Opening question
Think of a moment when your circumstances changed dramatically, maybe even within the same day. You don't need to share the details. But what did that sudden shift feel like, and what was the first thing you reached for?
Relief Society · Elders Quorum · 25 minutes
Best Days and Worst DaysRelief Society & Elders Quorum lesson
President Emily Belle Freeman · Young Women General President · Sunday Morning Session
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A 25-minute class
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Peter's story, and President Freeman's own, teaches us that Christ stays within reaching distance on both our best and worst days, and that our hardest days do not cancel His promises.
Skip reading all five For the Strength of Youth excerpts aloud; choose one or two and let discussion carry the rest of the time.
0–2Open2–5Hook5–20Discuss20–23Apply23–25Testify
Before Sunday
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Sunday's lesson: what do you do when your best day turns into your worst?
President Emily Belle Freeman shares what happened when she and her husband were planning their daughter's wedding and received a devastating cancer diagnosis on the same day. She then walks through Peter's story, walking on water, denying the Savior, then being called to feed His sheep, to show how testimony is built across both best days and worst days. Before Sunday, think of a time when circumstances shifted suddenly and unexpectedly in your life. What helped you hold on?
Pick one opening
Opening question
Think of a moment when your circumstances changed dramatically, maybe even within the same day. You don't need to share the details. But what did that sudden shift feel like, and what was the first thing you reached for?
Story hook
President Freeman opens her talk with this: she and her husband were deep in the joy of planning their daughter's wedding, dreaming, brainstorming, excited, when the phone rang. It was the oncologist. Greg's cancer had returned. She writes: 'Isn't it amazing how you can go from best day to worst day in a matter of minutes?' That's where her talk begins. And it's where ours does too.
Teach this first
Christ is within reaching distance, on the worst days, not just the best
When Peter stepped out of the boat and began to sink, Jesus was not watching from the shore or calling advice from the safety of the boat. He was in the water with Peter, within reaching distance. President Freeman teaches that on our worst days, when we feel unequal to what we've been asked to do, the same is true for us. Christ is present, not distant.
President Freeman asks: 'Notice where Jesus was when Peter accepted the invitation that seemed too big. He wasn't shouting instructions from the shore … He was in the water, with Peter. Within reaching distance.'
Ask the class
- 1.When have you felt like Peter, you accepted an invitation from the Lord and then started to sink? Where did you find Christ in that moment?
- 2.President Freeman says Christ stays within reaching distance on both our best days and our worst. What has helped you remember that when circumstances make it hard to feel His presence?
If time remains
Hard days don't erase His promises, they fulfill them
History could tell Peter's story only through his failures, denying Christ, nearly drowning, opposing the Father's plan. But Peter also walked on water, bore the first apostolic witness of Christ's identity, and received keys to lead the Church. President Freeman invites us to consider that it may have taken both the worst days and the best days for Peter to become who the Lord needed him to become.
Ask the class
- 1.When you look back on a difficult season in your life, what did you gain, in faith, in character, in your relationship with Christ, that you might not have gained any other way?
Counsel together
Quorum / Relief Society business
- •As a quorum or Relief Society, how do we actually show up for each other when someone is in a worst-day season, not just with words, but in ways that put us in the water with them?
- •President Freeman turned to the For the Strength of Youth guide during a family crisis. What resources or habits have you found that genuinely help you find Christ when you most need Him?
Last 3–5 minutes
Close
This week, on whatever kind of day you're having, open the For the Strength of Youth guide to one of the sections President Freeman quoted and sit with it for a few minutes, not as a list of rules, but as a guide for finding strength in Christ.
President Freeman promises: 'Because of Him, no matter how bad things are right now, your best days are ahead.'
Your witness: Share briefly what you personally believe about Christ's presence in hard seasons, not what you hope is true, but what you know or are coming to know.