He had felt a pull to this young Joseph, and wanted to help him financially.

He went on a journey of “proof” to find professors in New York who could verify the ancient letters.

He felt like he needed to volunteer to scribe for Joseph.

And his wife thought this was all one big deception.

And the two of them temporarily moving into the Smith home for the translation just made things worse.

She was skeptical, sneaky, and just a not-so-great guest.

And so Martin had an idea after his wife returned back home:

If he could just show her some of these beautiful messages that he had been writing down, he could change her mind toward this whole operation, and ultimately, restore his image in her eyes.

But the Lord said no.

But… did the Lord really understand how embarrassing this might be for Martin to continue helping Joseph while his wife spiraled?

Did the Lord get that people were making fun of Martin for giving Joseph money?

Did the Lord know that Martin’s life would be a whole lot harder if there wasn’t any proof?

Of course the Lord did.

Because the Lord asks us to do really hard things.

He asks us to put Him above all.

Above being popular. Above being stylish. Above being funny. Above being well-respected. Above being rich. Above having power.

Above being liked.

Above everything we often crave.

And it’s easier said than done.

But it’s the most important choice we learn to make –

Out of the Lord or our peers, who do we want to “save face” with more?

Whose opinion matters more right now?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Does He realize how difficult this is? first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I created my study guide, which required reading through it multiple times, pulling out historical context and creating spiritual questions.

I wrote and recorded my podcast episodes for this week, and read it through at least two more times.

I read it again when I wrote and recorded my Big Picture Monday video.

I’ve read Section 5 recently… a lot.

And yet I still like to study the assigned Sections during the week so that it stays fresh in my brain.

And for quite literally the first time just today, this phrase jumped out to me in verse 34.

The Lord tells Joseph to “stop, and be still”.

I needed to read this phrase today.

I needed it TODAY.

The reminder that sometimes, I need to press pause. I need to stop. I need to say “no”.

But I need to use that “stopped time” not to just veg out and distract myself from my long to-do list.

Instead, I need to use those times to STOP and then BE STILL while connecting with God.

It’s important to stop, but it’s just as important to use that pause to just BE STILL.

To connect with God or rejuvenate my soul in some meaningful way.

And even though I’ve technically read these words dozens of times…

I needed to read them today so that the Spirit could teach me a little lesson that would answer the pleadings of my heart.

The scriptures are awesome.

The Spirit is awesome.

God is awesome.

Feeling grateful today.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Stop, and be still first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Or so my 13-year-old self thought.

I had done something wrong, and I was trying to remember the “steps” that I needed to go through to repent.

And once I went through all the correct steps, then I’d be okay again.

This was just the punishment.

I don’t think I’m alone in admitting that this was what I thought repentance was.

“The thing” you have to go through to pay for the crime.

And it’s probably the place I’ve seen the most spiritual maturity in my current life.

I love that there has been an emphasis more recently that repentance is really a positive action that brings us closer to the Savior!

The Lord spoke to Joseph in D&C 5:21:

“And now I command you, my servant Joseph, to repent and walk more uprightly before me,”

Did you catch that?

When Joseph repents, then he can walk more uprightly!

I just picture that heavy load of guilt and pain being lifted off of weary shoulders so that he can stand up straight and get back to work!

Elder Dale G. Renlund put this in great perspective when he taught:

“The fact that we can repent is the good news of the gospel!

“Guilt can be ‘swept away.’ We can be freed from feelings of despair and the bondage of sin. We can be filled with the marvelous light of God and be ‘pained no more.’

“Repentance is not only possible but also joyful because of our Savior.”

Oh man, doesn’t repentance sound awesome?!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The punishment! first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Do you have a desire to bring others closer to Christ?

Then congratulations on your mission call! 

When I was almost 21, I made the very serious decision to not serve a mission for the church.

I had just met a cute guy named Kyle, things were going well, but I still felt like I wanted to serve a mission.

I asked Heavenly Father over and over in prayer to point me in the right direction, and I finally heard a weighty answer: “You can decide. Whatever you want to do.”

I realized that I was going to have to make this decision and own it.

After a lot of deliberation, I solemnly but excitedly decided to forgo the mission.

I made Kyle promise me that we would serve a mission someday as a couple, because I didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to serve.

Now, I still totally want to serve a full-time mission when I’m older, but I’m also realizing that I kind of missed the point.

If we have desires to serve God, then we are called to the work! (D&C 4:3)

Desires = mission call.

Instead of packing up my entire life and moving across the world though, I get the crazy, scary, exciting, agency-packed honor of picking my mission call.

Each of us with a desire to serve gets to create exactly how and when we serve!

Maybe you have created your own custom mission call to lift up those who are having hard times around you.

Maybe you have created your own custom mission call to spread light to your coworkers every day.

Maybe your call is to teach the rising generation of the church how to eat their vegetables and share toys and use the toilet.

Maybe your call is to organize service activities with precision and enthusiasm.

Maybe your call is to work on strengthening your own testimony for a bit before you have the opportunity to share it with other people.

The possibilities are endless, and constantly evolving, and extremely personal.

So what does your mission call look like today?

How can you help build the kingdom?

How can you help gather scattered Israel?

What’s your custom mission call?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post You are assigned to labor first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

There is a God who knows exactly what will happen tomorrow. In your personal life, in your kid’s life, in your neighborhood, in this country…

And yet we each have the personal power to do whatever we’d like to do tomorrow.

Crazy. My mind can’t quite wrap itself around that concept.

But I think that’s why we are so good at thinking we might mess everything up.

We might move to the wrong house, talk to the wrong person, choose the wrong spouse, or make the wrong diet choice.

Because we think that if there is a “right” choice to choose, then we have to avoid the “wrong” thing that will mess it all up.

Now certainly there are sins and decisions that might bring terrible consequences.

But even if I decide to do something truly horrible tomorrow… I will not have messed up God’s plan.

You have not messed up God’s plan.

That thing that you refer to as your “mistake”? It was all a part of the plan. Of your personal spiritual development.

Even something as egregious as a prophet of God choosing to ask a question he knew had already been answered, and loaning out precious translations of ancient records.

Even that can’t ruin God’s plans.

“The works, and the designs, and the purposes of God cannot be frustrated”. Doctrine and Covenants 3:1.

I still want to give it my best each day. I want to choose the right, to receive personal revelation, and to make the best decisions that I can.

But I can feel comfort on the days where everything seems to fall apart. Or when I commit that sin… again. Or when I think how much better life would have been with a different decision.

I’m not messing anything up.

I’m not that powerful.

I can make changes in my life, just as the young prophet learned an unforgettable lesson about listening to God the first time.

But I’m not messing it up.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post You can’t mess it up first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.