Up the mountain with the thunder and the storm. ⁣

Days passed. ⁣

Weeks. ⁣

Moses was nowhere to be found. ⁣

Slowly, panic replaced faith amongst the Israelites. ⁣

“And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods”. (Exodus 32:1)⁣

And in their panic, they turned to the worship of something that was familiar to them, more concrete, unchanging and easy to understand. ⁣

(I know, a golden calf seems weird to us but it was a comfortable and logical move for them to make.)⁣

I’ve learned in my life that patience and faith in God are completely intertwined. ⁣

“When we exercise patience, our faith increases. As our faith increases, so does our joy.” —Elder Jeremy R. Jaggi⁣

Attending the temple hasn’t always made perfect sense to me. ⁣

After first receiving my endowment, there were a lot (A LOT) of things I was confused about. ⁣

But I had heard that the more often you go, the easier it is to gain a testimony of temple worship and work. ⁣

And I clung to that. ⁣

President Nelson even counseled that if we don’t yet love temple work, to go more often. ⁣

And slowly but surely, trip after trip, drop by drop, I’ve learned to love attending the temple. I’ve learned, I’ve worshipped, I’ve served, I’ve received priceless revelation. ⁣

But it took a lot of patience. And waiting. ⁣

AND it took faith in God in waiting for the answer and the testimony to come. ⁣

I can think of so many more examples of this in my life with the law of tithing, keeping the Sabbath holy, fasting, following the prophet…⁣

Patience in God’s timing and in His laws and principles takes a whole lot of faith. ⁣

Faith that He will actually reveal truths, or fulfill promises, or give us a testimony, or keep His covenants. ⁣

But keeping that faith while I wait has always resulted in long-term joy.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post A golden calf?  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

My sister was playing with a toy that I wanted, and I took it out of her hands. ⁣

Immediately, I knew I had done something wrong, and I felt so badly! ⁣

I had already messed up.

I had made a promise at baptism to always remember Jesus, and now I had forgotten. ⁣

Aaaaand I’m pretty sure this was the evening after I got baptized, so I hadn’t lasted very long at all. ⁣

The Israelites made such an eager promise when Moses read what the Lord had taught him: ⁣

“All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.” (Exodus 24:7) ⁣

Spoiler alert: the Israelites did NOT keep this promise. ⁣

They broke it many times, just as each of us break the promises and covenants that we have made. ⁣

But the good news? ⁣

Repentance and the sacrament make it possible to re-commit to those promises.

So have you re-committed recently? ⁣

Have you thought about what covenants you’ve made, and decided to keep them again?⁣

Do you trust in the Savior’s ability to really cleanse?⁣

And can you draw on the Savior’s strength to re-commit over and over?⁣

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post My sin after baptism  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

In other words, don’t be jealous. ⁣

Why? ⁣

Why would this make the Lord’s Top Ten List for basic commandments that He wanted the children of Israel to follow, and that He still asks us to follow today?⁣

I think I’ve realized that jealousy is one of the biggest signs of where our heart is. ⁣

If I’m over here spending all my time jealous of my friend’s beautiful new backyard, or that trip that they just went on, or the bonus I know that they got…⁣

Then I’m not spending my time loving them. ⁣

I’m probably a lot less likely to want to serve them. ⁣

I probably am not praying for them. ⁣

And it also means my heart isn’t showing gratitude. ⁣

I’m probably not overwhelmed and grateful with how dependent I am on the Lord. ⁣

I might not be as willing to pay tithing.⁣

My heart starts to worry about the wrong things.⁣

This is a tough one in today’s super materialistic world, and it’s not a commandment I’ve conquered yet. ⁣

But I think it is worth every effort to try and root out that pride and jealousy.⁣

Because then we make a little bit more room to love.

“Most ‘thou shalt not’ commandments are meant to keep us from hurting others, but I am convinced the commandment not to covet is meant to keep us from hurting ourselves.” – Jeffrey R. Holland

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Why not covet? first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I wanted to be someone who “loved Conference,” even though I had no idea how to get to that point.

But I figured it would take a lot of effort, so I got to work.

I spent time reviewing previous talks. ⁣

I prayed with very specific purposes beforehand. ⁣

I did a lot of work beforehand so that I wouldn’t have to run errands or anything during that weekend. ⁣

And guess what happened when General Conference weekend arrived?! ⁣

I felt so immersed in every talk that I heard! ⁣

It truly was one of the most spiritual experiences of my life, and I felt like I was hearing the Lord speak, quite literally. ⁣

There was something powerful about really PREPARING for a spiritual experience. ⁣

The Lord even warned Moses to “Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes, And be ready against the third day: for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.” (Exodus 19:10-11) ⁣

The Lord wanted the Israelites to PREPARE for the amazing spiritual experience that awaited them. ⁣

He didn’t want to just spring it on them. ⁣

He gave them three days to prepare. ⁣

Preparation takes work. It takes effort to do things ahead of time. ⁣

But Bonnie Oscarson put it perfectly when she said:⁣

“Where much is required, much more will be given.”⁣

We choose how much to prepare. ⁣

How much to ponder about our covenants BEFORE sacrament meeting starts. ⁣

How much to do physically and mentally BEFORE walking through the temple doors. ⁣

How much to do BEFORE we open our scriptures to study. ⁣

How much to search for intention BEFORE serving in our calling.

But I have found that the more that I choose to prepare before what I anticipate to be a spiritual experience, the more that the Spirit is poured out upon me. ⁣

Preparation is for my own benefit.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The effort of preparation  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I hear this constantly from my kids.⁣

Sometimes they CAN do something by themselves and I get to see them grow in their development. ⁣

Buuuuut a lot of times they can’t really do it by themselves. ⁣

Or it would be so much easier or faster if they let me help. ⁣

Don’t we feel that same pressure as adults?⁣

“Oh no, I can do it all by myself.”⁣

Whether or not we actually can. ⁣

Or whether or not it would be easier or faster if we let someone help. ⁣

We don’t want to bother anyone. ⁣

“The thing that thou doest is not good. ⁣

“Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: ⁣

“for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.” (Exodus 18:17-18) ⁣

I’ve recently watched my ward family rally around someone in need in truly epic ways. ⁣

I think that’s one of the real purposes of small, local congregations. ⁣

To see the immediate, too heavy burdens, and to step in and mourn with those who mourn and comfort those who stand in need of comfort. ⁣

I’ve had friends, family members, and ward members help to bear my burdens in too many ways for me to number. ⁣

There have been some beautiful experiences where the Lord has helped me release my pride and ask for or accept help that others selflessly give. ⁣

But even when others fail. ⁣

When people don’t help or support in the ways we wish. ⁣

The Savior is always there. ⁣

Saying, “You will wear away if you keep trying to do this all.⁣

“It’s too heavy for you alone. ⁣

“Let me help bear the burden with you.⁣

“Because I’ve already been through it alone.”⁣

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post I can do it all by myself!  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I’ve had this experience recently, and I’ve been praying constantly for how to help solve this person’s problems so that they aren’t in so much pain. ⁣

But the impression that keeps coming back to my mind is: “This is their trial to deal with. What you can do is support and love and lift.”⁣

And I’ve taken that to heart. ⁣

I can’t take away the trial or the pain or the heartache.⁣

But I can love and support and lift this person through little acts of service, communication, heart-to-heart conversations, and lots of prayer. ⁣

So often, the story of Moses raising his hands in prayer to help the Israelites win their first battle in the wilderness is interpreted one specific way.⁣

But these words touched my heart as I read Exodus 17:12: ⁣

“But Moses’ hands were heavy; ⁣

“and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; ⁣

“and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; ⁣

“and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.”⁣

Two friends. ⁣

One of them a brother, in fact. ⁣

Staying by Moses’ side until the sun set. ⁣

They couldn’t take away the heavy task that had been given to Moses, of staying with his hands raised in prayer. ⁣

But they knew that they could be there to love, support, and lift.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Love, support, and lift  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

It was towards the end of the day and she was crying from the pain. ⁣

She’s a super logical kid, so my husband and I comforted her and explained that the best way for sprained ankles to get better is to give them rest. ⁣

We told her that when she slept that night, her ankle muscles would start to relax and heal. ⁣

She eventually calmed down and went to sleep pretty soon after. ⁣

But when she woke up the next morning, she was not too happy to discover that her ankle still hurt! ⁣

“I rested it all last night, so it’s supposed to be better now! Why does it still hurt?!”⁣

I realized I needed to better explain that even though it is amazing that our bodies heal themselves, often it takes a lot longer than we want. ⁣

Within a few hours, she was running around like normal again and hasn’t mentioned her ankle since.⁣

But how often do we tell the Lord our own timetable for healing?⁣

“Okay, I took a nap, did some service, and prayed about it. Why is my emotional pain still here?”⁣

The Lord taught the Israelites: ⁣

“I am the Lord that healeth thee.” (Exodus 15:26)⁣

He has blessed us with beautiful bodies that are, for the most part, able to heal ourselves when we have injury. ⁣

He heals the wounds of sin. ⁣

He heals emotional hurt. ⁣

He heals broken hearts and broken trust. ⁣

He heals pride and contention. ⁣

He heals quickly and miraculously. ⁣

He heals slowly and gradually. ⁣

He heals in a completely different way than we thought we needed to be healed. ⁣

Elder Richard G. Scott taught that we must:

“Accept [Christ’s] invitation to let Him share your burden until you have sufficient time and strength to be healed.”

The Lord heals. ⁣

But how and when is up to Him. ⁣

How has the Lord healed you recently?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The sprained ankle  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

As the Israelites escaped from the Egyptians, they, “walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.” (Exodus 14:29)⁣

There have been so many times in my life where dangerous and chaotic waters are swirling all around me. ⁣

Lost jobs, financial setbacks, or emotional trials have made it seem like everything is piling up. ⁣

It has seemed overwhelming. Like I’m just one step from it all crashing down. ⁣

And anyone else looking into my life would see how turbulent it is. ⁣

But yet…⁣

My feet have stayed on dry ground. ⁣

I have felt peace. ⁣

I’ve had others join me on the journey so that I feel supported. ⁣

I’ve focused on just taking that next step forward. ⁣

All because of Jesus Christ. ⁣

He is the one who makes it all possible. ⁣

The chaos and the swirling waters pile up sometimes. ⁣

But they don’t need to mean my destruction when I have faith in Jesus Christ. ⁣

When I keep looking forward and taking a step. ⁣

Even when that step forward means the waters around me are getting even higher and higher. ⁣

There is peace in Christ.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Walking on dry ground first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I also remember him teaching me that when I was dunked under the water, it was as if I was being buried and then coming back to life, just like Jesus. ⁣

I thought that was pretty cool, because it’s as if we were acting out what was happening! ⁣

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that a lot of ordinances are accompanied with physical actions.⁣

Like when we take the bread and water for the sacrament.

But I’ve also learned that the action itself isn’t what causes me to make a covenant.⁣

Just eating bread and water itself isn’t what’s renewing my covenants each week.

Yes, ordinances are formal acts that are super important. ⁣

But we also have to make sure our mind is engaged with what we are actually promising.

Our heart and our mind have to be involved with some level of intention. ⁣

When Moses was instructing the children of Israel on how to perform the Passover to avoid their firstborn sons dying, he referred to the act of painting their door frames with lamb’s blood as an “ordinance”. ⁣

So the Passover was an ordinance for the children of Israel! ⁣

The physical act of what they did was so important… but so was what their hearts were doing at the same time. ⁣

Look at what they were thinking about as they reflected on this ordinance: ⁣

“It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt… And the people bowed the head and worshipped.” (Exodus 12:27)⁣

They worshipped. ⁣

I think it is so cool that so many ordinances have physical acts associated with them that can help us ponder even deeper on the covenants being made. ⁣

But I also know that just “going through the motions” isn’t what saved the firstborns during the Passover.⁣

And “going through the motions” isn’t what will help our hearts become molded to what the Lord wants them to be. ⁣

The sacred action + engaging our minds = true worship and lasting change!⁣

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Why ordinances?  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Anytime we sat down at the table, no matter what time of day it was, he insisted that we pray first. 

Sitting down to play a game? Pray first.

Sitting down to eat a snack? Pray first.

Sitting down just to sit down? Pray first.

But as he grew older, he started to ask many questions about “why” we do what we do.

His insisting on praying turned into asking WHY we always pray before we eat a meal together.

As we’ve worked to develop our family habits of praying and reading the scriptures together, I’ve started trying to be more conscious of how I talk about these habits. ⁣

Instead of: “It’s time to read and pray before we go to bed”

I’ve been trying to do more: “It’s time to read scriptures so we can learn more about Jesus!” ⁣

When the Lord taught the Israelites about this new Passover ordinance, He warned them that their children would ask about it.

“Your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?” (Exodus 12:26)

The Lord wanted His people to teach their children WHY they repeated this Passover ordinance and celebration. ⁣

It can be so easy to get caught up in just trying to get our kids to cooperate in saying prayers, in staying quiet at church, in paying tithing, in setting goals, in serving and showing kindness…⁣

But the Lord wants us to also teach the WHY. ⁣

Why do YOU try to be reverent at church? Why do YOU say prayers, and pay tithing, and attend the temple?⁣

When we can share our own testimonies and our own “why”s with our kids, we are sharing our hearts and truly teaching our values in authentic ways.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Mom, why are we praying?! first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.