When I sit down to write, and my mind goes completely blank.

I write a lot of things to share on social media.

There was one time where I had a scripture that I really wanted to post about, so I pulled out my phone to write a caption.

But……. As much as I loved the scripture and wanted to share it, my mind was completely blank for what to write.

I tried to think of personal stories, other perspectives I could add…

Nothing.

I looked at the time and realized I only had 5 minutes left before I needed to go somewhere.

Yet, I still couldn’t think of anything!

I quickly prayed.

“Heavenly Father, help me to be able to type this post while I have the time!”

I waited a bit.

And still, nothing.

I finally gave up and moved on to my next activity.

Honestly, I was a little frustrated that Heavenly Father hadn’t helped my brain focus when I needed it the most.

Fun fact, this particular event happened in the beginning of March 2020.

When I frustratedly put my phone away, unable to access divine power to blast away my writer’s block…

I had no idea what was going to happen over the next 48 hours.

That “sickness” I had vaguely heard about on the news, completely shut the world down.

The world had changed in an instant.

And that scripture that I couldn’t write a caption about?

It took on a totally new meaning. What I had thought about writing wouldn’t have even seemed relevant. The changes in the world gave me a perspective that allowed me to write a lot of my thoughts.

Many of us have learned:

“Wherefore, brethren, seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand.” (Jacob 4:10)

I was trying to “counsel the Lord” with my bad attitude about Him not ending my writer’s block.

I was getting frustrated that He wasn’t doing what I asked!

And yet, I was missing an opportunity to hear His real message to me.

Maybe He was trying to calm my heart and let me know that my writer’s block was a blessing that would make sense in a few days.

Maybe He was gently urging me to become more humble.

Maybe He was prompting me to move to a different task.

What messages might you and I be missing right now?

What answers are we waiting for so loudly that we unintentionally miss the Spirit’s calm voice? 

“We ought not to think of God’s plan as a cosmic vending machine where we (1) select a desired blessing, (2) insert the required sum of good works, and (3) the order is promptly delivered.” – D. Todd Christofferson

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Counseling the Lord first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

And I’ve been a presidency member who seeks revelation, takes initiative, and connects with the people I serve.⁣

I’ve been a Ward Choir Director who waits for someone else to tell me what to do and when.

And I’ve been a Ward Choir Director who makes decisions through the Spirit, gets approval from certain leaders, and moves forward with confidence and authority.⁣

I’ve been a teacher who prepares my lesson, comes to church, and teaches it.

And I’ve been a teacher who gets to know the youth that I teach, tailors lessons to their needs, and follows the Spirit with how to conduct my classes.⁣

Why does it matter if I’m the former or the latter example for each calling?⁣

Absolutely, connecting with others and building up my ward family is so important.⁣

But honestly, if my Heavenly Father needs to get a message to a teen sitting in my class, and I’m not accessing the Spirit and authority that I have, He will just find someone else to deliver the message who is more in-tune.⁣

(I mean, I really want to make sure I can do my best to be that person, but God can make anything happen whether or not I’m engaged.)

At the end of the day, my church callings are about my Heavenly Father and me.⁣

“And we did magnify our office unto the Lord, taking upon us the responsibility” (Jacob 1:19)

Am I going to learn, as Jacob teaches, how to magnify and take responsibility?⁣

Am I going to learn that when I am set apart for a calling, I am given priesthood authority to act?⁣

Am I going to learn that I can ALWAYS choose to be Christlike, no matter the limitations or imperfect people I face?⁣

The lessons I can learn are endless.⁣

And sometimes, the lesson is that it’s okay to scale back and simplify.

When I look at church callings through the lens of my personal relationship with my Savior, I keep everything in perspective a little better.

The frustrations, limitations and exhaustion don’t matter as much.

And whenever I become more Christlike, I am magnifying my calling, no matter what it may, or may not, be.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Magnify it!  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I know that I am going to feel overwhelmed by the things I want to change.

With hours and hours of messages, I always collect a lengthy list.

I’m ready to repent and become more Christlike right away in every single aspect.

But after a few days, something slowly starts to happen.

One theme will come over and over again to my mind.

One prompting will get stronger and stronger.

It’s like a sunrise.

Instead of a “lightbulb” moment where I’m hit with one big powerful change in a dramatic way…

It’s gradual.

And it gets brighter and brighter the more I focus on it.

That is one of the easiest ways I can recognize promptings from the Spirit.

A topic seems to come to my mind repeatedly.

I hear and read about it everywhere.

A little stronger each day until I’m ready to recognize the sun for what it is— a prompting.

It slowly builds until I feel like I am ready to take action! 

Although a much more somber topic, I can see that Jacob had a similar experience speaking to the Nephites.

“I this day am weighed down with much more desire and anxiety for the welfare of your souls than I have hitherto been.” (Jacob 2:3)

Although Jacob had a lot of different things he wanted to say to his audience, he felt that this particular topic kept coming to his mind, getting stronger and stronger.

It weighed his mind down more and more until he just couldn’t ignore it.

What patterns have you noticed in your thoughts and impressions recently?

This gradual but persistent growth might be how the Spirit gives you promptings, too.

Growing stronger and stronger.

Until we have enough light to see the way forward.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Almost General Conference!  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.