“Whatsoever a Man Soweth, That Shall He Also Reap”
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Woman and girl harvest and garden in Ecuador.
Do you ever wonder if your efforts to live the gospel of Jesus Christ will lead to your eternal goals? Paul wrote to the Saints in Galatia to help them recognize that how we live our lives each day influences whether the Savior will bless us with “life everlasting” (Galatians 6:8). This lesson can help you recognize the actions you need to take to achieve your eternal goals.
Encouraging application. The purpose of gospel teaching is to help students apply doctrine and principles found in the scriptures. Questions and activities that encourage application can help students see how to apply doctrine and principles in their own lives.
Student preparation: Invite students to read Galatians 6:7–9 and to come prepared to share how they feel the teachings in these verses might impact their daily decisions.
Possible Learning Activities
Eternal goals
The following statement by Elder Quentin L. Cook can be used to help students begin thinking about the impact our daily decisions have on the outcomes we will receive. An alternative idea for how to begin the lesson can be found in the activity “Galatians 6:7–8. Planting and harvesting seeds,” found in the “Supplemental Learning Activities” section.
Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared a memorable conversation he once had with a young man.
Watch the video “Choose Wisely,” available on ChurchofJesusChrist.org, from time code 3:03 to 4:52, or read the following statement. Look for what this young man’s goals were and what misunderstandings he might have had about achieving them.
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Official portrait of Elder Quentin L. Cook. Called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on 6 October 2007.
I recently met a fine teenage young man. His goals were to go on a mission, obtain an education, marry in the temple, and have a faithful happy family. I was very pleased with his goals. But during further conversation, it became evident that his conduct and the choices he was making were not consistent with his goals. I felt he genuinely wanted to go on a mission and was avoiding serious transgressions that would prohibit a mission, but his day-to-day conduct was not preparing him for the physical, emotional, social, intellectual, and spiritual challenges he would face. He had not learned to work hard. He was not serious about school or seminary. He attended church, but he had not read the Book of Mormon. He was spending a large amount of time on video games and social media. He seemed to think that showing up for his mission would be sufficient.
(Quentin L. Cook, “Choose Wisely,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2014, 47)
What might this young man have misunderstood about achieving his goals?
In your study journal, make a brief list of the goals you have that you would consider eternally important. Think about why you want to achieve these goals. Ponder how your day-to-day conduct might be leading you toward or away from these eternally important goals. As you study, look for truths that can help you better align your daily actions with the eternally significant results you desire.
The law of the harvest
The Saints in Galatia had been exposed to false teachings that caused many to be led astray (see Galatians 1:6–9). Some believed and taught the false doctrine that Gentile converts had to be circumcised to be saved (see Galatians 6:12; Acts 15:1). Others believed falsely that the grace of Christ gave them liberty to sin (see Galatians 5:13). After addressing these false beliefs and encouraging the Saints to help those who had spiritually strayed, Paul taught an important truth to help the people understand the impact of their actions.
Read Galatians 6:7–8. Look for a truth Paul taught that can influence our daily actions. Note that sowing refers to planting and that reaping refers to harvesting.
How would you explain Paul’s teachings in your own words?
One truth we can learn from Galatians 6:7 is that whatever a person sows is what they will also reap. This idea is sometimes referred to as the law of the harvest.
What examples have you seen of this truth in your life or the lives of others?
How can understanding this truth impact the decisions you make in your life?
As an alternative to studying the following verses, consider showing the video “Alma Teaches Corianton about Resurrection and Judgment | Alma 39–41” from time code 1:27 to 2:35. This video is available on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Alma’s teachings to his son Corianton in the Book of Mormon can help us better understand the eternal implications of the law of the harvest, or what Alma referred to as the “plan of restoration.” Read Alma 41:3–6, 10–15, looking for truths that enhance your understanding of Paul’s teachings.
What words or phrases did you find to be significant from these verses? Why?
After reviewing what Alma taught Corianton, how does this teaching apply to Paul’s words that “whatsoever a man [or woman] soweth, that shall he [or she] also reap”? (Galatians 6:7).
What do the teachings you have studied so far today help you understand about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?
Paul’s invitation to the Galatians
Paul concluded his teachings about the law of the harvest with an invitation. Read Galatians 6:9–10, looking for what Paul invited the Saints to do.
Consider displaying the following questions and inviting students to discuss them in pairs or small groups. Then ask a few volunteers to share their responses with the class.
What do you think it means to “not be weary in well doing”? (Galatians 6:9).
How is Jesus Christ the perfect example of this?
What do you think Paul meant when he said that we will reap “in due season” (Galatians 6:9) as we strive to do good for others? Why is this important to understand?
Applying what you learned
President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency encouraged us to think about where each of our choices will lead us (see “Where Will This Lead?,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2019, 60–62).
To apply this counsel from President Oaks, do the following activity.
Create a chart similar to the following:
What you are sowing (actions you regularly do)
What you are reaping or can expect to reap in the future (where these actions will lead)
On the left side, make a list of some of the things you spend most of your time doing or would like to begin doing regularly.
On the right side, write down what you feel the results of doing those things on a regular basis will be. Think about the outcomes you could expect if you repeated these actions regularly for a week, a month, a year, five years, or even the rest of your life.
Ponder any promptings you have received from the Holy Ghost as you have studied today. Below your chart, write down any adjustments you have felt prompted to make in your life that will help you better qualify to receive the blessings you desire. God will help you as you give your best effort (see Doctrine and Covenants 123:17).
Commentary and Background Information
Galatians 6:8. What does it mean if a person “soweth to the Spirit” or “soweth to his flesh”?
Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:
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Elder Ulisses Soares, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles official portrait.
To sow in the Spirit means that all our thoughts, words, and actions must elevate us to the level of the divinity of our heavenly parents. However, the scriptures refer to the flesh as the physical or carnal nature of the natural man, which allows people to be influenced by passion, desires, appetites, and drives of the flesh instead of looking for inspiration from the Holy Ghost. If we are not careful, those influences together with the pressure of the evil in the world may conduct us to adopt vulgar and reckless behavior which may become part of our character. In order to avoid those bad influences, we have to follow what the Lord instructed the Prophet Joseph Smith about continuously sowing in the Spirit: “Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great” (Doctrine and Covenants 64:33).
President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency taught:
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Official Portrait of President Dallin H. Oaks taken March 2018.
If we indulge in drugs or pornography or other evils that the Apostle [Paul] called sowing to the flesh, eternal law dictates that we harvest corruption rather than life eternal. That is the justice of God, and mercy cannot rob justice. If an eternal law is broken, the punishment affixed to that law must be suffered. Some of this can be satisfied by the Savior’s Atonement, but the merciful cleansing of a soiled sinner comes only after repentance (see Alma 42:22–25), which for some sins is a prolonged and painful process.
(Dallin H. Oaks, “Be Not Deceived,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2004, 45)
How can small efforts change my life and the lives of others?
Watch “Of Seeds and Soils” from time code 7:06 to 9:11 to see an example of small actions changing the lives of hundreds. This video is available on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Invite students to think of how the Savior responded to those who were living in sin. Ask students to read Galatians 6:1–2 and to look for how Paul invited us to follow the Savior’s example in how we respond to sinners. Consider providing the following definitions for students as they study:
“Overtaken in a fault”: this means to be caught in sin.
“Restore”: the original Greek word katartizete “signifies to set in joint, as a dislocated bone; accordingly we should endeavour to set them in joint again,” or, in other words, to “return [them] to their duty” (Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Volume VI–II—First Corinthians–Second Timothy [2018], 168).
“Considering thyself”: this means to be aware of and watch yourself.
Invite students to share what they feel Paul wanted the Galatians to understand. Consider asking questions such as the following:
How can we restore others to Christ without falling into temptation with them?
How can bearing others’ burdens help restore them to Christ?
How can following Paul’s counsel help us become more like the Savior? (see Mosiah 18:8–10).
Display a few seeds of a fruit or vegetable that students will easily recognize. Ask them to identify what kind of seeds they are.
What can you expect if you plant these seeds? Invite a student to read Galatians 6:7–8 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for what Paul taught about what we can expect when we plant seeds.