I’ve thought about this question a lot.

I can clearly and embarrassingly think back to times in my life where I was super judgmental and worried about other people.

From things as silly as clothing choices to things as serious as how others have handled trials, I’ve judged and compared.

Sometimes to make me feel better about myself.

And other times as a way to feel I wasn’t good enough.

Either way… not great.

As I’ve tried to “spiritually mature”, I’ve really been focused on the idea that the cure to comparison is COMPASSION.

Seeing a mom handle her kid in a way I wouldn’t and feeling compassion.

Seeing a mom celebrate a minor holiday in an elaborate way that her kids love and feeling compassion.

Hearing someone who is struggling with their relationship with the church and feeling compassion.

Hearing someone with much more gospel knowledge and greater study habits than I have and feeling compassion.

The prophet Micah taught:

“He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us”. (Micah 7:19)

The Lord has endless compassion.

Over and over, He turns toward us and extends His compassion and His understanding.

And I think He invites us to feel that same kind love for each other.

To be freed from the weight of needing to nudge and compare, to put down others or ourselves, and to add distance.

And to instead experience just a portion of the same compassion He encompasses.

Compassion over comparison.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Compassion over comparison  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I’m grateful for people.

I’m grateful for things.

I’m grateful for experiences and relationships.

I’m grateful for God and my Savior.

But… do I feel gratitude for what I’ve sacrificed?

Do I feel thanksgiving in my heart for what I’ve had to give up?

At first thought, no.

I’m actually really good at feeling self-pity when I am asked to sacrifice.

“Life is so hard for me!”

“No one else is asked to endure this!”

“This is the worst!”

Wo is me.

And I don’t say that lightly— I mean, sometimes I complain about things that aren’t a big deal.

“Cali, it’s just the laundry. Put it away and you’ll survive.”

But sometimes, things ARE a big deal.

A big, difficult deal.

“I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving”. (Jonah 2:9)

But what if we sacrifice with thanksgiving in our hearts?

Gratitude for the opportunity to learn? Gratitude for the chance to serve the Lord? Gratitude for the opportunity to show our love and devotion?

Sacrificing willingly and gratefully instead of selfishly and dramatically.

It’s tough.

But I can already see my mortal hindsight proving this right a little bit.

I can see how sacrifices I made years ago have blossomed into beautiful growth experiences.

I notice how everything I’ve been asked to give up or endure has given me the chance to also take a huge leap forward in my spiritual progression.

I recognize how much easier it has been when I forget myself and get to work loving and serving others.

So today, I am grateful for the things that I sacrifice in the name of serving the Lord and becoming Christlike.

I sacrifice with thanksgiving in my heart.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Sacrifice with thanksgiving  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

And Jonah needed both of them.

He needed the storm to humble him.

And he needed the great fish to save him.

“The Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah.” (Jonah 1:17)

And God provides both.

He provides everything that we need to become good, godly, Christlike people.

The calls to go and do good things.

The humbling moments when our pride has gotten in the way.

The mercy to save us in our own self-inflicted trials.

The opportunity to reflect and repent.

The call to again, go and do good things.

The teaching.

The love.

The safety.

He does it all.

He is so good.

Because I need it all, just like Jonah.

That all-encompassing divine teacher who changes my curriculum to be exactly what I need in exactly that moment.

I am grateful for a God who does it all.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The storm and the whale first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

But for a long time, I was stuck there.

In fact, I still am often stuck there.

I recently was having a tough time with a kid who was behaving in a way that made it really difficult for me to know how to respond.

I was getting frustrated. My tactics weren’t working. The kid was getting more and more frustrated, too.

I thought, “How am I supposed to know what to do?!”

And then I thought, “Duh.”

I said a small, silent prayer, right in that moment.

I said something to my kid. I did something else. Everything was deescalated.

Jonah, in the belly of that great fish, said, “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord”. (Jonah 2:7)

It’s good to remember the Lord at the beginning and the end of the day.

But it’s also so good to remember Him in the heat of the moment.

When our soul faints. When our temper rises. When our embarrassment takes over. When our anxiety starts running. When our sadness rolls.

We can find strength when we remember the Lord in that very moment that we need Him.

And not just regular strength.

COVENANTAL strength.

When we “always remember Him”…

We get access to very real, priesthood, covenantal strength and power.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Remember in the moment first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

My mom was fantastic about throwing great birthday parties each year, but I thought the idea of other people planning something for me without me knowing sounded pretty exciting!

To be totally shocked sounded fun.

Fast-forward to last year, when it was the weekend before my birthday.

I told my husband I just wanted to keep it lowkey this year, and we didn’t have any plans that weekend for me.

In fact, we were running around celebrating our kids’ friends birthdays all Saturday.

We pulled our car into our garage.

Exhausted after a long day, I was the first of our family to walk into our dark home.

And I saw the silhouette of someone sitting on our couch.

My panic instantly set in as I scanned my eyes and saw even more silhouettes on the couch.

I decided that if I was going to die in that moment, I might as well turn on the lights so they knew that I knew that they were there.

“SURPRISE!”

My home was filled with my friends, a delicious homemade cake, and food to share.

It was really fun to celebrate with friends…

But I also learned that I really really REALLY like knowing what is going on!

Arguably the most famous teaching that Amos shares is in Amos 3:7.

“Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.”

There is no big surprise coming.

We know the plans.

In fact, we’ve been planning the party!

We’ve been making the invitations.

We’ve been very involved in gathering everyone together for the celebration.

No need to fear.

No need to panic.

We have been told, and we will be told exactly what we need to know.

I am grateful for no surprises.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Surprise parties first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

“Uh, nothing right now. I’m pretty good.”

I still cringe a little every time I think of this conversation I once had with my bishop as a youth.

I was happy to tell him all the things I was doing right.

And so I was caught off guard when he asked me what I was improving.

Nothing really! I’m good! Checking all the boxes!

I cringe, but I also laugh a bit now.

I couldn’t even see what I was still missing.

“Woe to them that are at ease in Zion”. (Amos 6:1)

So what has changed in the 15 years since that interview?

I’ve had huge trials.

I’ve dealt with really frustrating situations.

I’ve had to forgive others and forgive myself.

I’ve become a parent. 

I’ve watched other people around me deal with heartbreaking situations with grace and faith.

I’ve learned more about Jesus.

But what’s the key?

“The remedy for being at ease in Zion might be called a broken heart—one that is justly motivated to change and to heal.” — Michelle Guerra

A broken heart that is motivated to change and heal.

Not a broken heart that keeps beating itself up and wondering why it is such a hot mess.

But a broken heart that keeps turning back to Jesus, knowing that He is the one who can help put each piece back together.

The remedy for being at ease is bringing a broken and willing heart to the Lord every day.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Feeling at ease first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

While my daughter is great at playing it, my two year old son cracks me up.

He’s not very quiet when he hides.

“Quin, look in the bathroom!”

But also, when it’s his turn to be the “seeker”, he gets frustrated pretty quickly.

After a few hurried seconds of looking around, he’ll start to call out:

“Where are you?!”

It makes me laugh.

His little two year old brain isn’t quite ready for the stamina of really looking for us.

Do you ever feel like feeling the Spirit isn’t as easy as you would like?

Maybe you are standing there, along with my son, yelling, “Where are you?!”

In my life, I’ve learned that in order to feel the Spirit, I have to actually seek out opportunities or situations to feel it.

I have to do the work!

Sometimes it just “happens” as I go throughout my day.

But a lot of times it doesn’t.

I’ve learned I need to actively choose to pray for the Spirit, invite Him, ask for His validation, seek advice, and so much more.

The Lord teaches us that He wants us to “Seek ye me, and ye shall live”. (Amos 5:4)

Seek implies action.

If we want more of the Savior’s influence in our lives, then we need to be going out of our way to make our life a place where the Savior and His Spirit could stay.

It takes work and effort.

“The Lord loves effort, because effort brings rewards that can’t come without it.” – President Nelson

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

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

I spent all summer feeling very divided.

I made the pros and cons lists, I did my research, I talked with my friends at each school…

But I still felt divided. I could not decide.

Finally, I had a friend at one of the schools that started inviting me to lots of things.

She knew the school counselor and had me go in and meet with her to see what classes I might take.

My friend was involved with Student Council and had me attend one of their summer planning meetings. (They even offered me the role of class secretary because the person who had won the election had dropped out!)

She told me about the teachers, the traditions, the rallies…

Guess which school I ended up choosing?

The one that my friend had pretty much immersed me in!

When Hosea was teaching about the wicked people in the land, he described them by saying: “their heart is divided”. (Hosea 10:2)

Do you feel like your heart is divided right now?

Do you have a part of it for the Lord, but also part of it on something else that keeps taking you away from Him?

I’ll give you the same advice I ended up doing that summer in high school:

Give yourself more experiences with the one you WANT to choose.

Talk about Jesus with your loved ones even more. Read even more about Him. Listen to other people talking about Him. Watch shows that promote the things that He taught.

Being divided is tough when you don’t know which way to go.

But if you KNOW which way you WANT to want, and your heart is still divided…

Give your heart all the evidence it can take to sway it to the Lord.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Give your divided heart evidence  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Oh yeah, yeah. The light of Christ. Everyone receives it.

But I’ve usually heard it in CONTRAST with the GIFT of the Holy Ghost.

Every individual born on earth is given the light of Christ, but those who make baptismal covenants with God have access to His constant presence.

But I don’t want to contrast it today.

EVERYONE is given the light of Christ.

AMAZING!

Everyone is given that innate desire to become better.

That guiding light that pulls them toward goodness and truth.

Members of the restored church of Jesus Christ don’t even come close to having a monopoly on goodness in the world.

And prophets have confirmed that this is in fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy!

“I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions”. (Joel 2:28)

President Joseph Fielding Smith said of Joel’s words:

“I am not going to confine this prophecy to the members of the Church. The Lord said he would pour out his Spirit upon all flesh. … [This means that] the Lord would pour out his blessings and his Spirit upon all people and use them to accomplish his purposes”.

The Lord is using EVERYONE to accomplish His purposes in these final days.

And President Gordon B. Hinckley said:

“From the day that He and His Beloved Son manifested themselves to the boy Joseph, there has been a tremendous cascade of enlightenment poured out upon the world. … The vision of Joel has been fulfilled”.

Invention and advancement and ingenuity.

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE being part of God’s covenant people and having access to an even greater portion of His spirit, priesthood power, and ordinances.

But everyone else in the entire world has opportunities to move His work forward, too.

They’ve got His spirit. They’ve got blessings from Him.

No one is lost to Him.

God is pouring out His spirit upon ALL flesh.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The light of Christ first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

So it didn’t surprise me in the least to read Hosea preach that the Lord would say:

“I will love them freely”! (Hosea 14:4)

Love them freely.

I know that “freely” in this case probably refers to loving without holding anything back.

Which is totally perfect for our Savior.

But… I also couldn’t help but think of another definition of that word.

Freely.

He loves us freely.

He loves us for free!

We don’t have to do anything to earn it.

We don’t have to cash in on any big promise.

We don’t have to make a grand gesture to prove we are worthy of it.

He just loves us, completely for free.

So, can we learn from His example as we live here on earth right now?

Can we practice that free kind of love?

Loving without limits, without qualifications, without resumes and checklists?

Or do we make people “earn” our love, filled with contingencies?

I want to be a little bit more like Jesus and learn how to love for no cost at all.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Love freely! first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.