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.