. (See Part 5.) of Abia”
Luke 1:6 “walking in all the commandments and Meaning: the sacred rites and laws of God. of the Lord Meaning: without fault before the law.”
Luke 1:7 “because that Elisabeth was Meaning: unable to have children., and they both were now Meaning: far along in age.”
Luke 1:9 “his Meaning: chosen by casting lots. (See Part 3.) was to burn incense”
Luke 1:20 “thou shalt be Meaning: unable to speak., and not able to speak”
Luke 1:25 “to take away my Meaning: shame, disgrace in others’ eyes. among men”
Luke 1:27 “To a virgin Meaning: promised in marriage, betrothed. to a man whose name was Joseph”
Luke 1:29 “and Meaning: thought it over, wondered. what manner of Meaning: greeting. this should be”
Luke 1:35 “the power of the Highest shall Meaning: come over, cover with power. thee”
Luke 1:38 “Behold the Meaning: female servant. (See Part 5.) of the Lord”
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 scholars, and each card says which.
0 of 9 turned
All nine. A lot, an altar, a silent priest, a feather, a hidden house and an open hand, all getting ready for the Son of God. Luke 1:5–38
Part 4 of 7
Where are you with His promises?
Zacharias and Mary each met an impossible promise. Which response feels most like you right now?
A next step for you
Your choice is saved only on this device.
Try it
Who said it?
Gabriel came to two people with two impossible promises. Both asked a question. Both ended up singing praise to God. Read each line and choose who said it.
“For with God nothing shall be impossible.” Luke 1:37
Part 5 of 7
Their world, their words
A little background helps us see the two scenes. Outside sources are labeled.
Outside · BYU NT Commentary
The course of Abia
Priests served in twenty-four divisions, each “one week twice a year.” Zacharias’s division was large, so he “actually serves no more than one day of his assigned week,” and by tradition “a priest can offer the incense once in his lifetime.”10
On the one day he stood in the Holy Place, God answered his prayer.
Apostle · Talmage
Two settings
Elder Talmage: “Gabriel’s annunciation to Zacharias offers strong contrast to the delivery of his message to Mary.” One came in “the magnificent temple”; the other in a humble home in Nazareth.4
Heaven came to the holiest room in Jerusalem and to a small house in a small town.
Bible Dictionary
Who is Gabriel?
Gabriel means “Man of God.” He was sent to Daniel, to Zacharias and to Mary, and he “is identified by latter-day revelation as Noah.”9
An ancient servant of God carried the news that the Savior was coming.
Outside · BYU NT Commentary
What “yes” cost Mary
Brown: “We can only imagine the difficulties that Mary faces when she returns to Nazareth.” Her words to the angel “disclose her anticipation of the challenges ahead.”10,11
Her yes was not easy. It was faithful.
Word study · Greek
charitoō χαριτόω · “highly favoured” (Luke 1:28)
“To make graceful, endow with grace.”12Outside · lexicon
Gabriel greets Mary as one already filled with God’s grace. BYU Studies: the words “clearly imply both heaven’s regard for this young woman and, just as important, Mary’s maturing respect for heavenly things.”11
Word study · Greek
rhēma ῥῆμα · “nothing” (Luke 1:37) and “word” (Luke 1:38)
The same word sits in both verses. Gabriel: literally, no rhēma from God will be impossible. Mary: “be it unto me according to thy word.”13 She answered God’s word by trusting His word.
What the text does not say
Luke doesn’t give Mary’s age, and he doesn’t say whether Zacharias and Elisabeth were still praying for a child; Elder Talmage thought they “had sorrowfully given up hope of posterity.”4 Luke never says Gabriel had wings. Our drawings show him as a faceless figure of light, as with every angel in these lessons. And Luke says he “came in unto her”; he doesn’t describe what Mary was doing.1
Part 6 of 7
Look to Him
Both messages were about Him: the forerunner who would prepare His way, and the Son of the Highest.
Both of Gabriel’s messages were about Jesus Christ: a forerunner to “make ready a people prepared for the Lord,” and a Son who would be “called the Son of God.” One heard it and asked for proof; one heard it and said yes.
“Long years of yearning had returned no reward—Zacharias and Elisabeth remained childless. Then came that day of days ever to be remembered.”
Elder Thomas S. Monson, “Preparing the Way,” April 19805
“Both Elisabeth and Mary looked forward with confidence that the Savior of the world would come and that a great prophet would be His forerunner. But in their deep humility they were prepared by the Spirit for their sacred part.”
President Henry B. Eyring, “The Gifts of Christmas,” December 20118
“When we choose to obey the commandments cheerfully as our first priority, neither murmuring about nor measuring the things He commands, we become the handmaids of the Lord.”
Elder L. Whitney Clayton, “Help Thou Mine Unbelief,” October 20017
“The words with which he broke his long silence were words of praise unto God in whom he had all assurance.”
Nephi saw “a virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins.” The angel told him, “Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God.” 1 Nephi 11:15, 18
Another Testament
Her name foretold
An angel told King Benjamin: “he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God … and his mother shall be called Mary.” Mosiah 3:8
Part 7 of 7
Seek Him today
Gabriel’s promise
“For with God nothing shall be impossible.” Luke 1:37
Elder Maxwell noted that the angel spoke these words to “a perplexed Mary.”6 What feels impossible to you right now? Bring it to the One for whom nothing is.
Try it today
Each thing you do is one more “yes.” It saves on this device, one day at a time.
0 of 6 today
This week:0 of 7 days
Six days of trusting His word. Come again tomorrow.
A quiet moment
“Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.”
Read Luke 1:26–38 slowly. Picture the small room in Nazareth. Then ask Heavenly Father, “What is Thy word for me right now?” Sit quietly and listen. Luke 1:26–38
A verse to hold
Talk about it
Zacharias asked for a sign, and Mary asked how. What was different about their questions?
Zacharias and Elisabeth were righteous and still waited years. What does that teach about prayer?
Why do you think Gabriel told Mary about Elisabeth?
What is something we can say “be it unto me” about as a family?
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 Talmage, Jesus the Christ, chapter 7
A full chapter on “Gabriel’s Annunciation of John and of Jesus”: the course of Abia, the Holy Place, Zacharias’s silence and song, and Mary’s visit to Elisabeth.4
Elder Monson retells Zacharias and Elisabeth’s story and John’s mission to prepare the way. President Eyring speaks of how Elisabeth and Mary “knew and believed the sacred scriptures.”5,8
Verse-by-verse notes from a Latter-day Saint scholar: the priestly divisions, the incense, the contrast between Zacharias and Mary, and the theme of light in Luke 1–2.10
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.
Zacharias and Mary 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.
