The thought came into my mind.

Again.

“Yes, yes, I definitely need to. Let me do that later.”

Is what I said back to my mind.

Again.

A few weeks later, I was chatting with a friend.

She started to tell me about the coolest experience she had recently—

She had reached out to a mutual acquaintance (the person for whom I kept ignoring the prompting), and had served her.

She told me how unexpectedly emotional it ended up being.

How the two of them had really bonded and raw feelings had been shared.

She mentioned that she really felt like she was literally being an answer to this sister’s prayers.

And the pit in my stomach grew and grew as she talked.

I had missed out.

I had delayed the prompting for so long that the Lord had found someone else to replace me in the service.

The Lord warned David Patten, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve:

“Inasmuch as there are those among you who deny my name, others shall be planted in their stead”. D&C 114:2

God has a great work to do. He has countless people to bless and serve and minister to…

And we are often His hands to get the work done.

So if we aren’t going to be the answer, then He will find someone else with a willing heart.

But I have to finish my story from earlier.

Because after the pity party that I threw myself while my friend was telling me what she assumed was an uplifting story, I had another thought:

“You can still serve her.”

I realized she still needed help. She still needed friendship.

I may have missed a big opportunity, and I felt the guilt from ignoring that prompting.

But I still had a chance to repent and serve.

Repentance is real.

If we aren’t doing what we should, God will find others to serve instead.

But our Savior’s atoning sacrifice makes it possible to try again the next time, and for that I am eternally grateful.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post I was replaced first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

There were tons of different powerful concepts she touched on, but one that I loved is that it takes FAITH to ASK QUESTIONS.

I’ve written posts similar to this concept before, where I talk about how I’ve learned it’s actually much more difficult to ask questions to God in prayer than we often think it is.

It’s like the classic example of Nephi asking Laman and Lemuel: “Have ye inquired of the Lord?”

And the two brothers answer with: “We have not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us.” 1 Nephi 15:8-9

When a question pops into our brain, it can be tempting to think that the Lord will let us know the answer if that is His will.

But we learn time and time again from the examples of prophets and other faithful saints that we have to ask.

And it takes a lot of faith to ask because that means we are expecting a response.

We are expecting a response and then we are going to actually act on the answer, whatever direction it takes us.

This is one reason I love these question-and-answer sections in the Doctrine and Covenants this year.

Section 113 is a lovely example of someone reading the scriptures, feeing confused… and then doing something about it!

Taking the time to formally write out questions, taking them to the Lord in prayer, and then expecting responses, which vary in their length and clarity.

Everyone has questions.

Whether they are big, foundational questions, or smaller “I don’t understand what this means” questions, they matter to the Lord.

He will send His spirit to teach us truth.

But first… we have to ask.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Asking questions with faith first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Love the other people around you as much as you love yourself.

I’ve discovered that this is something many struggle with.

I’ve spoken with young men and young women recently who have admitted that they have a really hard time loving themselves.

I’ve spoken with friends as they’ve wept thinking that they’ve lost God’s love.

We need to love others, but we also need to take the time to love ourselves.

To trust that God loves us exactly as we are, which means we can, too.

To be empathetic and understanding to ourselves, and to others.

In my mind, it fits perfectly with the Lord’s earlier command to “be thou humble” in D&C 112:10.

I’ve learned that true humility is recognizing that ALL of us, every single one of us, including you, are perfectly loved by God.

No one is greater. No one is lesser.

And putting anyone on a different spot other than the equal line that we are all standing on, is pride. The opposite of humility.

Thinking that your bishop is more loved by God than you are because of his calling, is pride.

Thinking that you are more loved by God because you are a member of the restored Church of Jesus Christ than your neighbor down the street, is pride.

Thinking that you have failed God and that you are completely out of the reach of His love, is pride.

Thinking that it doesn’t matter whether or not you keep up on small spiritual habits because you can handle life without all of that, is pride.

Pride is believing anything other than the fact that we are all equally loved by God and that we are all His children.

And humility is getting everyone, including yourself, back on that same playing field. Recognizing that God loves all of His children equally.

Let your love for others be the same as the love for yourself.

And whether that means you need to work on realizing your exact relationship with God a little better, or recognizing other people’s relationship with God better, or maybe a little bit of both.

Then you are following the counsel to be thou humble.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Loving yourself and others first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

How does this connection work?!

Most people hear “be humble” and think about someone who is too proud to pray.

Someone who thinks they can do it all on their own, or that they need to do it all on their own.

But the opposite is true, too, right?

Someone who thinks they don’t deserve to ask for God’s help.

Someone who is afraid of what God thinks of them. Someone who thinks they need to repent or change before they start communicating with God.

As with most things in life, the answer lies perfectly in the Bible Dictionary definition for “Prayer”.

Even if you’ve read and loved this definition before, look at this portion through the lens of one of the most popular scriptures, “Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers.” D&C 112:10

Here we go:

“As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are His children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part.

“Many of the so-called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship.”

Prayer becomes difficult, unnatural, and ineffective when we forget who we are.

When we think we are too much for God, or when we think we are too little.

But when we remember exactly the relationship that we have with God, when we remember that He is our Father and that we are His children.

When we remember that we are loved eternally and authentically by Him.

When we remember that He is eager to forgive and full of mercy.

Then prayer becomes NATURAL and INSTINCTIVE.

And when prayer becomes a natural instinct to us, God is able to take us by the hand, to lead us, and to answer every prayer.

Not that He grants us every wish and whim, but He communicates because we are ready to hear Him.

So the key to receiving constant guidance and answers to prayers?

Be thou humble, and know exactly what your relationship is like with God.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Humility and answered prayers first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

That’s how I feel after every General Conference.

I was never really into sports, but I imagine this is what it feels like after getting a big pep talk and running out onto the field.

I’m ready to go. I feel clarity on the changes I need to make.

I’m ready to refocus on my goal of God and Jesus and eternal life, and do whatever it takes to get there.

And then I run out, and the opposition starts.

The distractions are everywhere.

My poor habit routines fall back into place despite my good intentions.

There are people to deal with and work with and contention everywhere.

But that’s where the hard work happens.

It is hard sometimes.

It brings joy, but it still takes work.

So I don’t give up.

I have a rough few minutes and then I get back up, brush myself off, and try again.

Keeping the focus on the Savior.

Looking toward the real endgame. The ultimate goal.

Do I have faith that if I keep my focus on Jesus, then I will ultimately win, no matter what?

That takes a lot of faith, and trust.

And then it just takes a lot of action.

The Lord taught: “Therefore, gird up thy loins for the work.” D&C 112:7

Get ready, this is going to be a lot of work.

But it’s going to be so joyful. So rewarding.

So peaceful.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Ready to work? first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.