I’ve been thinking a lot about that word recently.

It evokes this feeling of such great, godlike, perfect love and understanding.

Did you know that I’ve prayed for a lot of assistance recently with Barrett since he will just not let me set him down anywhere?!

It’s been testing my patience and making it really difficult to get even basic tasks done.

And then sometimes I think to myself, “Really? There are a million ways your life could be worse right now. It’s just a phase. You are a big girl and you can handle this.”

One moment, when I offered up my little sincere prayer of frustration, I just felt this overwhelming feeling of compassion.

God wasn’t judging me for being annoyed that I can’t seem to get anything done right now.

He just had…

Compassion.

And then I have slowly felt Him kindly and sincerely offer up thoughts to calm my mind, give me perspective, or inspire new strategies to keep Barrett occupied.

There were many reasons that God allowed three formal witnesses to the gold plates.

It followed His pattern of two or three witnesses, it literally fulfilled scripture, these three men had a desire to see them…

But I was really struck by D&C 17:4–

The Lord tells the three men to bear witness of what they see.

“And this you shall do that my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., may not be destroyed”.

Part of the reason the Lord allowed witnesses was out of pure love for Joseph.

He knew Joseph’s reputation would be attacked and picked apart for hundreds of years.

And so He lovingly allowed others to view these plates, requesting that they publicly declare what they saw, in order to keep Joseph from utter destruction.

Compassion.

In the big world-changing events, and in the small should-I-really-care-about-this moments, God shows loving compassion on His sons and daughters.

Where have you seen His compassion in your life recently?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Compassionate witnesses first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I love Instagram and I don’t plan on leaving it, but I know that so many people prefer to listen rather than to read.

Plus, I love to talk about as much as I love to write!

But as much as I wanted to start a podcast, I knew the timing wasn’t right.

Until Kristen Smith invited me to speak as a guest on her podcast.

And after we finished recording our episode together, I felt the desire to work with her more.

The desire was just natural. (And as I told Kristen about the desire to work with her more, I told her I hoped she didn’t think I was sounding weird or obsessed! Luckily, she didn’t!)

Eventually, after many conversations, Kristen invited me to permanently co-host the One Minute Scripture Study podcast with her.

And boy, did that feel right.

I had held onto such a strong desire to start a podcast, and now the opportunity was presenting itself, and I felt the Spirit confirm that this was the answer I had been waiting for.

My desire to share my testimony in new ways was the prompting I needed to guide my decisions.

I’ve been really struck by David, Oliver, and Martin’s passionate pleadings this week.

I had always pictured Joseph asking God who the Three Witnesses to the gold plates should be, and receiving these three men’s names.

But really, David, Oliver, and Martin were all moved with a desire to become one of the witnesses that they knew had been prophesied of.

And they ASKED Joseph to be witnesses to the gold plates.

Section 17 is the result of Joseph asking the Lord if these three men were acceptable for this sacred responsibility, and the Lord approving.

But these weren’t random names that the Lord happened to approve—

Because they each had a burning, righteous desire to be a witness in the first place.

Our righteous desires can be promptings from the Lord on how we can use our talents to build up the kingdom of God.

The things that we really want to do? The things that are righteous, selfless, or useful?

Those desires can be the first whisperings of the Spirit on what direction we should head, or what opportunities we should be on the lookout for.

And then we can ask.

We can ask to be included, we can ask to be in consideration.

We can let our righteous desires drive us to righteous action.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Righteous desires first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I get people messaging me a form of this question pretty often.

And I always laugh.

Because if you want tips on how to organize your time, I’m probably not the person to admire.

And not because I’m not a great planner (I mean, I’m not the best, but I can be pretty organized).

It has more to do with the two little children that I am primarily responsible for each day.

Three year olds and one year olds sure have a lot of needs.

Unexpected, constant needs. 

I don’t handle everything at all.

If I’m making dinner, I’ve probably put a show on for the kids. If I’m writing posts for Instagram, I’m ignoring the pile of laundry in my laundry room. If I’m playing with my kids, I’m not responding to urgent messages on my website.

But there is one not-so-little secret that makes many of my days run more smoothly.

And those are the days when I remember to pray and ask:

“What should I be doing right now to best make use of my time?”

Now that doesn’t mean that I’ve got God as my scheduler.

I want to make that clear – I’m not putting all my decision-making on God.

I still make decisions all the time as to how I can spend my day wisely. (Or sometimes, not-so-wisely)

But when I feel clarity with my schedule, or I feel urged to switch something up, that’s how I know I’m doing what I should be doing at the moment.

In Doctrine and Covenants Section 15 verse 4, the Lord told John Whitmer:

“For many times you have desired of me to know that which would be of the most worth unto you.”

I think this is such a beautiful question to ask.

What is of most worth for you in this time in your life?

What is of most worth for you this week?

Today? In the next ten minutes?

Try it out this week, and see where the Spirit takes you. 

️Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post What is of most worth? first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

When they said their name I thought, “Oh that’s a memorable name! I will definitely remember that one!”

And then as soon as my husband asked what her name was after the conversation, I completely forgot.

Anyone else have this problem?!

Even though I THINK I will remember important things, my memory is not always awesome.

President Henry B. Eyring said in his 1989 address, “Remembrance and Gratitude”, that:

“The Holy Ghost brings back memories of what God has taught us.”

It’s one of my favorite roles that the Holy Ghost has, but it’s one I don’t think we talk about quite as much.

He can help us REMEMBER important things that have happened to us!

David Whitmer was a new acquaintance to Joseph Smith.

The Smiths were now living at the Whitmer home in Fayette, New York.

In this revelation to David, the Lord tells him in verse 8 that:

“You shall receive the Holy Ghost, which giveth utterance, that you may stand as a witness of the things of which you shall both hear and see”.

I truly believe that we see the Hand of God everywhere, every day.

We are surrounded by miracles and tender mercies.

Flooded and overwhelmed with blessings.

And yet, even if I think, “Oh, what a beautiful tender mercy that I needed!” during the day, I find myself getting to bedtime and thinking that nothing special happened that day.

But the Holy Ghost can help me remember.

I can remember the things that I have seen and that I have heard.

And when I remember, I am filled with gratitude.

And then I can stand as an accurate and grateful witness of the miracles that I have seen and heard each and every day.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Remembering and witnessing first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

And it was so dark!

Outside, inside– everything just seemed eerily quiet and dark.

We turned on the flashlights from our phones and were pretty surprised at how well we could see with just this small light source.

And then, finally, the power came back on.

The light was back!

From a scientific standpoint, darkness isn’t a real thing.

There are varying degrees of light, or there is an absence of light.

But there is no darkness.

And lights cannot be hidden in darkness.

There is no such thing as “too much darkness”.

And what a powerful reminder for us about our most powerful and our only essential light source, our Savior Jesus Christ.

There will never be “too much darkness” in the world for Him to overcome.

But it’s also been a peaceful and merciful message in my life recently.

I want to shine out as much of Christ’s light to others as I can.

And even though I have hopes of being a bright sun, sharing light and being a vessel for great power…

Sometimes I feel like a little cellphone flashlight in a giant, dark house.

And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.

Because I don’t think that Christ would say that is “not enough light”.

HE can shine through any amount of darkness, purely because of His nature.

Any amount of light will conquer any amount of darkness.

Anywhere that there is an absence of Christ, then any amount of His presence makes all the difference.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Darkness doesn’t exist first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.