My favorite leaders haven’t always been the most organized. ⁣

My favorite leaders haven’t necessarily made the best executive decisions. ⁣

My favorite leaders haven’t always been the smartest. ⁣

My favorite leaders HAVE strengthened me. ⁣

They’ve known me. ⁣

They’ve cared about me and reached out to me. ⁣

They’ve taught or presented or trained on things that I really need to learn in order to become a better person. ⁣

The focus isn’t on them. ⁣

The conversation is always on others. ⁣

I’ve had bishops, Relief Society presidents, and Young Women leaders who have strengthened me. ⁣

I’ve had bosses, principals, and team leads who have strengthened me. ⁣

“Therefore, strengthen your brethren in all your conversation, in all your prayers, in all your exhortations, and in all your doings.” – (D&C 108:7)

I don’t know that everyone agrees that this is what makes a good leader. ⁣

But to me, it makes sense. ⁣

The ultimate, real, true purpose of us being here on earth isn’t to learn how to become the most efficient person we can possibly be. ⁣

It’s not to become that leader with all the charisma and fame. ⁣

It’s not to lead the biggest empire. ⁣

It’s to love God and then to love others. ⁣

It’s to take the strength we get from knowing our standing with God and to turn that around and spread it to others. ⁣

It’s to teach and build and share. ⁣

It’s real servant-leadership. ⁣

It’s the type of leadership Jesus Christ showed while He walked the earth. ⁣

Real leaders strengthen others. ⁣

Who has been a leader who has strengthened you? 

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post My favorite leaders  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I mean, even with a group of people who I like, trying to make plans together for a group date or something, things can get messy.⁣

Making decisions in our callings at church, ⁣

Making decisions as a family, ⁣

Making decisions in a committee at work, ⁣

Completing a group project for school, ⁣

Or even just look at groups of legislators who have to make decisions for a country together…⁣

Making decisions in a group of people is often rough.⁣

And that’s what I find so appealing and soothing about the Lord’s directions to church leaders in D&C 107:30:⁣

“The decisions of these quorums, or either of them, are to be made in all righteousness, in holiness, and lowliness of heart, meekness and long-suffering, and in faith, and virtue, and knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and charity;”⁣

What were just listed?! ⁣

Christlike attributes.⁣

So if we possess Christlike attributes, it is much easier to make decisions together. ⁣

And I just have to share this beautiful promise the Lord gives them right afterward in verse 31: ⁣

“Because the promise is, if these things abound in them they shall not be unfruitful in the knowledge of the Lord.”⁣

If we abound in Christlike attributes we are promised that we will gain the knowledge of the Lord.⁣

We will not be unfruitful if we harness these qualities. ⁣

Of course, we can’t control the attributes of everyone around us in a group.

(But if you are a leader in a group, you can at least encourage and model these positive qualities.)⁣

But what we can control is ourselves, right? ⁣

We can trust that being more personally righteous will lead to better decision-making. ⁣

That becoming more meek will lead to better decision-making. ⁣

That having more patience, showing charity, gaining knowledge, and living virtuously will lead to better decision-making. ⁣

Christlike attributes lead to better decision-making.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Group decision making  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Am I doing enough?⁣

Where is my standing with God?⁣

I think about these questions a lot.⁣

Actually, I think about them a little bit less now than I used to. But they are still there. ⁣

When I look around at a messy home and a kid climbs on top of me even when I’ve asked them not to and my to-do list is longer than ever, I wonder if I’m doing well enough. ⁣

But something else I’ve noticed about these moments?⁣

I’m in self-pity. ⁣

And I’m NOT listening to the Spirit. ⁣

I’m thinking of all the ways that I’m falling short. ⁣

And I’m not trying to connect with the Divine, show gratitude, love, and grow. ⁣

On the flip side, those moments when I’m really in tune with the Spirit…⁣

When I’m feeling love and prompting and clarity and guidance…⁣

I KNOW that I’m enough. ⁣

I know that where my heart is matters most, and that it is in a good place. ⁣

I know that I will keep needing my Savior. ⁣

So sometimes I need to hear:⁣

“Let your soul be at rest concerning your spiritual standing, and resist no more my voice.” (D&C 108:2⁣)

When I am resisting the Spirit, when I think I know more about my value and worth than He does, then I feel tied down and heavy. ⁣

And when I allow myself to be comforted by that still small voice, then I feel confidence and peace. ⁣

Let your soul be at rest. ⁣

Stop resisting the comforting voice of the Spirit. ⁣

You are doing just great.

“The only opinion of us that matters is what our Heavenly Father thinks of us. Please sincerely ask Him what He thinks of you. He will love and correct but never discourage us; that is Satan’s trick.” – J. Devn Cornish

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The Opinion That Matters  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

They were well-meaning saints who gathered together weekly and had copies of the Book of Mormon, but Warren recognized that his congregation needed someone with some greater priesthood authority and direction to assist them in Freedom, New York. ⁣

He wrote a letter to his brother Oliver’s good friend Joseph Smith asking for him to send someone with greater priesthood authority out to visit their branch.

I imagine Warren was excited to get someone to lead them. ⁣

Wouldn’t it be so nice to have someone step up and take charge?⁣

Someone who actually knew what they were doing?⁣

Warren had been familiar with the church since his brother had first met up with Joseph a few years earlier. ⁣

But Warren himself had only been converted and baptized for less than a year. ⁣

Finally, Joseph wrote a letter back to Warren! ⁣

“It is my will that my servant Warren A. Cowdery should be appointed and ordained a presiding high priest over my church, in the land of Freedom and the regions round about;” (D&C 106:1)

Wait, what?⁣

Doesn’t Warren’s story sound familiar? ⁣

Sometimes we see the need. ⁣

It is so glaringly obvious. ⁣

Someone needs to step up and do something about that. ⁣

And then…⁣

We are the ones called to fill that position. ⁣

Or, we realize on our own that WE could be the one to step up and be the solution. ⁣

It’s a lot easier to notice what’s wrong and wait for someone else to solve the problems we see. ⁣

“If only someone would fix that bulletin board!”⁣

“If only someone would help that lady!”⁣

“If only someone would start a fun hangout group!”⁣

“If only someone would start advocating for that cause more!”⁣

But what if… we were the person we were waiting for?⁣

We can see a need, and we can be the one to step up.

“Heavenly Father may have placed those who need us closest to us, knowing that we are best suited to meet their needs.” – Bonnie L. Oscarson

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Waiting for Someone to Help first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I found that hard to believe. ⁣

But then it was true. ⁣

Receiving my own endowment in the temple was unlike anything I imagined it would be. ⁣

I honestly felt pretty neutral about the entire experience. It was just different. Unexpected. ⁣

I just felt a little whisper deep down of, “You’ll figure this out. You’ll love it.”⁣

Going back time and time again brought familiarity.⁣

And with familiarity, I was able to start learning. To feel the spirit. To feel the power. To study what I was experiencing. ⁣

I don’t have a big “a-ha” moment when the temple clicked for me. ⁣

It was a gradual, month after month, step by step process where I was suddenly able to say: “Wow, I absolutely love the temple and the covenants I’ve made there.”⁣

In the temple endowment, we receive knowledge and power. ⁣

When I meet people who love the temple, I immediately want to be more like them. ⁣

To me, it’s almost obvious to see the power that flows from people’s lives who attend or work in the temple regularly. ⁣

It’s priesthood power flowing in everything they do. ⁣

That’s the power, that personal priesthood power, that the Lord knew the saints needed desperately in 1834. ⁣

“For behold, I have prepared a great endowment and blessing to be poured out upon them”. (D&C 105:12)

And it’s the power that’s available to us today. ⁣

To gain personal priesthood power, we need to make and keep covenants. ⁣

Which means, we need to know what those covenants are, remember them, and renew them each week at the sacrament table. ⁣

Understanding and loving the endowment of power I have received has been a journey for me. ⁣

But it’s also not a journey that’s complete. ⁣

Accessing God’s power is a continual process, a daily commitment. It’s a little bit vague sometimes and harder to measure than whether or not I’m reading my scriptures. ⁣

But deciding each day to keep my covenants brings me access to a blessing and a priesthood power I never want to lose.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Endowment of power first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I had finished up my freshman year, and had to make the pretty dramatic decision, at least to a 15-year-old, about which school to attend.⁣

I knew my two options. ⁣

And I had faith in the power of prayer, so I prayed all summer long. ⁣

But… no answer. ⁣

But I knew the answer would come at some point, right? So I kept just praying. ⁣

Still… no answer. ⁣

My parents started to counsel me that I needed to get some more information about the two schools. ⁣

I needed to learn information, and that as I did, I would probably feel inspired for which school to attend. ⁣

I ended up getting course lists for both of the schools and mapping out my grad plan.⁣

And all of a sudden, one of the schools seemed like a way better fit. ⁣

I was drawn to their huge offering of elective classes that matched my interests, and it just seemed like the right way to go. It seemed obvious! ⁣

And that’s when I realized… that was my answer. ⁣

When Joseph and other leaders were trying to make a decision together, the Lord taught them to make their decision: “inasmuch as it shall be made known to him by the voice of the Spirit, and according to the counsel of the order, and by the voice of the order.” D&C 104:36⁣

Did you catch that? The Lord wanted them to come to their answer by listening to BOTH the voice of the spirit and the counsel of the people in the room. ⁣

President Nelson has even recently said: “I know that good inspiration is based upon good information”. ⁣

I’ve seen this time and time again since my teenage years. ⁣

Praying for inspiration AND learning from people who may know more than I do is the way that my mind is usually enlightened. ⁣

So, if you’ve been waiting for inspiration to strike, it might be worth it to start gathering information, and see where that takes you! ⁣

Have you had an experience like this before? Where good information or counsel led to better inspiration from the Spirit?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Information and revelation  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Like… I didn’t know what I was supposed to do with this baby!⁣

Wasn’t someone going to make sure she was being fed and tighten up her swaddles when they fell apart?!⁣

Giving birth sure didn’t make me feel qualified to be a mother. ⁣

Talk about a trusting Heavenly Father right?!⁣

My daughter is as much His daughter as I am, and yet I’ve been given the huge blessing of being her mother here on earth. ⁣

I have been given solemn stewardship over this daughter of God for the next little bit. ⁣

She is His, but He is giving me an opportunity to show what kind of a steward I can be. ⁣

Some stewardships, such as parenting, are pretty long-term.⁣

But other stewardships, such as callings we receive or possessions that we own, are much more temporary.⁣

And yet… everything is His. ⁣

The Lord taught in D&C 104:57: “But, verily I say unto you, I have appointed unto you to be stewards over mine house, even stewards indeed.”⁣

We’ve all been appointed a little bit of stewardship over a corner of God’s house. ⁣

Stewardship does not mean ownership, but instead implies a solemn loan in which we get to show our responsibility, maturity, and agency. ⁣

Today, I invite you to reflect on the people and things that you currently have stewardship over.⁣

Am I being a good steward?⁣

Not a perfect steward, but a good one who is trying my best to take care of the things that are His?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Am I qualified for this?! first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

There’s a part of me that thinks if I learn my lessons quickly enough, then the trial might end sooner. ⁣

But sometimes… the trial is just the worst. ⁣

It’s heavy. It’s no fun. There’s no end in sight. ⁣

And I can’t find even a shred of a lesson to be learned anywhere. ⁣

Except… just endure. ⁣⁣

Several years ago, I endured a few months of a severe trial. ⁣

It was kicking my booty. ⁣

And then, the trial was over. ⁣

I felt so much better, lighter, more free…⁣

But I still didn’t know what lesson I was supposed to learn from it. ⁣

I thought I would get clarity afterwards. But the trial just seemed dark still, even looking back. ⁣

Hmmmm. Maybe there wasn’t a lesson to learn other than that life is just hard sometimes. ⁣

One day, a friend called me and told me about her latest trial. ⁣

It was exactly what I had experienced. ⁣

I turned into full-on empathy mode. I told her to complain to me. I constantly checked in with her. ⁣

I told her that I knew this was the worst, and that there wasn’t much that was going to make it better and that I was so sorry. ⁣

And then I heard about someone else I didn’t know super well who was going through the same trial. ⁣

It felt a little awkward at first, but I knew I needed to reach out and lend an understanding listening ear. ⁣

Finally one evening, I reflected. ⁣

What if THAT was the blessing?⁣

What if the blessing of my trial was the empathy that I gained for others? For the future acts of service I could perform because I perfectly understood how crushing it was to endure? ⁣

The Lord taught in D&C 103:12: “For after much tribulation… cometh the blessing.”⁣

Sometimes the blessings are evident during the trial. Sometimes they are evident right afterwards. ⁣

But sometimes… sometimes it’s not until after. ⁣

Long after. ⁣

That we begin to see what the blessing might have been.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Loooong after the trial  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

My roommates walked in with a slurpee and a soda for me to cheer me up. ⁣

But I wasn’t in the mood. ⁣

I was a grump for the next few days. ⁣

In my mind, my friends were asking too many questions and being too overwhelming. ⁣

I just wanted to be alone and deal with my emotions from the door that had just been shut in my life. ⁣

I kept being sad, and I didn’t want to stop. ⁣

I realized I didn’t want to be comforted yet. ⁣

A few days later, I started to see the light at the end of the tunnel. ⁣

NOW I was ready for comfort and support from friends and family. ⁣

Now I was ready for treats and parties and talking about it. ⁣

Now I was ready to pray for comfort and to turn to the scriptures. ⁣

I’ve learned that we have to be ready for comfort from others. ⁣

I’m sure that as soon as something heartbreaking and difficult happens in our lives, our Heavenly Father is ready to send His Spirit as a comforter. ⁣

Sometimes, we are ready right away and crave that comfort. ⁣

And other times, we need some space before we are really ready to accept that comfort. ⁣

“Verily I say unto you my friends, fear not, LET your hearts be comforted”.⁣ (D&C 98:1)

We have a part to play in receiving comfort, in allowing our hearts to feel the comfort that God is willing to offer. ⁣

It’s okay if we aren’t ready yet. ⁣

But when we are, we can let our hearts feel the comfort that our kind Heavenly Father wishes to give to us.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post I wasn’t ready for comfort first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I had work to do like crazy, my house was a mess, and my kids needed a whole lot of attention. ⁣

Add to that the fact that between long work hours and church service, time with my husband was getting sparse, too. ⁣

I just felt a lot of concern. ⁣

And then I opened my Doctrine and Covenants to start studying section 100 in preparation for writing some posts and podcast episodes. ⁣

The very first verse pierced my heart. ⁣

“Your families are well; they are in mine hands”. (D&C 100:1⁣)

That line was meant for me, right there, right then. ⁣

Tears filled my eyes and I prayed for a little more understanding. ⁣

I felt peace. ⁣

I felt comfort. ⁣

I felt reassurance that we were doing good things and that this busy season would pass soon. ⁣

And then I sat in amazement. ⁣

For some reason, I was waiting for a prompting of something to change to make the situation better. ⁣

But instead, I just felt like I was being cheered on and comforted. ⁣

It was almost like a little tight squeeze. A little “it’s all going to be okay”.⁣

It wasn’t a solution to all my “problems”. Instead it was a comfort and a love that elevated me to handle the load a little bit better. ⁣

This verse might be totally insignificant to you right now, and that’s fine. ⁣

I’m sure I’ve read it before and never thought twice about it. ⁣

And that’s what I will forever love about the scriptures. ⁣

He speaks. The Spirit inspires. My God comforts. ⁣

In exactly the way I needed it on that day.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The verse I needed  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.