“I’m just a disorganized person.”

“I couldn’t stay calm any longer.”

“I completely messed up.”

Life is messy, and we often act pretty messily, too!

In Luke 3:5, we learn that through Christ, “Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth.”

If the Savior can make mountains to be brought low, He probably can take away bad habits or annoyances that we have too. ⁣

Jesus can help us become more patient.

He can make up for the awkwardness we feel when talking to someone new.

He can help us have compassion instead of constantly criticizing.

He can help us kick that habit of gossiping.

Every little crooked and rough way on our souls will eventually be made smooth!

But just like a river carving its way through a mountainside…

This process takes time.

These changes usually happen inch by inch.

Day by day.

Even year after year.

Are we willing to stick with the Lord through the entire process?

The “way that we are” isn’t how we will stay because mountains constantly change.

But we can trust and have faith that eventually, one day, in this life or the next, all of our rough ways will be made smooth.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Rough ways made smooth  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

People who sat at home, not wanting anyone to know that they had been clumsy and twisted their ankle again.

People who were sure their cough would pass on its own, so they didn’t need any help.

People who didn’t want their own family members to know they had been suffering with something that they desperately wanted healed.

“All the city was gathered together at the door.” (Mark 1:33)

Many flocked toward Jesus, begging to be healed.

But that meant that those people admitted they needed healing in the first place.

We all have those “weaknesses” that we are happy to publicly talk about.

Oh yes, I sometimes zone out during my prayers, too!

But what about the stuff that’s harder to admit?

The stuff that we don’t share about nonchalantly in a Sunday School class.

When we try to hide it from other people, do we mistakenly think that we can hide it from God, too?

Bringing our sins and our sicknesses and our weaknesses to the Lord requires a bit of vulnerability and humility.

It requires that we admit that there’s something that actually needs fixing.

It requires that we acknowledge that even if we COULD solve something on our own, everything is always better with Jesus.

Jesus heals.

He heals it all.

He takes our burdens and our yoke upon Him.

So will we go to Him?

Will we rise up and follow where He leads?

Will we admit that we have something that needs healing?

Will we allow the Master Healer to do what He longs to do?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Go to the Master Healer first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

When we are listening to a spiritual message or reading our scriptures, any of these three things can come to us:

1) Something we should start

2) Something we should stop

3) Something we should continue

This blew my mind because I think the third one is often overlooked.

I feel like I learn plenty of new things that I should start.

Start serving more. Start adding more authentic intent. Start saying better prayers.

And I get prompted often of things I should stop.

Stop being on your phone so much. Stop being prideful. Stop ignoring the important stuff.

But that third one is awesome:

What should you continue?

Do you think God is pleased with anything you are doing in your life right now?

Sometimes we focus so much on becoming better people that we forget we are already doing great things! ⁣

When Jesus chose to be baptized, God the Father expressed how pleased He was with His son’s actions.

“This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17)

It was the ultimate, divine ‘pat on the back’.

God knew He didn’t need to correct anything that was going wrong.

He instead wanted to draw attention to what was already going right.

So what’s something good you are doing right now that you can continue to do?

If you come up a little blank, try taking this question to the Lord in prayer, and see what comes to mind.

When I’ve asked God what things I should CONTINUE doing, I’ve given Him a chance to show me personally what He approves of in my life.

And there’s always a lot more goodness than I expect.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Start, stop, and continue  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

She then started to tell me what the post said.

… It was one of my posts. 

She saw the smile on my face and stopped her explanation.

“Oh my goodness, was that one that YOU wrote?! I’m so sorry! I didn’t even look to see what account it was from!”

We both laughed.

I’ve been there plenty of times, too.

Where I read an amazing post or article, or listen to a great talk…

And then I can’t remember who wrote it or where it was from later!

There are so many authors online.

But when we get out and look at the world around us, there is only one author we need to remember.

Jesus.

Under the direction of His Father, He was the Creator of the earth.

Jesus is the author of it all.

And yet, when He came to earth; when He came to the work of His own hands:

“The world was made by him, and the world knew him not.” (John 1:10)

They didn’t know who He was.

They didn’t know what He had done.

The grass, the fish, the flowers, the wind, the warm sunny days, the wheat, the water, the lambs, and the lions.

It was all there because Jesus had created it in the first place.

And yet, Jesus came to the earth and still served and created.

He created healing and peace and love and hope and light.

He created forgiveness and mercy and power.

He changed lives and transformed hearts.

And so I want to hold a little more gratitude in my heart today for the Ultimate Creator.

I want to recognize all of His creations.

And I want to give praise for what He continues to create for me.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The creator of all things  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

No matter how much I may beg, bribe, or cheer…

My kid is the one who has to decide whether or not they will take the bite and chew.

Whether I like it or not…

They have complete agency on whether or not they eat that piece of food!

Christ and Philip both say this simple phrase:

“Come and see.” (John 1:39)

Unfortunately, no one can “come” nor “see” for us. ⁣

We have to be the ones to use our agency to come closer to Christ and to see what He sees.

We have to be proactive.

We invite the Spirit into our lives. We seek out answers. We let our faith grow.

And on the other hand, we can’t force anyone around us, including our own children, to “come and see.”

The Savior performed miracles here on the earth and still needed to invite others to come and see what He had to offer.

He couldn’t force anyone to believe in His divine role, and neither can we.

We can make the plate full of goodness and nutrition and tasty foods…

But we can’t force anyone to take a bite.

So how will we come a little closer to the Savior and see a little more clearly what He has to offer?

And how can we gently extend the same invitation to others?

Come, and see!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

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

Not that I haven’t liked it, I just really haven’t ever thought much about it.

Until recently.

My dad made a fantastic point about this title for Jesus that totally changed everything.

How do you communicate who you are?

How do you share your thoughts and desires and emotions and beliefs?

How do you agree to things and ask for things and express love?

You use your words.

Words help to reveal who you really are as a person.

Words help communicate your purposes and your intent.

Words are really how you function and interact with people.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)

How does God the Father communicate His purpose?

How does God the Father put His plans into existence?

How does God the Father reveal who He really and truly is?

How does God the Father show His love?

God the Father uses His Word.

His Only Begotten Son.

He is the reason we know God.

He is the way that God communicates His desires for us.

Jesus is the WORD of God.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The Word of God first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

For me, it involves a testimony meeting at Young Women’s camp being surrounded by trees and countless stars.

But maybe for you, it was a moment on your mission.

An experience at the temple.

A quiet moment at home.

While those big spiritual moments are eternally powerful, I’ve realized we can’t live our lives drawing from a single experience when we felt the Spirit.

It’s not enough.

It’s a great foundation, but it’s not enough.

Some religions emphasize a one-time experience of being “born again.”

John wrote about this saying,

“Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:13)

But we know we need constant spiritual experiences to stay close to the Lord.

In other words, we must be “born again” almost daily!

In probably a less dramatic way than that “big moment” we have in mind, but still just as real.

So, have you been spiritually born of God yet. . . today? ⁣

In other words, have you felt the Spirit today?

I won’t pretend like this is something that comes easily every single day.

But I’ve started trying to reflect on this each night.

“Have I felt the Spirit today?”

It’s actually made it a little easier for me to recognize when I am feeling the Spirit in the moment.

And if I haven’t yet, I love to reflect on what I can do to invite the Spirit, draw closer to God, or renew my righteous desires that day.

And I am spiritually reborn, refreshed, and renewed.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Spiritually born each day first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

(We were talking about the 4 gospel writers with their similarities and differences.)

“Wouldn’t it just have been easier if Jesus Himself wrote down everything that He did and said?!?”

I had to laugh.

I mean… YES.

Can you imagine?!

Jesus writing down what He actually did and experienced and said?

Honestly, I think we couldn’t really comprehend it.

It would be too much.

But I got this kid’s point.

Why don’t we have more clear facts about Jesus?

A cohesive timeline about what He did?

A plethora of details that are missing from every story in the four gospels?

That would be so nice for my little mortal logical brain to have and to study.

But we don’t get that.

We get lots of messy, possibly mis-translated accounts from a couple thousand years ago.

Now Anna and Simeon had one of the coolest experiences ever:

They got to SEE baby Jesus at the temple.

But… I guess a lot of people technically probably saw this little infant that Mary and Joseph had with them.

But Anna and Simeon had a testimony-building experience where they witnessed of the Messiah’s divinity.

“She coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.” (Luke 2:38)

“Anna and Simeon were eyewitnesses to the infant, but… their knowledge of his divine mission came through the witness of the Holy Ghost.” -Dallin H. Oaks

That’s the cool part.

We don’t actually have to see baby Jesus.

We don’t actually need an itemized list of what He did and when.

In order to KNOW Him and TESTIFY of Him.

The Spirit can witness to us of Jesus’ reality and divinity.

And we can go and share.

We can have the same experience that Anna and Simeon had in the temple that day in Jerusalem.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Anna and Simeon first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I honestly didn’t think too much of what I was doing.

But while I was volunteering, something took my by surprise.

In a very mundane moment during my volunteering, I felt completely overwhelmed with the Spirit.

Like, it still remains in my personal top ten list for spiritual moments.

I felt a strong impression that what I was doing, while it didn’t seem “spiritual,” was actually a really good thing my Father in Heaven wanted me to do.

Twelve-year-old Jesus taught His parents a beautiful lesson about His primary purpose on earth.

When Mary and Joseph found their son talking with and listening to the doctors in the temple, Jesus said,

“Wist​ ye not that I must be about my ​​​Father’s​ business?”⁣ (Luke 2:49)

Our “Father’s business” certainly does not only look like serving a full time mission or preaching about the scriptures.

(Although those are great!)

What other good things can we do with our time that might contribute to our being about our Father’s business of bringing light and truth and progression toward all of His children?

I have found spiritual confirmations while getting a good education.

While caring for family members.

While excelling at work, having quality family time, and strengthening my talents.

“Throughout His life our Savior showed us how to use our agency. As a boy in Jerusalem, He deliberately chose to ‘be about [His] Father’s business.’” —Robert D. Hales

And I think it’s important to consider what it looks like to NOT be about our Heavenly Father’s business, too.

What is wasting my time?

What is distracting me from the important stuff?

What is driving the Spirit away?

I don’t always need to be going to church or listening to the scriptures at every moment in my life.

But whatever I choose to do, I hope my Savior can see that I am always trying to be about my Father’s business.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post My Father’s business first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Every time I would think about it, I would get panicky or sad or frustrated.

So I just tried not to think about it.

I kept pushing it down.

But it kept bubbling up and making me frustrated and overwhelmed all over again at very inconvenient times.

I was on edge.

And I didn’t have any time to deal with it.

Then one night, I couldn’t sleep.

I was feeling in a real funk, so I decided to pull up the scriptures on my phone and start reading a bit.

I honestly could not even tell you which book of scripture I pulled up.

Because as my eyes scanned the words and my finger scrolled, my mind wandered.

It wandered back to my big concern.

But this time, it felt different.

I gave myself permission to just think about it.

I thought about my concerns in detail, I cried over what I was sad about, I logically thought through different options and paths forward.

I formally addressed Heavenly Father every once in a while, but my mind just kept going for the most part.

I just… pondered.

And then I fell asleep.

And the next morning, I felt so… calm.

So content. So peaceful. Even, happy.

It didn’t make sense though.

The concern was technically still there.

I didn’t have a clear answer, an obvious path forward, an elimination of every tough part.

But I truly, deep down, felt content.

“Pondering often precedes contentment.” —Neal A. Maxwell

I believe that with all my heart.

It’s something I can’t really explain very well. It probably doesn’t make sense to the rest of the world.

“Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19)

Pondering.

Without distraction, in communion with God, inviting the Spirit…

It is powerful.

And pondering has changed my life.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Unexplainable pondering first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.