The July 2025 Come Follow Me Ministering Printable ties together Elder Ulisses Soares’ April 2025 General Conference talk, “Reverence for Sacred Things,” and the July 2025 “Come, Follow Me” message on Doctrine and Covenants 76.
July 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.
July 2025 Come Follow Me Ministering Message
Doctrine and Covenants 76 – In Humble Reverence
In his April 2025 General Conference talk, “Reverence for Sacred Things,” Elder Ulisses Soares explains that reverence involves a sense of awe, deep respect, love, and gratitude. It is the natural result of being close to Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father. Reverence is the very foundation on which we build our spirituality, and it increases our capacity for joy.
Elder Soares points out, “The meaning and importance of reverence for what is sacred is well outlined throughout the scriptures. One instance in the Doctrine and Covenants would seem to indicate that reverence toward our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, is an essential virtue for those who attain the celestial kingdom.”
Celestial Kingdom in Doctrine and Covenants Section 76
Elder Soares is referring to Doctrine and Covenants Section 76, where the Lord reveals the Plan of Salvation in detail and explains the differences in the three degrees of glory. Of the Celestial Kingdom, it is explained:
“And thus we saw the glory of the celestial, which excels in all things—where God, even the Father, reigns upon his throne forever and ever; Before whose throne all things bow in humble reverence, and give him glory forever and ever. They who dwell in his presence are the church of the Firstborn; and they see as they are seen, and know as they are known, having received of his fulness and of his grace;”
In other scriptures, we see that reverence shapes even the correspondence between Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. In fact, when Christ teaches the people to pray in Matthew, He starts His prayer off with, “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.” (Matthew 6:9)
Reverence Deepens Our Relationship With God
This pattern of reverence in Christ’s communication with the Father teaches us how sacred attitudes shape sacred experiences. Elder Ulisses Soares teaches that reverence is a spiritual gift that deepens our relationship with God and fills our lives with greater joy, meaning, and gratitude.
Elder Soares shares, “As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are invited to cultivate the gift of reverence in our lives in order to open ourselves to a deeper communion with God and His Son, Jesus Christ, simultaneously strengthening our spiritual character. Had we more of such feelings in our hearts, there would be undoubtedly greater joy and delight in our lives, and there would be less room for sorrow and sadness. We must remember that showing reverence for sacred things gives meaning to much of what we do every day and strengthens our feeling of gratitude—inspiring awe, respect, and love for higher and holier things.”
Parking Lot Sacrament Meeting
In my own life, I powerfully experienced this principle firsthand during the pandemic. We started meeting again in person for church, but we were unable to meet indoors. We set the Sacrament table up in the church parking lot along with enough folding chairs for the congregation. Airplanes flying overhead from the nearby airport often drowned out the speaker during our Sacrament meetings.
One Sunday morning there was rain in the forecast. We got through almost the entire meeting, but right as we prepared for the Sacrament it started to drizzle. Then it began to rain. Like all good Californians, none of us had an umbrella. But nobody budged from their seats. There were no gasps, signs of panic, murmurs, or running for cover.
Everybody reverently sat there like it wasn’t raining at all. The deacons passed the Sacrament like they always do. We were there to think about the Lord and renew our covenants and that was what we were going to do. This is what was important. Even though there was little that was reverent about the situation, our reverence made it one of my most profound experiences partaking of the Sacrament. Sitting there in the rain helped me see the Sacrament with fresh eyes.
Reverence Makes Things Holy
As I got wet, it made me reflect on how much it meant to me to take the Sacrament. After months of not being able to gather for the Sacrament, I better understood what it meant to sit around the Lord’s table every Sunday to renew my covenants. We did not take this privilege lightly, and rain and airplanes would not take it from us.
I also realized that this was the Lord’s Sacrament and He was okay with it raining. In some ways, the Sacrament needs to be perfect, but in some ways it doesn’t. It can be in the parking lot in the rain and that is okay. Or it can be on a chaotic pew trying to keep your children quiet.
This was a comforting realization. How many things do I worry about being perfect because they are important? But am I worried about it being perfect in unimportant ways? How many of those things can I just let go of? It is okay to pick the really important things and just focus on those.
And the rain got me thinking about the symbolism of the Sacrament. I thought about Noah and the flood, and the Primary song, “When I Am Baptized.” I thought of being washed clean as the rain washed the earth clean. While taking the Sacrament, I smelt that wonderful earthy smell that comes with the rain. I felt the rain and wind on my face. It was the most whole-body experience I have ever had with the Sacrament. It was a beautiful and intensely sacred experience.
Reverence Is An Essential Virtue
Reverence completely transformed what could have been a chaotic and disappointing experience. It turned the imperfections of life into one of my most profound experiences of taking the Sacrament. If you think through the scriptures, reverence has changed many hard things into beautiful things. For example, Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, Daniel in the Lion’s Den, and Nephi’s broken bow. When struggling through trials, consider how reverence might change your experience.
And if reverence has such a strong impact in this imperfect world, can you imagine how it will shape our experience in the Celestial Kingdom in the presence of our Heavenly Father? It is no wonder reverence “is an essential virtue for those who attain the celestial kingdom” and a key to our connection with Heavenly Father now.
July 2025 Come Follow Me Ministering Handout
I decided to pair the printable with cotton candy because it reminded me of clouds at sunset, which was perfect for the photo of the Nauvoo Temple. Clouds also made me think of the rain during Sacrament Meeting. And I love cotton candy, a lot.
Did you like this July 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.
