FOR YOUNG MEN & YOUNG WOMEN LEADERS
For the Strength of Youth Discussion Guides
Simple, Christ-centered discussion guides designed to help leaders and students prepare in about 15 minutes and lead a meaningful 25-minute class.
Why These Guides?
Meaningful discussion without hours of preparation
Young Men and Young Women leaders have a simple but important responsibility: help youth discover gospel truth, talk about what it means in their lives, and act on what they learn.
For the Strength of Youth Discussion Guides are designed to complement the Church's curriculum by giving leaders a simple path through each weekly lesson—without overcomplicating preparation.
Each guide helps you move naturally from discovery → understanding → application, while keeping Jesus Christ at the center of the discussion.
What’s Inside?
Everything you need to guide the conversation
READINESS IDEA
A simple way to begin and get youth participating.
QUICK BACKGROUND
Just enough context to help you confidently introduce the lesson.
SUPPORTING SCRIPTURES
Carefully selected verses that keep the discussion rooted in the word of God.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Discovery, understanding, and application questions designed to get youth talking.
PROPHETIC TEACHING
Selected statements from Church leaders that reinforce the lesson.
WEEKLY INVITATION
A simple way for youth to act on what they discovered.
SUGGESTIONS FOR NEXT WEEK
Simple ideas to help your youth become more involved in the discussion.
Browse the Discussion Guides
Learn More About Studying the Scriptures
This For the Strength of Youth Discussion Guide helps Young Men and Young Women leaders prepare for November Week 2 and lead a meaningful, Christ-centered discussion in about 25 minutes.
This week’s lesson, Learn More About Studying the Scriptures, helps youth move beyond simply reading scripture as a habit or assignment and begin recognizing the power of the word of God in their everyday lives.
Youth will study why Heavenly Father has given us the scriptures, what it means to hold tightly to the word of God, and how His word can bring greater light, direction, spiritual strength, and protection. Using Lehi’s vision of the iron rod, the lesson helps youth consider an important question: What happens when the scriptures become something I actually hold onto rather than simply something I occasionally read?
Rather than providing a long scripted lesson, this guide gives leaders a simple path for helping youth experience what the scriptures can actually do. The discussion draws on prophetic teachings about the power of God’s word, including its ability to strengthen faith, resist temptation, provide direction, and illuminate the next step when we cannot yet see the whole path.
Inside this guide:
Two simple readiness activities
Brief teacher preparation and doctrinal background
Three study paths based on the Church’s weekly questions
Supporting scriptures and prophetic insights
Discovery, understanding, and application questions
A ready-to-use conversation guide
Journal/application ideas
Josh’s Teaching Tip
A Temple Connection
A simple weekly invitation
Additional teaching ideas
A one-page Teach This in 25 Minutes lesson path
Designed for: Young Men advisers, Young Women leaders, bishopric members, and others teaching the Church’s For the Strength of Youth curriculum.
Preparation is intentionally simple. A leader should be able to review the guide in about 15 minutes and feel prepared to lead a thoughtful 25-minute discussion without building a lesson from scratch.
The goal this week is simple: help youth understand that the scriptures are more than words to read—they contain the word of God, which can bring light, revelation, strength, and power into their lives as they learn to hold fast to it.
The Truth Will Make You Free
This For the Strength of Youth Discussion Guide helps Young Men and Young Women leaders prepare for November Week 1 and lead a meaningful, Christ-centered discussion in about 25 minutes.
November begins with the chapter Truth Will Make You Free and the Savior’s promise: “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). This first lesson introduces the month by helping youth explore what loving truth looks like in everyday discipleship.
Youth will study three Eternal Truths: Heavenly Father wants His sons and daughters to always be learning, living with integrity means loving what is right more than comfort or popularity, and every disciple already has something precious to share because of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Rather than providing a long scripted lesson, this guide gives leaders a simple path for helping youth connect learning, honesty, integrity, courage, and sharing truth with the kind of disciple they are becoming. It also helps leaders move beyond rules and behaviors to a deeper question: What does it mean to become someone who truly loves truth?
Inside this guide:
Two simple readiness activities
Brief teacher preparation and doctrinal background
Three study paths built around the chapter’s Eternal Truths
Supporting scriptures and prophetic insights
Discovery, understanding, and application questions
A ready-to-use conversation guide
Journal/application ideas
Josh’s Teaching Tip
A Temple Connection
A simple weekly invitation
Additional teaching ideas
A one-page Teach This in 25 Minutes lesson path
Designed for: Young Men advisers, Young Women leaders, bishopric members, and others teaching the Church’s For the Strength of Youth curriculum.
Preparation is intentionally simple. A leader should be able to review the guide in about 15 minutes and feel prepared to lead a thoughtful 25-minute discussion without building a lesson from scratch.
The goal this week is simple: help youth understand that truth is more than something they know—it should shape the way they learn, the way they live when no one is watching, and the courage and love with which they stand for Jesus Christ.
Becoming a Covenant Daughter or Son of God
This For the Strength of Youth Discussion Guide helps Young Men and Young Women leaders prepare for October Week 4 and lead a meaningful, Christ-centered discussion in about 25 minutes.
This final October lesson brings the month’s study of Your Body Is Sacred back to covenant identity and discipleship. After studying the sacredness of the body, the Word of Wisdom, and the law of chastity, youth are invited to consider a larger question: What kind of covenant son or daughter am I becoming?
The guide follows the Church’s separate study paths for Young Women and Aaronic Priesthood quorums while keeping everything together in one easy-to-use resource. Young Women study Doctrine and Covenants 25 and Proverbs 31:10–31 to explore what it means to “walk in the paths of virtue” and recognize that virtue is much more than one standard—it is a pattern of faithful covenant living. Young Men study Alma 53 and Alma 56 and the example of the stripling warriors, who were courageous, trustworthy, and “true at all times” in whatever they were entrusted.
Rather than providing a long scripted lesson, this guide gives leaders a simple path for helping youth connect virtue, humility, courage, trustworthiness, and covenant keeping with the way they live every day—and recognize that Jesus Christ gives them power to become more than they could become through willpower alone.
Inside this guide:
Two simple readiness activities
Brief teacher preparation and doctrinal background
Separate Young Women and Aaronic Priesthood study paths
Supporting scriptures and prophetic insights
Discovery, understanding, and application questions
A ready-to-use conversation guide
Journal/application ideas
Josh’s Teaching Tip
A Temple Connection
A simple weekly invitation
Additional teaching ideas
A one-page Teach This in 25 Minutes lesson path
Designed for: Young Men advisers, Young Women leaders, bishopric members, and others teaching the Church’s For the Strength of Youth curriculum.
Preparation is intentionally simple. A leader should be able to review the guide in about 15 minutes and feel prepared to lead a thoughtful 25-minute discussion without building a lesson from scratch.
The goal this week is simple: help youth understand that covenant identity is more than knowing who they are—it should become visible in the kind of faithful, virtuous, courageous, and trustworthy disciples of Jesus Christ they are becoming.
Learn More About the Law of Chastity
This For the Strength of Youth Discussion Guide helps Young Men and Young Women leaders prepare for October Week 3 and lead a meaningful, Christ-centered discussion in about 25 minutes.
This week helps youth understand that the law of chastity is about much more than avoiding sexual sin. It teaches us to treat sexual feelings and the power to create life as sacred gifts from God—with purity, self-control, trust, and covenant love. Youth also learn an equally important truth: when someone falls short, Jesus Christ provides a real way to repent, be forgiven, heal, and move forward.
Using Articles of Faith 1:13, Doctrine and Covenants 121:45, Genesis 39:7–12, Alma 39, and Alma 42, youth explore chastity through three Church-aligned questions: How can I be chaste in my thoughts? How can I practice chastity in my actions? Can a person be forgiven after breaking the law of chastity?
The guide helps youth think practically about media choices, technology, wise boundaries, self-control, and becoming people who can be trusted. Joseph of Egypt provides a powerful example of making decisions before temptation becomes overwhelming, while Corianton’s story teaches that serious mistakes do not have to become a permanent identity.
Rather than providing a long scripted lesson, this guide gives leaders a simple path for helping youth protect what God has made sacred, make wise choices before difficult moments arise, and turn toward Jesus Christ—not away from Him—when they need strength or repentance.
Inside this guide:
Two simple readiness activities
Brief teacher preparation and doctrinal background
Three Church-aligned study paths
Supporting scriptures and prophetic insights
Discovery, understanding, and application questions
A ready-to-use conversation guide
Journal/application ideas
Josh’s Teaching Tip
A Temple Connection
A simple weekly invitation
Additional teaching ideas and analogies
A one-page Teach This in 25 Minutes lesson path
Designed for: Young Men advisers, Young Women leaders, bishopric members, and others teaching the Church’s For the Strength of Youth curriculum.
Preparation is intentionally simple. A leader should be able to review the guide in about 15 minutes and feel prepared to lead a thoughtful 25-minute discussion without building a lesson from scratch.
The goal this week is simple: help youth see that chastity is not about fear or shame—it is about protecting something sacred, becoming trustworthy covenant disciples, and knowing that Jesus Christ offers both the power to live His standard and complete hope when we need to begin again.
Learn More About the Word of Wisdom
This For the Strength of Youth Discussion Guide helps Young Men and Young Women leaders prepare for October Week 2 and lead a meaningful, Christ-centered discussion in about 25 minutes.
This week helps youth move beyond seeing the Word of Wisdom as simply a list of things they cannot consume and consider a deeper question: How can the choices I make with my body strengthen my freedom, my spiritual sensitivity, and my ability to hear God?
Using Doctrine and Covenants 89, Doctrine and Covenants 29:34, and Daniel 1, youth explore why the Lord calls the Word of Wisdom a “principle with promise.” They discover that its blessings include more than physical health. The Lord also promises wisdom, knowledge, strength, protection, and greater spiritual capacity.
The guide helps youth consider how the Word of Wisdom protects agency as well as health. Rather than waiting for a rule about every new product, substance, or habit, youth are invited to apply gospel principles by asking: Does this strengthen me? Does it protect my agency? Does it help me stay spiritually receptive?
Rather than providing a long scripted lesson, this guide gives leaders a simple discussion path for helping youth discover the principle, recognize the Lord’s promises, connect physical choices with spiritual strength, and see the Word of Wisdom as a law of freedom rather than merely restriction.
Inside this guide:
Two simple readiness activities
Brief teacher preparation and doctrinal background
Three Church-aligned study paths
Supporting scriptures and prophetic insights
Discovery, understanding, and application questions
A ready-to-use conversation guide
Journal/application ideas
Josh’s Teaching Tip
A Temple Connection
A simple weekly invitation
Additional teaching ideas and analogies
A one-page Teach This in 25 Minutes lesson path
Designed for: Young Men advisers, Young Women leaders, bishopric members, and others teaching the Church’s For the Strength of Youth curriculum.
Preparation is intentionally simple. A leader should be able to review the guide in about 15 minutes and feel prepared to lead a thoughtful 25-minute discussion without building a lesson from scratch.
The goal this week is simple: help youth see that the Word of Wisdom is not merely about avoiding harmful substances—it is one of the ways Heavenly Father protects their bodies, their agency, and their ability to hear and follow Him.
Your Body Is Sacred
This For the Strength of Youth Discussion Guide helps Young Men and Young Women leaders prepare for October Week 1 and lead a meaningful, Christ-centered discussion in about 25 minutes.
This first October lesson introduces the monthly theme Your Body Is Sacred and helps youth consider a foundational question: How would I treat my body if I truly saw it as a sacred gift from God?
Using 1 Corinthians 6:18–20 and the Church’s three Eternal Truths from For the Strength of Youth, youth explore what it means to see the body from Heavenly Father’s perspective. The discussion helps them understand that the body is part of their eternal identity, that physical and spiritual well-being are connected, and that respecting the body is ultimately an expression of gratitude, stewardship, and discipleship.
Rather than providing a long scripted lesson, this guide gives leaders a simple path for helping youth discover the doctrine, talk honestly about how teenagers experience body image and physical stewardship, and connect the sacredness of the body back to Jesus Christ.
The guide also helps leaders keep the discussion positive and principle-centered. The goal is not to create anxiety about appearance or perfection, but to help youth recognize the dignity, purpose, and divine potential Heavenly Father has placed within them.
Inside this guide:
Two simple readiness activities
Brief teacher preparation and doctrinal background
Study paths built around the Church’s Eternal Truths
Supporting scriptures and prophetic insights
Discovery, understanding, and application questions
A ready-to-use conversation guide
Journal/application ideas
Josh’s Teaching Tip
A Temple Connection
A simple weekly invitation
Additional teaching ideas
A one-page Teach This in 25 Minutes lesson path
Designed for: Young Men advisers, Young Women leaders, bishopric members, and others teaching the Church’s For the Strength of Youth curriculum.
Preparation is intentionally simple. A leader should be able to review the guide in about 15 minutes and feel prepared to lead a thoughtful 25-minute discussion without building a lesson from scratch.
The goal this week is simple: help youth see that their bodies are sacred gifts from Heavenly Father—and that seeing themselves the way He sees them can change the way they care for their bodies, respect themselves, and use their agency.
Becoming a Covenant Daughter or Son of God
This For the Strength of Youth Discussion Guide helps Young Men and Young Women leaders prepare for September Week 4 and lead a meaningful, Christ-centered discussion in about 25 minutes.
This final September lesson brings the month’s study of priesthood authority and keys directly into the lives of the youth themselves. After learning where priesthood authority comes from, how it was restored, and how priesthood keys direct God’s work, youth are invited to consider a more personal question: What does all of this mean for me?
The guide follows the Church’s separate paths for Young Women and Aaronic Priesthood quorums while keeping everything together in one easy-to-use resource. Young Women study Doctrine and Covenants 25:3, 7 and the example of Emma Smith to explore how covenant daughters of God can lead, teach, encourage, serve, and act through the guidance of the Spirit. Young Men study Doctrine and Covenants 20:46, 59 and Joseph Smith—History 1:69 to better understand their responsibilities as priesthood holders and “fellow servants” in the Savior’s work.
Rather than providing a long scripted lesson, this guide gives leaders a simple discussion path for helping youth recognize that God has meaningful work for them to do now. Both young women and young men can receive His power, guidance, authority, and opportunities to help others come unto Jesus Christ.
Inside this guide:
Two simple readiness activities
Brief teacher preparation and doctrinal background
Separate Young Women and Aaronic Priesthood study paths
Supporting scriptures and prophetic insights
Discovery, understanding, and application questions
A ready-to-use conversation guide
Journal/application ideas
Josh’s Teaching Tip
A simple weekly invitation
Additional teaching ideas
A one-page Teach This in 25 Minutes lesson path
Designed for: Young Men advisers, Young Women leaders, bishopric members, and others teaching the Church’s For the Strength of Youth curriculum.
Preparation is intentionally simple. A leader should be able to review the guide in about 15 minutes and feel prepared to lead a thoughtful 25-minute discussion without building a lesson from scratch.
The goal this week is simple: help youth understand that being a covenant son or daughter of God is more than an identity—it is an invitation to participate in His work and help others come unto Jesus Christ.
Learn More About Priesthood Keys
This For the Strength of Youth Discussion Guide helps Young Men and Young Women leaders prepare for September Week 3 and lead a meaningful, Christ-centered discussion in about 25 minutes.
This week helps youth move beyond simply defining priesthood keys and consider a more personal question: What becomes possible in my life because Jesus Christ restored priesthood keys to the earth? Youth learn that priesthood keys are the authority Jesus Christ gives certain leaders to direct how His priesthood is used and to help ensure that His work, ordinances, and blessings are carried out according to His direction.
Using scriptures including Doctrine and Covenants 13:1; 27:12–13; 107:8, 18–19; and 110:11–16, youth explore which priesthood keys were restored, why those keys matter, and how they “unlock” blessings such as authorized ordinances, temple covenants, missionary work, gathering Israel, and eternal families.
The guide also helps youth understand delegated priesthood authority—how young women and young men can receive authority to act in assignments and callings under the direction of those who hold priesthood keys.
Rather than providing a long scripted lesson, this guide gives leaders a simple path for helping youth discover the doctrine, connect priesthood keys to their own lives, and recognize how Jesus Christ directs His work today.
Inside this guide:
Two simple readiness activities
Brief teacher preparation and doctrinal background
Supporting scripture study
Prophetic insights
Discovery, understanding, and application questions
A ready-to-use conversation guide
Journal/application ideas
Josh’s Teaching Tip
A simple weekly invitation
Additional teaching ideas
A one-page Teach This in 25 Minutes lesson path
Designed for: Young Men advisers, Young Women leaders, bishopric members, and others teaching the Church’s For the Strength of Youth curriculum.
Preparation is intentionally simple. A leader should be able to review the guide in about 15 minutes and feel prepared to lead a thoughtful 25-minute discussion without building a lesson from scratch.
The goal this week is simple: help youth see that priesthood keys are not mainly about who is in charge—they are about how Jesus Christ directs His work and opens His blessings to His children.
Learn More About the Restoration of the Priesthood
This For the Strength of Youth Discussion Guide helps Young Men and Young Women leaders prepare for September Week 2 and lead a meaningful, Christ-centered discussion in about 25 minutes.
This week moves beyond simply remembering who restored which priesthood and helps youth consider the more important question: What blessings can I receive today because Jesus Christ restored His priesthood? The guide teaches that after priesthood authority was lost from the earth, Jesus Christ sent heavenly messengers to restore that authority to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. Because it was restored, youth today can receive authorized ordinances, make covenants with God, serve with His authority, and experience greater access to His power.
Using scriptures including Doctrine and Covenants 13:1, 107:18–20, and 84:20–21, youth explore the blessings connected with both the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods—from baptism, repentance, and the sacrament to the gift of the Holy Ghost, temple ordinances, spiritual blessings, and the “power of godliness.”
Rather than providing a long scripted lesson, this guide gives leaders a simple path for helping youth discover the blessings themselves, connect the Restoration to their own lives, and recognize how Jesus Christ continues to bless them through restored priesthood authority.
Inside this guide:
Two simple readiness activities
Brief teacher preparation and doctrinal background
Supporting scripture study
Prophetic insights and stories
Discovery, understanding, and application questions
A ready-to-use conversation guide
Additional teaching ideas
A simple weekly invitation
Josh’s Teaching Tip for helping youth discover the blessings personally
Designed for: Young Men advisers, Young Women leaders, bishopric members, and others teaching the Church’s For the Strength of Youth curriculum.
Preparation is intentionally simple. A leader should be able to review the guide in about 15 minutes and feel prepared to lead a thoughtful 25-minute discussion without building a lesson from scratch.
The goal this week is simple: help youth see that the Restoration of the priesthood wasn’t only something that happened in 1829—it is the reason many of the greatest blessings in their lives are available today.
You Are Blessed by Priesthood Keys and Authority
This For the Strength of Youth Discussion Guide helps Young Men and Young Women leaders prepare for September Week 1 and lead a meaningful, Christ-centered discussion in about 25 minutes.
Using Matthew 16:18–19 and the September For the Strength of Youth chapter, youth will explore what priesthood keys are, why Jesus Christ is the source of all priesthood authority, and how the restoration of priesthood keys blesses their lives today.
The discussion helps youth discover several important truths: all priesthood authority comes from Jesus Christ; priesthood keys direct how His authority is used on earth; those keys were restored through heavenly messengers; and living prophets continue to hold and exercise priesthood keys today.
Rather than providing a long scripted lesson, this guide gives leaders a simple path for helping youth discover truth in the scriptures, talk about what it means, and consider how it applies to their own lives.
Inside this guide:
Simple readiness ideas
Brief lesson background
Supporting scriptures
Key prophetic teachings
Discovery, understanding, and application questions
A ready-to-use 25-minute conversation path
Promised blessings connected to the doctrine
A simple invitation for youth to act on what they learn
Designed for:
Young Men advisers, Young Women leaders, bishopric members, and others teaching the Church’s For the Strength of Youth curriculum.
Preparation is intentionally simple. A leader should be able to review the guide in about 15 minutes and feel prepared to lead a thoughtful discussion without having to build a lesson from scratch.
September Week 1 is available FREE so leaders can experience the new FSY Discussion Guides before purchasing future lessons.
Get Every FSY Discussion Guide With Membership
For the Strength of Youth Discussion Guides are included with your Come Follow Me for Teens membership.
Members also receive every weekly Come, Follow Me Study & Teaching Guide, teen devotionals, teaching resources, lesson archives, and more.
$5/month
Built to complement the Church's curriculum
These guides aren't intended to replace the For the Strength of Youth curriculum or the inspiration of individual leaders. They're designed to make preparation simpler—helping leaders focus less on creating a lesson and more on preparing to listen, ask meaningful questions, and help youth come closer to Jesus Christ.
“To be very clear, the best guide you can possibly have for making choices is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the strength of youth.
So the purpose of For the Strength of Youth is to point you to Him.”