I didn’t realize that much thought work, planning, and research went into effective teaching.

But pretty soon I was spending my homework time crafting the perfect inquiry-based math lessons and engaging anticipatory sets for literacy. ⁣

And, with the super analytical brain that I have, I started seeing these teaching patterns everywhere, from my own professors to church teachers! ⁣

I started noticing what my Sunday School teachers, Relief Society teachers, and bishopric members did well when it came to teaching gospel topics. ⁣

I do think that effective teaching strategies matter. ⁣

But at the end of the day, it’s not the most important thing, right?⁣

“That the fulness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world, and before kings and rulers.” (D&C 1:23)

I’ve learned the gospel from someone who didn’t ask any probing questions. ⁣

I’ve felt the Spirit listening to someone reading a quote completely out of context.

I’ve been bored during a lesson, only to have the Spirit bring one particular sentence the teacher says to my mind. ⁣

The gospel can be proclaimed by the weak and the simple. ⁣

How cool is that?!⁣

And in the most important setting, our home, teaching the gospel in the best ways that we personally can will always be good enough. ⁣

We are good enough to teach our families. ⁣

We are weak. Uneducated in many things. Simple and plain. ⁣

And yet, we can teach the fullness of the gospel.

“Everything that is done in the Church—the leading, the teaching, the calling, the ordaining, the praying, the singing, the preparation of the sacrament, the counseling, and everything else—is done by ordinary members, the ‘weak things of the world.’” – Boyd K. Packer

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

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

A few kids would always raise their hands and ask clarifying questions so that they could get to work.

But I knew there were a few confused students who just wouldn’t raise their hands.

Maybe they were embarrassed not to know something.

Maybe it wasn’t cool to raise their hands.

Maybe they were nervous about asking me anything.

But they just wouldn’t ask questions.

The Lord reminds us gently:

“And inasmuch as they sought wisdom they might be instructed.” (D&C 1:26)

Do you want to know one reason why I love studying the Doctrine and Covenants?

Because virtually every single revelation in this book came as the result of a question.

The Doctrine and Covenants is NOT filled with random revelations that the Lord gave to Joseph while Joseph was hanging out with his friends.

The Lord gave Joseph revelation after revelation after revelation because Joseph (and others) kept asking questions.

“Asking questions isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s a precursor of growth”. – Elder Uchtdorf

What questions do you have in your heart?

We can’t forget that we ask.

And the Doctrine and Covenants is proof that, within our stewardship, the Lord uses our questions as an opportunity to teach and reveal.

What a cool pattern!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Afraid to ask a question first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

“For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance.” (D&C 1:31⁣)

Of course not. ⁣

Because immediately after telling us this in verse 31, the Lord gives us the most tender, personal, and hopeful principle in verse 32:⁣

“Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven;”⁣

Sometimes I wonder, “How am I ever going to be good enough?”⁣

I’m repenting of the same things over and over. ⁣

I’m trying to figure out a life filled with messy relationships in the most Christlike way that I can. ⁣

I’m trying to do what’s right, and I keep falling short. ⁣

But when I’m in the scriptures, I feel these tender little reminders often:⁣

“You are good enough.”⁣

“You are trying.”⁣

“You are keeping the commandments the best you can.”⁣

“You are trying to change every day.”⁣

I write these statements in the margins of my scriptures pretty often, because I think the Spirit needs me to remember these often. ⁣

I will make mistakes. I will fall short. ⁣

But all that I need to do in order to enter the presence of the Lord…⁣

All that I need to do in order to be in the presence of my God and Savior…⁣

Is to just try. ⁣

To keep the commandments. ⁣

And when I fall short – I just have to want to sincerely change. ⁣

And that’s it. ⁣

It’s difficult. And it’s a lifelong process – no matter how long we’ve got here on earth. ⁣

But to be able to dwell in the presence of my God?⁣

I’ll keep going.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post No sign of sin anywhere! first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

It made me laugh a lot because a few years ago, my husband’s family decided to do a 5K on Thanksgiving morning. ⁣

I am NOT a runner. Like. At all. ⁣

But due to peer pressure, I signed up and started training with my husband. ⁣

It took a few weeks, but eventually my speed and my endurance started picking up. ⁣

By the day of the race, I felt pretty good! I wasn’t super fast, and I had to walk a couple times, but I finished the 5K. ⁣

“Preparation” is a funny concept. ⁣

Because, you could say that I prepared for that 5K. ⁣

And, I did! For the month beforehand. ⁣

But I also had not gone running for months before that. ⁣

Imagine what I could have done if I had been running every day for a year, or five years before that race. ⁣

I could have won the whole thing! Or at the very least, it could have been a total breeze. ⁣

And this is not to beat myself up for what I did at all – I am still proud of my “couch-to-5K”. ⁣

But I’ve learned that preparation never stops. ⁣

We are CONSTANTLY preparing ourselves for the future – whether we are doing so intentionally or not.

The Lord warns us in D&C 1:12, “Prepare ye, prepare ye for that which is to come, for the Lord is nigh;”⁣

We are preparing for the future right now – for better or for worse. ⁣

We are preparing for the next General Conference, for that upcoming competition, for that big life decision you don’t even know about yet. ⁣

And ultimately, we are preparing for Christ’s Second Coming right now. ⁣

There’s not some future day to “start preparing”. ⁣

Just like my 5K, I may formally decide to do something new to prepare for my Savior’s return someday. ⁣

But in reality, everything I am doing right now is shaping who I will be, what my abilities are, and what my mindset is. ⁣

And ultimately, we are always preparing for something.

So what will you choose to prepare for today?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Preparing for a 5K first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.