“Joseph Smith—Matthew 1; Matthew 24–25; Mark 12–13; Luke 21,” New Testament Institute Teacher Manual (2025)
He Comes Again to Rule and Reign, by Mary Sauer
Joseph Smith—Matthew 1; Matthew 24–25; Mark 12–13; Luke 21
During the last week of His mortal ministry, the Savior answered His disciples’ questions about His Second Coming. He also taught them how to prepare for His return using the parables of the ten virgins, the talents, and the sheep and the goats. After watching a widow cast two mites into the temple treasury, He taught an important lesson about offering all we can give.
Additional Resources
Scripture Helps: New Testament, “Joseph Smith—Matthew 1; Matthew 24–25; Mark 12–13; Luke 21”
Note: The “Introduction to the Course” provides guidance on how to use the four standard lesson elements that follow.
Encouraging Personal Study
Before class, consider sending students one or more of the following messages or some of your own:
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What do you treasure? As you read Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:36–40, ponder what it means to treasure up God’s word. How can treasuring up God’s word help you prepare for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ?
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How can you be prepared for the Savior’s Second Coming? As you study the three parables found in Matthew 25, look for how the Lord wants you to prepare. You could also watch “The Ten Virgins” (1:45).
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What can help you when you don’t feel like you have a lot to give the Lord? After reading Mark 12:41–44, watch “The Widow’s Mite” (1:57) to see some children discuss what they learn from this story.
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Questions and Sharing
Provide time for students to ask questions and share insights and truths they discovered in their personal study of Joseph Smith—Matthew 1; Matthew 24–25; Mark 12–13; Luke 21.
Skill Training
Joseph Smith—Matthew 1 might be a helpful place to use the skill “Using Restoration Scripture to Understand the Bible” in Scripture Study Skills.
Learning Activity Options
Multiple learning options are provided for you and your students. Prayerfully choose which option or options will be most meaningful for your class.
Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:22–23, 27–33, 37–40
What if I feel anxious about the signs of the Lord’s Second Coming?
Consider displaying one or more of the following pictures of the Savior’s Second Coming. Invite students to imagine and share what it will be like to see Him return. Then have students record any questions or concerns they have about the Second Coming.
He Comes Again to Rule and Reign, by Mary Sauer
Illustration by Kevin Keele
The Second Coming, by Harry Anderson
Explain that during the last week of the Savior’s life, His Apostles had questions about His return to the earth (see Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:4). As students study the Savior’s response to His Apostles, invite them to look for possible answers to their own questions and concerns.
Note: Joseph Smith—Matthew, found in the Pearl of Great Price, is Joseph Smith’s inspired translation, or revision, of Matthew 24. It may help to read “What can we learn from Joseph Smith—Matthew?” in Scripture Helps: New Testament so students can understand how the Joseph Smith Translation brings greater clarity to Matthew 24. (See the skill “Using Restoration Scripture to Understand the Bible” in Scripture Study Skills.)
Invite students to study Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:22–23, 27–33 on their own or with a partner. Invite them to look for signs the Savior said will precede His Second Coming. When students have finished reading the verses, invite them to share the signs they found. You could list the signs on the board and ask the following questions:
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Why might some of these signs leave us feeling anxious or distressed?
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Why do you think the Savior shared these signs? (If needed, have students review verses 22–23 so they can identify a truth like the following: The Savior revealed the signs preceding His Second Coming so His covenant people will not be troubled.) To learn more about who the elect are, see “Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:22. Who are the ‘elect according to the covenant?’” in Scripture Helps: New Testament.
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What does knowing that Jesus Christ revealed these signs long before His Second Coming teach you about Him?
To help students feel greater peace about the events that will occur before the Savior’s Second Coming, invite them to complete the following activity in small groups. Display the following or provide it as a handout:
Consider concluding the activity by sharing the following statement by President Russell M. Nelson:
My dear brothers and sisters, so many wonderful things are ahead. In coming days, we will see the greatest manifestations of the Savior’s power that the world has ever seen. Between now and the time He returns “with power and great glory” [Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:36], He will bestow countless privileges, blessings, and miracles upon the faithful. (“Overcome the World and Find Rest,” Liahona, Nov. 2022, 95)
Invite students to think about spiritual impressions they had as they studied and discussed these truths. Encourage them to record and act upon their impressions.
How can I prepare for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ?
You might begin by asking students to list what they think are the most important things they are doing in their lives. Then share the following statement from Elder D. Todd Christofferson:
It is supremely important to prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. (“Preparing for the Lord’s Return,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2019, 81)
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Why do you think preparing the world for the Savior’s Second Coming is “supremely important”?
Invite students to ponder how often they think about preparing themselves and others for the Savior’s Second Coming. Explain that in Matthew 25, the Savior taught three parables that teach us how we can prepare for His Second Coming.
Consider distributing the handout “Parables about Preparing for the Savior’s Second Coming” and organizing the class into small groups. Assign one of the parables to each group, and invite students to work together to complete the handout. If needed, you could study one of the parables together as a class to demonstrate how students can complete the steps listed on the handout.
Improving Our Teaching and Learning
Discern how to help with small group discussions. When students work in small groups, observe interactions and discern when it may be important for you to assist. This could include offering guidance, encouragement, and insight.
After students have had sufficient time to study, invite each group to write on the board the truth they identified. Students may identify truths like the following:
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I can prepare for the Savior’s Second Coming by consistently striving to increase my testimony of and conversion to Jesus Christ (see Matthew 25:1–13).
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I can prepare for the Savior’s Second Coming by faithfully using the gifts and abilities God has given me (see Matthew 25:14–30).
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I can prepare for the Savior’s Second Coming by loving and serving others (see Matthew 25:31–46).
Invite students to discuss how applying the truth they identified can help prepare us for the Lord’s Second Coming. As they share, consider if any of the following questions can deepen their understanding:
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When have you seen this principle in action?
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How can living this principle increase your desire for the Savior’s return?
Give students time to record something they will do to prepare themselves for the Lord’s return. If time permits, you might ask a few willing students to share with the class what they wrote.
What can I offer the Lord?
Consider writing the following statement on the board: I don’t have much to offer.
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What can cause us to feel this way?
Invite students to think about when they may have felt this way. They could record their experience. Encourage students to record any impressions from the Holy Ghost as they study the story of the widow’s mite.
You could display the following picture. Explain that during the Savior’s time, one of the temple courtyards contained chests where people could make monetary offerings to the temple treasury. A mite was a small copper coin and was a very small amount of money (see “Mark 12:41–44. What was a mite?” in Scripture Helps: New Testament).
Invite students to read Mark 12:41–44 or watch “Jesus Teaches about the Widow’s Mites” (1:14). Have them look for how the Lord evaluated the widow’s offerings.
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What did this account teach you about how the Lord views our offerings? (Students may identify a principle like the following: The Lord accepts and values our offerings when we willingly give what we have to Him.)
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What are different types of offerings we can give to the Lord? (Help students identify examples of small and simple things.)
Consider sharing the following statement by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf:
With this simple observation [of the widow giving two mites], the Savior taught us how offerings are measured in His kingdom—and it’s quite different from the way we usually measure things. To the Lord, the value of the donation was measured not by the effect it had on the treasury but by the effect it had on the heart of the donor. (“Our Heartfelt All,” Liahona, May 2022, 122)
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How can remembering how the Savior measures your offerings impact your actions?
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When have you felt the Lord’s approval for an offering you made to Him? How did it affect you?
Invite students to think of an offering they could give to the Lord. Invite them to act on promptings they have.