The smell of fresh trees is literally one of my favorite smells ever.

The red-ish brown bark of the trees, the bright green leaves, the sharp gray rocks.

It was just beautiful and peaceful.

Quin kept saying, “The blue sky is so beautiful!”

I couldn’t help but just stare at the trees and think, “This has to be a gift from God.”

There is too much beauty. Too much design. Too much life.

It’s the most obvious sign I can think of that a loving Heavenly Father and Savior exist.

All things denote there is a God.

So if you’ve been feeling a little disconnected from God lately –

If you’ve been wanting to ask God for a sign that He is there – not in the prideful way Korihor did, but in the faith-filled, “I really need a reminder that you are there and you love me” way –

Give nature a try.

Nature is His sign.

And maybe that’s why I love the smell of the trees so much.

Because it reminds me of other times when I’ve been in the forest, away from distractions and obligations, completely surrounded by pure, untouched creations.

And I’ve felt His Spirit and His love.

Need a sign? Need some proof?

 Head outside. 

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post God gives us signs first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

A religion that takes over your whole life? Let’s just worry about it one day a week and forget about it for the rest.

Prayer that requires thought, mental devotion, and faith? Let’s just write a script so it’s easier.

Worship that means becoming introspective, emotionally mature, and honest with ourselves? Let’s make that look a little cooler with a fun tower so everyone can see when we are being righteous.

But even today, where pretty much everything is more convenient than it was 2,000 years ago, we know that religion, at its core, is not meant to be convenient.

Although modern technology and abundance can help us learn about new service activities, bring temples closer to our house, make video-chatting with people a breeze, allow us to stock up on extra food…

It doesn’t make the actual heart of true religion easy.

Loving people is hard work.

Serving people is hard work.

Forgiving people is hard work.

There are no shortcuts.

And that’s the point, right?

As Neill F. Marriott eloquently said, NOW is the time to do all of these things. In our messy, inconvenient mortal life filled with obligations and pain and exhaustion.

We are supposed to serve when it’s inconvenient, love when it’s difficult, and forgive when it stretches our souls.

Because that’s what our Savior did.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post An inconvenient religion first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Did anyone else notice this?

Mormon then follows that with, “and also men”. But let’s be real, when was the last time virtually anywhere, but especially the scriptures, where “women” are listed before “men”, if they are mentioned at all?!

To me, this JUMPED off the pages this read-through. The “men” part sounded like an afterthought.

Korihor affected women the most.

He appealed to their pride.

He caused them to commit sin, thinking of no consequence.

He turned them against their religious traditions.

Women were extremely susceptible to Korihor’s wicked teachings.

And now, thousands of years later, I fully believe that women are in the same, powerful position.

Women are influencers, on their families and on the world.

And we’ve been asked to step up and use our influence for good.

We’ve been asked to detect deception in all of its forms. To recognize the same exact teachings that Korihor shouted, but in our media, news, apps, entertainment, and conversations.

We’ve been asked to stand up when something that is a societal norm or even a part of “church culture” doesn’t sit right with us. To receive personal revelation and then lead with confidence and love.

For me, this leads to some reflection. Have I let any sins become “acceptable” in my life? Have I become lax, or indulged in pride?

How can I better take a stand?

Because we have been promised that in these final days, the good women of the world will be drawn to the Church because of the example of strong, righteous women.

We need to be seen calling out sin and standing up for what is right.

Instead of being the first to fall away into temptingly easy and pleasurable paths…

We can use our influence to bring others to Christ.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Leading away women first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

My sisters and I all got brand new kites, and we spent the day flying them on the always-windy beaches in Northern California.

My dad would run and throw the kite up, and if it caught the wind correctly, I would have to dig my feet into the sand in order to hold the kite.

It always amazed me how tight I had to hold on to my handle.

As I would turn the handle and give the kite more string, the kite would fly higher and higher, until the string stopped.

And, as a kid, I would look up and think, “Man, this string is just holding the kite back from flying even higher.”

It seemed like that string was restrictive.

The kite could fly so much higher without me.

And so, one time, I let go.

The kite turned every possible way before nose-diving into the sand far down the beach.

It turns out, the string that I thought was so restrictive was actually the only thing helping the kite reach its highest point.

This is what the commandments look like to many people, right?

Korihor argued that the Nephites were being bound down. That they were being yoked with foolish things.

And today, people are shocked when they find out we give 10% of our income as tithes. That we abstain from alcohol. That we don’t do play dates on Sundays.

What foolish ways to bind ourselves down! Just like a silly, restrictive kite string!

And yet, I have found that while these “restrictions” look like they would hold us back, they create the perfect amount of tension to let us reach our highest potential.

They create humility, gratitude, time-management skills, abundance, faith, and patience, just to name a few.

So to me, this “restrictive” religion is actually creating the greatest freedom I can imagine!

And I’m grateful for the tension on the string, even if others view it as holding myself back.

Because I know that without it, my “freedom” wouldn’t help me get to where I really want to go.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The kite analogy first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

When I taught 6th grade, I would tell my students to imagine their parent had just asked them that question.

How would they respond?

My 6th graders ALWAYS said their most common response to that question was: “Nothing”. ????

We would use this as a springboard to talk about plots in stories. We never hear a story where there was no problem, or other kind of “inciting” event. That’s why kids say “nothing” happened at school – because they can’t think of anything “story-worthy” to share.

No problems = no stories.

But if the fire alarm went off and you lost your shoe and you had to pick up trash at lunch…

Then we have a story to tell – because there was a problem.

Our brains are wired to crave stories, though! That’s why we love reading and watching shows. That’s why scriptures are so effective at teaching doctrine, and not just bullet point lists of what we believe. That’s why we get together with friends and end up talking about the crazy things that are happening.

But sometimes, we just get to enjoy peace. Continual peace.

Those times feel a little weird to us. There aren’t as many crazy stories to share with our friends or our spouse.

In fact, these are the most “boring” parts of the Book of Mormon – where all we read about is that there was “continual peace” for a certain number of years.

No problems? No stories.

And so when my life is just the normal grind, instead of wishing there was something exciting or something different, I’m working on just enjoying the peace.

Showing extreme gratitude, and enjoying the continual peace.

Those boring sentences in the Book of Mormon that talk about “continual peace”, are talking about real people, real civilizations, real families who had no major story-worthy problems for years.

Isn’t that amazing?!

All contained in that little sentence Mormon wrote that basically amounts to a sixth grader saying nothing happened at school today.

I’m working on finding more gratitude and joy in the “nothing”. And I’m working on feeling awe when my life can be summed up as, “And there was continual peace.”

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Nothing and peace first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.