My husband and I went on a little vacation this past week.

One day, we hadn’t been on our phones very much, and had a fantastic fun-filled day together. And then we opened up our phones in the evening.

And I immediately had to close social media.

I’ve always thought that people posting their opinions on social media didn’t affect me that much.

But in that moment, I felt such a stark contrast.

I had been living in the moment all day. Connecting. Experiencing. Relaxing. Having fun. Meaningful conversations.

And then to open my phone and see the “war of words and tumult of opinions”?

It was too much for me.

I stayed off of social media that evening, wrote my (hopefully) inspirational thought for this account that would air the next day, FaceTimed my kids, read my scriptures, and went to bed.

I’ve had to ask myself this a lot this year:

“What is to be done right now?”

And slowly, one word keeps jumping out to me.

DONE.

What do I need to DO?

Not “what do I need to post”, “what do I need to comment on”, “where should I share my opinion”…

But what is to be done?

Sometimes, I’ve felt strongly to make adjustments in my life based off of events that I’ve witnessed.

But mostly, I’ve felt that making my home a place filled with love and faith is the most important thing.

I’ve tried to be more loving. Serve more. Pray more. Read more. Laugh more. Connect more. Wish more people a Happy Birthday. Check in on friends.

I’ve been trying to do things.

And I wonder what Christ would do if He were on the earth right now?

I personally don’t think He would be sharing His opinion very often on current events. Maybe I’m wrong, but this is what I feel.

I think He would be out in the real world. Serving. Loving. Helping.

Seeing the good, and then doing the good.

Are you feeling overwhelmed by the war of words or tumult of opinions?

What is to be done? Let’s do it.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post What is to be done? first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

This was a question that I asked myself over and over again a few years ago.

Every General Conference where I knew I needed to have a question in mind, every sacrament meeting, every Fast Sunday…

I just felt so confused by this event that everyone in the church seemed to talk about over and over without much explanation.

And yet every time I asked the question, I didn’t feel like I was getting much of an answer.

I didn’t feel like God was giving me wisdom liberally in response to my asking.

And then one Sunday, I was asked to share my thoughts on “the atonement” for a few minutes in a church lesson.

I felt like this was a little ironic, as I wished I could have heard from other people on this topic, but I jotted down some notes to get my thoughts in order prior to class.

And suddenly, I realized how much clarity I had gained, little by little.

Even though I felt like I hadn’t received any wisdom, I recognized that I had learned to always refer to the event in reference to the Savior (“the Savior’s atoning sacrifice”).

I knew what His atoning sacrifice meant for me.

I knew when I had repented, His atoning sacrifice was what made that possible.

I knew it wasn’t necessary to know the details of what the Savior’s sacrifice looked like in the moment.

I had been given such wisdom about the Savior’s atoning sacrifice, and I didn’t even realize it because it didn’t all come at once.

I keep thinking about Joseph right after the First Vision.

While we look back at that event as the start of a very large stone that now fills the whole earth, Joseph likely saw it as a small step.

He had asked about the state of his soul, and which church to join.

He was told that he was forgiven and that he should not join any of them.

But he wasn’t given any further instruction in that moment.

He had no clue about the Book of Mormon. No clue that he would organize an entirely new church. No clue that he would help restore ancient ordinances and covenants. No clue that he would change the world.

Because sometimes, receiving liberal amounts of wisdom from God looks like tiny baby steps in the moment.

The post Liberal wisdom in small steps first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Harry had just been “killed”, and was in a heaven of sorts.

He has a cathartic conversation with Dumbledore, and receives clarity on what he should do next.

It’s kind of a strange scene.

And at the end, Harry says, “Is this all real? Or is it just happening inside my head?”

And Dumbledore responds with:

“Of course it’s happening inside your head, Harry.

“Why should that mean that it’s not real?”

Satan is SO GOOD at convincing us that spiritual experiences we’ve had in the past were just “all in our head”.

That girls camp testimony meeting feeling?

That quiet but firm nudge in a certain direction?

Little “coincidences” that you knew in the moment were anything but coincidences?

Joseph Smith encountered many who treated his great First Vision lightly and with contempt. (1:21)

They wanted him to write it off as a deception from the devil, or a mindless delusion.

But Joseph knew. And he knew that God knew. And he could not deny it.

It might seem like an odd question, but do you know that your past spiritual experiences are true?

Just like you know the First Vision is true, or the Book of Mormon is true?

Can you trust your past self?

Or do you sometimes deny the Godliness of those moments, writing it off as “all in your head”?

The Spirit speaks to us in our head and in our heart.

So yes – many of my past spiritual experiences are all in my head.

But that doesn’t make them any less real.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Is this all in your head? first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Darkness gathered around him, he couldn’t speak, and he was in full despair.

It was a power he had never felt before, and he knew it wanted to destroy him.

But then, suddenly, light! And glory! And two heavenly beings.

“One of them spake unto Joseph, calling him by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!” JSH 1:17

President Nelson has very poignantly directed us toward noticing how we also Hear our Savior.

“Hear Him” has been one of our current prophet’s most prevalent themes.

But our beloved prophet also made an important note about Joseph’s circumstances. President Nelson said:

“Joseph Smith was in the grips of a force of darkness just before the heavens opened.

“Our Father knows that when we are surrounded by uncertainty and fear, what will help us the very most is to hear His Son.

“Because when we seek to hear—truly hear—His Son, we will be guided to know what to do in any circumstance.”

Isn’t that powerful?!

Of course, learning to truly hear our Savior is an important skill to have at any time!

But especially when we feel like we are being closed in by darkness, when we feel all alone and like we can’t speak for ourselves, it is hearing our Savior that will bring us light and peace.

Uncertainty.

Fear.

Darkness.

And what we need to do the most is to hear God’s Beloved Son.

#HearHim in darkness. In pain. In suffering.

Hear Him to find peace. And light. And hope.

Artwork by Jorge Cocco Santangelo

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Hearing in the darkness first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

“No way, not me! I’m not starting an account. That seems like a big commitment. Is that something I really want to or even could do?”

And just as quickly as I came up with my objections, I heard the Lord speak in my mind:

“It is not meet that I should command in all things… Verily I say, men should be ​​​anxiously engaged​ in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness”. (D&C 58:26-27)

Boom.

The Lord put the ball in my court, and I went for it. I started the account and shared my testimony each day of what I was learning.

But why did D&C 58:26-27 pop into my mind?

Because I had just studied those scriptures that morning.

I had just been in the scriptures, studying these words that the Lord had previously spoken.

He didn’t speak to me in foreign, unfamiliar words.

He used the words that I had just given Him.

And that’s what He did for young Joseph.

The Lord wanted to give Joseph a special message.

He knew of Joseph’s confusion around religion. He knew of the turmoil that swirled in his head.

And the Lord wanted to tell Joseph that he could just ask for help.

But the way He told Joseph this required action from the young boy.

Joseph had to be in his scriptures.

And then, he read the words.

James 1:5.

And the Lord used those words to speak directly to Joseph. To give him direction for his next step.

This is why I love studying the scriptures.

I want Him to be able to get any message through to me, because He has plenty of scriptural words, fresh in my mind, to pull from.

I want to expand the Lord’s vocabulary in my life.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The Lord’s vocabulary first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.