Do you remember when he asked the youth in a devotional to do a 7-day social media fast? (June 2018)

Do you remember when he invited the whole church to #givethanks on social media each day for a week? (November 2020)

Do you remember when he encouraged us to end a personal conflict by Easter? (April 2022)

Well how about…

Do you remember when he pleaded with us to repent daily? (April 2019)

Do you remember when he called on us to implement extraordinary measures to strengthen our spiritual foundations? (October 2021)

Do you remember when he invited the women of the church to fully participate in Relief Society? (October 2018)

Do you remember when he encouraged us to increase our spiritual capacity to receive revelation? (April 2018)

Now, maybe you do remember these things, and maybe you don’t.

But if there’s ever been a recent prophet who has asked us to make dramatic or public sacrifices or commitments, it’s President Nelson!

Every talk he gives, I sit there with a pen in my hand ready to see what big challenge he’s going to give us next.

But is that excitement for the “big stuff” overpowering the less flashy pleas he’s also made?

Because looking at my list, repenting daily, increasing my capacity for personal revelation, and strengthening my spiritual foundation seem essential.

I’ve remembered some of these, but I’ve honestly forgotten about others.

“My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?” (2 Kings 5:13)

Are we willing to do the big things AND the small things that the prophet asks?

Would we have built the ark with Noah AND repented of our sins?

Would we have gotten in the barges with the brother of Jared AND worked to increase our faith?

Would we have crossed the plains in a covered wagon with only a few possessions AND read the scriptures daily?

Because it’s not really the prophet inviting us to do these things, right?

He’s the Lord’s mouthpiece.

Sometimes the Lord needs big, dramatic changes and miracles.

But more often, He needs the quiet, consistent, daily efforts from our heart.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post President Nelson’s invitations first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I’ve heard it said that we’re in the middle of a loneliness pandemic and I certainly see the evidence for that all around me.

Just these past few weeks, I’ve had to ask for a lot of favors and help from friends, and each time I feel a little bit guilty because shouldn’t I be able to be self-sufficient?

For some reason, we think that we need to do everything all on our own.

And this causes us to stay to ourselves more, and then it becomes a self-reinforcing cycle.

I have been blessed with some amazing friends and family who are willing to help me out when needed, and I hope I’m able to offer that in return as much as possible!

But when we go through really tough times, it’s hard to remember that there are more “with us” than those who are “with them”.

We know that there are more on the other side who are supporting us, loving us, and cheering us on.

But there are still a lot of people who are with the “other side”. Or at least not with us.

But I couldn’t help but ponder on the word MORE.

What if MORE wasn’t just referring to quantity, but instead referring to the vastly superior quality?

God will always be MORE than anyone else.

Temple covenants will always be more.

Priesthood power will always be more.

Unshakable faith will always be more.

Love of God and love of others will always be more.

Eternal families will always be more.

Selfless service and sacrifice will always be more.

Obedience to a loving Heavenly Father will always be more.

When we are on God’s side, we will always have more and be more than enough.

The numbers and quantities don’t really matter.

Plus there’s always room for more on God‘s side anyways!

We know what our eternal destiny can be.

And it will always be more than what anyone else has to offer.

“Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.” (2 Kings 6:16)

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post God will always be MORE first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Learned about the true God from her parents.

Saw miracles.

Gained a strong testimony of prophets who can speak the will of the Lord.

Captured by the Syrians.

Carried away to a strange land, surrounded by an unfamiliar people, unsure if she’d ever see her family and friends again.

Told that she’d be serving an important woman.

One day, she hears this woman talking about her husband. He’s come down with a sickness. Leprosy!

This young maid knows exactly what she would do on that situation.

“She said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.” (2 Kings 5:3)

A simple testimony of the real priesthood power of prophets.

A simple display of faith in miracles.

That’s all she did.

She just said something small. Something she knew to be true. Something hopeful.

Something that was out of the ordinary in a strange land, but something that was familiar to her.

This little testimony was communicated to the great captain, who immediately acted and went to find a prophet in Israel, leading to a powerful miracle and conversion.

Susan H. Porter taught that salt is a small, common, and cheap ingredient.

And yet a meal with salt tastes dramatically better than one without any salt.

“Naaman would not have even been at Elisha’s door without ‘a little maid.’

“You may be young or feel of no importance, but you can be as salt in your family, at school, and in your community.”

We don’t have to be the spicy hot sauce, show-stopping guacamole, or brilliant bbq sauce to make a difference.

I’ve watched enough cooking competition shows to know that no matter what flashy or impressive elements you add to your dish, the humble ingredient of salt can never be replaced.

Small, simple testimonies change eternal destinies.

A small maid’s testimony changed Naaman’s life.

Whose lives can you change with yours? 

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post A foreign maid and salt  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

But the story of the widow that the prophet Elisha blessed gives me hope!

After her husband died, she owed a lot of money.

It seemed to had gotten to the point that the creditors were coming to take her two sons as payment for the debts.

Elisha went into problem-solving mode to help this widow:

In 2 Kings 4:2, he asks, “What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house?

“And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.” (2 Kings 4:2)

That’s what I feel like!

Like I’ve only got a small pot of oil to offer the Lord.

And yet Elisha made this work.

He had her gather up a whole bunch of other vessels, and pour from the small pot of oil that she had.

And she ended up filling every single vessel that she collected with oil!

Not only was that in and of itself a miracle, but this miracle allowed her to sell these vessels of oil for profit, and pay off her creditors.

No matter how little your offering of faith might seem to the Lord, whether it’s just a small offering of your time, your modest talents, or even a short attention span spent in the scriptures, the Lord can multiply what we have into so much more than we could imagine!

The Lord multiplies our offering.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Just a small offering first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.