Well… no way any of us can stand in the presence of the Lord then, right?!

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 The presence of the Lord first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

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 even bishopric members did great, and what they didn’t do so great on when it came to teaching gospel topics.

And you know what’s cool?

The church has totally made an effort to educate those who are called as “teachers” in the church how to become more effective, through teacher councils, newer high quality teacher manuals, and other trainings.

Because I do think that effective teaching strategies matter.

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

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.

There is no training needed. There is no lesson plan. There are no teaching tips that are necessary to feel the Spirit and to share the Spirit.

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.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The best teaching tips first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Assuming you’ve been in a classroom in your life, I bet you know what would usually happen.

The two kids who always asked questions would raise their hands and ask a few questions, and everyone else would smile and look super confident…

But I knew some of them were confused.

I’m not sure why they didn’t raise their hands.

Maybe they were embarrassed to be confused. Maybe they were anxious to speak up. Maybe it just isn’t cool to raise your hand.

The Lord reminds us gently in D&C 1:26, “And inasmuch as they sought wisdom they might be instructed”.

This is one of the reasons I’m so psyched to be studying the Doctrine and Covenants this year:

Because virtually every revelation, or “section”, is the Lord’s response to a question.

The Doctrine and Covenants is NOT filled with moments where Joseph Smith was busy hanging out with a friend and then the Lord intruded into his thoughts with a powerful revelation.

It doesn’t have the Lord interrupting Joseph while he was completing a business transaction.

It doesn’t have Joseph Smith seeing heavenly beings while he was in the middle of completing a different project.

Time after time, the Lord responded to Joseph Smith’s questions.

So… we have to be “that kid” in class.

The one who asks the questions. The one who is okay with being confused. The one who is curious and ambitious in our spiritual progression.

We can’t be too cool to care.

We have to be curious, and we have to ask.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post “That kid” 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 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.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Always preppin’ first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Ready to dive in?

What are we going to find this year?

What will we discover?

The Lord is speaking directly to us in Section 1.

Which is, side note, one of my favorite parts of the Doctrine and Covenants – we just get to listen to the voice of the Lord all the time, in every single verse!

And the Lord is commanding us to search these revelations contained in this book.

All year long, we will search.

I am excited to search.

But what do we search for?

“Search these COMMANDMENTS, for they are true and faithful, and the PROPHECIES and PROMISES which are in them shall all be fulfilled.” 1:37

There are commandments, prophesies, and promises contained in these 138 revelation sections in the Doctrine and Covenants.

But as we search for these commandments, prophecies, and promises, the Lord promises us some of the best news:

The commandments in these revelations are true.

And the prophecies and promises will be fulfilled.

What comforting thoughts, right?!

The Lord keeps his promises to us. And he gives us truths to guide us along the way.

The Lord is trustworthy. He is constant. He has pure integrity.

He is someone I want to work and collaborate with.

He won’t leave me hanging. He won’t find excuses. He won’t execute harsh or overbearing judgment.

And I want to do my best to keep up my part of my promises and commitments and covenants.

So that’s what I’m going to search for this year.

In the Doctrine and Covenants, I will search for both:

The truths and the promises.

The commandments and the prophecies.

The DOCTRINE and the COVENANTS.

Let’s go!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Searching in the D&C first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.