“Someone who invites you to their parties, is super fun to hang out with, and responds to your texts!”⁣

But since my high school days of tons of friends, (very G-rated) parties every weekend, and texting all day (as long as I didn’t go over my monthly limit), my experiences with friends have changed. ⁣

I’ve had periods of time where I’ve made friends quickly.

And I’ve had other periods where I’ve moved to a new place and never felt like I quite fit in. ⁣

And I’ve learned to change my definition of “friend”. ⁣

I’ve learned that I can make friends with anyone, of any age, in any life circumstance. ⁣

I’ve learned that while I can’t control who “likes” me, I can control who I reach out to. ⁣

Sisters that I’ve ministered to, served with, called, accidentally cried with, reached out to…⁣

Those are the people I consider my friends. ⁣

Who were Jared and his brother concerned about, as much as their families?⁣

Their friends. ⁣

“Cry again unto the Lord, and it may be that he will turn away his anger from them who are our friends, that he confound not their language.” (Ether 1:36)

When Jared asked his brother to pray for the Lord, he requested that the Lord specifically spare their friends, and they all travelled together to the new land. ⁣

We don’t get many stories of friendship in the Book of Mormon, so this really stood out to me as I studied. ⁣

Jared and the Brother of Jared wanted to be with their friends.⁣

Maybe they hung out together every evening and enjoyed each other’s company. ⁣

And I bet that they bore each other’s burdens. ⁣

They had sympathy, they jumped up in the middle of the night, they went out of their way to serve…⁣

And when we serve, we grow our love toward that person. ⁣

I’m grateful for the amazing friends that I have – the ones who have served my family, and the ones who allow me to serve them. ⁣

And I’m grateful that the friendships, not just the family relationships, that I make in this life will continue into the eternities.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Friends in the Book of Mormon  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

“O Lord, in them there is no light; whither shall we steer? And also we shall perish, for in them we cannot breathe, save it is the air which is in them; therefore we shall perish.” (Ether 2:19)

But the brother of Jared had been the one who had built the barges!

I have a feeling that as he was building, he may have realized that light and air were going to be issues.

He had faith, though, that if the Lord had asked him to build these barges, then they could figure out the details later.

I really like to “see the forest before the trees” when I move forward with my life.

I like to feel confident in the big picture before I start working on the details.

But often, the Lord just shows us one tree at a time.

The whole forest won’t come into focus until after we’ve shown our obedience to the little stuff, even if we think it can’t possibly come together in the end.

Can we build our faith so that we trust the Lord will show us how it all fits into a big, beautiful forest someday?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The forest and the trees first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

– one of a million lies I have told myself. ⁣

Anyone else relate?!⁣

We think we’ve experienced something unforgettable, or learned an interesting new fact, or felt the Spirit stronger than we’ve ever felt before…⁣

And then memory fades. ⁣

I’m not going to lie, the idea of writing down my life experiences in a journal for the benefit of some future great-great-grandchild has always seemed far out of reach to me. ⁣

I’m not sure if my posterity will ever really read what I write. ⁣

But I do know that writing things down enlarges my memory. ⁣

Anytime I write an experience down, it cements my feelings down on paper. ⁣

It breaks the memory free from Satan’s grasp.

He can’t convince me that I made it up, or that I really felt that way, or that I over-exaggerated. ⁣

I have the truth, straight from my mouth. ⁣

I learn to trust my past feelings and experiences. ⁣

I grow my collection of “spiritually defining moments”.

When the Brother of Jared left the mountain where he saw the Savior, the Lord commanded him to, “write the things which he had seen.” (Ether 4:1)⁣

The Brother of Jared had just been shown marvelous prophecies and visions. ⁣

And the Lord wanted him to write them down right away. ⁣

Directly after coming “down out of the mount”.⁣

And that’s great counsel for us, too!⁣

But the coolest part is that writing down powerful or important memories doesn’t have to mean pulling out the old notebook for 20 minutes at the end of the day anymore. ⁣

I write things down in the “notes” app on my phone all the time. I post on social media. I type. I do voice-to-text. I record videos of special moments.

We’ve got a whole modern world of “writing things down” available to us!⁣

So how can you improve just a bit more today in the way that is most sustainable to your lifestyle? Share any ideas below! ⁣

And as Elder Andersen taught:⁣

“When personal difficulties or world conditions beyond our control darken our path, the spiritually defining memories from our book of life are like luminous stones that help brighten the road ahead.”

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post “I’ll totally remember that!” first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I was recently thinking about a time when I was NOT looking for a new job.

But I WAS looking for some more fulfillment in my life. ⁣

A random job opportunity popped up.

I browsed through the application information out of curiosity. ⁣

And suddenly, I knew that I needed to fill out that application.

I got the job.

And that job completely changed the trajectory of my life in the best way possible.

I had been praying for more fulfillment in my life…

And God knew exactly how I needed to get there.

No matter how random it may have seemed.

But it took faith to follow those out-of-left-field promptings!

The brother of Jared had been praying for his family and friends to be spared from having their languages confounded.

And pretty shortly after, the Lord told him:

“Go to work and build, after the manner of barges which ye have hitherto built.” (Ether 2:16)

How do sincere prayers for protection and freedom turn into commandments to build barges?

God knows.

Only He knows.

And the brother of Jared had the faith to follow the direction!

Do we have the faith in Jesus Christ to follow the promptings we receive, even when they don’t seem to match with the questions we had in the first place?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

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