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.