{ "lessonDate": "2026-10-26", "lessonNumber": 134, "lessonTitle": "Jeremiah 31 — \"I Will Write It in Their Hearts\"", "semester": "fall-2026-ot", "source": "Seminary manual, Lesson 134 — Jeremiah 31, He Will Write His Law upon Our Hearts", "scriptureBlock": "Jeremiah 31–33; 36–38; Lamentations 1; 3", "bookName": "JEREMIAH 31", "deckType": "scripture", "lessonObjective": "Let students feel the difference between a law they carry and a law they are, name one commandment they know and do not live, and leave having asked the Lord in prayer to turn them rather than resolving to try harder.", "doctrinePrinciple": "The Lord promises a new covenant written not in stone but in our hearts. Having His law written in the heart is what the scriptures call conversion — a change deep enough that we want what He wants — and He is the one who does the writing.", "personalScriptureStudy": { "chapters": "Jeremiah 31:31–34", "questions": "The first covenant was cut into stone, and the stone broke before Moses got down the mountain. Read verses 31 and 32 and find what the Lord says went wrong with that covenant. Then read verse 33 and find where He says He will put the new one. Notice that verse 34 attaches a second promise to the first one, and that it is about what He will forget." }, "teacherNote": "OPEN WITH THE ORDINARY GAP AND KEEP IT SECULAR FOR THE FIRST MINUTE — what is something you know you should do and still struggle to actually do? Sleep, phone, homework, eating. They will answer fast and honestly because nothing is at stake, and that is the point: say plainly that it is normal, that aligning what we do with what we know is hard for everybody, and only then say that the same gap shows up in the gospel. If you lead with the gospel version you will get the polite answers instead of the real ones. ELDER CHRISTOFFERSON IS THE QUESTION THE WHOLE LESSON ANSWERS: 'How can you make the gospel of Jesus Christ not just an influence in your life but the controlling influence and, indeed, the very core of what you are?' ('When Thou Art Converted,' Liahona, May 2004, 11). Write 'the very core of what you are' on the board and leave it up for fifty minutes. STONE FIRST, AND IT IS WORTH THREE MINUTES OF OLD TESTAMENT. The first law was written with the finger of God in stone (Exodus 31:18) and Moses broke it against the mountain before Israel ever read it (Exodus 32:19). Jeremiah 31:32 says the covenant with the fathers was the one 'which my covenant they brake.' So the new covenant is not a stricter version of the old one — it is in a different location. You cannot set your heart down at the bottom of the hill. 2 Corinthians 3:3 is the cross-reference and it is worth marking: Paul calls the Saints an epistle of Christ, 'written not with ink … or in tables of stone, but in the fleshy tables of the heart.' THE GROUP ACTIVITY IS THE MANUAL'S AND IT WORKS: threes, one passage each, report to each other. Jeremiah 31:1–3, 31:6–10, 31:17–20. Then the whole class on 31:31–33 together. Do not read all of chapter 31 aloud; the three passages are a sampler of promises and the chapter is long. WATCH FOR THE WATER VERSES BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT DECORATION THIS YEAR — 31:9, 'I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters, in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble,' and 31:12, 'their soul shall be as a watered garden.' If a student finds either one, stop and let the class look at it. THE DEFINITION IS THE HINGE AND THEY WILL GUESS AROUND IT. Written in the heart means converted — changed, wanting to accomplish the will of the Father with your whole heart. Not 'memorised.' Not 'obeying harder.' Mosiah 5:2 and Alma 5:12–14 are the Book of Mormon words for it, a mighty change wrought in the heart, and they are the verses to go to when somebody asks what it would feel like. 'TURN THOU ME, AND I SHALL BE TURNED' — Jeremiah 31:18, and it is the best three seconds in the chapter. The verb is passive. Ephraim does not say 'I will turn myself.' Ask them what it means that the scripture asks to be turned rather than promising to turn, and let them sit in it; this is the difference between the lesson and a pep talk. You cannot write on your own heart. You can hand Him the pen. ELDER GAVARRET'S FIVE SIGNS ARE THE ANSWER TO 'HOW WOULD I KNOW' and the handout has them: wanting to please God in all things; treating others with love and respect; the attributes of Christ becoming part of your character; feeling the guidance of the Spirit more constantly; keeping a commandment that has been hard for you and then continuing to live it ('A Mighty Change of Heart: I Have Nothing More to Give You,' Liahona, May 2022, 23). The fifth is the one teenagers can actually check this week. THE TWO-QUESTION SPLIT IS WORTH RUNNING THE MANUAL'S WAY. Put both on the board — how do I know the Savior's law is written in my heart, and what can I do to invite Him to write it — and let each student pick the one they need. Group by question, prepare an answer for a friend who asked it, then re-mix so each group has somebody from the other question and they teach each other. The handout 'The Savior Will Write His Law in Your Heart' carries the scriptures for both halves; print it. PRESIDENT EYRING IS WHERE THE SECOND QUESTION LANDS: pray for the faith to repent of selfishness, pray for the power to lay aside pride and envy, and pray for a love of the word of God — 'As we read, ponder, and pray over the word of God, we will come to love it. The Lord puts it in our hearts' ('Testimony and Conversion,' Ensign or Liahona, Feb. 2015, 4–5). He puts it there. That sentence is the whole doctrine of the day. DO NOT LET THE LESSON END IN RESOLVE. A class that leaves saying 'I will try harder' has heard the opposite of Jeremiah 31. The ask is a prayer, said this morning, and it is a request to be changed. VERSE 34 IS THE PART THEY NEED MOST AND THE MANUAL DOES NOT DWELL ON IT — the same promise that writes the law says 'I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.' The new heart comes with a clean page. Say it, because Wednesday is Lamentations and this is the first half of that. THEME LINK, PANEL TWO: he drinks, and it is better than he expected. Knowing the water is up there is the mind; having drunk it is the heart. John 4:14 is the exact image — the water He gives 'shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.' It goes in and becomes yours. That is the difference between carrying a bottle and having a spring, and it is why the gospel written in the heart cannot be left behind at the bottom of the hill. THE WEEK: today the law is written in you, tomorrow you meet the man who burned the words that do the writing, Wednesday you find out what He does when you break it anyway, Thursday you go to the house where He promised to dwell with you. TIMING: the ordinary gap and Christofferson four minutes, stone and the new covenant six, the definition and 'turn thou me' five, the two-question split and teaching each other ten, close and the prayer ask three, journals at 7:05. If you are behind, cut the 31:6–10 group and keep the split — the split is where they do the work.", "cards": [ { "card": 0, "sectionName": "CONTEXT SETUP", "tagline": "Stone. Then Hearts.", "title": "JEREMIAH 31 — CONTEXT SETUP", "subtitle": "The First Law Was Cut Into Rock. Rock Can Be Set Down.", "columnHead": "THE CHAPTER AT A GLANCE", "bullets": [ "Jeremiah is still in Jerusalem, still warning.", "Chapter 31 turns from warning to promise.", "The Lord lists what He will do for His people.", "He says the old covenant was broken.", "So He promises a new one, in a new place.", "Not on tablets — in their inward parts.", "And with it: I will remember their sin no more." ], "keyFacts": { "Author": "Jeremiah, in Judah's last years", "Type": "Prophecy of gathering and of a new covenant", "Setting": "Jerusalem, before the captivity", "Key Phrase": "\"Write it in their hearts\"", "Main Themes": "Gathering, conversion, forgiveness, everlasting love", "Christ Connection": "He is the mediator of the new covenant, and the water He gives becomes a well inside you (John 4:14)" }, "bandHeading": "SIX STEPS FROM SINAI TO YOUR HEART", "timeline": [ { "title": "WRITTEN IN STONE", "ref": "Exodus 31:18", "text": "Cut by the finger of God." }, { "title": "THE TABLETS BROKE", "ref": "Exodus 32:19", "text": "Before Israel ever read them." }, { "title": "THEY BRAKE IT", "ref": "Jeremiah 31:32", "text": "The covenant did not hold." }, { "title": "LOVED ANYWAY", "ref": "Jeremiah 31:3", "text": "With an everlasting love." }, { "title": "A NEW COVENANT", "ref": "Jeremiah 31:31", "text": "Not like the one before." }, { "title": "IN THEIR HEARTS", "ref": "Jeremiah 31:33", "text": "Where you cannot set it down." } ], "scrollQuote": { "text": "I have loved thee with an everlasting love.", "attribution": "Jeremiah 31:3" }, "artPrompt": "A warm painterly golden-hour landscape of a rocky mountainside at dawn with two broken slabs of pale stone lying in the dust on a ledge, long low light across the rock, wide valley below." }, { "card": 1, "sectionName": "DIRECT TEXT INTERACTION & AI", "tagline": "Mind. Or Heart.", "title": "JEREMIAH 31 — DIRECT TEXT INTERACTION & AI", "subtitle": "Where The Law Is Written Decides Whether You Can Put It Down.", "focusHead": "OUR FOCUS TODAY", "focusText": "Find where the Lord says He will put His law in the new covenant, work out what it means that it goes somewhere stone could never go, and notice who does the writing.", "scripturesHead": "TODAY'S SCRIPTURES", "scriptureKey": "The key: Jeremiah 31:31–34", "scriptureList": [ "Jeremiah 31:1–3 — everlasting love, drawn with kindness", "Jeremiah 31:9, 12 — rivers of waters, a watered garden", "Jeremiah 31:18 — turn thou me, and I shall be turned", "Jeremiah 31:31–33 — a new covenant, written in the heart", "Jeremiah 31:34 — I will remember their sin no more", "2 Corinthians 3:3 — the fleshy tables of the heart" ], "aiUseHead": "HOW WE USE AI", "aiUse": [ "Compare: stone tablets against a written heart.", "Unpack: What is 'turn thou me' asking for?", "Trace: Who else used the heart metaphor?", "Stay Spiritual: AI supports — the Spirit teaches." ], "aiPromptHead": "AI PROMPT TO TRY", "aiPrompt": "\"In Jeremiah 31:31-33 the Lord promises a new covenant and says He will write His law in people's hearts instead of on tablets of stone like the covenant He made at Sinai. Explain what changes when a law is written in the heart rather than on stone, and why that is not simply a stricter version of the old covenant. Then explain Jeremiah 31:18, where Ephraim prays 'turn thou me, and I shall be turned' - why is that request worded so that someone else does the turning?\"", "afterHead": "AFTER YOU GET A RESULT", "after": [ "Mark 'write it in their hearts' in verse 33.", "Link 2 Corinthians 3:3 beside it.", "Write one evidence you would look for." ], "rememberHead": "REMEMBER", "rememberText": "Written in the heart is the scriptures' way of saying converted — changed deeply enough that you want what Heavenly Father wants. It is not a harder rule. It is a different location.", "bandHeading": "EXAMPLE QUESTIONS WE CAN EXPLORE WITH AI", "bandQuestions": [ "What is the new covenant?", "Why not on stone?", "What is written in my heart?", "Can I ask to be turned?", "Does He forget my sin?" ], "scrollQuote": { "text": "I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts.", "attribution": "Jeremiah 31:33" }, "artPrompt": "A warm painterly golden-hour scene of an open ancient scroll resting on a low wooden table beside a clay oil lamp at dawn, soft light falling across the parchment, a window arch behind it." }, { "card": 2, "sectionName": "TALK ABOUT EXPERIENCE", "tagline": "Know It. Live It.", "title": "JEREMIAH 31 — TALK ABOUT EXPERIENCE", "subtitle": "Everybody In This Room Knows Something They Do Not Do.", "goalHead": "DISCUSSION GOAL", "goalText": "Name the gap between knowing and doing without anybody getting preached at, then work out what would actually be different about a person with the gospel at the core of who they are.", "howHead": "HOW TO DISCUSS", "how": [ "Answer each other, not only the teacher.", "Specific beats impressive.", "Nobody has to confess anything.", "Keep the Savior at the center." ], "aiHead": "CONTINUE TO USE AI", "aiText": "Take one of Elder Gavarret's five signs of a changing heart and find a scripture that shows it happening to somebody, then bring back the verse.", "questionsHead": "THINK ABOUT THESE TOGETHER", "questions": [ "Name something you know is right and still struggle to do — a normal one, not a gospel one. What is actually missing in that gap?", "Elder Christofferson asked how the gospel becomes 'the very core of what you are.' What would be different about a person like that?", "How would you know the Lord is writing His law in your heart? What is the evidence — in you, not in your schedule?" ], "bandHeading": "EXAMPLE QUESTIONS TO DISCUSS", "bandQuestions": [ "What do I know?", "What do I actually do?", "What is missing between?", "Is my heart changing?", "What would show it?" ], "scrollQuote": { "text": "Turn thou me, and I shall be turned.", "attribution": "Jeremiah 31:18" }, "artPrompt": "A natural photograph of four teenagers sitting around a classroom table in early morning light with open scriptures and one notebook between them, one of them mid-sentence and the others listening." }, { "card": 3, "sectionName": "CHRIST-CENTERED ACTION", "tagline": "Hand Him The Pen.", "title": "JEREMIAH 31 — CHRIST-CENTERED ACTION", "subtitle": "You Cannot Write On Your Own Heart.", "columns": [ { "head": "START WITH JESUS", "text": "He is the one who writes. The new covenant is His, the change is His work in you, and the promise is that He will do it — not that you will manage it by willpower.", "citation": "See Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 8:10; Mosiah 5:2.", "art": "A warm painterly golden-hour scene of the resurrected Savior in white robes standing on an open hillside at sunrise with one hand extended toward the viewer, wide bright valley behind Him, no other symbols in the scene." }, { "head": "A WELL, NOT A BOTTLE", "text": "The water He gives does not stay in your hand. It goes in and becomes a well of its own. That is the difference between knowing where the station is and having drunk from it.", "citation": "See John 4:14; Jeremiah 31:9, 12; Isaiah 12:3.", "art": "A warm painterly golden-hour scene of clear water running out of a rock spring into a small stone basin on a green hillside at dawn, grass and wildflowers around it, low sun behind the slope." }, { "head": "HE FORGETS IT", "text": "The same verse that promises the new heart promises something else: I will remember their sin no more. The clean page comes with the new covenant, not after you have earned it.", "citation": "See Jeremiah 31:34; Isaiah 43:25; Doctrine and Covenants 58:42.", "art": "A warm painterly golden-hour scene of a blank page in an open journal on a windowsill at sunrise, first light across the paper, a pen resting beside it." } ], "ideasHead": "IDEAS: HOW DO I INVITE HIM?", "ideas": [ "Pray to be turned.", "Read before you scroll.", "Keep the hard one anyway.", "Serve one person today.", "Write what you felt.", "Ask Him what is next." ], "planHead": "MAKE A PLAN", "planQuestion": "What are you handing Him the pen to write?", "plan": [ "Which commandment do you know but not live?", "What is the one evidence you will watch for?", "What will you ask for in prayer this morning?" ], "challengeHead": "CHALLENGE THIS WEEK", "challengeText": "Take the one commandment you already know and have not been living, keep it every day until Monday, and write down what changes in how you feel — not what changes on the outside.", "rememberHead": "REMEMBER", "rememberText": "President Eyring said to pray for a love of the word of God, because as we read and pray over it we come to love it — and then he said who does the rest: the Lord puts it in our hearts.", "scrollQuote": { "text": "They shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest.", "attribution": "Jeremiah 31:34" }, "artPrompt": "" } ], "journalPrompt": "Write down the one commandment you know is right and have not been living — nobody will read this. Beside it write the sentence you are going to pray this morning, in your own words, asking the Lord to turn you rather than promising Him you will try harder. Then write the one piece of evidence you will watch for this week that He is writing His law in your heart, and finish with what it would mean for the gospel to be the very core of what you are." }