The September 2024 Come, Follow Me Ministering Printable ties together Elder D. Todd Christofferson’s April 2024 General Conference talk, “The Testimony of Jesus,” with “Faith in Christ fills my soul with joy” in the September “Come, Follow Me” message from Helaman 3.
Download September 2024 Ministering Printable (4×6)
Artwork was created using Adobe Firefly AI. 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.
September 2024 Come Follow Me Ministering Message
Helaman 3 – Faith in Christ fills my soul with joy
Have you ever tried mixing water and oil together in a glass? Even when stirred together, the oil will separate from the water. This is because water and oil are immiscible, meaning they are incapable of mixing or forming a homogeneous mixture.
You will also notice that when the oil separates, it floats to the top of the water. This is because oil is less dense than water. Density is how much mass you can fit in a certain amount of space or volume. Because oil molecules are bigger, they don’t pack together as tightly as water molecules. So you can’t fit as many oil molecules into a space as water molecules. This makes the oil comparatively lighter and it floats to the top.
If you keep filling that glass of oil with water, you will see the water push the oil up and over the top of the glass. If you add enough water, you can eventually push all the oil out of the glass.
Wade through Much Affliction
Much like the water pushes the oil out of the glass, the saints in Helaman 3 found that yielding their hearts to God had the same effect.
The church had experienced a time of rapid growth, prosperity, peace, and great joy. But with those blessings, some of the people started to become prideful. And they started to persecute those who were more humble.
“And they were lifted up in pride, even to the persecution of many of their brethren. Now this was a great evil, which did cause the more humble part of the people to suffer great persecutions, and to wade through much affliction” (Helaman 3:34)
I like the use of the word “wade” here. Wade means to walk with effort through water, liquid, or a viscous substance. Wading requires a lot more energy because every movement encounters resistance. And what you are wading through makes a big difference in your experience. Wading around in a pool isn’t so bad. But wading through a swamp or tar would be terrible. Wading through affliction doesn’t sound fun either.
Fill Their Souls With Joy and Consolation
But despite their afflictions, these humble Saints did not falter. Instead of being worn out from wading, the Saints waxed stronger. Instead of losing their footing, they became firmer in their faith.
“Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God” (Helaman 3:35).
Notice the steps. They fasted and prayed, which strengthened their faith. Which faith allowed them to fill their souls with joy and consolation. And their souls were so full that the Saints were purified and sanctified as they yielded their hearts to God.
Lots of times when we think about repentance, we think about removing the sin. Or when we think about deliverance from a trial, we think about removing the trial. But this scripture challenges us to think about it another way. To remove something bad, we must fill that space with something good.
Oil and Water
And this is where the oil and water experiment comes in. Our souls are like the glass of oil. We can remove the oil in our lives by filling ourselves with water. Instead of passively waiting for purification and sanctification, we need to be busy filling ourselves and our lives with all the good things of the gospel. We should be filling ourselves with the living water of Christ.
As Christ said, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37-38).
Like the oil and water, Christ is immiscible with sin, despair, and darkness. Living water is dense and it packs inside us so deeply that it pushes everything else out. When we fill ourselves with living water, there is no room for anything else. Just like the water pushes the oil out of the glass, as we yield ourselves to Christ and fill our lives with Him, our hearts are purified and sanctified.
Yielding Our Hearts to God
Elder D. Todd Christofferson in his April 2024 General Conference talk, “The Testimony of Jesus,” uses this group of Saints in Helaman as an example of how to be valiant in our testimonies. Instead of being bogged down by their trials, these Saints pursued personal holiness by yielding their hearts to God. Elder Christofferson shares, “It is this mighty change of heart—yielding our hearts to God and being spiritually reborn through the grace of the Savior—that we seek.”
When we are valiant in our testimonies, we not only believe in Christ but we are changed by Christ and give Him our wholehearted devotion. As we strive to return to our Heavenly Father in the celestial kingdom, Elder Christofferson says, “The inheritors of the celestial kingdom ‘receive’ the testimony of Jesus in the fullest sense by being baptized, receiving the Holy Ghost, and overcoming by faith. The principles and truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ govern their priorities and choices. The testimony of Jesus is manifest in what they are and what they are becoming. Their motive is charity, ‘the pure love of Christ.’ Their focus is on pursuing ‘the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.’”
When we find ourselves wading through oil, whether through trials or our own sins, we can remember the amazing properties of water. As we become actively engaged in filling our lives with Christ, His joy and consolation will push everything else out.
September 2024 Come Follow Me Ministering Handout
Since we are playing with water and oil, I thought these Liquid Motion Bubblers would be fun to give out. Water and oil are so amazing!
Did you like this September 2024 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.
