Here is the link to my sunday school lesson from last week. I had one of the young men in the class teach while his father supervised. I was ill and stayed home from church.
I will be teaching Lesson Ten: Fasting, Hungry or Full on Easter Sunday.
The complete lesson is below.

Jenny Hatch

Note to the teacher
Rather than being spiritually uplifted through fasting, many people merely experience hunger. Help class members see that we can become spiritually “full” by preparing, praying, and fasting with a purpose. When we abstain from food and take spiritual nourishment during the fast, the Lord blesses us with his Spirit.
Suggested Lesson Development
Fasting Is More than Not Eating
Discussion
Ask class members to imagine themselves in the following situation:
You are about to prepare your breakfast one Sunday morning when your mother (or father) comes in and reminds you that it is fast Sunday.
• What are your first thoughts? Are you happy that it is fast Sunday?
Point out that many people think of fasting as just not eating. The only feeling they experience while fasting is hunger. But with proper preparation and observance of the fast, fasting can be a joyful and spiritually uplifting experience.
When and Why We Fast
Scripture activity
Remind class members that one Sunday a month we go without food and drink for two consecutive meals. We also attend fast and testimony meeting, and we (or our parents) make a donation called a fast offering to the bishop to help care for those in need. In addition to the regular fast Sunday, we can also fast any time we feel the need for extra spiritual help, although we do not need to make a fast offering on those occasions.
• Why do we fast?
Have a class member take a piece of paper from the bowl and write on the chalkboard the scripture reference given on the paper. Have all class members find the indicated passage in their scriptures. Then have the class member who chose the paper read the scripture passage aloud and tell what reason it gives for fasting. List the reason on the chalkboard next to the reference. Repeat, giving other class members an opportunity to choose a paper, until all the papers have been used.
Your completed list may look like this:
WHY DO WE FAST?
Doctrine and Covenants 88:76—To obey God’s commandment.
Luke 2:37—To serve God.
Alma 45:1—To worship God and show gratitude to him.
Mosiah 27:22–23—To receive special blessings, such as healing.
Alma 5:46—To gain a testimony.
Alma 17:3—To gain the spirit of prophecy and revelation and the ability to teach.
Alma 6:6—For the conversion of people who are not yet members of the Church.
Isaiah 58:6–7—To feed the hungry and clothe the naked.
Joel 2:12—To draw closer to God.
Discussion
Discuss briefly how fasting can help us do each of these things.
Proper Observance of the Fast
Scripture discussion
Have class members read and mark Doctrine and Covenants 59:13–14.
• What do these verses compare fasting to? Do you ever feel joyful when you are fasting?
• What can we do to make fasting joyful?
Accept class members’ answers, then continue the discussion on the following two ways to make fasting joyful: preparation and prayer.
Discussion
Preparation
Write Preparation on the chalkboard. Explain that we must plan ahead and look forward to a fast to be able to enjoy it to the fullest.
• What can we do to prepare to fast?
Answers may include praying before beginning our fast, settling our other concerns so we can concentrate on our fast, and deciding to make the fast a meaningful spiritual experience.
Explain that one of the most important ways of preparing to fast is choosing a purpose for fasting.
• What difference can it make when we fast with a purpose? (Having a purpose can make fasting more personal and meaningful. We may find it easier to fast when we are fasting for a specific reason.)
Point out that class members have already discussed some purposes for fasting, and briefly review the list on the chalkboard. Help class members understand that they can fast whenever they need spiritual strength or special blessings for themselves or others. For example, they can fast when they are taking on a new responsibility, such as a Church calling, or when a family member or friend is sick.
Invite class members to tell about purposes for which they have fasted.
Prayer
Write Prayer on the chalkboard. Have class members turn again to the scriptures they used to discover reasons for fasting.
• Which of these scriptures include prayer with fasting?
• Why is it important that we pray when we fast?
Explain that some purposes for which we may want to pray as we fast include to ask for strength in fasting, to discuss our purpose for fasting with Heavenly Father, and to thank Heavenly Father for the opportunity to fast and receive the spiritual growth that can come with it.
Invite class members to share experiences they have had with fasting and prayer.
Note to the teacher
Help class members form a positive attitude toward fasting and prayer. Fasting and prayer can become two of the most valuable spiritual tools they will ever acquire. Your testimony and your positive attitude will be two of the most important gifts you give class members this year. (See Teaching—No Greater Call, 171.)
Spiritual Fulfillment through Fasting
Discussion and quotation
Point out that because we are going without food, we may feel physically weak when we fast. However, in other ways fasting can make us stronger.
• What kind of strength do we receive from fasting?
Read or have a class member read the following statement made by Bishop John H. Vandenberg when he was Presiding Bishop:
“Fasting and prayer equip a person with a much greater degree of strength and power than would otherwise be his if he were left to his own devices. Fasting and prayer can bring an individual to a point of humility and faith where the Lord can give him the extra strength and power needed to complete a task or to solve a problem” (“The Presiding Bishop Talks to Youth About: Fasting,” Improvement Era, Feb. 1969, 71).
Testimony
Bear testimony of the spiritual strength and blessings that can be received through fasting and prayer.
Encourage class members to remember preparation and prayer next time they fast, so that they can receive spiritual fulfillment and not just go hungry.