He had felt the pain from that metaphorical thorn for a long time.

He prayed earnestly 3 times.

Each time, pleading for God to take this trial or affliction away. ⁣

But God didn’t take the pain away.

Instead, the Lord responded:

“My grace is sufficient for thee.”⁣

And Paul really, truly believed it.

Gods grace was sufficient for Paul’s thorn.

This makes me think about my own thorns.

The little small ones, and the really big and dramatic ones.

Do I actually believe what God says?

Do I believe that God’s grace is sufficient for ME?

Often, in this church, we talk about “getting through” a difficult time or talk about what we might learn after a trial. ⁣

But what about the trials that don’t end?⁣

Is there any hope?⁣

Look what Paul said in response to the Lord’s consolation that His grace is sufficient:

“My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

(2 Corinthians 12:9)

Paul said that he will GLADLY GLORY in his infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon him. ⁣

How do we find that joy when we know that our trials will not end in this life?

How can we possibly be okay with that?⁣

How do we endure health challenges, life circumstances, results of our choices or of others, that will be a thorn in our side for a really, really long time?

“My grace is sufficient for thee.”⁣

We learn more about Jesus and grace. ⁣

We learn that we have the strength, through Christ, to still be a good person and do what is right on top of dealing with those challenges. ⁣

We learn that our Lord gives us grace EVERY SINGLE time we need extra help.

Not just the first or second time. Every time. ⁣

Our trials, though excruciating and painful, teach us what it truly means to rely on our Savior.

Because we don’t have to do it alone.

We get to be filled with HIS strength.

The thorn in our side may remain, but the sting can be taken away by the one who perfectly knows how the thorn feels.

Happy Studying!

Cali Black

The post The thorn in my side  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

When my nonmember friends would ask me about movies I watched,

the language I used,

or clothes I wore,

it seemed like I was always reciting endless lists of rules I had to follow.

And there have been other times, when things have been swirling, that this Church has seemed really complicated.

But as I’ve matured in spiritual understanding, I’ve discovered that the gospel is actually pretty simple.

It’s all about Jesus.

No, really!

When I focus on Jesus, all the “extra” things seem much more simple, too.

I naturally adjust my language, media use, and attitude to become more Christlike.

Paul taught:

“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:3)

He’s warning that the adversary wants us to make things more complicated than they really are.

It’s one of his most powerful tactics.

Distraction from simplicity.

Sure, membership in this church may look complicated from the outside looking in.

And when I focus on the little elements of tithing, Sabbath day observance, temple attendance, serving in callings…

I can get caught up in the long to-do list, too.

But I have found so much peace when I focus on “the simplicity that is in Christ.”

He is the goal.

He is the way.

And everything else just helps us get to Him.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post It’s all simple first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

This was a few years ago when it was just my husband, our 1-year-old daughter, and me.

It was a meeting with a member of the stake presidency where we knew my husband would be extended a calling.

Gulp.

We had lots of fun speculating what the calling could possibly be.

But while we were speculating, I suddenly had a thought clearly come to my mind:

“This calling will take a lot of time.

“You need to learn to not resent him for leaving you with your daughter more often.” ⁣

It was a very clear thought. ⁣

I think my husband and I are a fantastic team usually.

We’ve always been very clear that we are both equal partners when we are home.

We take turns making dinner, we care for our kids, we do household chores.

Things honestly have felt pretty “fair”. ⁣

But I felt the Spirit preparing me that things might not be “fair” for a while.

And that I needed to be okay with that.

In fact, I needed to find JOY in my counterpart offering of service to his service. ⁣

Paul’s teaching to the Corinthians stopped me in my tracks — because I have lived this.

“Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7)

Since that day 4 years ago when my husband was called as a counselor in the bishopric, and then continuing to his call as a bishop, my heart has slowly changed.

I’ve had to take on extra responsibilities and get comfortable doing things by myself.

But am I giving my service grudgingly?

I honestly try not to.

(I mean, it still happens, but then I try to give myself grace and press forward.)

Sometimes, I just try to serve out of “necessity”.

It’s pretty neutral— I’m just doing what needs to get done.

But my goal is to be a cheerful giver!

Not to put on a fake smile and act like everything is okay.

But to truly be cheerful to be able to serve in the way I’m asked to right now.

To find joy in taking on different responsibilities. ⁣

To be happy to develop my weaknesses into strengths. ⁣

It’s been a process.

But it’s been easier and easier to catch when I’m feeling “grudgingly” or resentful and willingly focus on my Savior instead.

And truly, honestly, when I think about Jesus, my heart becomes a lot more willing and joyful.

I’m taking steps to become a more cheerful giver of my time and energy.

And hopefully, someday, my selfish weaknesses can become a strength, all thanks to my Savior.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post A cheerful giver first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

At first, the home seemed perfect.

I felt so abundant and grateful to own a home and live in it!

But then… I wanted the walls painted.

When they got painted, I felt abundant again!

Everything was all good.

But then… we wanted to do our backyard.

When our yard was finished, I felt overwhelmingly abundant and wanted to throw all the parties!

The cycle has continued on and on.

I think we go through similar cycles in almost every area of our lives.

Paul acknowledged this, too:

“But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality.” (2 Corinthians 8:14)

Isn’t that such a cool balance that we’ve been asked to help with?

Whether in our wards,

our neighborhoods,

or the walls of our own homes,

We can help use our abundance to fill others’ wants.

And we can have our wants assisted by other people’s abundance.

We will always have wants.

Sometimes it’s emotional needs like good friendships and authentic connection.

Other times it’s spiritual needs like a testimony or a desire to read the scriptures.

And other times it is literally physical and temporal needs.

We can find a sweet equality when other people have an abundance to share with us.

It works both ways.

What do you feel like you currently are “abundant” with?

How can you find someone with a “want” to share with?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Abundance and wants first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

We will be perplexed and confused as to why we have to experience what we experience. ⁣

We will be persecuted, sometimes by those who should love us most. ⁣

We will be cast down in society or our communities. ⁣

Life will be hard.

It is hard. ⁣

For some reason, I think we constantly need to remind ourselves of this.

It’s so easy to jump to:

“It’s not fair”

“What did I do to deserve this?”⁣

But we are guaranteed that these hard times will come to us. ⁣

It’s okay to feel troubled, perplexed, persecuted, and cast down. ⁣

But, thanks to our loving Savior:⁣

We do not need to feel distressed. ⁣

We need not despair. ⁣

We are not forsaken or forgotten. ⁣

We will not be destroyed. ⁣

Life is hard.

Really hard sometimes.

But we have our Good Shepherd with us. ⁣

He will not let the hard times destroy us if we turn to him.

We don’t have to be stressed out and in utter chaos.

We are not forgotten, ever! ⁣

Life is hard, but it doesn’t need to be miserable. ⁣

“We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9)

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Troubled but not destroyed first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

One of the sisters asked me, “What really brings you joy?” ⁣

It took me off-guard more than I expected. ⁣

I couldn’t quite narrow it down to just one answer.

Plus, I wasn’t feeling much joy at the moment.

Paul taught:

“Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my glorying of you: I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation.” (2 Corinthians 7:4)

But I wasn’t finding a lot of joy in my tribulation.

I stumbled out an answer to our missionaries and then one of them shared something that totally changed my perspective.

She basically said:

“I find joy in being creative!

“Yes, I love to paint and draw.

“But I also love creating happiness!

“God is so creative, and I find joy when I create with Him!”

We ended up having a beautiful conversation about the connection between joy and creation.

Something totally clicked in my mind.

I have joy when I create a life for myself where I can feel the Spirit and become more Christlike. ⁣

I have joy in my life when I create a marriage and home where we keep the commandments, show love, and have fun!

I have joy when I create breathtaking music that transcends any emotions words can capture. ⁣

I have joy when I create beautiful, strong friendships. ⁣

And ultimately, I have joy when I am going through difficult trials, and yet I still create moments of happiness and peace with my Savior. ⁣

“We can feel joy regardless of what is happening- or not happening- in our lives. Joy comes from and because of Him.” -Russell M. Nelson

When we create, I believe we find joy because we partner with Heavenly Father to bring goodness into existence.

So, what brings you joy?

What are you able to create?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

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

Is this a temporal problem or an eternal problem?

I take a moment to zoom out real big.

Like “beyond the end of this life” big.

The temporal problems always seem to shrink when I do this.

The work issue isn’t such a big deal, the messy house doesn’t matter, the frustrating process seems silly.

But I’ve also noticed the eternal issues grow larger when I take a step back.

Family prayer isn’t happening? That’s actually something that is important to me, so I want to problem solve and make it happen in a meaningful way.

My kids won’t stop fighting? I know I want to teach my kids kindness, and so I seek for revelation on what they need to feel more love.

“While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18)

Temporal vs. Eternal ⁣⁣

It’s so much easier to “look at the things which are seen”.

Obviously!

We see the physical problems around us.

We see what we lack, what we need to solve, and sometimes these physical problems become our sole focus. ⁣

It takes more effort to look at the “things which are not seen”.

But in reality, these are the things that matter most.

These are the only things that will actually go with us to the next life. ⁣

Our family relationships.

Our testimonies.

Our service.

Our love.

Our habits.

Our desires.

Our knowledge.

Our spiritual gifts. ⁣

These are eternal. ⁣

Physical problems still exist and still require our attention.

But when I take a moment to step back, my order of priorities always shift.

The things that aren’t seen matter the most.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Seen and unseen problems first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

It’s not that I didn’t care.

It just didn’t seem like a big deal to me.

… And then I got pregnant with my first child.

And I got SUPER sick.

After surviving (literally) that pregnancy, anytime someone shared how sick they were while pregnant, I would empathize with every little detail!

And now I’ve endured two more of those difficult pregnancies.

When people I know are pregnant, I let them vent endlessly.

I try to check in on them often.

In fact, it’s like this super sense of empathy that I’ve now developed for my fellow sisters who have to deal with any illness during pregnancy.

What hard things have you gone through?

Have you noticed how you begin to empathize with and love other people who are going through similar trials?

There seems to be a special connection that forms. ⁣

And it all stems from God. ⁣

“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;

“Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

God knows how to comfort us when we need it.

So when we have to go through our own trials, we gain the ability to comfort others with that specific need.

It’s almost like a unique spiritual gift that we develop!

We can be the hands of God and comfort in the ways He would.

Considering the trials you’ve had to navigate in your life so far, what are your “comforting” superpowers that you can reach out with to the people around you?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Comfort the way we are comforted first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

BUSY

members of the church spend time researching names

and then attending the temple to do temple work?⁣

There’s all the technical doctrinal reasons.

The reasons that help explain this super unique aspect of our Christian religion.

In addition to baptizing people in behalf of those who have passed away, we also know that all temple ordinances are made available by proxy for people who have died. ⁣

“Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?” (1 Corinthians 15:29)

But why do we continue to attend the House of the Lord?

I think the real answer is

Christlike love and compassion. ⁣

Have you ever thought about how that’s what temple work really is?⁣

We literally are spending time, effort, and often some amount of money in the form of gas, food, or childcare in order to show love and compassion for those who were not able to perform temple ordinances in their lifetime. ⁣

And, these deceased people might not even accept our work. ⁣

And yet, we still go. ⁣

We love them so much,

OR we at least understand that Christ loves them so much,

that we are willing to give up our time in order to give them a chance. ⁣

That is such extreme love and compassion. ⁣

And I think that’s one of the reasons why it’s so important to go to the temple!

Even when it’s difficult.

We are developing a truly advanced ability to love others when we sacrifice so much for what may not be accepted at all. ⁣

In fact, that sounds an awful lot like what our Savior did for all of us. ⁣

When we attend the temple, we get to experience just a small portion of what He did as He sacrificed His comfort in order to give everyone the opportunity to develop spiritually. ⁣

I’m so grateful that attending the temple helps me become more Christlike, from the things that I learn as I worship in the House of the Lord, to the mere physical act of just being willing to attend.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Why do we do baptisms for the dead? first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

“The atonement”

“The enabling power of the atonement”

“Applying the atonement”

“Being strengthened by the atonement”

They are all phrases that President Nelson has asked us to STOP using. ⁣

Why?⁣

Because they completely take Christ out of the picture!

President Nelson has encouraged us to use terms like “the Savior’s atoning sacrifice” that keep our focus on Jesus.

I used to attend church and learn about lots of different topics:

Service, church history, families, spiritual gifts, my Savior, peace.

But I remember it clicking in my mind one day that everything is actually tied back to Christ!

And I think we could all try to do a bit better at making sure our lessons, talks, and thoughts always connect to Jesus.

“And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:14)

Our faith needs to be in Jesus Christ, and our preaching needs to point others to Jesus Christ.

We go to church to partake of the sacrament as a reminder of Christ’s sacrifice.

We learn about service to become more charitable like Christ.

We study church history to see how others turned to Christ during their trials.

Everything is connected to and possible only because of Jesus!

Give it a try– the next church lesson, class, or talk that you sit through, make an effort to see how it is all possible only because of Jesus Christ.

And then share that testimony with others!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post How do we connect it all to Jesus?  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.