Ammon fell in favor with the local ruler and ended up converting many to the gospel. ⁣

Aaron went from city to city finding only opposition and was eventually thrown in prison and deprived of food and clothing. ⁣

Why the difference?

Was Ammon more faithful or more deserving of a successful mission?⁣

“As it happened, it was their lot to have fallen into the hands of a more hardened and a more stiffnecked people.” (Alma 20:30)

It was just the different lots they had been given!

I think about the endless varieties of “lots” that each of us is dealt in this mortal life. ⁣

There are “lots” that I envy.

There are “lots” that I pity.

There are moments of extreme gratitude for my “lot.”

There are moments of disappointment for my “lot.”

But the “lots” that we have been given are not always a reflection of our faithfulness, righteousness, or knowledge.

The Lord knows what each of us is capable of doing and becoming.

The Lord knew Ammon could handle his “lot.”

He knew Aaron could handle his “lot.”

He knows that you and I can handle whatever “lots” we’ve been given in this life.

And no matter the “lot”, He wants us to turn to Him and invite Him to comfort, love, teach, and direct in exactly the way we need it.

“God’s love is not found in the circumstances of our lives but in His presence in our lives.” – Susan H. Porter

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Ammon vs. Aaron  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I’ve had this experience recently, and I’ve been praying constantly for how to help solve this person’s problems so that they aren’t in so much pain.

But the impression that keeps coming back to my mind is: “This is their trial to deal with. What you can do is support and love and lift.”

And I’ve taken that to heart.

I can’t take away the trial or the pain or the heartache.

But I can love and support and lift this person through little acts of service, communication, heart-to-heart conversations, and lots of prayer.

So often, the story of Moses raising his hands in prayer to help the Israelites win their first battle in the wilderness is interpreted one specific way.

But these words touched my heart as I read Exodus 17:12:

“But Moses’ hands were heavy;

“and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon;

“and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side;

“and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.”

Two friends.

One of them a brother, in fact.

Staying by Moses’ side until the sun set.

They couldn’t take away the heavy task that had been given to Moses, of staying with his hands raised in prayer.

But they knew that they could be there to love, support, and lift.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Lifting the heavy hands first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

(I feel badly that we don’t get to know his name! Sorry, “King”.)

As Aaron is teaching him, he first wants to give up his kingdom in order to learn about God.

What a huge sacrifice! All of his livelihood and power.

Aaron tells the King that this isn’t necessary, and that all he needs to do is to worship God, repent, and have faith.

And then the King makes this profound statement:

“I will give away all my sins to know thee”.

Now THAT is a sacrifice.

Do we feel similarly?

How well do we know God right now?

And what are we willing to give up in order to know God even better than we currently do?

I think that’s such an interesting way to look at sin:

Sin not only stops our progression – It keeps us from getting to know our Father in Heaven even better.

And since we want to become like Him, we probably need to know what He’s like.

But when we hold onto our pride and rudeness, our bad habits and poor choices, our laziness and inactivity…

We block ourselves from learning how He lives and loves.

And since love is a beautiful motivating factor to have, pure love for our perfect loving Father seems like the best motivation we can have in order to get rid of sin.

I drop this sin because I love Him.

What a beautiful way to frame repentance!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post A fresh look at repentance first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Why do we all get completely different “lots”?

The sons of Mosiah all went to the Lamanite lands.

Each initially went to a different city.

Ammon fell in favor with the local ruler and ended up converting many to the gospel.

Aaron went from city to city finding only opposition, and was eventually thrown in prison and deprived of food and clothing.

Why?

Was Ammon more faithful? More deserving of a successful mission?

“As it happened, it was their lot to have fallen into the hands of a more hardened and a more stiffnecked people” – Alma 20:30

It was just their different lot.

I think about the endless varieties of “lots” that each of us is dealt in this mortal life.

There are “lots” that I envy. There are lots that I pity. There are moments of extreme gratitude for my lot. There are moments of disappointment for my lot.

But the lots that we have been given are not always a reflection of our faithfulness, righteousness, or knowledge.

Someone with an easier lot does not have their easier lot because they have greater faith than you.

And conversely, someone with a really difficult lot was not given that difficult lot because they have more faith to endure than you.

Elder Rasband gives us a small but powerful glimpse at the answer:

“The Lord knows what each of us is capable of doing and becoming.”

He knew Ammon could handle his lot. He knew Aaron could handle his.

And he knows I can handle my lot as I rely on Him.

So at the end of the day, it doesn’t do any good to over analyze WHY we have our lot. Because there might not be a simple cause or an easy answer.

But we can trust that the Lord has given us a lot that we can bear.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Our unique lots first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.