The January 2025 Come Follow Me Ministering Printable ties together Elder Kyle S. McKay’s October 2024 General Conference talk “The Man Who Communed with Jehovah” and “How can I receive answers to my prayers?” in the January 2025 “Come, Follow Me” message.
Download January 2025 Ministering Printable (4×6)
Adobe Firefly AI used to create the artwork. You can print these printables as 4×6 photo prints. My local drugstore prints them for just pennies. They are also a higher resolution if you want to enlarge them.
January 2025 Come Follow Me Ministering Message
The First Vision – How can I receive answers to my prayers?
When I was in college, a group of friends came to visit me in Southern California over winter break. One of my friends was a farmer from the Midwest. We decided to take him to an authentic, hole-in-the-wall Mexican food restaurant so that he could experience how amazing real Mexican food was. When he asked me what he should order, I suggested a machaca burrito, one of my favorites. It is made with shredded beef, onions, peppers, tomatoes, and eggs.
When it was his turn to order, he nervously went up to the counter and said, “I want a muchacha.” The guy behind the counter looked at him confused, and we busted out laughing. My friend had just tried to order a girl. There is a big difference between a machaca and a muchacha.
Communication Gaps in Prayer
It is difficult to ask for things when faced with a communication gap. Which is why I think prayer can be so hard. God understands us perfectly, but we are imperfect, mortal beings who don’t understand Him very well.
God also uses prayer as a time to teach us who He is and who we need to be. So He isn’t going to dumb things down for us. And there are some answers we can’t get until we are ready to receive them. Anyone who has ever prayed for an answer or a blessing knows that it takes work. And the process is almost always instructive.
The Role of Repentance When Praying for Answers
This month in “Come, Follow Me,” the manual asks, “How can I receive answers to my prayers?” As we learn about Joseph Smith and his experience praying for answers, we learn about the importance of preparation, scripture study, and acting on the answers we receive. We also learn about something that I had never thought much about until recently.
Elder Kyle S. McKay mentioned in his October 2024 General Conference talk, “The Man Who Communed with Jehovah,” that Joseph Smith went to the grove to pray about which church to join and to seek forgiveness for his sins. In the 1832 account of the first vision, Joseph explains that the Lord not only gave him the direction to not join any church, but He also forgave him of his sins. For many days after the vision, Joseph was filled with love and great joy.
Elder McKay said something that really stuck with me. He said, “Joseph’s experience in the grove gave him confidence to ask for forgiveness and direction for the rest of his life. His experience has also given me confidence to ask for forgiveness and direction for the rest of my life.”
Repentance and Revelation in the Scriptures
I realized I had been missing an important piece when praying for direction. I would ask in faith and humility, but how often did I come repenting? It got me thinking about other examples in the scriptures. Many of the significant visions and revelations came when individuals came to ask for not only help, but forgiveness.
Isaiah’s Vision (Isaiah 6:1-7): “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips.”
Daniel’s Vision (Daniel 9:3-21): “And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments.”
Nephi’s Vision (1 Nephi 10:17-22, and 1 Nephi 11-14): “For he is the same yesterday, today, and forever; and the way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world, if it so be that they repent and come unto him.”
Enos’s Wrestle with God (Enos 1:4-5): “I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens. And there came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed.”
Alma the Younger’s Vision (Alma 36:11-22): “And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world. Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death.”
The Brother of Jared’s Vision (Ether 2:14-15, Ether 3:1-13): “And the brother of Jared repented of the evil which he had done, and did call upon the name of the Lord for his brethren who were with him. And the Lord said unto him: I will forgive thee and thy brethren of their sins; but thou shalt not sin any more, for ye shall remember that my Spirit will not always strive with man; wherefore, if ye will sin until ye are fully ripe ye shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord.”
I hadn’t realized it before, but I often start my prayers asking for the wrong thing. I am asking for the Lord to change my circumstances, instead of asking how I need Him to change me.
Repenting When We Ask for Help Changes Everything
When we include repentance in our requests for revelation or blessings, it gives us the confidence to go before the Lord. It also changes the relationship. Instead of avoiding Him because of our sins, it gives us confidence that we can go to Him because we need help with our sins.
It also opens me up to answers I may have not been willing to hear. When I see my faults, I can better see what I need to change to fix a situation or find an answer. Coming to the Lord with humility also helps me to listen to what He has to give me. I don’t become as frustrated when His answers or timeframe don’t match up with my own.
In addition, when the Lord forgives me of my sins, He elevates me. I am in a position to receive more significant spiritual experiences.
We often think of repentance as unpleasant or a punishment. But repentance brings joy and teaches us a lot about the Lord’s nature. According to Elder McKay, “Joseph’s life of regular repentance gives me confidence to ‘come boldly unto the throne of grace, that [I] may obtain mercy.’ I have learned that Jesus Christ truly is ‘of a forgiving disposition.’ It is neither His mission nor His nature to condemn. He came to save.”
January 2025 Come Follow Me Ministering Handout
I loved the idea of these pencils! At the end of each pencil, there is a small seed capsule. When the pencil becomes too short to use, you can flip it over, plant the stub, and wait for it to grow herbs, flowers, or fresh organic vegetables. The label on each pencil lets you know what kinds of seeds are inside.
It reminded me not only for the grove of trees where Joseph Smith prayed, but also of the seeds we plant when we pray for help. Like Joseph Smith, when we pray, the impact can be much more than the little seed we planted.
Did you like this January 2025 Come Follow Me Ministering message? Find more Relief Society Ministering Printables for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
These ministering printables are a great way to help families incorporate the “Come, Follow Me” lessons into their own study. They are also perfect for Young Women’s, Relief Society, Sunday School, or Family Home Evening. I hope that these ministering printables will be a simple way to reach out to those we minister to.
