I’ve been trying to serve others more often, so the opportunity popped up and I quickly volunteered!

…And it ended up being super awkward with lots of miscommunication and clearly mismatched expectations.

I felt weird about it afterwards.

I had been so eager to serve, but the service had not turned out the way I had expected, and I didn’t feel it was appreciated.

I pondered on this for a while, because it really was disappointing for me.

And then the phrase came to my mind: “What matters most is what was in your heart.”

Had I wanted to serve? Did I show enthusiasm for service? Did I feel love for this individual?

Those were my desires.

And even though they got translated pretty weirdly, my desires were still good.

It’s a messy area to think about because people with good intentions make some pretty poor and sometimes even harmful choices all the time.

But I’ve been taught over and over that the Lord teaches me to love others, and to just do my best because He looks upon the heart.

The interesting part of this to me though, is that the flip side is also true.

I could perform the perfect act of service, but have a jealous, frustrated, angry heart.

All of a sudden, my desires would change to: “I just want to get this off my to-do list. She said she needs help, but I think she’s fine, so this is a waste of time. I’d rather be doing anything else right now.”

In a very dramatic example of this, the Lord taught in D&C 63:16 that if a man looketh upon a woman to lust after her and commits adultery IN THEIR HEART, then they lose the spirit’s presence.

No adulterous actions were taken, but the intent and desire was there. And the Lord looks on what’s in our heart.

What matters most is our desire.

Of course, doing good actions can often start to mold our desires to become even better, like begrudgingly showing up to do service and leaving with a softened heart.

My actions matter. 100%. I’m constantly trying to make sure that I am actually DOING good things.

But for the days where I’m trying, but feeling like I am just falling short over and over again, it’s good to have that reminder.

That at the end of the day, for better or for worse…

What matters most is what’s in our heart.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post What matters most first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Listen to your first thought or prompting, and act on it right away.

I have been working on that as much as I can these past few weeks, and some days are better than others, but I’ve had some pretty cool experiences.

Using my time wisely has become a little more natural. I’ve found more opportunities to fit good things into my life. I’ve had some cool teaching experiences with my kids.

It was exactly the advice that I needed to gain a little more clarity in my life, and invite even more spiritual promptings to come.

“What lack I yet” is a question I ask pretty often in prayer, and it’s a principle I even use to guide my scripture study and look for personal applications.

(Elder Lawrence’s talk in Oct 2015 on this subject is FANTASTIC by the way, if you want some reading/listening!)

The reason I love asking this question so much is because it keeps me focused on improvement.

It’s so easy to think that I’m doing just fine, I’m doing all that I can handle, or that I can’t even keep up with the things I have right now.

But I’ve found that the Spirit is always eager to bring my attention to one area I can focus on in particular.

Instead of being overwhelmed by everything that I lack, I can be shown what one thing would get me started in the right direction.

When I was reading about the Lord’s comments about Sidney Rigdon this week, I was really intrigued by this connection:

“I, the Lord, am not pleased with my servant Sidney Rigdon; he exalted himself in his heart, and received not counsel”. D&C 63:55

Sidney was exalting himself in his heart, which is definitely a problem.

But what an interesting side effect, right?!

Because of this pride, he didn’t receive counsel!

He wasn’t asking “what lack I yet?”— he was thinking, “I’ve got it all figured out. I’m good enough.”

Pride is so sneaky.

The adversary wants us to stay as we are, and reject any advice that’s given to us, whether through prayer or through other kind loved ones.

And yet our Savior invites us to change. His atoning sacrifice is the reason we CAN change.

But we don’t have to tackle this impossible task of “becoming Christlike” all on our own.

The Spirit can whisper to us exactly what the next step is. Being so gentle and kind in giving us just what we can handle next.

All we need to do is ask.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post What lack I yet? first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

As a mom of two young kids, finding new ways to be a little more efficient is always a win in my book!

The best way to get my to-do lists complete, to keep the house orderly, to fulfill my commitments.

But one thing that I’ve noticed is there are many times in my life, including in church assignments or personal goals, where speed and efficiency are actually not the best goals to have.

I don’t think God’s purpose for my life is speed and efficiency.

In Ohio in 1831, there were a whole bunch of saints wanting to move to Missouri.

After all, Missouri had just been declared Zion, so why would they sit in Ohio and wait any longer?!

Shouldn’t they just all head out to Missouri as quickly as possible if they knew that was their endgame?

But the Lord told them in D&C 63:24:

“They should assemble themselves together unto the land of Zion, NOT IN HASTE, lest there should be confusion, which bringeth pestilence.”

Moving too quickly can bring confusion.

And when there is confusion, it’s a breeding ground for pestilence, or an evil influence, to spread.

Which means, the opposite must be true sometimes, too.

Slowing down can bring clarity.

I do love being quick and efficient, but there have been other times in my life where I have felt that the Lord has told me to just slow down.

To not look for the latest “hack” on my prayers, or how to fulfill my calling, or how to teach my family.

Good things take time.

The Lord knows that sometimes, moving slowly to avoid confusion is the best way to make His work move forward the fastest.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Slowing down for clarity first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

You can’t prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, in a way that all bystanders would agree with, that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true.

To me, yes, there is tons of evidence to prove it.

Enough for me to feel completely confident turning my heart over to Him and dedicating my life to this work.

But we can’t actually prove it to other people.

It will always take just a little bit of faith.

A little bit of trust. A little bit of listening to your feelings and your heart more than your head.

The Lord taught the saints in Ohio in D&C 63:9 that:

“Faith cometh not by signs, but signs follow those that believe.”

Proving the gospel is true and that Christ really exists, is never going to be enough to really convert someone.

Including ourselves.

Piling up all the evidence can only get my mind so far.

I have to rely on the faith that comes in my heart to keep me truly converted.

Faith can not come by signs, or proofs, or total knowledge.

In fact, I usually am not so great at recognizing signs or miracles until AFTER they have happened.

Hindsight is 20/20, right?

Our Heavenly Father WANTS us to have faith.

He wants us to believe first.

The world thinks that it’s a little silly.

But that’s okay, for I’m learning to overcome what the world thinks, anyways.

Belief and faith first, and then come the miracles.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Faith and miracles first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

And of course, it always took a good couple of minutes, with no cars passing by, for that light to turn green so that I could turn right onto the main road.

I could clearly see the oncoming traffic, and after the groups of cars from the previous light, there would be long stretches of empty road while I just waited.

And so… I turned right on red all the time.

But I started noticing something interesting about myself.

If I was alone and there was no one in sight, I would turn right on the red.

But if there was a car that was following me, I would wait at that red light until it turned green.

Basically, I only cared about following the traffic rules if there was someone else there to watch me or judge me.

My integrity wasn’t strong, and my accountability was to random strangers’ cars and judgments.

It’s kind of a trivial example, but when I realized my patterns of stopping or going, I felt like it really betrayed where my heart was.

The Lord taught the saddened saints in D&C 63:47: “He that is faithful and endureth shall overcome the world.”

How do we overcome the world?

One way that I’ve noticed is that my accountability has shifted.

Instead of relying so much on the praise or judgment of others, I’m starting to become accountable to God.

And accountable to God alone.

It’s tough sometimes.

It’s still easy to get caught up in that fear of what others will say or think. Especially when they are people that I care about a lot.

But the process of overcoming the world to me has been the process of learning to be accountable to God, and to let all my other worries slide away.

To do the “right thing” because I know that it is something God has asked me to do.

And to avoid the “wrong thing” because I know it’s something that God has advised would not be good for me.

(And ideally, because it’s something I’ve also gained a testimony of for myself.)

And to be honest, when I’m totally aligned and focused on only being accountable to God, my life gets a whole lot more peaceful.

To overcome the world, I am learning to become completely accountable to God.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Accountability and red lights first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.