The end of the Book of Mormon.

“The most correct of any book on earth.”

Another testament of Jesus Christ.

I needed this book this year.

I feel like the world went on a journey that needed the Book of Mormon, too.

From these pages, I was reminded that very real and very imperfect people made miracles happen.

I was reminded that the “blessings” for believing in Christ aren’t always temporal blessings.

Life can be hard at the same time that it is beautiful and peaceful.

Pride is the biggest trap, and it disguises itself by seeming justified pretty often.

God answers prayers.

God knows the bigger picture.

I have to change my heart, but also allow my heart to change my actions.

Sharing the gospel with other people brings great joy.

Everything points us to my Savior.

The Savior cares about literally everyone.

This book is life-changing. In the early latter-days of the church (which we will start studying in just a few days), it was the Book of Mormon that drew people to join a religion that seemed totally strange.

The Book of Mormon is a solid rock in the foundation of my testimony.

Whenever I feel any winds of confusion or doubt blowing, I come back to the Book of Mormon.

It is so true.

And it’s also so useful and practical. And inspirational. And heartbreaking. And powerful.

I love the Book of Mormon.

I have had the Spirit whisper time and time again to me that there is truth in every page.

I’ve heard God speak to me through its pages.

In fact, the first time that I heard God’s voice was in these pages.

And when I pray about this holy book, a sweet Spirit of peace fills my heart.

Every time.

Just peace.

Peace in my heart.

Peace is the real blessing.

I know the Book of Mormon is true, and studying it every single day in 2020 has changed my life. God is good, and Jesus loves me.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post My final testimony first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

She asked me one day: “What do you think your special spiritual power is?”

She shared that hers was to sense other people’s emotions, even when they wanted to hide them.

I told her that I felt that the Spirit told me truths all the time, both eternal truths, and also about things that would happen in the future.

We had an interesting discussion together about how we both felt that these “powers” were meant to be kept privately.

She totally believed the few sacred experiences I shared with her were true, and she shared some of her beautiful experiences, too.

I’ll never forget that conversation. It was reverent, it was sacred, and it was respectful.

But we also spoke freely about the powers from beyond the veil that can make real differences in our lives.

Because I think the Spirit is more powerful than I even realize.

The Spirit has told me the truth many times.

I’ve had pure gospel truths confirmed to me, like the validity of the Book of Mormon.

I’ve had truths revealed to me about my relationships, like who to become friends with or who to distance myself from.

And I’ve had truths about future events revealed to me, like whether or not I was getting a job or whether something I was worried about would actually happen.

And each time, the Spirit tells me truth in the most peaceful and meek way.

I don’t feel any pride. I don’t feel the need to tell others. I don’t boast.

I just know the Truth.

And I know that God knows that I know.

I think that the truth is quiet. It is powerful and confident, but it is quiet.

And I also think that the Spirit can bring that same truth to anyone who seeks.

I know that I can’t know the answer to every question. I can think of many times when I’ve asked, and NOT received truth. I’ve just received nothing.

But those moments are even still a little comforting. Because I know that if I’m not having the truth revealed to me, it means I’m not meant to know yet.

And then I feel peace.

We can seek for truth. God wants us to know truths, and He gives us His Spirit to let us hear the truths we need.

Whether we are making a personal decision, or seeking for the truth of an ancient record, the Spirit can reveal the truth of all things.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Seeking for the truth first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

“It also essentially entails doing good, being good, and becoming better.” – Elder David A. Bednar

Elder Bednar echoes what Moroni ends with so perfectly.

In order to become perfected in Christ, we have to deny ourselves of all ungodliness.

We need to repent and turn away from sin.

Work on overcoming weakness and stand strong against temptation.

But just staying clean isn’t going to get us to “perfection”.

We then have to love God with all our might, mind, and strength.

We have to get up and do good things.

We have to serve, to listen to promptings, to love each other.

Our hearts have to change.

And that’s how we become perfect.

Personally, I feel like my focus changes all the time.

Some days, I’m working on getting rid of sin.

And other days, I’m working to do good with a willing and loving heart.

And being perfected in Christ requires both.

I know we talk about how we can’t become perfect here on earth.

But I do believe that we can become more and more perfected every day.

It’s just about keeping both parts of the equation in mind:

Getting rid of the bad.

And coming to Christ with the good.

And once we show that we can do this in small increments, our Savior shares His grace to slowly make us more and more like Him.

To perfect ourselves in Christ.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Perfected in Christ first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I sometimes think about how I could literally do anything I wanted to right now.

I could take off running down the street and never come back. I could lay in bed all day. I could order any food that I wanted and eat it. I could drive anywhere. I could stop doing things that I’m doing right now.

I could also call someone right now and catch up with an old friend. I could make a treat and drop it on someone’s doorstep. I could immerse myself in General Conference talks. I could make a goal and take a step to achieve it. I could clean something. I could listen to some good music.

Like… isn’t it overwhelming the amount of freedom that we have every single day?!

Obviously, I don’t have freedom from any consequences, but I can do literally anything that I want at anytime.

Which was what I thought of when I read Moroni’s warning exhortation to us in Moroni 10:8:

“Deny not the gifts of God”.

I know that there are some spiritual gifts that I’ve been given.

And I’m also very aware of my imperfections.

So… what if I asked God to give me gifts of the Spirit that will help turn my imperfections into glorious strengths?!

I have the agency to ask that.

And Elder Dallin H. Oaks encouraged us to do just that:

“We should seek after spiritual gifts. They can lead us to God. They can shield us from the power of the adversary. They can compensate for our inadequacies and repair our imperfections.”

We can ask.

We can pray and ask for more personal revelation. We can pray and ask for a stronger testimony. We can pray and ask to understand the scriptures better. We can pray and ask to behold angels in our lives. We can pray and ask to be better teachers.

And when I fall into the ever-popular, “That’s just who I am!” – I am denying gifts from God.

I am deciding that I am not good enough for a gift. Or I don’t need it.

Which, unfortunately, is a choice I totally can make with my agency.

But I don’t want to.

I want to ask. Humbly, meekly, with the intent to serve others and grow closer to the Divine.

I want to ask for the spiritual gifts that will strengthen my imperfections and bring me closer to my Savior.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post How do you deny a spiritual gift? first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Down south to Disneyland, across Nevada, or just to the mountains.

But I learned from a young age that I like to just stare out the window of a car.

My mom would always get fun activities for my sisters and me to do, we’d check out books from the library…

But I would often find that I would spend half the day just staring out the window, thinking.

And when I learned how to drive, I remember learning that all my friends had carefully curated playlists on their iPods for driving.

And I preferred driving in silence.

I liked that time to just let my mind wander. To think on nothing and everything at the same time. To tell stories in my head, relive funny or amazing moments in the past, think about big picture questions.

And slowly but surely throughout the years, I’ve filled my time with things to do.

Productive things. Fun things. Meaningful things. Wasteful things.

I’ve given birth to two children who like to occupy a lot of my time, too.

And all of a sudden, I have to intentionally create time to ponder.

In fact, my decision to focus on pondering while I read the scriptures is what sparked my intense passion for them a few years ago.

Setting time limits to study instead of verse numbers to study transformed (and I can’t use that word strongly enough!) my experience with the word of God.

But I’m still trying to ponder more. To turn things off. To not turn a show on and scroll through my phone at the same time.

To give my brain a break and to just… let my mind wander.

Why?

Not just because I enjoy quiet time and thinking.

It’s because all of my moments of transformation have come from letting my mind think on things.

My decisions. My resolve to follow certain commandments better. My feelings of which relationships to pursue and which to let go. My analysis of my performance in jobs or callings.

And ultimately, my testimony.

Because when I stop everything and let my mind run free, I find that God speaks.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Pondering in silence first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.