Before You Teach
A prep snapshot before the full lesson flow.
Hosea preached to the Northern Kingdom of Israel in its last decades, before Assyria destroyed it in 722 BC. Joel called Judah to repent after locusts and drought wiped out the harvest. The Lord told Hosea to marry Gomer, who was unfaithful to him, and then to bring her back. Their marriage showed Israel how it had broken its covenant and how the Lord still offered to redeem it. Joel adds two things: repentance has to be real on the inside, and the Lord promises to pour out His Spirit on everyone.
Israel is rich under Jeroboam II, and it is mixing worship of the Lord with Baal, the Canaanite storm god people thought sent the rain. Hosea's marriage becomes a living message. Gomer leaves, and the Lord compares Israel to a wife who thanks other lovers for gifts her husband gave (Hosea 2:8). Hosea names his children "not pitied" and "not my people." Later the Lord reverses those names, and Hosea buys Gomer back (Hosea 3:2). Israel keeps up its sacrifices, but its goodness vanishes "as the early dew" (Hosea 6:4). Through all of it the Lord cries, "How shall I give thee up, Ephraim?" (Hosea 11:8), and the book closes with "I will love them freely" (Hosea 14:4). In Judah, locusts end the grain and drink offerings at the temple. Joel calls for a fast and asks the people to rend their hearts. Then the Lord promises to restore what the locusts ate and to pour out His Spirit, a prophecy Moroni quoted to Joseph Smith (Joseph Smith, History 1:41).
The Hebrew idea behind "lovingkindness" in Hosea 2:19 is hesed: loyal love that keeps a covenant even after the other side has broken it. "Love them freely" (Hosea 14:4) means the love is a gift, not a payment Israel earned. A teenager who blew it on Saturday night can still return on Sunday because the Lord's covenant love is still there. The Book of Mormon says the same thing: "As often as my people repent will I forgive them their trespasses against me" (Mosiah 26:30).
If the room is ready, use Elder David A. Bednar: "We seem to believe that the Holy Ghost is dramatic and big and sudden, when it's still and small and incremental over time" (evening with a General Authority, Feb. 7, 2020).
Teens are learning who they are while also learning to manage how they look. Hosea and Joel speak to both. The Lord does not give up on them when they fail, and He cares more about their hearts than about how they look in front of others.
Full Lesson Flow
Use the sections below as a menu. Swap cards and activities to keep the class interactive.
Pick one opener to start class.
Opener options
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Say: "Stand up if you think this is true: if someone keeps breaking promises to you, at some point you're allowed to be done with them." Let them stand or stay seated, then ask two people on each side why they chose it. Then say: "This week a prophet's wife breaks her marriage covenant, and God tells him to go get her back. God says that's how He feels about Israel." Leave the question open. The chapters will answer it.
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Say: "Stand up if you think this is true: if someone keeps breaking promises to you, at some point you're allowed to be done with them." Let them stand or stay seated, then ask two people on each side why they chose it. Then say: "This week a prophet's wife breaks her marriage covenant, and God tells him to go get her back. God says that's how He feels about Israel." Leave the question open. The chapters will answer it.
"Would you rather have a friend who shows up to everything but never listens, or one who misses half your stuff but means it when they're there?" Take a quick hand vote. Ask: "Which one do you think God would rather we be with Him?" Point them to Hosea 6:6 for later.
Hold up an old T-shirt and rip it down the front. In Joel's day, tearing your clothes in front of everyone showed you were sorry. Ask: "Can someone rip their shirt and not be sorry at all?" Then read Joel 2:13 aloud: "Rend your heart, and not your garments."
Paths
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Set the scene first. Israel has been thanking Baal for the grain, wine, and oil the Lord gave it (Hosea 2:8). In covenant terms, that is like cheating on a spouse. Have a student read Hosea 2:14–15 aloud, then 2:19:
I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.
Ask: "What do you notice about who keeps saying 'I will'?" Israel does none of the promising here; the Lord does all of it. Point out the valley of Achor in verse 15, which God makes "a door of hope." Then jump to the end of the book:
I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely. (Hosea 14:4)
Turn and talk: "What's the difference between being loved freely and being loved if you earn it? Which one do most people your age think God offers?"
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Set the scene first. Israel has been thanking Baal for the grain, wine, and oil the Lord gave it (Hosea 2:8). In covenant terms, that is like cheating on a spouse. Have a student read Hosea 2:14–15 aloud, then 2:19:
I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.
Ask: "What do you notice about who keeps saying 'I will'?" Israel does none of the promising here; the Lord does all of it. Point out the valley of Achor in verse 15, which God makes "a door of hope." Then jump to the end of the book:
I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely. (Hosea 14:4)
Turn and talk: "What's the difference between being loved freely and being loved if you earn it? Which one do most people your age think God offers?"
Israel is still offering sacrifices, so Hosea's people look religious. Read:
O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? … your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away. (Hosea 6:4)
I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. (Hosea 6:6)
Ask: "Morning dew is gone by 10 a.m. What does dew-goodness look like at your school?" Then read Joel 2:13: "Rend your heart, and not your garments: and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness." Ask: "Why would Joel tell people to turn back right after describing how kind God is?" The order matters. People come back because the Lord is kind.
The Lord promises to "pour out my spirit upon all flesh," including "your sons and your daughters." Moroni quoted this chapter to Joseph Smith in 1823 and said it would soon be fulfilled (Joseph Smith, History 1:41). Ask: "Replace 'your sons and your daughters' with the names of people in this room. Does it still sound true?"
Talking points
Hosea's marriage teaches this in a way Israel couldn't miss. The Lord renamed "not my people" as "my people" (Hosea 2:23). He also asked, "How shall I give thee up, Ephraim?" (Hosea 11:8). Because His love comes as a gift, our mistakes do not shut the door; staying away is what keeps us outside. Ask: "What makes coming back harder than leaving was?"
Hosea's marriage teaches this in a way Israel couldn't miss. The Lord renamed "not my people" as "my people" (Hosea 2:23). He also asked, "How shall I give thee up, Ephraim?" (Hosea 11:8). Because His love comes as a gift, our mistakes do not shut the door; staying away is what keeps us outside. Ask: "What makes coming back harder than leaving was?"
Israel kept its rituals while its loyalty evaporated. The Savior later quoted Hosea 6:6 to people who criticized Him for eating with sinners (Matthew 9:13). Church attendance and seminary still matter, and they mean something to the Lord when a changed heart is behind them. Ask: "Where is it easiest for you to perform instead of mean it?"
President Russell M. Nelson taught: "In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost" (April 2018). Elder Bednar added that the Spirit is "still and small and incremental over time." Ask: "If you expected fireworks, what quiet promptings might you have missed this month?"
Activity options
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Say: "Jake's been drifting from church for six months. He did some things he's embarrassed about. His friend invites him to youth night, and Jake says, 'God's probably done with me.'" In pairs, students write what they would tell Jake using one verse from Hosea. Give them three minutes, then let two pairs share. Debrief: "Which verse would be hardest for Jake to believe, and why?"
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Say: "Jake's been drifting from church for six months. He did some things he's embarrassed about. His friend invites him to youth night, and Jake says, 'God's probably done with me.'" In pairs, students write what they would tell Jake using one verse from Hosea. Give them three minutes, then let two pairs share. Debrief: "Which verse would be hardest for Jake to believe, and why?"
Two volunteers act it out. One is a teen who just apologized to their parent by saying "sorry" with zero eye contact. The other is the parent. Run it once that way. Then run it again with a rent heart. Debrief: "What changed between the two takes, and could you see it?"
Everyone writes privately: "One thing in my religious life that's more garment than heart right now is…" No sharing required. Debrief: "Without telling us what you wrote, how hard was it to name?"
Israel cheated on God, and God bought them back anyway. Judah's harvest was eaten by bugs, and God promised to restore "the years that the locust hath eaten" and then pour out His Spirit on their sons and daughters. Neither prophet tells people to get it all together first. Both tell them to turn around, because the Lord is "gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness" (Joel 2:13).
This week, pick one thing you already do at church or at home, like a prayer, a hymn, or the sacrament, and do it once on purpose, meaning it.