(I feel badly that we don’t get to know his name! Sorry, “King”.)

As Aaron is teaching him, he first wants to give up his kingdom in order to learn about God.

What a huge sacrifice! All of his livelihood and power.

Aaron tells the King that this isn’t necessary, and that all he needs to do is to worship God, repent, and have faith.

And then the King makes this profound statement:

“I will give away all my sins to know thee”.

Now THAT is a sacrifice.

Do we feel similarly?

How well do we know God right now?

And what are we willing to give up in order to know God even better than we currently do?

I think that’s such an interesting way to look at sin:

Sin not only stops our progression – It keeps us from getting to know our Father in Heaven even better.

And since we want to become like Him, we probably need to know what He’s like.

But when we hold onto our pride and rudeness, our bad habits and poor choices, our laziness and inactivity…

We block ourselves from learning how He lives and loves.

And since love is a beautiful motivating factor to have, pure love for our perfect loving Father seems like the best motivation we can have in order to get rid of sin.

I drop this sin because I love Him.

What a beautiful way to frame repentance!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post A fresh look at repentance first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Why do we all get completely different “lots”?

The sons of Mosiah all went to the Lamanite lands.

Each initially went to a different city.

Ammon fell in favor with the local ruler and ended up converting many to the gospel.

Aaron went from city to city finding only opposition, and was eventually thrown in prison and deprived of food and clothing.

Why?

Was Ammon more faithful? More deserving of a successful mission?

“As it happened, it was their lot to have fallen into the hands of a more hardened and a more stiffnecked people” – Alma 20:30

It was just their different lot.

I think about the endless varieties of “lots” that each of us is dealt in this mortal life.

There are “lots” that I envy. There are lots that I pity. There are moments of extreme gratitude for my lot. There are moments of disappointment for my lot.

But the lots that we have been given are not always a reflection of our faithfulness, righteousness, or knowledge.

Someone with an easier lot does not have their easier lot because they have greater faith than you.

And conversely, someone with a really difficult lot was not given that difficult lot because they have more faith to endure than you.

Elder Rasband gives us a small but powerful glimpse at the answer:

“The Lord knows what each of us is capable of doing and becoming.”

He knew Ammon could handle his lot. He knew Aaron could handle his.

And he knows I can handle my lot as I rely on Him.

So at the end of the day, it doesn’t do any good to over analyze WHY we have our lot. Because there might not be a simple cause or an easy answer.

But we can trust that the Lord has given us a lot that we can bear.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Our unique lots first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

As the crowds that she called for gathered round the fallen King, Queen, Ammon, and servants, they all started to argue.

Everyone had an opinion for what caused this group to lay there as if dead.
And the opinions started to get more and more heated.

Abish had worked so hard to gather this large crowd together, sure that this would finally convert them all to the Savior who she knew so well.

This was going to be it!

And instead, it had turned into a mob of chaos, confusion, and blame.

She was sad. And frustrated. And overwhelmed.

And so she stood there and cried.

She cried.

And then thought of one thing she could do.

She went to her friend, the Queen, and took her by the hand.

And it worked.

The Queen bore powerful and joyful testimony, raised her husband, and he calmed the crowd.

I remember in a job interview for a work-at-home position, I was asked what I would do if I had a work deadline to meet, but then I had to spend all day at an unexpected doctors appointment with my kid.

I responded: “I would probably cry. And then get to work.”

Sometimes, you just gotta cry.

Life is weird. And crazy. And frustrating. And blah for no reason. And tiring.

There’s chaos and contention.

And there’s no shame in a good cry.

But then, we have to pick ourselves up, and get to work.

We have to figure out that next step, and take it, trusting that the rest of the steps will appear afterwards.

God doesn’t want us to just feel happy all the time. In fact, we read in the scriptures many times that God Himself feels emotions other than happiness.

But He does expect us to try to take a step forward.

And that’s where the miracles happen.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Abish cried first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

As a young mom, I think this could be my autobiography title.

I have studied the scriptures, revelation pouring out upon me, prayers being and answered

and then my baby wakes up from his nap and needs to be fed.

I have shared emotional stories with friends and bonded on a deep level

until one of our kids begs us to take them to the potty right now.

Church lessons where I’m feeling so connected to the material being taught

and then my toddler starts screaming and I step out into the hallway.

I imagine Ammon going to feed King Lamoni’s horses with the same feeling.

The horses need to be fed. Someone has to do it.

It doesn’t matter what miracle just occurred, what powerful General Conference talk you just listened to, what message you just shared…

someone always needs to eat.

Whether it’s the King’s horses or my little messy kids’ faces.

But that’s the way I want it now.

Even when I think back to my child-free days, where people would whisper, “This is the quietest you’ll ever hear Sacrament meeting!”

I wouldn’t trade it.

Because in the mundane, I also find the miraculous.

The making oatmeal, the rocking to sleep, the millionth load of laundry

is all really sanctified service.

When I’m in the right mindset about it, I’m showing my love. I’m showing pure love to these small humans who can’t do much on their own.

And so I go back and forth, from miraculous to mundane.

But I can do it all with LOVE.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Miraculous and mundane first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Which is why the reunion in Alma 17 seems so sweet.

After fourteen years apart, Alma runs into Mosiah’s sons while traveling on the road.

Fourteen years ago, these boys caused chaos together, and then had a miraculous conversion together.

And then, 14 years later, they ran into each other again!

How random!

Except, we know that God doesn’t do random.

God does “divine design”.

Although this might have seemed random to Alma, the sons of Mosiah were actually desperate to find a home for the newly converted Anti-Nephi-Lehies that they were leading away from the rest of the Lamanites.

They needed help, and God put Alma in their path.

“You and I may call these intersectings ‘coincidence.’ This word is understandable for mortals to use, but coincidence is not an appropriate word to describe the workings of an omniscient God.” – Neal A. Maxwell

Running into a friend at the store is never random.

Connecting with someone over Facebook is never random.

Seeing a job opportunity, applying, and getting it is never random.

Moving to a new place is never random.

My current life has been created by thousands of little puzzle pieces, each one seeming to connect with another by sheer coincidence.

I still often refer to starting this Instagram account and website as “random” decisions I made after a prompting, but I’m working on changing that mindset.

Because each little puzzle piece is designed by a God who knows everything and who loves me. He even knows how I’m going to use my agency.

He sees the big picture, and He makes sure each little piece will build off of the previous one.

Because God doesn’t do random.

Share your favorite “no such thing as random” story below, and take some time today to reflect on the small “coincidences” that have shaped you.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post God doesn’t do random first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.