Young Women · Aaronic Priesthood · 25 minutes
Chapter 9: You are blessed by priesthood keys and authority · Matthew 16:18–19
Recommended path
Open Gospel Library as you teach. Mix and match below to build one 25-minute class.
This class in one line
Priesthood keys were restored through heavenly messengers so that every covenant, every calling, and every ordinance you receive is genuinely authorized by Jesus Christ.
Skip the full five-row scripture table as a group read-through; instead do rows 1 and 5 together out loud and let the others be personal study later.
If a youth is teaching
Open this Sunday's lesson on your phone before class starts, you'll use the keys analogy to open and the scripture table to anchor the middle. Start with the object lesson (keys question), do the two scripture rows together out loud, then ask one of the big discussion questions and let the class carry it. Skip trying to cover every row in the table; two rows done well is plenty. Close by opening Chapter 9 invitations and giving everyone thirty seconds to pick one.
Before Sunday
Sunday prep: Who gave Joseph the keys?
This Sunday we're asking a big question: how do we know the ordinances we receive are actually authorized by God? Before class, open Chapter 9 of the For the Strength of Youth guide (Gospel Library → Magazines → For the Strength of Youth → Chapter 9) and read the section called 'Eternal Truths.' Also open this Sunday's lesson and look at the scripture table listing heavenly messengers. Ponder: what difference does it make to you personally that priesthood keys were restored, not invented, by real messengers?
Pick one opening
Before anyone opens anything, ask: 'Think of a time you were given a responsibility at church, a calling, an assignment, a task during sacrament meeting. How did it feel to be trusted with that?' Let two or three people share briefly. Then say: 'Today we're going to dig into where that trust actually comes from, and why it matters that it traces all the way back to Jesus Christ.' Now open this Sunday's lesson in Gospel Library.
Before anyone opens anything, ask: 'Think of a time you were given a responsibility at church, a calling, an assignment, a task during sacrament meeting. How did it feel to be trusted with that?' Let two or three people share briefly. Then say: 'Today we're going to dig into where that trust actually comes from, and why it matters that it traces all the way back to Jesus Christ.' Now open this Sunday's lesson in Gospel Library.
Hold up your car keys (or any set of keys). Ask: 'What can I do with these that I can't do without them?' Take one or two answers. Then open this Sunday's lesson in Gospel Library and have someone read the description of priesthood keys out loud, the sentence that begins 'Priesthood authority and priesthood keys start the engine…' Ask: 'Why can't you just take your neighbor's car without their keys? What does that comparison teach you about how the Lord protects His authority?' Let the class respond before moving on.
Teach this first
The central truth today is that priesthood authority didn't restart with Joseph Smith guessing, it was handed to him by actual heavenly messengers who held those keys. Open Chapter 9 of the FSY guide and have someone read the paragraph beginning 'Jesus Christ has restored His priesthood in our day', specifically the sentence listing John the Baptist, Peter, Moses, Elias, and Elijah. Then open this Sunday's lesson and do two rows of the scripture table together out loud: Doctrine and Covenants 13:1 (John the Baptist, Aaronic Priesthood keys) and Doctrine and Covenants 110:13–16 (Elijah, the sealing keys). Ask the class what they notice about the pattern.
From the FSY guide, Chapter 9: 'Adam, Moses, Peter, and many other prophets throughout history received priesthood keys. In our day, Joseph Smith received priesthood keys from John the Baptist, Peter, Moses, Elias, Elijah, and others.'
Ask the class
If time remains
Open this Sunday's lesson to the section on delegated priesthood authority. Have someone read the question 'What does it mean to represent God and act in His name?' Then connect it to the FSY guide's invitation to 'accept Church callings and serve faithfully', the guide teaches that when you are set apart, you receive authority from God for that role.
Ask the class
Last 3–5 minutes
Open Chapter 9 of the FSY guide to the 'Invitations' section. Ask the class to read the three invitations silently and choose one to act on this week, accepting a calling, sustaining a leader in a specific new way, or fulfilling an assignment as an act of discipleship. Let them sit with that for a moment before closing.
The FSY guide promises: 'As you serve the Lord with His authority and under the direction of His servants who hold priesthood keys, He will help you know how to serve others in His work. Jesus Christ is your strength.'
Your witness: Share, in your own words, a moment when you felt that a church calling or ordinance was more than a human program, when it felt genuinely authorized by God. Let that be your witness.