Scripture Story Sketch Notes · Acts 1:1–14; Acts 2:1–47
The Day of Pentecost
“And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Acts 2:4
A promise on a mountain, a cloud, an upper room full of prayer, a rushing mighty wind, tongues like as of fire, and three thousand people asking one question. Come and see what the Holy Ghost can do.
For forty days after His Resurrection, Jesus taught His Apostles. He told them to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father, and said, “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me.” Then, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. Two men in white apparel told them He would come again in the same way. The Apostles went back to an upper room and continued with one accord in prayer, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus.
On the day of Pentecost, a feast fifty days after Passover, they were all together. Suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and cloven tongues like as of fire sat upon each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and people from every nation heard them speak in their own language. Peter, the same man who had once been afraid, stood up and testified that God had raised Jesus up. The people were pricked in their heart and asked, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Peter answered, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” About three thousand were baptized that day.
Who’s who
Jesus: the risen Lord, who ascends and sends the promised Holy Ghost
Peter: the senior Apostle, now speaking boldly
The Apostles and the women: including Mary the mother of Jesus, praying together
The multitude: devout people from every nation, gathered for the feast
Where and when
The Mount of Olives and an upper room in Jerusalem, forty days after the Resurrection and then on the feast of Pentecost.
Watch for the Savior
Watch how He keeps His promise from heaven: He sends the Holy Ghost, and frightened followers become bold witnesses.
Eight stops, from His last words on the mountain to three thousand baptisms. Scroll, or tap a number on the map.
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The story, plainly
Four scenes: the cloud, the upper room, the wind and fire, and Peter’s answer. Look for how the Savior keeps His promise.
Read it plainly
The words that trip people up
Tap any dotted word for its meaning. The scripture stays exactly as written.1
Acts 2:1 “when the day of Meaning: a harvest feast held fifty days after Passover. was fully come”
Acts 2:1 “they were all with one Meaning: united; of one heart and mind. in one place”
Acts 2:3 “there appeared unto them Meaning: divided, split into parts. tongues like as of fire”
Acts 2:4 “as the Spirit gave them Meaning: the words to speak.”
Acts 2:6 “and were Meaning: amazed and confused.”
Acts 2:37 “they were Meaning: deeply stung, touched to the quick. in their heart”
Acts 2:42 “they continued Meaning: firmly, without giving up. in the apostles’ doctrine”
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Look closer
Small details tell the story. Some cards are details in the text; others share insights from prophets. Each card says which.
0 of 9 turned
All nine. The cloud, the upper room, the wind, the flame, the harvest, the many languages, the pricked heart, the water and the bread. Acts 2:1–47
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Where are you today?
Some of us are still waiting, some are afraid to speak up, some feel a nudge to change, and some are ready to belong. Which feels most like you right now?
A next step for you
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Try it
What shall we do?
The people asked Peter, “What shall we do?” Put his answer and what happened next in order, the way Acts 2 tells it.
“Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Acts 2:38
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Their world, their words
A little background helps us stand in that crowd. Outside sources are labeled.
Study help
A harvest feast
The Guide to the Scriptures: “Pentecost was to celebrate the harvest”.5
On a harvest day, three thousand souls were gathered in.
Study help
Fifty days
The Bible Dictionary: “During those 50 days the harvest of wheat was being gathered in.”6
Forty days with the risen Lord, then about ten days of waiting and prayer.
Apostle · Talmage
Waiting, as instructed
Elder Talmage: the Apostles were “waiting, as instructed, until they would be endowed with a particular bestowal of power from on high”.7
They obeyed and prayed before the power came.
Study help
The gift of tongues
The Guide to the Scriptures: “A gift of the Holy Ghost that allows inspired individuals to speak in, understand, or interpret unfamiliar languages.”8
Everyone heard the wonderful works of God in their own language.
Word study · Greek
pnoē πνοή · “wind” (Acts 2:2)
Bible Hub: “respiration, a breeze”.9Outside · lexicon
The word can mean breath. The sound filled the whole house, and then the Spirit filled each person: “they were all filled with the Holy Ghost”.1
The Spirit carried Peter’s words all the way into their hearts, and they wanted to change: “what shall we do?”1
What the text does not say
The text does not say the Apostles worked up this power on their own. They waited, prayed and stayed together, and it was given. Peter says it came from the risen Lord: “he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.” And it does not say the gift was only for that day. “For the promise is unto you, and to your children”.1
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Look to Him
He is the risen and exalted Lord who keeps His promises. From His Father’s right hand He sends the Holy Ghost to comfort, teach and give us power to witness of Him.
Elder David A. Bednar: “We more readily receive and recognize the Spirit of the Lord as we appropriately invite Him into our lives.”
Elder David A. Bednar, “Receive the Holy Ghost,” October 20104
“an authoritative admonition to act and not simply to be acted upon”
Elder David A. Bednar, on “Receive the Holy Ghost”4
“We cannot compel, coerce, or command the Holy Ghost.”
When the Spirit has touched your heart, what has He invited you to do?
Try it today
One small way to invite the Holy Ghost each day. It saves on this device, one day at a time.
0 of 7 today
This week:0 of 7 days
Seven days of inviting the Spirit. Come again tomorrow.
A quiet moment
“For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”
Read Acts 2:37–39 slowly. Then think of the day you were baptized and confirmed, or the day you hope to be. Write what the promise of the Holy Ghost means to you. Acts 2:37–39
A verse to hold
Talk about it
Why do you think Jesus told the Apostles to wait in Jerusalem?
What do you think the rushing wind and the tongues like as of fire felt like?
Peter once denied knowing Jesus. What changed him into a bold witness?
How can we invite the Holy Ghost into our home this week?
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 David A. Bednar, “Receive the Holy Ghost” (2010)
Why the words of confirmation are an invitation to act, and how we invite the Spirit each day.4
Quotations checked against the linked pages on October 7, 2026. Scripture is quoted from the King James Version as published in the Gospel Library.
“Ye shall receive power”
He kept His promise. The Holy Ghost came, and frightened followers became bold witnesses. The same promise is unto you and to your children. Invite Him in today. Acts 2:39
Everything on this page as an 11-page letter-size PDF: the map, scenes, cards, activity, word studies, tracker, Go deeper and sources. For home, class or a quiet Sunday.
The Day of Pentecost is part of the Scripture Story Sketch Notes for the New Testament, set alongside Come, Follow Me for June 28–July 4, 2027 (Acts 1–5).
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. This story is told in the words of Luke in the book of Acts; the insights in “Look closer” are labeled by source.
