There are weird, vague events.

Sudden scenery changes.

Mergers of different people that we know. ⁣

And we just go along with it!

But then we wake up. ⁣

And suddenly, it is clear that THIS is reality. ⁣

It seems strange to have even believed that our abstract dreams were reality. ⁣

There are times in my life when I have felt like I was dreaming when it came to my spiritual connection to God. ⁣

I didn’t fully realize that I was dreaming at the time, though.

It seemed like it was just reality.

God just seemed like a tricky person to actually connect with. Not much I could do about it. ⁣

And then something wakes me up. ⁣

Sometimes it’s a big trial that humbles me. Sometimes it’s a powerful talk or lesson. Sometimes it’s a spiritual awakening in a haphazard personal study. ⁣

But all of a sudden, I REALIZE how “asleep” I had been in my worship. ⁣

And the contrast is stark to feeling AWAKE. ⁣

I become an active participant in my spiritual progression. I feel the connection to God. I reach out to people around me and share my light. ⁣

Sometimes, we just need a reminder to AWAKEN our souls. ⁣

But this can be tricky when we don’t even recognize how spiritually asleep we are. ⁣

Nephi’s passionate plea, “Awake my soul!” (2 Nephi 4:28) can remind us that we have the power to wake ourselves up from our dreamlike state. ⁣

We can wake up and take the reigns of our relationship with God. We can wake up and choose to act. We can wake up and share our testimony with others. ⁣

Awake, my soul!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Awake my soul!  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Because of this, our other friends gave us the nickname:

“The Happy People.”

The nickname stuck.

To this day, I still have her name as “The Other Happy Person” in my phone.

We loved being happy together!

But do you want to know something funny?

It was MIDDLE SCHOOL!

I love middle schoolers, but I don’t think any of them are truly happy all the time.

I can think of plenty of challenging, dramatic, and emotional situations my friend and I endured as we figured out who we were in those tricky years.

But we had also figured out how to be “Happy People” during the tough stuff.

As an adult, I want to be more like Cali in middle school.

Dealing with the super dramatic while also remembering to have a fun time as much as possible.

Nephi himself said that “. . . we lived after the manner of happiness.” (2 Nephi 5:27)

And yet, I can point to many examples of Nephi’s personal life being less-than-awesome.

Many, many, many examples of the tough, dramatic stuff.

As an adult, I now understand that living after the manner of happiness is a lot more complicated than just having a smile on your face.

But at the same time, I think middle school Cali had a cool nickname to live up to.

I want to do my best to always be a “Happy Person”, living after the true manner of happiness and focusing on my Savior Jesus Christ.

And just like I figured out all those years ago, there is always joy to be found, no matter the situation.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Middle school nicknames first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

How does this emotion play a role in your life? ⁣

Elder Uchtdorf taught: ⁣

“When someone opposes or disagrees with us, it’s tempting to assume that there must be something wrong with them. And from there it’s a small step to attach the worst of motives to their words and actions…⁣

“When we do so with anger or hate in our hearts—when we lash out at others to hurt, shame, or silence them —chances are we are not doing so in righteousness.”⁣

In Nephi’s record, he refers to ANGER quite often. ⁣

Usually, his brothers are angry at Nephi for their circumstances. ⁣

Other times, his brothers are angry because they have been rebuked. ⁣

And yet, even when Nephi was tied up and in dire situations, he never felt anger toward his brothers. ⁣

Do we attach “good intentions” to our actions while automatically assuming everyone else who disagrees with us is motivated by hate or selfishness?⁣

That’s what brews anger. ⁣

Or do we recognize that our own discipleship has pretty much nothing to do with the actions of people around us – that we have been commanded to love our enemies?⁣

In Nephi’s tender lamentation, he mourns that he feels anger because of Satan’s hold in his life. ⁣

“And why should I yield to sin, because of my flesh? Yea, why should I give way to temptations, that the evil one have place in my heart to destroy my peace and afflict my soul? Why am I angry because of mine enemy?” (2 Nephi 4:27)

Anger at ourselves for our sins is a fruitless endeavor, too. ⁣

We can’t hate ourselves into righteousness, and Nephi recognized his own tendencies to feel anger because of his sins and temptations. ⁣

Nephi knew that eliminating anger in his life meant always showing love to his brothers, but also finding peace within his own mind. ⁣

Love for our enemies, and love for ourselves.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Feeling anger  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I felt both embarrassed and frustrated.

I felt embarrassed for putting all the effort into running a campaign, making stickers, and giving an enthusiastic speech in front of the entire school.

And I felt frustrated that no one (or not enough people at least) could see the value that I would bring!

I thought that I truly was the best person for that position, but that I hadn’t been able to convey that to everyone.

Lehi shared a prophecy about Joseph Smith.

The Lord said, “And I will make him great in mine eyes.” (2 Nephi 3:8)

I can’t help but think–

Whose eyes do I want to be great in?

I learned early on that I can’t count on being seen as “great” in the eyes of my peers.

(For the record, I had an amazing group of friends in high school and I ended up taking another student government position that year.)

But I have to almost EXPECT to be underestimated.

We may not always be viewed as someone awesome at school, at work, in our community, in our wards, and even in our families.

We might have a kid who doesn’t win “student of the month”, gets cut from the team, or struggles in a class.

But whose opinion matters the most?

I’ve slowly learned that other people’s perceptions actually have nothing to do with who I really am.

I mean, it is always a good idea to be kind and try to make friends.

To serve and to love.

But when we decide that God’s opinion of us is all that matters, we can gain clarity on how to truly be a “great” person in God’s eyes!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post I lost the election first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.