It’s the word that we always find accompanying “fasting” in the scriptures.

Prayer.

When we pray in true faith, we are able to secure blessings for ourselves and for others that are conditional upon our asking.

So why would we couple this with fasting?

Fasting is a principle of the gospel that helps us develop spiritual strength.

It is literally a physical manifestation of our desperate intent to commune with the Father and request certain blessings.

It is turning our desires for a basic human need over to God.

It is feeling just a small portion of suffering that our Savior felt.

It is humbling us to realize how quickly we would crumble with no strength if it weren’t for His constant blessings and mercy.

It is unifying when done with others for the same purpose.

It is powerful. And it is real.

When we fast and gain that spiritual strength and maturity, we couple it with prayer, and the spiritual power available is mighty.

Blessings require some sort of work on our part.

And prayers and fasting are the most humble and pure forms of work that we can show.

It is not “nothing”. It is not just to feel good.

Fasting and praying bring real, true, powerful blessings.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Fasting and praying first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Mormon is writing, hundreds of years after Christ came, and he has seen the destruction of all his people.

What a terrifying time. Absolutely everything was changing, and he didn’t know what would happen next for sure.

But he was still compiling the plates.

It seemed a little redundant to include the small plates with the large plates he had abridged, but he felt like he should do it, so he did.

Mormon probably felt in varying doses: loneliness, confusion, fear, and uncertainty for the end of his people.

And yet he shows a beautiful example of true faith in God.

He follows through on every single promoting he receives because he knows that the Lord is in control.

And that’s where true peace can be found.

I have felt similar feelings when waiting to give birth.

Sometimes, I would give in to the fear of the unknown, how would I deal with going into labor in every possible situation, what would we do with our daughter, what if labor doesn’t go as planned…

… and other times I would give it all to God.

Acknowledge that I had NO clue what was going to happen – but God did.
And if I listened to the little promptings (“mention this to your doctor”, “talk to this friend about plans”) and then ACTED on those little promptings, I felt peace.

Faith and fear can not live together.

So, to cast out fear of the unknown, we can learn from Mormon to tune into the little promptings, ACT on them, and give God the rest of the control.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post True faith and peace first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

He promised me that if I kept the commandments, I would prosper in the land.

And yet, he tells me to leave my comforts and walk through the wilderness.

It seems confusing. Even, scary.

Things are not the same, comfortable routines that I had in place.

This wilderness is messy, uncomfortable, and chaotic.

But he led me here.

And he will lead me through the wilderness.

It might get darker and thicker. It might get even more unpredictable.

But I have realized I have my true comforts around me.

The word of God. My personal revelations. Prayer.

He did not forget his promise that I will prosper.

He is fulfilling that promise by bringing me into the wilderness.

And he will bring me through it.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Through the wilderness first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Have you ever felt like it wasn’t enough?

That your contribution isn’t important or interesting enough?

That someone else is doing a better job at it than you are?

Jarom was asked to record the sacred revelations from his lifetime. He wrote: 

“I shall not write the things of my prophesying, nor of my revelations.

“For what could I write more than my fathers have written?”

Jarom had prophecies and revelations. I’m sure he gave great sermons. I’m sure he had a beautiful conversion story or a powerful prayer or some other unique experience. 

But he felt that his predecessors had already written better things. Their experiences were more worthwhile.

I don’t want to pass judgment on Jarom.

But it does make me wonder. What did we miss out on?

What story could I be diving into and marking up as much as the verses from Nephi or Enos? 

And it makes me reflect – where am I selling myself short? 

Other people are doing a better job at being a mom.

Other people are better writers than I am.

Other people are better at serving selflessly.

Other people are more creative than I am. 

But… I matter.

My experiences make me unique. My part on this earth matters.

So I will keep being a mom in the best way that I know how. I will keep writing to the best of my abilities. I will keep trying to serve more. I will create in my own way.

Because I matter. And what I do matters. And I will not sell my experiences short.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

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

After a long wrestle and many hours, he hears God’s voice reassuring him that his sins are forgiven.

And then, Enos begins to feel a desire for the welfare of his brethren. 

We usually look at this as a missionary scripture, right? When you feel conversion, you should naturally want to share the gospel with other people. 

While that is 100% a beautiful application of this scripture, what if there is a different way to look at it?

True prayer is when our faith in God is so strong, that our wills become the same. 

Enos went into the forest looking for freedom for his own soul. 

But as his faith grew stronger and stronger during this lengthy prayer, his desires began to change, too!

At first, he desired to help his brethren.

And then, he desired that God would preserve the record of his people so the Lamanites could one day read it and be converted. 

Numerous other prophets before him and after him would have that same desire. Why? Because they were all aligning their wills to God’s. 

In our lives, this looks like saying a prayer to know how to deal with your boss, and leaving the prayer with the desire to search for a new job. 

This looks like praying for your ministering sister who won’t respond, and leaving with a specific thought of something you can drop off. 

This looks like praying for your child to solve their problems, and leaving with a deep love for them, no matter what struggles they go through. 

When our faith in God increases, we trust that His will is really what is best for us. And when that faith and trust grow, we naturally allow God’s will to take precedence over our own. 

We just have to engage in the wrestle to let our own will go.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Aligning our wills first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I always laugh when I read this scripture!

I can picture righteous Jacob, trying to convince the Nephites more fully of Christ, just throwing his hands up at the end of his sermon.

“Just be mature and smart, and I won’t need to keep giving you directions on every little thing!”

I feel like President Nelson can relate.

No church meetings? No youth activities? No classes? No teachers?

What do we do?!?!

Just be wise.

You’ve gained the knowledge. Now, counsel with your Father in Heaven, and just make good choices.

I obviously don’t know exactly what the living arrangements in heaven will be like, but I like to picture myself living by righteous saints from all walks of life and all time periods! Some kept the Law of Moses while on earth. Some served missions for multiple years around the world. Some saw Jesus. Some had the Come, Follow Me program. Some held church in a small isolated house.

There’s no single “right way” to do everything we are supposed to do.

Right now, we are in a period of completely “home-centered church”.

This is a defining period. It is what we will be known for.

And yet, we aren’t told exactly what to do.

Essentially, we have been told to “be wise”.

We use our knowledge of Sabbath day observance, scripture study, teaching principles, modern-day prophets, love of family, and so much more…

And we apply those principles with as much spiritual maturity as we can.

This doesn’t mean perfection is our goal (or even attainable!) so if you are starting to feel defeated, just stop right there.

Are you applying your knowledge of gospel principles the best that you can right now, with your varying family circumstances or crazy kids or all alone or with roommates?

Then you’ve done it. You are being wise. And there’s not much more to say. 

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post O, be wise! first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

He was doing his best.

Preparing powerful sermons, sharing meaningful allegories, listening to the Spirit’s promptings.

But many of the Nephites still were not fully converted unto Christ and righteous living.

And then Sherem came.

He was smart. He was flattering.

He convinced many people to fall away from the gospel of Christ.

This was surely making the situation worse, right?!

Jacob’s prayers were not being answered.

Jacob and Sherem meet. Sherem says there is no Christ. Jacob says there is. Sherem asks for a sign. Sherem “fell to the earth” for many days.

When Sherem wakes up, he asks for all the people to be gathered together so he can speak to them before he dies.

The multitude is there to listen to Sherem.

Sherem speaks about the reality of Christ. The power of angels. Of the Holy Ghost.

And the people listening are overcome by the power of God. They all fell to the earth.

The result when they woke up?

“Peace and the love of God was restored again among the people; and they searched the scriptures”.

Jacob’s prayers were answered.

In a completely unexpected way.

Things had to get much, much worse in order for the prayer to be answered.

But the prayer was answered.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Answered prayers first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

The first was a post where everyone was commenting about the things they are going to miss out on over the next month or so.

Birthday parties. Graduations. Sports. School trips. Performances. Vacations. Jobs. Weddings.

Those tears were tears of sadness.

There is a lot of grief in the world right now, and I felt a huge portion of it at the same time. So much loss and heartache.

The second time I teared up was when I saw a post of everyone sharing ideas to help people at home.

Free resources from companies. “Live” videos from famous authors, singers, artists. Indoor activity ideas for little kids. Free streaming fitness classes. Meditation. Offers to share toilet paper, wipes, and hand sanitizer.

I was just filled with this overwhelming feeling of love. There is always so much goodness in the world, but everyone seems to be pouring it out in greater abundance right now. And everyone was trying to lift each other up!

Those were tears of happiness and peace.

“What if we offered thanks for those situations that bring us frustration, sorrow, or even anguish?…

“As we sincerely thank God in and through our trials, we invite Him to help us see our trials and ourselves in a different way.

“Thanking Him rather than asking for something to be taken away helps us accept His unceasing effort to mold us into who we are meant to become.” -Bonnie H. Cordon

Our God is so merciful unto us.

He was merciful to his little olive trees that kept trying to grow and produce fruit.

And as the merciful being that he is, he gives us tender mercies to carry and change us through our burdens.

We can feel sadness and grief AND feel overwhelming gratitude for all the blessings we are receiving right now, from extra family time to a refocus on our priorities.

We can reflect on how our current personal trial is going to change us as we turn to our merciful Lord in gratitude. 

Source: BYU Devotional, Bonnie H. Cordon, Feb 4, 2020, “Ask of God: Our Solace, Guide, and Stay”

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post How merciful is our God first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I’ve got my goals of what I want to do and the person I want to be, and even though I try, I’m just exhausted.

Other days, though, I’m on top of it! I’ve been the kind of person I want to be and accomplished my goals for the day.

In my recent efforts to have more of these “good days”, I realized that there were some small but significant differences between these types of days.

When I take every spare minute to nap or check social media, I feel exhausted!

But when I carve out specific times to study, read, rest, and relax, then I feel better AND I get more tasks finished.

The Lord of the Vineyard seemed to be most concerned with two parts of the olive trees: the roots and the fruit.

Sometimes, I’m so focused on producing “good fruit”, that I forget it’s impossible without strong roots.

Roots need constant nourishment.

When I’m exhausted, it’s because I’m trying so hard to make my outward appearance look like it should. I should be producing good fruit! Other people can see my fruit! Or, even if other people aren’t watching, I tend to judge myself by my own fruit.

And ironically, when I’m only worried about producing “good fruit”, I usually come up short!

But this has been a good reminder to me to stop worrying so much about the fruit…

…and focus on the nourishment of my roots.

This includes, of course, spiritual nourishment. Taking time to dive into the scriptures. Communing with my God in prayer. Listening to the words of the prophets.

But it also means whatever “nourishment” I personally need right now. Reading. Catching up with a friend. Eating some chocolate.

So, let’s try to focus on the roots. Let’s stop pushing and regulating ourselves into producing good fruit.

Instead, we can add constant nourishment to our roots. And when our roots are good, our fruit will naturally be good, too.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Roots and fruit first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

And what is it about?

“he saw that his olive tree began to decay…”

“It grieveth me that I should lose this tree;”

“let us go down into the vineyard, that we may labor…”

It’s about our Savior trying to save an olive tree in his vineyard.

Now, this full allegory and its interpretation span the entire earth and thousands of years.

But what can I learn about the Savior’s personal mission in my own life from this lengthy chapter?

What can I learn about Christ’s nature from this story?

He wants to save me. He wants to help me. He will give me as many chances as he possibly can. He will not give up on me.

He will graft. And prune. And dig.

He will consider what soil he has planted me in and help me get good nourishment.

He will weep and grieve when I do not produce good fruit.

He will rejoice when I produce good fruit.

He will use his prophets and other servants to help me.

The allegory of the olive tree shows that my Savior cares about every branch and tree within his vineyard.

And it shows the lengths that he will go to, out of love, in order to save each member.

I am worth saving. I am worth the time. I am worth the effort.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

Artwork: “Olive Tree Above Stone Fence” by Vitaliy

The post I am worth the effort first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.