The truth is…

I have no clue which scripture it was.

I know that I was reading a specific verse when I got an answer to resign from teaching.

But I’ve never been able to find that specific verse again.

⁣I KNOW that the words of Christ found in the scriptures and through the words of His prophets can tell me everything.

Literally everything. ⁣

⁣But how is this possible?⁣

⁣There aren’t any stories in the scriptures about deciding to be a stay-at-home mom. There aren’t any stories about deciding where to move with your family when you have many great options. There aren’t any stories about combating loneliness or laziness in the way that I encounter them. ⁣

So where am I getting these very real answers to these very real questions in my life? ⁣

⁣”The power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men.” (2 Nephi 33:1⁣)

⁣Nephi didn’t know what business decisions I would need to make when he was writing.

But Heavenly Father, my Savior, and the Holy Ghost do. ⁣

⁣And the Spirit’s purpose is to bring Their personalized message straight to me. ⁣

⁣I just have to hold up my end: ⁣

⁣-I read the scriptures. With real intent. As consistently as possible. ⁣

-I do things to invite the Spirit. Be as worthy as I can. Listen for Him. ⁣

⁣And when I do these things, a powerful communication channel is opened. ⁣

⁣It doesn’t mean that I get the answer that I think I want straight away.⁣

⁣Many times, I read scriptures and get the answers: Not yet. You need more time. Just wait. ⁣

⁣Other times, I get small promptings: Communicate with someone. Go to the temple. Follow this prophet’s example from a completely different situation. ⁣

⁣And then other times, the heavens are opened. ⁣

⁣The scriptures are not confined by their words. ⁣

⁣When we read them WITH the spirit, there is no stopping the heavenly communication that can happen.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post No scriptures about quitting  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

First, have faith in Jesus.

Then repent.

Then be baptized.

Then receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

And finally, endure to the end!

“For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.” (2 Nephi 31:17)

While my brain loves linear thinking and easy checklists, I’ve been wondering lately…

What if these five steps are actually one giant interconnected circle?

I mean, I still need to exercise FAITH in Jesus Christ every day, and I certainly have room to grow.

I have a lot of REPENTING to do, and I know I will continue to need to change every single day.

Although we aren’t BAPTIZED over and over, we do partake of the sacrament each week, where we get to renew those covenants repeatedly.

I’m always working on improving how I keep the SPIRIT with me and recognize promptings, because it actually takes a lot of effort.

And I’m constantly working on joyfully ENDURING!

Even though all these steps are interconnected and repetitive, I’m still working on improving the quality each time I need faith, repent, renew my covenants, and draw closer to the Spirit.

I get a little better each time, I hope.

“Living the doctrine of Christ can produce the most powerful virtuous cycle, creating spiritual momentum in our lives.” – Russell M. Nelson

The doctrine of Christ reinforces itself with each step beautifully.

And it is the best way to help us become even more Christlike!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The cycle of the doctrine of Christ first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

The temptation to NOT pray. ⁣

Not just forgetting to pray (although I think that can often be a side effect of the issue).

But choosing to NOT pray.⁣

In fact, Nephi even specifically calls out this strategy of the adversary in 2 Nephi 32:8:⁣

“…the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray.”⁣

Why would we not pray?⁣

-I’m too angry to pray. ⁣

-I don’t have anything new to say. ⁣

-I feel like I just prayed. ⁣

-I’m too overwhelmed/tired to actually say a meaningful prayer. ⁣

-What’s the point? Nothing changes anyway. ⁣

-I’m not feeling grateful right now. ⁣

-It’s not that big of a deal. ⁣

-He knows what’s going on in my mind, so I don’t need to say a formal prayer. ⁣

How do we root out this temptation that is so specifically called-out in the scriptures?⁣

The good ol’ Bible Dictionary puts it perfectly:

“Many of the difficulties or temptations we face for not praying come from forgetting about our true relationship with Heavenly Father: that He really is our Father, and we are His children.”

-God wants us to talk to Him when we are angry and upset. ⁣

-He doesn’t care if we think we are too tired to have a meaningful conversation with Him. ⁣

-He doesn’t get tired of hearing from us. ⁣

-We don’t need to impress Him with outstanding new stories or phrases each time we talk with Him. ⁣

-We know His will will always be done, so prayer is more about changing our hearts than changing His mind. ⁣

When we are reminded about our true relationship with the God of the Universe, prayer becomes a little more instinctive and natural on our part. ⁣

And the temptation “to NOT pray” can start to lose its power over us.

So here’s your (and my own) pep talk for today:

Pray. Pray always. It’s worth it. It’s never something you’ll regret doing.

Don’t forget to (or be tempted not to) PRAY.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The temptation not to pray  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

1) They started gripping their crayons differently.

2) They picked up a play purse and told me they were “Ready to go to the temple!”

3) They picked up a large rectangular block and told me they were texting.

Now what do all three of these things have in common?

My child was copying something they had just seen me do. ⁣

Jesus invites us, “. . . wherefore, follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do.” (2 Nephi 31:12)

The cool thing is that we don’t have to guess what Jesus would do.

We don’t have to guess because we can see it in the scriptures.

We can learn through His prophets.

We can be shown by the Spirit.

Kids tend to emulate the adults they are around the most.

So if I want to start emulating my Savior even more, I’ve got to “hang out” with Him more often!

I have to be in the scriptures.

I should be learning from others who know Him.

I need to be inviting the Spirit into my life.

Because when I am around Jesus more, it’s natural to want to do what He does.

I’ll become more like Jesus as I spend more time with Him.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Spending more time with Jesus first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I had just explained how I read my scriptures, prayed, attended church, and was kind to my siblings.

My bishop told me how great I was doing!

(Yes, 100% perfect in the church stuff, I thought.)

But then my bishop asked, “So, what are you working on to improve how you live the gospel?”

My mind froze.

I mean, I had just told him I was doing everything right.

I finally muttered…

“Uh. . . I don’t know. Nothing right now.”

My bishop smiled kindly at me and said:

“Well, maybe the next time we meet, you can think about an answer for that.”

Looking back, I chuckle in slight embarrassment but also so much love for teenager Cali who thought “checking all the boxes” was good enough.

The scriptures warn, though, “. . . wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!” (2 Nephi 28:24)

I have learned since that day that there is SO much more to being a disciple of Jesus Christ.

And I am also now very aware of the long list of qualities I still need to work on to improve.

Very, very, very aware.

Now, I think it’s important to find a balance, because we don’t want the pendulum to swing too far from over-confident-teenager to never-good-enough-adult.

For example, we can go to a temple recommend interview and respond confidently AND fully recognize that we still need to improve.

We can confidently teach a class at church while relying on the Spirit AND fully recognize that we have so much more to learn.

We can belong and feel happy in Zion without feeling complacent.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post My perfect interview  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Suddenly, I remembered that I had a small homework assignment that was due online. ⁣

It was the end of the semester at BYU, it was an easy Education class, and I really wanted to sleep. ⁣

I knew I would get 10% off for each day it was late, and I knew I could still easily get an A in the course no matter what grade I got in this small assignment. ⁣

So I went to bed. ⁣

I was doing some basic “risk assessment”… and I was accurate in my conclusion.

I got a 90% on the assignment, and an easy solid A in the class at the end of the semester. ⁣

I willingly chose the “punishment” because I knew it wouldn’t affect my overall outcome. ⁣

But can we do risk assessment with our salvation?⁣

Can we calculate what the negative consequences will be and then decide whether or not we want to follow the rules exactly or whether we want to fudge the lines a bit?⁣

Well, we can.

But Nephi gives us the Lord’s dire warning against mindsets like this:

“…if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.” (2 Nephi 28:8)

Because the purpose of this life is not to “pass” or to turn in the correct assignments. ⁣

We are here to fundamentally CHANGE who we are and become more like God. ⁣

So when we use risk assessment and decide that we are fine with the eternal consequences for a little bit of sin and merriness, we mock our Savior’s atoning sacrifice.⁣

We are willingly doing something wrong because we think we’d rather face a little bit of godly punishment than deal with disciplined growth. ⁣

“Eh, yeah I know I shouldn’t be watching this show but I want to do it anyways. If the Spirit leaves me for a bit, I’ll just get it back tomorrow.”

Now, we WILL commit sin.

Even with all the knowledge we have, we will sin.

But when we decide that we would rather sin and deal with the consequences than try to change our desires, we’re trying to do risk assessment with our souls. ⁣

And we miss out on true godly sorrow, growth, and softening our hearts.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Late homework first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

We were at the park playing with some friends, and I was holding my infant son.

Every time I picked up my water bottle to take a drink, he would try to grab it.

I pulled my water bottle out of his reach and fed him his bottle of milk instead.

But an older kid who was with us was just watching me.

She finally asked, “Why can’t you just let your baby drink your water bottle? He looks so thirsty!”

I explained to this kid that babies’ tummies are so small that they should only be filled with milk to make sure they get all the nutrients they need.

If I gave him water, he would think he was full…

But he would actually miss out on the nutrition his little body desperately needs.

It made me think of this scripture where we learn that people who turn against the Lord will be “. . . like unto a thirsty man which dreameth, and behold he drinketh but he awaketh and behold he is faint, and his soul hath appetite.” (2 Nephi 27:3)

I knew my baby needed nutrition, and not water in that moment.

But how many times am I filling my own spiritual life with “water”, completely missing out on the “nutrients”?

What am I doing with my time and energy that I think are giving me nourishment…

But are really just taking up space that the essential things need?⁣

It’s so easy to trick ourselves into thinking we are busy with important things. ⁣

But in reality, we are fooling ourselves.

We end up depleted of spiritual nourishment. ⁣

But confused as to why we feel spiritually starved.

Every time I get caught in these “I’m too busy for the important stuff” cycles, I’ve learned that nothing solves it like a spiritual reset.

For me that’s often going to the temple (even when I think I don’t have time).

Or it’s making myself study my scriptures for a long time.

I try to do anything that will help focus my time on what actually nourishes my soul.

“Being busy” and having a full metaphorical tummy do not mean I’m actually doing good things, or being nourished.

But turning to the Lord, the source of true spiritual nourishment, helps me realize just how important those spiritual vitamins are.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

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

At first, I seemed very popular as everyone got excited that they could play with a children’s toy during this lesson.

However, I quickly lost my popularity when I told them they had one minute to think up an analogy for how the toy they were playing with somehow represented Jesus Christ.

Despite their groans, the youth did a fantastic job!

They giggled about stretchy toys that reminded them to “spread the gospel”.

They shared drawing boards that allowed them to erase their mistakes.

They modeled how a play abacus reminded them to “count their blessings.”

We then talked about how Jesus is the root of everything.

Jesus is everywhere and everything.

We can make silly analogies about Him with toys…

But much more importantly, He is the reason for everything we have in this church.

“And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ. . . .” (2 Nephi 25:26)

Do we mistakenly attend the temple, go to sacrament meeting, or even perform missionary service while losing focus of the true goal of becoming like Jesus?

Jesus is the reason for everything we do.

Everything!

We worship our Savior in His holy house, we partake of His sacrament to renew covenants, and we bring other people to the remembrance of their loving Savior.

So let’s do better at talking of Christ.

Rejoicing in Christ.

Preaching of Christ.

The more we can do this, the more we can be reminded that Jesus is at the center of our lives!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Toys and Jesus first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

This has been a question on my mind for years now.

When well-intentioned people say, “You don’t have to be perfect, just try your best!”

It’s a little confusing because every day looks drastically different for me.

And so how do I know if I’ve actually done my best, or if I’ve fallen short with a mediocre effort for the day?

Most of us are familiar with this famous scripture in 2 Nephi 25:23:

“For we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.”

Initially, it’s easy to think that we have to do ALL we can do first, and then Christ steps in with grace to fill the gap.

But the more I have studied and learned and pondered about grace, I’ve realized—

Christ’s grace is what enables us to even try to “do our best” each day.

Sure— my mental capacities, busy schedule, attitude, health… they all affect what my “best” could possibly look like each day from the outside.

But I think that our outward results don’t really always convey where our hearts are at.

I think doing “my best” or “all I can do” each day actually means that my heart is turned to my Savior.

The dishes may or may not get done, my scripture study may or may not be meaningful, I may or may not have time to serve someone else…

That stuff changes all the time.

But Jesus asks that we always remember Him.

He’s invited us to covenant to do that, in fact.

And if we turn our minds to Jesus over and over again, if we are spiritually-minded, if we repent constantly, if we praise God…

Then our Savior’s grace is with us all day (and all night) long.

“We must do our best, which includes repentance, but it is only through the Lord’s grace that we can realize our divine potential.” – Clark G. Gilbert

We will never earn grace.

“Our best” from an outside viewpoint will never be enough.

But crafting a covenant relationship with our Savior Jesus Christ will create the best and most grace-filled days imaginable!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Did you really do your best? first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

STRENGTH

There are probably many times each day when I feel I could use extra strength or support.

For example, when my toddler needs me to open the same toy for the millionth time, when I’ve got a work deadline to hit, or when a friend tells me of a new heartbreaking trial.

Jesus can be my strength in these difficult moments.

When I remember to call out to Him for help!

SONG

But what about Jesus being my song?

Let me tell you that I always have a song stuck in my head.

Always.

Whether I’m doing the dishes, driving in the car, or trying to fall asleep at night, I’ve got a song repeating over and over in my head.

What if we could be like this with Jesus?

What if Jesus was always “stuck” in our minds?

He can be my strength and He can be the song in my heart.

I’ve learned that Jesus can be my strength and my song when I call on Him for help, and I do my best to always remember Him.

What does it mean to you that Jesus is your STRENGTH and your SONG?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Strength and song first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.