What a terrifying time.

Absolutely everything was changing, and he didn’t know what would happen next for sure. ⁣

But he was still compiling the plates. ⁣

It seemed a little redundant to include the small plates with the large plates he had abridged, but he felt like he should do it, so he did. ⁣

Mormon probably felt in varying doses: loneliness, confusion, fear, and uncertainty for the end of his people. ⁣

And yet he shows a beautiful example of true faith in God. ⁣

“And I do this for a wise purpose; for thus it whispereth me, according to the workings of the Spirit of the Lord which is in me. And now, I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come; wherefore, he worketh in me to do according to his will.” (Words of Mormon 1:7)

He follows through on every single prompting he receives because he knows that the Lord is in control. ⁣

And that’s where true peace can be found. ⁣

I have felt similar feelings when I know change is ahead in my life.

Sometimes, I give into the fear of the unknown, my mind tunneling through every possibility.

… and other times I give it all to God. ⁣

Acknowledge that I have NO clue what is going to happen – but God does.

And if I just listen to the little promptings and then act on those little promptings, I feel peace. ⁣

Faith and fear don’t live together very well.

So, to cast out fear of the unknown, we can learn from Mormon to tune into the little promptings, act on them, and grow our faith to give God the rest of the control.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Fear and faith and Mormon  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

And have you ever wondered what the difference is between fasting and not eating?

“Continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end. . . .” (Omni 1:26)

The answer to both of those questions is:

Prayer.

“Fasting without prayer is just going hungry for 24 hours.” – Elder Carl B. Pratt

If you’ve ever struggled with fasting, you are not alone.

I have conversations with people about this all the time.

Going without food is tough.

But here’s what I’ve learned as I’ve studied this principle:

Fasting is meant to help us develop spiritual strength and humility.

Spiritual strength. And humility.

It’s a symbolic and literal manifestation of our desperate desire to commune with God.

It shows our seriousness in requesting specific blessings.

But blessings require some work on our part.

Fasting and prayer are two of the most humble and sincere forms of work we can do for our Father in Heaven.

My fasting experience has improved as I’ve focused on communing with God.

And I’ve learned it’s okay to feel pain. To have that headache. To realize just how fragile I am without literally a small amount of food.

It’s good for me to humble myself.

And when I couple fasting with prayer, I slowly build my spiritual strength.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Fasting and what?  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Enos goes into the forest to pray for his own soul. ⁣

After a long wrestle and many hours, he hears God’s voice reassuring him that his sins are forgiven.⁣

And then, Enos begins to feel a desire for the welfare of his brethren. ⁣

“When I had heard these words I began to feel a desire for the welfare of my brethren”. (Enos 1:9)

So the lesson is that when you feel conversion, you should naturally want to share the gospel with other people. ⁣

While that is 100% a beautiful application of this scripture, what if there is a different way to look at it?⁣

True prayer is when our faith in God is so strong, that our wills become the same. ⁣

“Prayer is the act by which the will of the father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other.” -Bible Dictionary, “Prayer”

Enos went into the forest looking for freedom for his own soul. ⁣

But as his faith grew stronger and stronger during this lengthy prayer, his desires began to change, too!⁣

At first, he desired to help his brethren.⁣

And then, he desired that God would preserve the record of his people so the Lamanites could one day read it and be converted. ⁣

Numerous other prophets before him and after him would have that same desire.

Why?

Because they were all aligning their wills to God’s. ⁣

In our lives, this looks like saying a prayer to know how to deal with your boss, and leaving the prayer with the desire to search for a new job. ⁣

This looks like praying for your ministering sister who won’t respond, and leaving with a specific thought of something you can drop off. ⁣

This looks like praying for your child to solve their problems, and leaving with a deep love for them, no matter what struggles they go through. ⁣

When our faith in God increases, we trust that His will is really what is best for us.

And when that faith and trust grow, we naturally allow God’s will to take precedence over our own. ⁣

We just have to engage in the wrestle to let our own will go.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Aligning wills through prayer  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Jarom prophesied.

Jarom received revelations.

He may have even had an amazing conversion story, gave a powerful sermon, or had a unique life story.

And yet, when it was his turn to write on the plates, Jarom wrote:

“It must needs be that I write a little; but I shall not write the things of my prophesying, nor of my revelations. For what could I write more than my fathers have written?”(Jarom 1:2)

Now, really, I don’t want to pass judgment on Jarom. It’s possible that he was asked to only write a little. And clearly God made it work with whatever Jarom did or didn’t do.

But his question of “What could I write more than my fathers have written?” Is so intriguing to me!

Where am I selling myself short?

Do I think other people have more important things to say than I do?

And does believing that others are better than I am limit what I do?

I matter!

I know that Jesus loves me and cares about my experiences.

I don’t think He would want me NOT to talk about something cool I learned in the scriptures just because someone else had said something like it before.

I don’t think He would want me to stay silent when I feel I should bear my testimony just because I have nothing unique to say.

I don’t think He would want me to not teach my children the gospel because I don’t feel I know it well enough.

“Our clumsy efforts can lead to miracles.” – Elder Vern P. Stanfill

I wonder what Jarom could have shared if we got to learn more about his life, his prophecies, his difficult moments, his conversion, his joy…

Jarom didn’t think he could add anything that Nephi and Jacob hadn’t already said.

But I believe we’ve all got something.

We might not realize it, but our unique little experiences and perspectives matter.

And when we share them with others, it might be exactly the thing that connects with their soul, too!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post We’ve all got something to share  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.