We had a stake conference a few years ago that blew my mind. ⁣

The evening adult session was all about missionary work— but with a completely new perspective that has stuck with me for a while. ⁣

One speaker kept coming back to this point:⁣

We aren’t the ones converting people to the gospel. ⁣

There are so many prophesies and so many scriptures that are similar to what we find in D&C 135:7:⁣

“The religion of Jesus Christ… will touch the hearts of honest men among all nations”. ⁣

There are SO MANY people out there who have willing and honest hearts, who the Spirit is working with to mold and prepare. ⁣

They are ready to hear and receive. ⁣

They are ready to completely change their lives and make eternal covenants with God. ⁣

We have such a small but important role in this entire process (because it’s really mostly between that individual and God).⁣

We need to be examples, make friends, show love, and then extend simple but powerful invitations, as prompted by the Spirit. ⁣

That’s it. ⁣

We just need to introduce as many people as we can to what truth and godly power really mean, and the Spirit will take care of the rest— quickly carrying it unto the hearts of those who have already been prepared. ⁣

Missionary work isn’t about tons of pressure to be the perfect example, inviting to the exact right event, and then teaching every aspect of the gospel. ⁣

Isn’t that refreshing?⁣

That’s how I’ve felt ever since I heard that message. ⁣

I don’t have to do it all. No one has to do it all. ⁣

We don’t even have to do that much. ⁣

The Gathering of Israel is going to happen, and the hearts of God’s children are being prepared throughout the world. ⁣

And all we’ve been asked to do is to love and invite, so that the Spirit can do what He does best: ⁣

Convert.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post No need to convert  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Life isn’t perfect. ⁣

Maybe today isn’t even what you planned. ⁣

Maybe you’ve got a lot of “other stuff” going on so you feel like you can’t be fully present. ⁣

But no matter what your circumstances are like today, no matter what kitchen mishaps or missing family members or awkward moments…⁣

“Praise the Lord with singing, with music, with dancing, and with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving.” (D&C 136:28⁣)

A prayer of praise and thanksgiving is always an option. ⁣

Praise. And thanksgiving. ⁣

Don’t those go perfectly hand in hand?⁣

Recognizing the goodness and glory of God, and then feeling gratitude for all that He has done for you?⁣

Today, no matter what my day looks like, I’m going to offer a prayer of praise and of thanksgiving. ⁣

And, knowing me, there will be some music and singing involved, too. ⁣

But I want to praise my Lord by remembering all that He has given me!⁣

This beautiful earth! ⁣

My body! ⁣

My friends, both old and new!⁣

My family members!⁣

The opportunity to change when I make a mistake!⁣

My scriptures! ⁣

Feeling overwhelming love!⁣

The Holy Spirit!⁣

My covenants!⁣

Something to be optimistic about!⁣

The chance to be alive!⁣

Praise and thanksgiving to my Lord today, and every day. ⁣

What are you feeling especially grateful for today? 

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post  Praise and thanksgiving!  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Joseph Smith had the most essential gift of the Spirit with him:⁣

“I am going like a lamb to the slaughter; but I am calm as a summer’s morning;” (D&C 135:4⁣)

Abinadi. ⁣

Even Jesus Christ. ⁣

And I know there are others. ⁣

Beautiful examples of peace while heading toward certain death. ⁣

I most likely will not have to face this specific situation. ⁣

But something I CAN relate to?⁣

Calm even when everything from a mortal viewpoint is NOT going to be okay. ⁣

It takes a lot of faith. ⁣

It takes an eternal perspective. ⁣

It takes having the presence of the Holy Ghost. ⁣

It’s feeling peace even when other people think you should be falling apart. ⁣

But it also doesn’t mean needing to love the situation. ⁣

Joseph tried to escape as the mob attacked. ⁣

Abinadi kept preaching and trying to soften the hearts of his abusers. ⁣

Even the Savior asked if the cup could be removed from before Him. ⁣

It’s the moments when people say, “I’m so sorry. That sounds terrible.”⁣

And you say, “It has been really rough. But I’ve also surprisingly had these moments of peace that carry me through. I’ve felt so many blessings and so much strength while still having to endure this difficult circumstance.”⁣

Life is filled with rough mortal experiences. ⁣

And no amount of righteousness will ever excuse us from them. ⁣

But we can still endure and feel as calm as a summer’s morning.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Calm as a summer’s morning  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

And you know what?⁣

It’s okay. ⁣

I don’t understand all the intricacies of what my own parents did day in and day out to provide the life for me that I had. ⁣

And then I think about my spiritual heritage. ⁣

All 16 of my great-great-great grandparents on my mom’s side joined the church at some point, usually at a great physical or financial sacrifice. ⁣

And I’ve got a similar spiritual heritage on my father’s side. ⁣

I will never fully understand what they had to give up, the hard decisions they had to make, and the cost of their consistency and devotion to the gospel. ⁣

And it’s okay that I don’t fully understand (although I love learning their stories).

What Joseph Smith sacrificed to bring forth the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and numerous other revelations is incomprehensible. ⁣

“The reader in every nation will be reminded that the Book of Mormon, and this book of Doctrine and Covenants of the church, cost the best blood of the nineteenth century to bring them forth for the salvation of a ruined world.” (D&C 135:6)

He sacrificed his own life for the cause. ⁣

I will never fully understand what that is like. ⁣

And I will never fully understand what my Savior Jesus Christ did for me, and continues to do for me. ⁣

I learn, I study, I receive blessings, and I get little glimpses into what He has done. ⁣

But I’ll never truly “get it”. ⁣

Not understanding the extreme sacrifices of our predecessors is a natural, short-sighted, human thing to do. ⁣

But that doesn’t excuse me from the opportunity to be grateful. ⁣

To reflect on what my family members, both near and far, have done for me.

To ponder on the prophet Joseph and other spiritual leaders.

And to revere my Savior for His great atoning sacrifice and continued, sustaining help. ⁣

I will never fully understand all the sacrifices made to give me the plethora of privileges I enjoy. ⁣

But I can still learn about them and feel extreme gratitude for those who have given me my firm foundation.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post My kids will never understand first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Singing and joy and happiness are so intertwined. ⁣

So I know that He sings. ⁣

How do you think our Heavenly Parents sound?⁣

I know They sing. ⁣

Singing is joy and praise. ⁣

But it doesn’t always feel that way, right?⁣

When we open our hymn books in church to sing the opening hymn, it’s oftentimes routine. ⁣

(Or time to try and keep your kids from tearing pages out of the book.)⁣

Yeah, yeah, opening hymn. It’s what we do. ⁣

But how would our congregations, and more importantly our own hearts, be transformed if we sang with joy and praise in our hearts?⁣

Singing without a care in the world?

My heaven is filled with a whole lot of singing. ⁣

“And they shall sing the song of the Lamb, day and night forever and ever.” (D&C 133:56⁣)

It’s not going to be somber when we see Jesus. ⁣

Reverence and praise work together!⁣

And I think the newest songs being added to our hymn book are encouraging us to realize that joy and reverence can go hand in hand.

Singing, with our hearts and souls and intent fully behind it, is a beautiful way that we WILL use to praise Jesus.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Does Jesus sing? first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Because there was someone who experienced almost everything in His mortal ministry alone. ⁣

It’s so easy to picture Jesus as a man who always had a smile on His face, surrounded by people. ⁣

But He was also very misunderstood, even in His lifetime, right?!⁣

Even His closest friends and dearest apostles didn’t fully understand what He was doing or what He could do. ⁣

When I feel all alone, this is my comfort to turn to:⁣

“I have trodden the wine-press alone, and have brought judgment upon all people; and none were with me.” (D&C 133:50⁣)

He knows true loneliness. ⁣

And He endured it so that He could comfort us. ⁣

Life can be very lonely sometimes. ⁣

When there’s no one to relate to, or a friend who forgets something important, or kids who get sick and make you miss an event…

It’s okay to feel lonely. ⁣

But we don’t ever have to actually be alone, because Christ knows exactly what this feels like. ⁣

He is always near me, though I do not see Him there.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

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

I was a really good parent before I gave birth!⁣

Come to my home now at any time of day and you’ll see dried mac and cheese, cracker crumbs, yogurt or any other assortment of foods hidden somewhere on my kids’ faces. ⁣

Now don’t get me wrong, I still want my kids to have clean faces. ⁣

I’ve just changed my expectations of what “clean faces” looks like. ⁣

It doesn’t look like constantly clean faces.⁣

Instead, it looks like constantly washing dirty faces. ⁣

“Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.” (D&C 133:5⁣)

Being clean before the Lord seems like an impossibly high standard. ⁣

Because I’m getting “dirt” on me all the time. ⁣

A little splash here. ⁣

A little fleck there. ⁣

Staying clean constantly isn’t what I’m shooting for. ⁣

Instead, I’m deciding to never give up on washing the spots off. ⁣

I’m scrubbing here and wiping off there. ⁣

I’m taking full showers whenever I need.

That’s what real repentance and change look like!⁣

Not staying spotless, but committing to becoming spotless as soon as we realize we’ve gotten a bit dirty. ⁣

“Repentance is not an event; it is a process.” – Russell M. Nelson

My kids vary greatly in how clean they are each day.⁣

But I’m never going to give up on helping them get clean once again.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Dirty kid faces first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Most of us grew up feeling comfortable attending the church we were born and raised in.

So our professor specifically wanted us to go somewhere we would be a bit uncomfortable.

I wanted to understand a specific group of people better, so I attended one of their meetings.

My professor was right!

I did feel a bit uncomfortable being in an atmosphere I wasn’t used to.

I didn’t “get” all the unspoken rules and routines that everyone else seemed familiar with.

I didn’t know a single person.

But I was also shocked at how much love and understanding I felt in my heart as I listened to the meeting.

Like, SO much love.

This taught me an important lesson that being willing to sacrifice our comfort can lead us straight to love.

When we humbly sacrifice for other people, whether it’s a group we don’t know, our child, or a ward member, we can’t help but grow in love for that person or group.

This means if we want to grow our loving relationship with the Lord, we need to be willing to sacrifice, too.

The Lord knows that it takes work to build that love:

“Wherefore, prepare ye for the coming of the Bridegroom; go ye, go ye out to meet him.” (D&C 133:19)

Jesus Christ loves us, and our willing sacrifice performed with good intentions will always produce greater love. 

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post An uncomfortable meeting  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

This has come to my mind a few times recently.

I LOVE connecting with God through the scriptures.

But things have felt a little… off?

Then I read a very simple scripture I know I had read many times before:

“Prepare thy heart to receive and obey the instructions which I am about to give unto you”. ⁣(D&C 132:3)

Boom.

That was the answer that I needed. ⁣

I needed to prepare my heart a bit better to receive whatever I needed the Spirit to give me in these scriptures. ⁣

I had grown lax with my preparation.

So I prayed for a softer, more prepared heart. ⁣

I humbled myself and was ready to be taught. ⁣

And then I read the scriptures again. ⁣

This time, I found what the Lord wanted to teach me. ⁣

At least, I found what He wanted to teach me right then, because I’m sure there is much more that I can learn. ⁣

Sometimes, we just need to prepare. ⁣

Prepare our hearts to be sensitive to hard things. ⁣

Prepare our hearts to not worry about the stuff that we don’t need to worry about right now. ⁣

Prepare our hearts to be a little more humble and submissive to the Spirit. ⁣

So that’s what I learned. ⁣

Scripture study isn’t always easy. Finding inspiration isn’t always easy. ⁣

Maybe the scriptures will be easy for you. ⁣

Maybe you’ll struggle a bit as I did. ⁣

It’s all good. ⁣

But there is still always something to learn, and my testimony of that was strengthened even more as the Lord taught me about the power of preparation.

“The condition of our hearts directly affects our sensitivity to spiritual things.” – Gerald N. Lund

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post When the scriptures don’t inspire  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

When it was finally bedtime, I walked into my room and pulled out my scriptures.

I was exhausted.

But knew I needed the blessings of scripture study more than ever.

As I took a deep breath and started to read, I knew I could expect peace and inspiration.

I find this promise so reassuring:

“When we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.” (D&C 130:21)

I remember someone once telling me that we shouldn’t want to do good things and become good people only because of the blessings.

I agree 100%.

Obeying because we love the Lord and desire to become like Him is the best motivation!

But sometimes… life is rough.

And I think it’s okay to want blessings.

I knew God wouldn’t take away all my trials as soon as I read my scriptures that evening.

But I was focused on the blessings I knew God could provide through His holy word.

And guess what?

I did feel peace and inspiration.

My problems were still there, but God blessed me with a calming perspective.

We should absolutely want to obey the commandments because we love God and want to become more like Him.

But, on the off chance that you also need some blessings right now…

It’s always good to add a booster of obedience into our lives.

“Obedience makes us progressively stronger, capable of faithfully enduring tests and trials in the future.” – Robert D. Hales

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Why did I obey? first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.