Back when we studied Daniel, I really liked the idea of Daniel asking his leader if they would allow Daniel to “prove” the idea of only drinking water and eating pulse, instead of the meat and wine.

After 10 days, it was clear. The concept had been proven perfectly.

And so with this lens, I want to look at this common scripture found in Malachi 3:10:

“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”

Isn’t that so cool?!

“Prove me now herewith”.

The Lord is essentially saying:

“You don’t believe tithing is a righteous thing to do? Allow Me to prove this to you. Try it. Just give it a chance and I will literally pour blessings out on you.”

I love this principle.

Don’t know why it’s important to keep the Sabbath holy? Allow the Lord to prove it.

Don’t know why we have to put in the work to love people that we don’t really like? Allow the Lord to prove it.

Don’t know why we have prophets that deliver messages from the Lord? Allow the Lord to prove it.

Of course, not with a prideful heart set on the wrong outcome.

But when humbly approach the Lord with a principle we are not sure of, but have the faith to try, I think that the Lord loves to prove Himself and His goodness to us.

Have you had the Lord “prove” a principle to you before?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Prove the Lord  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Now that I have 12+ years of social media presence, every old post of mine that pops up is a trip down memory lane.

Was that an inside joke with someone?

Wow, that is a lot of pictures to post from just a night out with friends.

Why did I post so many song lyrics?

Let’s just say… I am grateful that I have changed in the last 12 years of my life.

Isn’t that such a human part of life?

We meet up with old friends and realized that we’ve all changed a lot.

We remember how we acted with our spouse as newlyweds and realize that we’ve changed a lot.

For better (and let’s be real, sometimes not-for-better), everyone is always changing.

So to me, it is such a relief to hear from the Lord:

“For I am the Lord, I change not”. (Malachi 3:6)

He’s not going to become more angry or more strict.

He’s not going to become more permissive.

He’s not going to become less loving.

He’s not going to stop sending prophets to declare His word.

He’s not going to want us to stop making covenants and serving others.

He’s not going to stop asking for our hearts and wills and desires.

My relationship with my Savior keeps changing because I am the one who is spiritually maturing.

But I always know what to expect from Him.

I’ve been taught about Him and His patterns my whole life.

I’ve studied the patterns again and again in every book of scripture.

The Lord does not change.

I change.

And thank goodness for both of those truths.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Unchanging Lord first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

How do we raise gritty and resilient kids?

How do we teach children to keep trying over and over, even when it is difficult?

Even when they don’t see success?

How do you persevere and stay engaged, especially when things aren’t always “fun”?

I feel like I’ve noticed a shift in our church culture, too.

“Even in turbulent times, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is gritty and resilient. It helps us sift through unimportant distractions. It encourages us to keep moving along the covenant path.” —Lisa L. Harkness

How do we develop gritty faith?

The faith in Jesus Christ that is resilient? That isn’t dependent on immediate results?

The faith in Jesus that sustains even when the social aspect of church fails us?

The love for God that keeps us clinging to our covenants instead of getting swayed by every persuading opinion we hear?

“Be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work: for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts: According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.” (Haggai 2:4-5)

The Lord asks us to get to work.

He asks us to cast our fears away and focus on hope and love instead.

He asks us to remember what God has done in the past in order to trust that He’ll keep His promises in the future, too.

Gritty faith.

It’s not a phrase I’ve heard very often, but it’s one that I really like.

The faith in Jesus Christ that keeps us moving forward, focused on the things that matter most, no matter what may come our way.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

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

And instead of giving multiple talks, he would just give one, usually 4 or 5 minutes long.

I’ll be honest that because of this shift, I didn’t really remember much about what President Monson said in his talks.

But I DO remember one General Conference where it seemed like each speaker thanked President Monson for encouraging them to focus on the Book of Mormon for the past six months.

They each shared how their own lives had been blessed by following the prophet’s counsel.

I thought to myself: What did I miss?!

I didn’t even remember what President Monson had spoken about at the last conference.

I went back to read his message again, and sure enough, in his own flowery and poetry-filled way, there was this essential counsel from a prophet of the Lord to focus more on the Book of Mormon.

I really felt like I had missed the boat, and I made a promise to Heavenly Father that I would never take lightly or dismiss the words of His living prophet ever again.

It’s almost refreshing to read an account in the Old Testament this week where Haggai, a prophet of the Lord, tells the people in Jerusalem to change.

AND THEY DO.

“Then… the remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him”. (Haggai 1:12)

It’s almost shocking compared to the rest of the Old Testament, right?!

They heard the words of the Lord through their prophet, and they obeyed.

And how did the Lord respond?

“Then spake Haggai the Lord’s messenger in the Lord’s message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith the Lord.” (Haggai 1:13)

The Lord is with us when we take seriously the words of His prophets and decide to make a change!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Missing the boat  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

But He also still had a terrible journey to Calvary where He was crucified!

I can’t even begin to imagine the compounding pain, both physical and emotional, that He had to endure.

It is quite literally unimaginable.

But here’s the thing that fascinates me:

Was Christ bitter about having to endure this heart-breaking experience?

Not at all.

Zechariah prophesied what the Savior would respond when asked:

“What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.” (Zechariah 13:6)

He said that this sacrifice happened in the house of His friends.

The people who should have loved and protected Him.

But instead betrayed, denied and crucified.

And He continues to call each of us His friends.

The Savior’s atoning sacrifice made Him even more loving and compassionate, instead of turning Him bitter.

So how are we doing with our own trials?

The trials that seem like nothing compared to what He had to endure, and yet still cause so much pain and heartache and loneliness.

Are we letting our trials turn us bitter? Drawing us away from God?

Or are we making sure that our trials and sacrifices are turning us into more loving and compassionate people, too?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Bitterness from trials first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I needed rest, a good massage, and a warm drink.

And yet, I felt spiritually and emotionally invigorated.

I’ve had this idea in my mind for a while that God isn’t asking for us to be comfortable.

And so I actually found it funny that in my choir concerts, one phrase we repeated over and over again from “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” was:

“Comfort and joy”.

God gives us tidings of COMFORT and of joy.

But I don’t think that means He wants us to get COMFORTABLE.

I think it means that He will comfort us and give us joy in the work we are doing.

“The Savior invites us, each day, to set aside our comforts and securities and join Him on the journey of discipleship.”

—Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf

The Jews returning to Jerusalem had a lot of work to do— rebuilding walls, homes, and even the temple.

But, it seems like they spent a little too much of their focus on their own comfort.

“Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled houses, and this house lie waste?” (Haggai 1:4)

Are you going to stay comfortable and ignore inviting the presence of the Lord into your midst?!

I could have slept a lot and put my feet up all last week instead of doing those concerts.

I probably would have felt more physically rested and comfortable.

But instead, I feel sore, and a little sleepy, and my voice is a bit lower than it normally is.

And I feel comfort. And joy. And rest. And peace.

There is so much goodness to put out into the world.

Let’s set our priorities straight, and get to work!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Stop being comfortable  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I’m not a natural “crafter” by any means, so I was making sure I followed the instructor’s every word!

She told us the next direction, and I picked up my paint brush to do what I assumed she meant.

She quickly mentioned: “Wait, make sure you DON’T saturate it with paint! You want to keep it super light, otherwise you will ruin all the other work you just did!”

I put my paint-drenched paintbrush back in the cup and scraped off a bunch of paint.

Whew. Close call.

It is great to know what to do.

But it’s also great to know what NOT to do, right?

One of the most straightforward examples of this is found in Zephaniah 3:2 this week. Using feminine pronouns to refer to Jerusalem, he taught:

“She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the Lord; she drew not near to her God.”

Pretty straight forward, right?

Jerusalem didn’t obey the voice of the prophets. They didn’t receive correction. They didn’t trust in the Lord. And they didn’t actively find ways to draw near to their God.

And it didn’t turn out well for Jerusalem.

Knowing that fantastic nonexample, now which area can you work on with even more diligence?

Obey. Receive correction. Trust. Draw near.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The best nonexample first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I said this my freshman year at BYU.

I grew up in a household of all sisters and football seemed like a weird, confusing sport.

It wasn’t just “score a goal”— there were tons of weird rules for how to get there and all sorts of strange hand motions and formations.

So I was the stereotypical clueless girl attending football games, yelling “first down” when everyone else did, just having fun.

“Football is so confusing! None of it makes sense!”

But I actually hate not knowing what’s going on, so curiosity got the best of me.

I started asking questions.

“Why is everyone booing?” “What do the downs even mean?” “What position is that guy playing?”

And surprisingly… football started to make sense!

I “got it”. I could attend a game and make a comment while sounding vaguely educated.

It turns out that if you never ask questions about how football works, it will always seem confusing.

And it turns out that as soon as you start asking questions, you start learning and things make sense.

It reminds me of the classic exchange between Nephi and his brothers:

“And I said unto them: Have ye inquired of the Lord?

“And they said unto me: We have not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us.” (1 Nephi 15:8-9)

AKA— I don’t know how football works because no one has told me.

Even Zephaniah prophesied:

“And them that are turned back from the Lord; and those that have not sought the Lord, nor inquired for him.” (Zephaniah 1:6)

He’s teaching us that the people who turn away from the Lord are the ones who aren’t inquiring for Him.

They aren’t seeking Him. They aren’t yearning for a relationship with Him. They aren’t asking Him the questions in their hearts.

If we want more knowledge, a stronger relationship, or more devotion, we can’t forget how essential it is to inquire from the original Source.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Inquire and seek  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I’m not an avid climber, but I was surprising myself with how well I was doing!

And then…

I went to grab onto the next big rock, and my hand slipped right off.

My confidence was dashed to fear and then a little bit of embarrassment.

Even though the rock had looked like a good one to hang onto from the view below, it was acutally rounded on the top, and my hand wasn’t prepared for it.

I hung there for a bit and looked around and found a rock that looked like it would be a much better strong hold.

I examined as many angles as I could.

That one worked.

I’ve had some difficult emotional moments in my life.

From health struggles, to busy schedules, to heartbreaking losses, I’ve had to figure out what wasn’t worth holding on to.

And I’ve had to figure out what my strong hold would be.

The best strong hold I’ve ever had is my good friend, Jesus.

As the prophet Nahum taught, “The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble”. (Nahum 1:7)

I want Jesus to always be my top priority.

He is someone I know I can hold on to.

He won’t surprise me.

He won’t bring fear.

He won’t embarrass me in front of others.

He’s just strong. And steady. And reliable.

The type of friend I know I can rely on, in any day of trouble.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post A Strong Hold  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.