Hungry or Fasting?
From “A Higher and Holier Fast,” by Elder Ulisses Soares · Saturday morning session, October 2026 General Conference
The big idea
Fasting is more than skipping meals: with real prayer and generosity it brings us closer to Jesus Christ and gives us strength we do not have on our own.
Objective
Youth will be able to explain the difference between going hungry and fasting, and will design their own plan for the next fast Sunday.
Before you teach
- Read Elder Soares’s talk and Isaiah 58:6–11.
- Bring a slip of paper and a pen for each person, plus a few extra sheets for teams.
- Write on the board: Going hungry / Fasting, as two column headings.
- Ask the youth to bring scriptures or to have Gospel Library open on their phones.
- Be gentle: some youth cannot safely go without food. Keep the focus on worship, prayer, and giving, and leave how each person fasts to them, their parents, and the Lord.
Lesson plan
Thirty minutes in 6 parts. Times are a guide; let the Spirit and the learners set the pace.
One honest word
- As soon as class begins, hand out slips of paper. Ask everyone to write one honest word for how fast Sunday usually feels. No names.
- Collect the slips and read several aloud without comment. Smile at the honest ones.
- Point to the two columns on the board and ask the question. Take quick answers and write them under each heading.
- Say that Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles invited us to live this law in a higher and holier way. Today we find out what that looks like.
- If two people skip the same two meals, what makes one of them hungry and the other one fasting?
Promise hunt
- Offer a short prayer if you have not yet. Then form teams of two or three and give each team a sheet of paper.
- Set a timer for three minutes. Teams search Isaiah 58:8–11 and list every promise the Lord makes to those who fast His way. The longest accurate list wins.
- Have the winning team read their list. Other teams add anything missed.
- Ask each person to pick the one promise they most want right now and tell their team why.
- Which promise would make the biggest difference in your life this month?
What makes it a fast
- Read Isaiah 58:6–7 aloud. Ask: according to these verses, who else is a fast supposed to help?
- Read the first key quote (a sincere and faithful fast). Write on the board under Fasting: a purpose, real prayer, generous giving.
- Read the words of President Joseph F. Smith that Elder Soares quoted, listed under aligned quotes. Ask the first question.
- Explain fast offerings simply: we give what we can to help people in need. Elder Soares taught that even offerings that seem small and simple become expressions of compassion, and that we can consecrate both our means and our time.
- What does it mean for your spirit to be in charge of your body? Where else in your life would that help?
- Praying while fasting can feel different from a normal prayer. Why do you think that is?
What if nothing changes?
- In pairs, skim Matthew 4:1–11. Ask pairs to notice what the Savior did before His ministry began and what He was able to do afterward.
- Read the second key quote (fasting and prayer may not remove every burden).
- Say that it is fair to ask what happens when we fast for something and it does not turn out the way we hoped. Read the third key quote (even when answers do not come) and then Elder Dunn’s words, listed under aligned quotes.
- Ask the question. Let them answer honestly. Do not rush to fix every answer.
- Elder Soares says fasting is more than a petition for specific blessings. If that is true, what is a fast for?
Design your fast
- Hand out fresh slips of paper. Each person designs their next fast in three lines: my purpose (who or what I am fasting for), my prayers (when I will pray to start and to end), my giving (something generous I will do with my own money or time).
- Give three minutes of quiet writing. Write your own plan while they write.
- Invite them to share one line of their plan with a partner.
- Check for understanding: ask each person to write, in one sentence a friend at school would understand, why members of the Church of Jesus Christ fast. Invite two or three to read theirs.
Invitation and promise
- Read Elder Soares’s invitation, listed below. Then read the promise that follows it (the fourth key quote).
- Invite them to take a photo of their plan or put it where they will see it on the next fast Sunday.
- Follow up: on the Sunday after the next fast Sunday, start class by asking what was different this time.
Key passages from the talk
“A sincere and faithful fast is accompanied by earnest and intentional prayer.”
“His example teaches us that fasting and prayer may not remove every burden from our path, but they draw heaven near and endow us with divine power to overcome or endure whatever circumstances we may face”
“Even when answers do not come in the way we expect, fasting and prayer help us develop greater confidence in the Lord, in our covenants with Him, and in His plan for our lives, as well as a deeper willingness to accept His will.”
“As you do so, I promise, in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, that miracles will come into your life. You will draw nearer to the Savior, receive strength to overcome your weaknesses, and become more sensitive to the needs of others.”
The speaker’s direct invitation
“I invite you to prayerfully ponder Isaiah’s teachings and more intentionally embrace the divine purpose of the law of the fast in a higher and holier way as part of our worship.”
Scriptures
- Isaiah 58:8–11 Promise hunt: teams have three minutes to list every promise the Lord makes; then each person chooses the one they most want.
- Isaiah 58:6–7 Read aloud; ask who else a fast is supposed to help.
- Matthew 4:1–11 Skim in pairs; notice what the Savior did before His ministry began and what He was able to do afterward.
Other voices that agree
“would … place the body in subjection to the spirit, and so promote communion with the Holy Ghost”
“Peace will come even when hoped-for outcomes do not.”
Three things to remember
- Fasting without prayer is just going hungry.
- Fasting and prayer bring heaven close and give me strength, even when the problem stays.
- My fast is also for someone else: I give to help people in need.
Ways to act this week
- Follow your three-line plan on the next fast Sunday: a purpose, a prayer to start and to end, and something generous.
- Read Isaiah 58:6–11 on your phone the night before and choose one promise to look for.
- Give a fast offering from your own money, even if it is small, or give an hour of your time to someone who needs it.
- Afterward, write down one thing you felt or noticed, and be ready to share it in class.
Suggestions written for this lesson, not the speaker’s words.
Music
- I Need Thee Every Hour
Adapting the lesson
- At home: do the promise hunt as parents against youth, then write one plan together for a family fast.
- Small class: skip teams and do the promise hunt as one group racing the timer.
- Short on time: keep the opening word, the promise hunt, and the three-line plan.
This lesson is an independent study aid written for this site. It is not an official lesson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Quotations are word for word from the official talk; paragraph numbers count the paragraphs of the talk as published at churchofjesuschrist.org, not counting headings or picture captions. The activities, questions and ideas for acting are suggestions; follow the Spirit and adapt them to those you teach.