They were struggling for their lives. They were being slaughtered. Their peace was being destroyed.

And yet they didn’t call on God for help.

“They… did struggle for their lives without calling upon that Being who created them.” (Mormon 5:2)

How could they not even ASK for help when they were struggling so much?!

Just a few weeks ago, I hit a real “low” when it came to my time management.

I have a lot going on, but I was dropping every single ball instead of at least keeping a few in the air.

I actually enjoy learning about time management and all sorts of productivity hacks, so I dug into research mode.

I was trying out new strategies, failing, learning more, trying it out, dropping all the balls again…

I had this weird story in my head that Heavenly Father was really disappointed in me that I couldn’t handle everything right now, and that He needed me to use my own agency to figure it out.

Not because I felt that prompting from Him, but because I don’t enjoy asking for help and this was the story I had come up with.

I was struggling, and I wasn’t calling upon my God for any help.

I fall into this trap ALL OF THE TIME.

And then, finally, my scripture study reminded me of the importance of prayer.

I thought, “Maybe I should ask Him for help.”

And bam.

Inspiration came. Doors were opened. My mindset changed.

So why do we do this to ourselves?!

We struggle. With overwhelm. With spirituality. With time management. With grief.

And sometimes we just don’t call upon the One who created us.

Maybe we feel like He is disappointed in us for needing help.

But He is ready and waiting.

He wants us to ask for help.

Instead of prayers filled with only gratitude and normal blessing requests, we can include sincere pleas for help.

It is okay to ask for help.

Happy Stuyding!

-Cali Black

The post Calling upon God first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Not out of hatred, or disgust, or annoyance.

But out of love.

“I… had loved them, according to the love of God which was in me, with all my heart;

“And my soul had been poured out in prayer unto my God all the day long for them.” (Mormon 3:12)

Mormon literally gives us a little masterclass in setting healthy boundaries.

He loved his people so much. And he loved God so much. And he probably loved himself and his family, too.

And with that love in his heart, he had to say no.

Saying “no” isn’t bad. It isn’t a sin. (Sometimes we need that reminder, right?!)

Saying “no” because you want to hurt someone, or you don’t care about their situation… that’s probably not great.

Saying “no” because you love someone, and need to protect your own inner peace (or maybe even your life) is amazing and necessary.

BUT THEN skip ahead to Mormon chapter 5. Verse 1.

13 or so years later, Mormon says that he will lead them again.

He changes his promise (or “repents of the oath”) and returns to his position as military commander.

What was his mindset like now?

“I was without hope, for I knew the judgments of the Lord which should come upon them”. (Mormon 5:2)

While this sounds a little despondent, I actually see a leader who has now set realistic expectations for how he will interact with his troops, who are probably many of his dear friends.

He knows that destruction is imminent.

And yet, his love has now brought him to want to lead again, to at least give them a fighting chance, and to fulfill his duty. Maybe he even felt “called” to do this now.

Such a cool pattern, right?!

He felt so much love that he had to say “no” for a while.

And then he felt so much love, adjusted his expectations, and decided he was ready to say, “yes”!

Life coaching straight from the scriptures, everyone.

We can set boundaries in love, and we can change boundaries later, still out of love.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Setting boundaries with Mormon first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

After my first year teaching, I felt like I was drowning.

In general, I enjoy being knowledgeable, being in charge, being confident…

And I felt everything but that in my new career.

I prayed that there would be some sort of help for me the following school year, because I didn’t know if I could handle the helpless feeling anymore.

And then there was some major school/teacher shuffling that happened during the summer, and all of a sudden I was being offered a team lead position – basically by default.

Accepting that team lead position after one year of teaching was EXACTLY what I needed, both professionally and personally.

It helped build my confidence and my knowledge exponentially. It brought me professional relationships that changed me.

It was nothing short of a miracle, an answered prayer in the most dramatic of ways.

But on the other hand, it wasn’t.

I could tell you exactly why Mrs. A needed to change schools due to a family situation, why Mrs. B was making a career change, why Mr. C got a position at the high school…

It’s not like they all magically disappeared.

It was a series of small, reasonable, logical changes that resulted in a miracle for my life.

The Lord orchestrates everything.

Sometimes he moves mountains and parts seas for us.

But I think that most of the time, the plan is so intricately interwoven that a miracle of a different school for my coworker results in the miracle of a leadership position for me, which then created a miracle job opening for someone else…

It’s all connected.

And it’s super easy to forget that the Lord is sparing us and saving us every single time.

But that was what marked the total demise of the Nephite nation:

Being spared time and time again, but not realizing who was actually behind all of it.

Thinking that it was just their cunning and strength that won them each battle, when in fact, their cunning and strength were given to them by the Lord in order to win the battle.

Miracles often look logical and ordinary, but the credit still belongs to the Lord.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Being spared again and again first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

He never experienced righteousness and peace in the land.

He didn’t really have any super successful “missions” where he converted a bunch of people.

He didn’t get to perform miracles in front of a bunch of believers.

(This is all at least as far as we know, and I feel pretty fair assumptions based on his descriptions.)

His world was in extreme turmoil, war, and hatred from the moment he was born until he took his dying breath.

And yet he lived a righteous life, followed the Spirit, was visited by the Savior when he was 16 years old, tried to influence his world for good, and took on a writing project that influenced millions of people for years to come.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve definitely had the attitude sometimes that the world needs to go back to “normal” before my real purpose can go back to normal.

But Mormon never had a “normal” world.

And he still found a way to be one of the most righteous individuals in history and change history for the better.

President Nelson taught us recently to: “Embrace your new normal by repenting daily.

“Seek to be increasingly pure in thought, word, and deed.

“Minister to others.

“Keep an eternal perspective.

“Magnify your callings.

“And whatever your challenges, my dear brothers and sisters, live each day so that you are more prepared to meet your Maker.”

We don’t need to wait for old “normal” to do any of that.

It’s all available to us right now.

And even if we never go back, even if we keep getting more chaos and hatred and even bloodshed around us-

We still have full access to God, to our Savior, to righteousness, and to fulfilling whatever our purpose might be.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post A lifetime of abominations first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

So all those lessons growing up in Primary and Young Women’s where we would have to write down everyone’s spiritual gifts or talents?

I always got the same messages on my post-it notes:

“You are soooo good at playing the piano!”

“You are an amazing singer!”

“You did great when you played ____ in the musical last year!”

It always made me wonder what my spiritual gifts were.

Because I knew that my talents that I had been given, and then worked hard to cultivate, weren’t actually of big consequence in the grand scheme of things.

I KNEW I was musically talented, and that I was smart in school, but I also knew that Heavenly Father gave me more to help build up His kingdom.

I just didn’t know what it was.

Until I went to a Girls’ Camp, and we did this activity yet again, where we wrote everyone’s special strengths and gifts on sticky notes and put them on each other’s backs.

When I took my sticky notes off of my back, one of my camp leaders had written: “You know that you are crazy talented. But I love that you always make sure everyone is included. You have such a gift for noticing who is being left out and trying to include them in whatever fun things are going on.”

I never forgot that note.

I’m not sure exactly what Ammaron and Mormon’s relationship was like.

But I know that Ammaron told young, 10-year-old Mormon that he was “a sober child, and… quick to observe.”

And Mormon said: “I remembered the things which Ammaron commanded me.”

And Mormon wrote Ammaron’s compliment and commandment down, at least 14 years later. (Mormon 1:2-5)

Sometimes, it’s really hard to recognize our own spiritual gifts.

But I think it’s actually pretty easy to see the spiritual gifts, strengths, and talents that others have.

When we tell other people the gifts that we see in them, it can make a lifetime of an impression.

Especially to young kids.

So here’s today’s slightly uncomfortable challenge:

Tell someone, young or old, family member or new acquaintance, what spiritual gifts or special qualities they have.

And I have a feeling your words will never leave them.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post An unforgettable compliment first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.