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. ⁣With real problems.

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 from the divine Being who wants to help us come Home.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Asking for help  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Teaching middle school was tough.

I prayed that there would be some kind of help for me the following school year.

There ended up being major teacher shuffling that happened that summer.

All of a sudden, almost by default, I was being offered a team lead position.

I was going to be in charge of attending professional trainings.

And then I would need to share the information I learned by creating trainings for all the Language Arts teachers at the school.

Accepting that team lead position was EXACTLY what I needed, both professionally and personally!

It was absolutely the miracle that I needed.

A total answer to prayers.

But. . . it also seemed very logical.

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

All of which led to the basically default decision that I would be offered the team lead role.

In fact, most of these people had their own professional miracles that opened the way for my miracle.

The Lord orchestrates everything.

Sometimes, He moves mountains for us.

But I think most of the time, the plan is so intricately interwoven that miracles just look like a bunch of logical and reasonable changes.

In fact, this was the cause of the demise of the Nephite nation.

They were saved over and over, but:

“. . . they did not realize that it was the Lord that had spared them.” (Mormon 3:3)

Do we brush off the “normal” things that happen in our lives, the things that just make sense?

Is getting home safely from an activity, being nourished by food, or meeting someone new seem like something that will always happen?

Or do we recognize God in all the little, logical, miraculous details of our lives?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Team Lead  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 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”!⁣

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

Listening to, above all else, the Spirit’s whisperings in learning the best way in that exact moment to know how to show Christlike love to all.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

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

Do you remember anything that someone told you when you were 10 years old?

If you do, it’s probably something pretty important or impactful.

This makes me think of quite a few church lessons I received in my youth that focused on spiritual gifts.

The teacher would often ask each of us to write down or tell each other the spiritual gifts we recognized in them.

Such a sweet idea, by the way.

The only hitch was that I’ve always been pretty musically talented.

So every time I was part of one of these lessons or activities, the messages my friends would write to me would all be fairly similar:

“You are so musically talented!”

Don’t get me wrong, I am so grateful for my talents.

But as a teen, I also always wondered what my SPIRITUAL gifts were.

I knew there was more to me than just my musical gifts.

It wasn’t until an activity at a Young Women camp where I had a leader write a little note to me:

“Cali, I love that for every activity this week, you’ve made sure that everyone was included. You have such a gift for helping others not feel left out.”

I remember that note and that sweet leader to this day.

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.” (Mormon 1:2,5) 

And then Mormon wrote Ammaron’s compliment and commandment down, AT LEAST 14 years later.

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

But I think it’s actually pretty easy to see the spiritual gifts that others have. ⁣

If you want to make a huge impact on someone’s life right now, tell them the spiritual gifts and talents that you see in them.

They might just remember it for the rest of their lives.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Remembered 14 years later first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.