Mormon had just finished telling his son Moroni about the terrible things that were going on with the Lamanites and Nephites, and what tragic futures were to come.

But then he reminds his son:

Don’t let these things weigh you down.

Don’t let the evils of others bring your spirit and your faith down.

Don’t let the wickedness of the world dim your light.

Don’t let other people’s poor decisions linger in your mind.

And instead?

Let Christ lift you up.

Let your knowledge of His atoning sacrifice bring you hope.

Let His mercy linger in your mind.

Let His goodness be a powerful example to you.

What a lesson right?

Sometimes, I wish that I didn’t tie so many of my posts into “2020”. But at the end of the day, I can’t ignore the similarities between the end of the Book of Mormon and our current reality.

There is a lot of evil around us.

There are people with ill-intentions.

There are people making terrible decisions that affect us.

And yet, knowing that Christ has already atoned for our sins makes the weight much less heavy.

Because – Christ has already won. He has won victory over sin, over weaknesses, and over death.

And that knowledge can lift us up, even when we are surrounded by the most unpleasant of circumstances.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Weighed down and lifted up first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

It’s still weird to me that I gave birth this year.

Going into labor can be scary.

Having severe abdominal attacks a few months later can be scary.

Going in for emergency surgery without anyone allowed to be with you can be scary.

An unexpected 3-day hospital stay while your breastfed infant is at home can be scary.

Handing your little baby over to be put under anesthesia for an MRI can be scary.

Scheduling an appointment with a pediatric specialist can be scary.

Thinking of your baby’s different future can be scary.

And add that on top of what everyone else has also experienced, with general health scares, political unrest, and social issues…

When I write it all down, it seems bad. Truly frightening.

But can I be honest?

While the opportunities for fear have surrounded me, I feel like I’ve had a pretty peaceful year.

It’s been a year of stretching and growth. A year of new perspectives and refined priorities.

But not a year of fear.

To be clear, I don’t say that with a sense of pride or superiority.

In fact, I am well aware that this is a special spiritual gift that I have, and I have been specifically told that.

But those few moments when I have felt that fear start to creep up, in that moment where I sat in a waiting room by myself as they carried my baby away, I turned to my Father in Heaven.

In humility, in meekness. In love.

Loving my Heavenly Father is what cast out those little inklings of fear.

Loving my Savior is what transformed my fear to peace and confidence.

I’m not perfect at it, but when I have been in my most desperate times, I have had moments of pure and perfect love. Pure and perfect devotion to the Divine.

And I have found for myself that these moments of true, pure, perfect love for Heaven have cast out my fear.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Casting out fear first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Never fails… whom?

I’ve been pondering on that this week.

And I really think that charity never fails US.

I think most of us can recite that “charity is the pure love of Christ”.

But then I hope I’m not alone in often picturing charity as an action. Reaching out. Making a call. Pulling weeds. Making beds. Being a listening ear.

(Which are all amazing actions to take, of course!)

But I think it’s important to remember that charity is actually just a feeling.

In fact, according to the Bible Dictionary, charity is “the highest, noblest, strongest kind of love”.

In the scriptures, the word “charity” is never even used to refer to good deeds.

Instead, it is an emotion we feel inside of ourselves.

It can totally be the motivating factor for us to then reach out and perform acts of service for other people!

But charity is love.

Feeling love NEVER fails US.

I clarify “US” because our acts of service can certainly fail other people.

I may think I’m being a fantastic ministering sister, while someone complains that I don’t fulfill my assignment very well.

I may think I’m being a helpful volunteer, while someone thinks that I’m wasting my time.

I may think I’m being thoughtful, while someone thinks I’m being overbearing.

I can’t control how the pure love that I feel in my heart is then perceived by other people. (Of course, tact and sensitivity are always qualities I strive for, too! But at the end of the day, I can only do my best.)

But the Godly love that I try to cultivate can change me. It can save me.

What a timely message, right?!

The more love we feel for other people, the more Christlike we become. Because He loves everyone, too.

Everything else will fail in the end.

But feeling a deep love, a love that is kind, patient, and humble… THAT will sustain us through everything.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Highest, Noblest, and Strongest Love first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I’ve got a lot of hopes.

Things that I would love to have happen in the future.

But Mormon is just a rockstar for pointing us in the right direction with our true hope.

Although we hope people will get better, viruses will be eradicated, others will forgive, circumstances will improve, and love will grow…

When it comes to our most essential, godly hope, we can’t look to things in this lifetime.

And think about the men who are teaching this.

Both Mormon who spoke these words, and Moroni who wrote them down years later as words he hoped would be of great worth to us.

Their hopes for improving circumstances, healing, and softened hearts were virtually unanswered.

But both Mormon and Moroni stamp their powerful testimony of where our hope should be.

We have hope that, because of Christ’s atoning sacrifice, we will be raised to eternal life in the next life as a result of our good desires and actions.

We have hope that our righteous desires and unseen acts of service will be rewarded with eternal life.

We have hope that our trials and hardships are only trials from a mortal standpoint.

We have hope that the relationships we develop here on earth do not end at death.

We have hope that we will be able to live with our Heavenly Father and our Savior.

What a truly hopeful message!

Although we may be disappointed, maybe even often, with our earthly hopes, Mormon gives us that beautiful reframe:

Our hope is in the promises given to us about what we can expect in the next life.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post I hope! first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Here’s what I mean –

Shortly after Kyle and I were married, we moved wards, and I was called as Ward Choir Director.

We were brand new in the ward, and I remember the member of the bishopric kind of laughing as he extended the calling and saying, “You are probably feeling very under-qualified and overwhelmed by this call, but I know the Lord will help you fulfill it.”

And I sighed a bit as I shared just a short list of my musical background and assured him I felt just fine accepting the calling.

The truth was, though, I was disappointed in the calling.

I wanted to be able to teach the gospel. To be in Young Women’s, or Primary. To interact with other strong women and create goodness together. To plan fun events and learn gospel principles together. To make friends in this new ward.

Not to beg people to come to choir practice all by myself.

But I fulfilled the duties that were outlined in my calling.

I did them grudgingly, but I did them. The choir rehearsed and performed on schedule. The songs sounded pretty good. We grew our participation numbers.

But I had such a prideful attitude about it.

After a full year of this calling, General Conference rolled around. And sure enough, there was a talk about serving with real intent in our hearts.

Some pride in my heart started to soften as I realized that I had been “serving” by fulfilling my checklist duties, but my heart was not being fed or changed by my service.

I knew I needed to make a dramatic change in order to root out the pride and anger. I wanted to become more Christlike, but I wasn’t quite sure how.

So I thought, “How can I be the best Choir Director I could possibly be?!”

And then I got to work.

I had that calling for another year and a half, and I found true joy in it. I made good friends who were choir members and accompanists. I was overcome with the Spirit while conducting performances of a simple 8-person, 2-part choir.

I finally felt like I was serving my ward members, and I finally felt like I was serving the Lord.

I’m really good at tricking my mind into thinking that if I just go through the actions, I’m doing what’s required of me.

But nothing counts as much as the intent.

Are we serving, giving, loving with pure intent in our hearts? Or are we doing it grudgingly?

After 2 1/2 transformative years in that calling, we moved. I was grateful for the lesson I had learned, and was ready to jump into a new calling in my new ward “all in”, with pure intent.

My new calling in my new ward?

Ward Choir Director.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Ward Choir Director first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.