Scripture Story Sketch Notes · Galatians 5–6
The Fruit of the Spirit “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” Galatians 5:22–23
Christ had made the Galatians free. Paul showed them what freedom grows when we walk in the Spirit, and what weeds grow when we don’t.
Before you begin
The story in brief Some teachers had told the Galatian Saints they must keep the whole law of Moses to be saved. Paul wrote with urgency: “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free.” But freedom in Christ was not freedom to do anything; it was freedom to “by love serve one another.” The way to live it, he said, was to “walk in the Spirit.”
Paul contrasted two gardens. The “works of the flesh” included hatred, strife, wrath and envyings. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” He urged them to “bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ,” and reminded them of the law of the harvest: “whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap … let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
Who’s who Paul: the Apostle who first taught the GalatiansThe Galatian Saints: members being pulled back to the law of MosesJesus Christ: who made them freeWhere and when The branches of Galatia, in what is now central Turkey.
Watch for the Savior Watch how every fruit of the Spirit describes the Savior.
Read it yourself: Galatians 5:16–26; Galatians 6:7–10
Part 1 of 7
The garden, mapped Eight stops from the open gate to the harvest. Scroll, or tap a number on the map.
Part 2 of 7
The story, plainly Four scenes: the path, the two gardens, the burden and the harvest. Look for the Savior in each one.
Read it plainly
The words that trip people up
Tap any dotted word for its meaning. The scripture stays exactly as written.1
Galatians 5:1 “be not entangled Meaning: caught, tangled up.Galatians 5:20 “variance Meaning: quarreling, discord.emulations Meaning: jealous rivalry.Galatians 5:22 “longsuffering Meaning: patience over a long time.Galatians 5:23 “temperance Meaning: self-control.Galatians 6:9 “if we faint not Meaning: do not give up.
Part 3 of 7
Look closer Nine fruits, nine cards. Some are details in the text; others share insights from Church leaders or a labeled outside lexicon. Each card says which.
0 of 9 turnedTurn them all
All nine fruits. Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance. Galatians 5:22–23
Part 4 of 7
Where are you? Walking with the Spirit, pulled two ways, waiting for growth, or carrying a load together. Which feels most like you right now?
A next step for you
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Try it
Fruit or weeds
Paul listed what grows from the Spirit and what grows from the flesh. Read each word and decide: is it fruit of the Spirit, or a work of the flesh?
“Walk in the Spirit.” Galatians 5:16
Part 5 of 7
Their world, their words A little background helps us see why Paul wrote to the Galatians. Outside sources are labeled.
Church resource · Student manual Four kinds of weeds
The student manual: the works of the flesh “fall into four general categories”: sexual sins, false worship, sins against others, and drunkenness.4
Paul named them plainly.
Church resource · Student manual No law against it
Elder Dennis E. Simmons, quoted in the student manual: “The Spirit can penetrate anything.”4
“Against such there is no law.”
Church resource · Student manual The law of the harvest
“The law of the harvest applies to spiritual things as well as physical.”4
What we plant, we pick.
Apostle Meekness takes time
Elder Ulisses Soares: “We are blessed to be born with the seed of meekness in our hearts.”3
Seeds grow slowly.
Word study · Greek
karpos καρπός · “fruit” (Galatians 5:22)
Bible Hub: “fruit, crop, fruits.”5 Outside · lexicon
One word, singular: one fruit with nine flavors.1
Word study · Greek
egkrateia ἐγκράτεια · “temperance” (Galatians 5:23)
Bible Hub: “Self-control, temperance.”6 Outside · lexicon
Holding yourself in, with the Spirit’s help.1
What the text does not say
The story does not say we grow the fruit by willpower alone. It is the fruit “of the Spirit.” Our part is to walk with Him and keep sowing.1
Part 6 of 7
Look to Him Christ made us free. Every fruit of the Spirit is a picture of Him.
Paul’s invitation: “Walk in the Spirit.”
Galatians 5:161
“Meekness was one of the most abundant attributes in the Savior’s life.” Elder Ulisses Soares3 “May God bless us that we may sow to the Spirit in order that our harvest will be life everlasting.” Elder L. Tom Perry, quoted in the student manual4 “I believe the Savior Jesus Christ is the supreme example of meekness.” Elder Ulisses Soares3
Paul
Made free
“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” Galatians 5:1
Paul
The law of Christ
“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2
Part 7 of 7
Seek Him today
A question to ask in prayer
Which fruit should I grow next? Galatians 5:22–23
Read the nine fruits slowly. Ask Heavenly Father which one He wants to grow in you now. Write it down and watch for chances to practice it.
Try it today One step each day. It saves on this device, one day at a time.
Show love to someone hard to love.“love” · Galatians 5:22 Find joy in one small thing.“joy” · Galatians 5:22 Make peace in one disagreement.“peace” · Galatians 5:22 Be patient when you want to rush.“longsuffering” · Galatians 5:22 Speak gently all day.“gentleness” · Galatians 5:22 Help carry someone’s load.“bear ye one another’s burdens” · Galatians 6:2 Practice self-control in one habit.“temperance” · Galatians 5:23 0 of 7 today
This week: 0 of 7 days
Seven days of growing fruit. Come again tomorrow.
Clear today
A quiet moment
“Walk in the Spirit.”
Read Galatians 5:22–25 slowly. Then thank Jesus Christ for making you free, and ask the Holy Ghost to walk with you today. Galatians 5:22–25
A verse to hold
Another verse
Talk about it
Pick one for us
What are the nine fruits of the Spirit?
Which fruit do you see in someone in our family?
Why does Paul call it fruit instead of rules?
What does it mean to “walk in the Spirit”?
Open For adults and deeper study
Go deeper Longer readings, harder questions, and where to study next. Each one says what it is before you click.
Apostle Elder Ulisses Soares, “Be Meek and Lowly of Heart” (2013)
Meekness as a fruit of the Spirit, how it grows, and the Savior as its supreme example.3
Read the talk → Church resource New Testament Student Manual: Galatians
Christ hath made us free, walking in the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit and the law of the harvest.4
Read the chapter → Scripture Doctrine and Covenants 11:12–13
The Lord describes His Spirit: it “leadeth to do good” and “shall fill your soul with joy.”
Read Doctrine and Covenants 11 → Book of Mormon Alma 32:37–43
Alma’s tree of faith, nourished with patience until it bears fruit “most precious.”
Read Alma 32 → To ponder Harder questions
Why might Paul use one word, “fruit,” for all nine qualities? How is freedom in Christ different from freedom to do anything? What does Galatians 6:7–9 teach about patience with ourselves?
Sources
Every quotation, gloss, and piece of background on this page is listed here: scripture first, then Church sources, then outside scholarship (labeled).
Scripture
Galatians 5 : “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace.”Galatians 6:1–10 : “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
Church leaders and Church resources
Elder Ulisses Soares, “Be Meek and Lowly of Heart” , general conference, October 2013.
New Testament Student Manual , “Galatians”
Outside sources (labeled on the page)
Strong’s 2590, karpos , Bible Hub lexicon.Strong’s 1466, egkrateia , Bible Hub lexicon.
Quotations checked against the linked pages on October 10, 2026. Scripture is quoted from the King James Version as published in the Gospel Library.
“The fruit of the Spirit is love”
Walk with Him, and the fruit will grow. Galatians 5:22
Printable sketch notes
The Fruit of the Spirit, ready to print $3.99
Everything on this page as a 11-page letter-size PDF: the map, scenes, cards, activity, word studies, tracker, Go deeper and sources. For home, class or a quiet Sunday.
More stories
The Fruit of the Spirit is part of the Scripture Story Sketch Notes for the New Testament, set alongside Come, Follow Me for September 20–26, 2027 (Galatians).
See every story See all 2027 weeks
Independent study notes from Weak Things, not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Scripture quotations are from the King James Version. The teaching is in Galatians 5 and 6; the insights in “Look closer” are labeled by source.
