The April 2025 Come Follow Me Ministering Printable ties together President Russell M. Nelson’s October 2024 General Conference talk “The Lord Jesus Christ Will Come Again” and the April 2025 “Come, Follow Me” message on Doctrine and Covenants 29 and “Jesus Christ Will Gather His People.”
April 2025 Ministering Printable (4×6)
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.
April 2025 Come Follow Me Ministering Message
“Jesus Christ Will Gather His People”
In January of this year, Jackie, the bald eagle, laid three eggs in her nest up in Big Bear, California. Thanks to a live webcam installed by the nest, people across the country can watch as Jackie and her mate, Shadow, carefully tend to their growing family. In March, thousands watched excitedly as the three little eaglets broke out of their shells. And we mourned when one of the eaglets did not survive a late winter storm.
Bald eagles are cold-weather birds and their eggs often hatch when there is still snow on the ground. Because of this, bald eagles have to be prepared to shelter their young through cold weather and storms.
Preparing For The Storms
During storms, bald eagles protect their eaglets by positioning their bodies strategically to shield them from wind, rain, and snow. Their feathers are water-resistant and they maintain a body temperature of 104 to 106°F to provide warmth for their young.
Both the mother and the father will develop a brood patch—a featherless area on their abdomen rich in blood vessels—that allows them to transfer heat directly to their young. By pressing the eaglets against this warm patch, the parents ensure they stay dry and regulate their body temperature.
During a storm, the parents will sit over their eaglets for extended periods, only taking short breaks to feed them. It isn’t until the eaglets are six weeks old that they will develop their own water-resistant feathers to keep them warm. Essential to the eaglets’ survival is their ability to stay close to their parents.
The nest has also been carefully prepared ahead of time with enough insulation to keep the eaglets warm from underneath. For the next several weeks, Shadow will leave the nest to find more insulation and food for his family. The safety of the family depends on their ability to gather together.
The Lord Gathers His People
Just as the survival of the eaglets depends on their ability to gather close to their parents, the Lord invites us to gather into His care. In Doctrine and Covenants 29, the Lord speaks of gathering His people before the trials of the last days so that He can protect them from the incoming storm.
Gathering plays a pivotal role in His ability to protect us. In verses 1-13 of the section, the Lord references gathering 12 times. One of the most striking images is the imagery of a hen gathering her chicks under her wings.
If bald eagles are uniquely designed to protect their young, our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are divinely designed to save us. Just as learning about an eaglet’s parents strengthens our confidence in their ability to provide safety, understanding the nature of our Savior builds our faith in His power to protect and save us.
In just the first five verses of Doctrine and Covenants 29, we learn several essential truths about Christ’s nature:
He has the power to save
In verse 1, Christ declares, “Listen to the voice of Jesus Christ, your Redeemer, the Great I Am, whose arm of mercy hath atoned for your sins.” Unlike the eagles, who despite their best efforts could not save one of their young, the Lord has infinite power to save us through His Atonement. He loves us so much He was willing to atone for our sins and He reaches towards us in mercy.
He longs to gather and protect us
Verse 2 reminds us, “He will gather his people even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings.” We are His children, and His desire to protect us is as strong as any loving parent’s instinct to shelter their young. Under His care, He can promise protection that we cannot find anywhere else.
He warns us of danger and offers forgiveness
In verse 3, He says, “Your sins are forgiven you…but remember to sin no more, lest perils shall come upon you.” The Lord wants to forgive us. You will notice in the scriptures that many interactions with Christ begin with Him forgiving our sins. Christ saves us from sin at every opportunity. He also warns us against choices that could bring suffering and danger.
He is in our midst and advocates for us
Verse 5 teaches, “Lift up your hearts and be glad, for I am in your midst, and am your advocate with the Father; and it is his good will to give you the kingdom.” Christ is not watching from afar, He is in the midst of us. Christ is also our advocate with the Father. He is not presenting all our sins as evidence that we should be condemned. Instead, he is arguing on our behalf. And God isn’t looking for reasons to withhold blessings, it is His will to give us the kingdom.
He answers our prayers
In verse 6, the Lord promises, “Whatsoever ye shall ask in faith, being united in prayer…ye shall receive.” The Lord wants to answer our prayers. He is the father who gives good gifts. He listens when we “call upon [Him] in mighty prayer.” This is especially true when we gather together and unite in prayer.
He gathers us for our protection
Verses 7-8 explain that we are called to help gather the Lord’s elect so that they may “prepare their hearts and be prepared in all things against the day when tribulation and desolation are sent forth upon the wicked.”
Like the bald eagles, the Lord wants to gather us so he can prepare us and protect us against the coming storms.
Protection From The Buffetings of The World
We feel the need to gather most deeply when we understand our Savior’s nature. The more we know Him, the more we will desire to draw near and experience the peace and protection He offers.
At the October 2024 General Conference, President Russell M. Nelson gave a talk titled “The Lord Jesus Christ Will Come Again.” In the talk, He emphasizes the importance of gathering to Christ for protection against life’s challenges. And it is by making convents with Him in the temple that we can feel that protection most strongly.
“In the temple, we receive protection from the buffetings of the world. We experience the pure love of Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father in great abundance! We feel peace and spiritual reassurance, in contrast to the turbulence of the world.”
President Nelson then issued this urgent call to action:
“My dear brothers and sisters, in a coming day, Jesus Christ will return to the earth as the millennial Messiah. So today I call upon you to rededicate your lives to Jesus Christ. I call upon you to help gather scattered Israel and to prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Lord. I call upon you to talk of Christ, testify of Christ, have faith in Christ, and rejoice in Christ! Come unto Christ and “offer your whole [soul]” to Him. This is the secret to a life of joy!”
It is no wonder Christ uses the beautiful imagery of gathering as a hen gathers her chicks. Just as the eaglets’ survival depends on their gathering to their parents, our survival depends on our gathering to Christ. The beautiful part about Doctrine and Covenants 29 is that He calls us to be both the gathered and the gatherers. As we do this, not only do we share the peace He offers us, but also the joy He feels when His children come home.
April 2025 Come Follow Me Ministering Handout
Since it is Easter and we are talking about eggs, I decided to pair the message with candy eggs. I love these clear boxes for putting candy in!
Did you like this April 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.
