August 2020 Come Follow Me Ministering – A Sure Foundation
This month, the August 2020 Come Follow Me Ministering Printable ties together Elder Gary E. Stevenson’s April 2020 General Conference talk “A Good Foundation against the Time to Come” and this August’s Come, Follow Me lesson on Helaman 1-6 – The Rock of Our Redeemer.
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, or Sunday School. While church gatherings are temporarily on hold due to the recent pandemic, I hope that these ministering printables will be a simple way to reach out to those we minister to. We can’t visit each other, but we can drop off something as a little pick-me-up!
Download August 2020 Come Follow Me Ministering Printable
My amazing niece made this printable for me this month and did an incredible job. You can find her on Instagram @happynotesandbrushstrokes. I love how the imagery of the temple matches with Elder Stevenson’s talk. Chocolate-covered pretzels are amazing, so I decided to pair the printable with my favorite kind. I also thought it was a fun reminder that even with everything in the world being so crazy, we don’t have to let ourselves get all tied up in knots. We can trust in the Lord’s sure foundation and fear not.
August 2020 Come Follow Me Ministering Printable
Helaman 1-6 – The Rock of Our Redeemer and a Sure Foundation
This August we are studying Helaman in Come, Follow Me and get to read about the remarkable missionary efforts of Nephi and Lehi.
During this time, the two brothers were preaching the gospel to nations that had become very corrupted. But these missionaries were on fire – literally! When cast into prison by the Lamanites, God protected the brothers by encircling them in a pillar of fire. Ultimately, their preaching converted the majority of the Lamanites and prepared the people for the coming of Christ after His resurrection.
During a particularly tough time, Nephi and Lehi choose to remember the words of their father Helaman instead of getting discouraged.
“And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.” (Helaman 5:12)
Our Sure Foundation
We face our own kinds of trials today. And like Nephi and Lehi, we can stand firm on the sure foundation of Jesus Christ. Right now I find myself relying a lot on my Savior to keep up my spirits and stamina as I tackle parenting and schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the things I am being asked to do don’t come naturally to me and it is hard. On top of that, all the competing voices we hear in social media and the media seem to drag us down. I love the imagery in Helaman 5:12 as I imagine myself standing on a solid rock, encircled by the power of the Lord, and protected from the storm and shafts in the whirlwind.
A Temple Foundation
During the April 2020 General Conference, Elder Gary E. Stevenson talked about a sure foundation in his talk, “A Good Foundation against the Time to Come.” He likens our spiritual foundation to the carefully maintained foundation of the Salt Lake Temple.
There are so many beautiful images that help us understand how the Lord protects us. Not only can we liken our testimonies to the foundation of the temple, but the temple is also the foundation of our testimonies. As we receive sacred ordinances in the temple, we make covenants with our Savior that give us a firm foundation.
The pillar of fire surrounding Nephi and Lehi reminded me of the pillar of fire over the tabernacle in the Old Testament. Not only does Christ and the covenants we make protect us, but they also guide us like they did the Israelites in the dark wilderness. The temple is our foundation, a protection, and a light.
Examples of Faith
Elder Stevenson shares, “One of the greatest joys of my life is becoming acquainted with and inspired by members of the Church all over the world who are living exemplars of faith in Jesus Christ and His gospel. They have strong personal foundations that allow them to withstand seismic events with steady understanding, despite their heartache and pain.”
Recently, he spoke at the funeral of a sister with a young family who had been battling cancer for six years. When asked how she could still have faith, she answered, “Because faith is what gets me through these dark times. Having faith doesn’t mean nothing bad is going to happen. Having faith allows me to believe that there will be light again. And that light will be even brighter because I have walked through the dark. As much darkness as I have witnessed over the years, I have witnessed far more light. I have seen miracles. I have felt angels. I have known that my Heavenly Father was carrying me. None of that would have been experienced if life was easy. The future of this life may be unknown, but my faith is not. If I choose to not have faith then I choose to only walk in darkness. Because without faith, darkness is all that is left.”
I love how she shares that having faith doesn’t mean that nothing bad will happen, but it will light our way through the darkness. Like Helaman said, the storm will beat upon us, but when we have a sure foundation the storm has no power.
