Aaaaaand I’ve got some pretty brutal weaknesses. ⁣

Satan is a smart guy. ⁣

He knows what my weaknesses are. ⁣

So he crafts temptations that perfectly prey on my weaknesses. ⁣

But, just to be clear, my weaknesses are a part of who I am. I see them as opportunities to strengthen myself and become more Christlike. They were given to me from my Father in Heaven. ⁣

Satan is NOT in my weaknesses. ⁣

But he’ll do whatever he can to get me to fall away from my faith by placing temptations before me that are most likely to work based on my weaknesses. ⁣

Anyone else excited for the time that John saw where:

“He laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years”. (Revelation 20:2)

While we can’t completely eliminate the adversary right now, how can we find little ways to “bind” Satan in our lives each day?

How can we minimize the ability he has to influence us for bad?⁣

Two strategies that have worked for me:

1. Call him out. ⁣

I’m too tired to pray tonight. – Wait, really? Even a one minute prayer? I’ve got time for this. ⁣

2. Fill my life with tons of good things. ⁣

I fill it with so much prayer and so many scriptures and so much kindness and service that I hardly have time for the bad thoughts. ⁣

Every single time I start listening to more conference talks, scriptures, and uplifting music, then my temptations to waste time or view not-so-uplifting media dwindle.

“The only power I know of that will bind Satan, or render him powerless, is righteous living.” – Eldred G. Smith

Satan is real.

But who has infinitely more power than Satan?⁣

Our Savior, Jesus Christ. ⁣

And who has access to Christ’s literal priesthood power? ⁣

Anyone who has made covenants with God and keeps them with intention.

We can have the adversary “bound” as much as possible in our lives because we have access to Christ. ⁣

And that is true hope.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Binding the adversary first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

It will be gone. ⁣

Have you cried recently?

There will be no need. ⁣

Do you ever experience pain?

There will be no more. ⁣

Have you dealt with death?

Completely gone. ⁣

“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

It’s hard even to imagine that. ⁣

And yet, it sounds like exactly what I desire the most. ⁣

Pain and sorrow will be gone. ⁣

And in their place, the loving embrace of my God as I dwell with Him in His presence! ⁣

What would I be willing to sacrifice right now to gain this blessing someday?⁣

Absolutely anything.

I’ve got to endure the tears, the pain, the heartache, the death for now.

And even though it can feel brutal and crushing, I know that my God isn’t waiting for some future day to bring peace into my life.

I don’t have to completely delay any sense of peace, joy, or calm in this life.

God sees my tears.

Jesus wept.

He helps me endure with a little more joy.

He helps bring me relief that refreshes me to keep going.

He helps send peace into my life during chaotic times.

God helps us ease our lowest points now.

And someday, He will sit upon His throne and wipe away any reason for sorrow in the first place.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Wipe away all tears first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

My water bottle comes wherever I go!

We live in a two-story home and whenever I’m ready to transition up or downstairs, my kids always make sure I have my water and my phone.

My youngest is actually very concerned when I don’t have my water bottle right next to me, and will go to find it and bring it to me. It’s cute.

So the analogy that Jesus uses here really resonates with me:

“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.” (Revelation 21:6)

How long can I go without reconnecting with my Savior? ⁣

Longer than I can go without a drink of water?⁣

That’s a piercing question for me. ⁣

I want the Savior’s loving and peaceful influence in my life…

But do I always thirst for it?

I’m working on building that desire up on a consistent basis. ⁣

Instead of forgetting or avoiding prayers or scriptures…

I want to feel a longing and a necessity to not go without them.

Just as I wouldn’t go to bed without my water. ⁣

Some days I’m there.

But some days I’m not. ⁣

He promises that He will give the water to me FREELY once I desire it. ⁣

But I have to ask for it.

I have to want it in the same way I would want to quench my thirst. ⁣

I am grateful for a Savior who gives me what I desire. ⁣

But that means I have to work on what my desires really are.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Always with my water bottle  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Sometimes they are singing, other times they are playing a solo instrument…

But I’m asked to be their accompanist.

I love it— I truly think it’s so fun to accompany people!

Each time I am asked to do this, I put time and effort into learning the, sometimes very complicated, piano piece.

I follow the soloist with precision and rubato, and perform with the best emotion or Spirit that I can bring.

It’s a beautiful experience to create live music together and share it with others.

And… do you know who usually gets all the praise afterward?

The soloist.

I always feel a sting of jealousy or sadness when someone compliments them without mentioning me.

I know, it’s a manifestation of my pride, and the soloist is often extremely talented and worked very hard.

But I still just feel a bit… forgotten.

Now, there have been many times when the soloist or others have gone out of their way to make sure that I am recognized for my efforts.

It feels good to be acknowledged.

And it sure doesn’t feel great to be forgotten.

John wrote:

“Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him.” (Revelation 19:7)

Jesus deserves every honor, credit, and praise.

Anything that we do, we do because of Him.

We may know this…

But do we acknowledge this?

Do we show Him our gratitude for making everything possible?

Do we thank Him for being the essential “accompanist” for the performance we sometimes take all the credit for?

I’m working on getting better at noticing the other people around me who are often overlooked.

The ones who might feel forgotten, and who never hear “thank you”.

And while I do this with the people around me, I’m also trying to improve my recognition to Jesus.

All the praise, honor, and credit belong to Jesus!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The forgotten accompanist  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

He was sitting on the couch, extremely grumpy and upset.

Someone was coming over soon, and so I wanted to clean up the counters and sweep the floors from our messy breakfast.

But I stopped and looked at my kid.

“Go and comfort him.”

The thought came to my mind.

I’ve been trying to do better at following every little thought that I think, so I set down the stuff I was carrying from the counter.

“I should bring him a snack.”

He loves cheese sticks, so I grabbed a cheese stick from the fridge and walked over.

“Can I cuddle with you for a bit?”

He looked at me pretty grumpily and said “No” right away…

But then he paused and said, “Actually yeah”.

I gave him the cheese stick, he ate it, and we just cuddled.

And honestly I didn’t care about the messy floor and cluttered counter when the visitor arrived shortly after.

My kid needed comfort, and I knew that a snack and some cuddles were all I could do at the moment.

John taught about how Jesus would treat those who come to Him:

“For the Lamb… shall feed them,… and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes”. (Revelation 7:17)

He will feed them.

And He will wipe away all tears.

I know, I know, the scripture is probably referring to spiritual nourishment.

But I can’t help but think about the loving, tender, caring act of literally feeding someone.

Preparing a meal you know they’ll love.

Grabbing their favorite treat.

Nursing an always-hungry infant. 

When we stop to feed (in all definitions of the word) and care for the people around us, we can serve as the Savior served, and as He will serve.

It takes some effort in a busy world where there’s always something on our list.

But I’ve never regretted time I’ve spent feeding and comforting.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post A cheese stick and some cuddles  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

There may or may not have been some stories in the news about this recently…

It’s unfair to cheat.

It gives you an advantage that other people don’t have.

But when it comes to the battle with our adversary, we’ve been explicitly told in the scriptures all of the “plays” he will try in order to keep our hearts from turning to God.

We’ve been given the unfair advantage over the opposition!

John reveals one of the biggest tactics the adversary will use in the last days:

“And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth.” (Revelation 13:14) 

He will try to deceive us!

But what does it mean to be deceived?

It means we are convinced to believe something is not true even when it is.

So that means deception will be a significant tool the adversary uses on people who already believe in Jesus Christ.

Think about the truths you know about Jesus Christ.

Think about what Jesus does for you, and how much God loves you.

Has the adversary ever tried to convince you that those things were actually false AFTER you had already received your testimony?

Elder Neil L. Anderson counseled:

“Embrace your sacred memories. Believe them.”

The adversary wants to erode our trust with ourselves.

We had a strong impression that Jesus Christ loves us so so so much?

The adversary wants us to be deceived.

When it comes to the Savior, the adversary has been and always will be working overtime to make us doubt what we already know.

So what’s our play going to be?

How can we go on the offensive, knowing that our opposition is going to try to deceive?

To me, this means that it is always a good time to seek out more spiritual experiences.

I need a steady stream of CURRENT impressions and witnesses so that I can stay grounded in truth.

And with the inside knowledge that I have, I will be guaranteed to come out on top.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The opposition’s playbook  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

(You can probably guess where the story is going…)

I wasn’t paying attention…

and spilled the entire glass of bright red juice.

All over our white carpet.

My parents weren’t home, and I panicked.

It was like a scene from a movie where I was frantically running around.

I tried everything I could to wipe it up in every way possible.

Sure, I got some of it up.

But that stain wasn’t going anywhere.

There was always going to be a reddish pinkish spot on the carpet.

My mom walked in the door, and I was ready to face my fate.

I sheepishly showed her what had happened.

To my surprise, she laughed.

What?!

She said:

“We are actually replacing the carpet with hardwood and the installers are coming in three days. Don’t worry about it!”

The relief washed over me as I realized that I wasn’t going to have a permanent reminder of my one silly mistake.

Within just a few days, there was no trace of the stain.

In its place was beautiful new hardwood.

This little experience of good timing gave me a small taste of how Jesus can make the sins and stains on our hearts disappear.

“These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” (Revelation 7:14)

The righteous are not the people who had unblemished white robes all along.

The righteous are the people who had great tribulations, who made mistakes, who turned away from God, but then chose to use Jesus Christ’s atoning power to be cleansed into an even better state.

It should be impossible to get a blood-red stain out of white robes.

But Jesus did the impossible so that we could wash the stains, heartache, and pain out as often as we need.

Every little evidence of red can be replaced with the purest white.

It’s all because of, and through, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Red juice and white carpet  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

It’s not tangible.

We have physical tangible reminders, amazing experiences, breathtaking miracles that can all serve as great memory anchors. ⁣

But when it all comes down to it, I think our Heavenly Father wants us to really have FAITH in His plan and His love, which means believing and trusting. ⁣

It’s a beautiful system, I think. ⁣

But what about when questions come? ⁣

Maybe it’s a difficult time in your life and you all of a sudden question whether there is a God who loves you.

Maybe you learn something you’ve never heard before and you don’t think it fits into the rest of what you’ve learned in the gospel. ⁣

So what do we do when we hit a faith crisis, of any kind?

There is tons of great advice out there that I could share, but I believe John shares the most important piece. ⁣

“…Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.” (Revelation 3:11)

Since our faith is not tangible, it can be SO EASY to throw away the faith we already have. ⁣

It was a delusion. That didn’t really happen the way I remember. That was just a coincidence. I was just feeling emotional. ⁣

These are all easy excuses to fall into to throw away the faith we have already gained.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” – Dumbledore, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”

We have to HOLD FAST to what we already have.

We have to CLING to the faith promoting and testimony building experiences we have already had. ⁣

We have to TRUST what we have felt before while we grapple with other difficult questions. ⁣

And in this way, NO ONE or NO SITUATION or NO THING can take away our crown.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Your faith is all in your head  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I said one of my most heartfelt prayers as I pleaded:

“Heavenly Father, I am going to need your love and support and promptings more than ever!”

And the thought came to my mind immediately:

“I am always here. You need to use this time to hear and notice me better. You know what to do.”

The “Sunday School answers” filled my mind and I knew that if I wanted more help from the Spirit in my life during this time that would stretch our family, I was going to need to do things that would bring more of the Spirit in my life.

It is a prompting that has saved me over and over again over the past few years as our family has been stretched through my husband’s calling.

Every time I feel lonely, overwhelmed, or distant and I wish that I had more of the Spirit in my life…

I remember that prompting. I remember that I can take action to invite the Spirit more into my life.

And it works.

Every single time I put in the effort.

What is the most recent thing that the Spirit taught you?

We have the unique privilege in our church that there are TONS of opportunities to hear the revelation we need. ⁣

We get SO much content and input.

Our prophet, stake leaders, ward leaders, class teachers, ministering sisters…

There are so many people who can teach customized counsel.

And then, of course, we can receive personal revelation for ourselves and our families, often through scripture study or prayer.

The opportunities are everywhere!

But are we taking the chance to actually hear what the Lord wants us to hear?

Look at where John tells us the responsibility lies:

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” (Revelation 2:29)

We need to HEAR.

How do we hear the word of the Lord even better?

We can listen to counsel from prophets and then pray personally to receive our own confirmation.

We can listen at church with the intent to act, no matter who is doing the teaching.

We can keep our minds focused as we read the scriptures.

We can limit the distractions around us so we are more in tune with the still, small voice.

The Lord is speaking to His children!

But the responsibility is on us to do the hearing.

So how can we improve our capacity to hear Him?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Putting in the effort to hear Him first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

You know, the super catchy song that just makes you want to dance, buuuut if you listen too closely to the lyrics you realize how completely inappropriate it is? ⁣

My husband and I had plans to go to the temple for our date night that night. ⁣

I had the thought, “I really should change the station.” ⁣

But I didn’t.

Fast forward to sitting in the temple a few hours later. ⁣

I’m sitting in an endowment session, and sure enough, what song pops into my head? “That song”. ⁣

I couldn’t get it out of my head, no matter what I dd. ⁣

So I decided to pray! “Please, help me to get this terrible song out of my head so that I can feel the spirit!”⁣

The reprimand I received was clear as day:⁣

“You can’t ignore the Spirit’s promptings earlier in the day, and then demand the Spirit to help take away the natural consequences later.” ⁣

I was choosing to keep the door closed on my drive home from work. I wanted to enjoy the music in my car.⁣

I heard the voice, the knocking, the prompting. And I didn’t open my end. ⁣

And then in the temple, I had ripped open the door, demanding that heaven now help me. ⁣

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20)

But I hadn’t listened to His voice and knocking earlier.

Christ WANTS to be standing at our door and knocking constantly. ⁣

But the scripture says, “if any man (1) hear my voice, and (2) open the door”. ⁣

We have to hear His voice and then open the door. ⁣

We can’t demand He be there at our whim while we deliberately ignore Him other times. ⁣⁣

Now, this does not mean we have to be perfect, or even “worthy” to open that door. ⁣

Our Savior is willing to help us wherever we are at. ⁣

I needed to be reprimanded in that moment, but He still helped me to learn and ponder, and I received new impressions that evening.

But we have to listen for His voice and His knocking in our life. And then we gently respond by opening the door and letting Him in.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post We need to open the door  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.