“Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life.” Matthew 7:14
A Father who gives good gifts, two gates, two roads and trees known by their fruit. Walk the map, look closer, and choose the gate the Savior keeps Himself.
Near the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught His disciples to ask, seek and knock in prayer, promising that Heavenly Father gives good gifts, the way a loving parent gives bread instead of a stone. He gave the rule to treat others the way we want to be treated.
Then He described two gates. A wide gate opens onto a broad road that many people take, but it leads to destruction. A narrow, or “strait,” gate opens onto a narrow way that leads to eternal life, and few find it. He taught that we can tell good from bad by its fruit, and that entering His kingdom means doing the will of His Father, not only saying “Lord, Lord.”
Who’s who
Jesus: teaching on the mountainside
His disciples and the multitudes: listening to the Sermon on the Mount
Where and when
The same hillside in Galilee as the Beatitudes.
Watch for the Savior
The Book of Mormon names the gate, repentance and baptism, and says the Savior keeps it Himself (2 Nephi 31:17; 2 Nephi 9:41).
Eight stops, from a knock on the door to the will of the Father. Scroll, or tap a number on the map.
Part 2 of 7
The story, plainly
Four scenes: a father and son, two gates, an orchard and the keeper of the gate. 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
Matthew 7:9 “whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a Meaning: a round stone can look a little like a small loaf, but it can’t feed anyone.?”
Matthew 7:11 “If ye then, Meaning: imperfect, as all people are., know how to give good gifts”
Matthew 7:13 “Enter ye in at the Meaning: narrow, tight. Not “straight.” (See Part 5.) gate”
Matthew 7:13 “broad is the way, that leadeth to Meaning: ruin, being lost., and many there be which go in Meaning: through it.”
Matthew 7:15 “inwardly they are Meaning: hungry, greedy for prey. wolves”
Matthew 7:17 “but a Meaning: rotten, diseased. tree bringeth forth evil fruit”
Matthew 7:23 “I never knew you” (the Joseph Smith Translation reads “Ye never knew me”)
Part 3 of 7
Look closer
These are teachings with pictures in them, not a single story. Some cards are details in the text; others share insights from prophets and Church resources, and each card says which.
0 of 9 turned
All nine. A door, bread and a stone, a fish and a serpent, two hands, a wide gate, the strait gate, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, grapes and thorns, and a good tree. Matthew 7
Part 4 of 7
Where are you on the path?
People who heard this were waiting for answers, pulled by the crowd, feeling alone, or wanting to truly know Him. Which feels most like you right now?
A next step for you
Your choice is saved only on this device.
Try it
Find the gate
Walk the Savior’s teaching one stop at a time. A light goes ahead of you, and the trail you’ve walked stays on the map. At the last stop, you choose a gate.
“The keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel.” 2 Nephi 9:41
Part 5 of 7
Their world, their words
A little background helps us see the gate and the path the way the first listeners did. Outside sources are labeled.
Scripture
The gate is named
Nephi: “the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.”3
Then, he says, “are ye in this strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life.”
Scripture
The keeper
Jacob: “the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there; and there is none other way save it be by the gate.”2
The Savior is not only the Teacher of the path. He keeps its gate.
Church manual
“Ye never knew me”
Scripture Helps notes that the Joseph Smith Translation changes “I never knew you” to “Ye never knew me.”6
The question is whether we know Him.
Apostle · Talmage
Doing, not only saying
Elder Talmage: “Only by doing the will of the Father is the saving grace of the Son obtainable.”5
“Strait” is an old English word for narrow, not “straight.” Jacob used both ideas: “the way for man is narrow, but it lieth in a straight course before him.”2
The narrow way can feel pressed and hard. But it “leadeth unto life,” and He walks it with us.1
What the text does not say
The Savior doesn’t say how many will be saved, or that the path is only for a few chosen people. He says few “find it,” and He invites everyone: “Enter ye in.”1 Elsewhere He promises that whoever asks, seeks and knocks will find.
Part 6 of 7
Look to Him
He doesn’t only point to the gate. He keeps it, and He walked the path first.
Jacob pleaded, “O then, my beloved brethren, come unto the Lord, the Holy One. Remember that his paths are righteous.”
“It showeth unto the children of men the straitness of the path, and the narrowness of the gate, by which they should enter, he having set the example before them.” 2 Nephi 31:9
Another Testament
In the path
“And then are ye in this strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life; yea, ye have entered in by the gate.” 2 Nephi 31:18
The Strait Gate and the Narrow Way, 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.
The Strait Gate and the Narrow Way is part of the Scripture Story Sketch Notes for the New Testament, set alongside Come, Follow Me for February 15–21, 2027 (Matthew 6–7).
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. These are teachings, not a single story; the insights in “Look closer” are labeled by source.
