Here’s an idea I’ve been thinking about:

We know that we are going to be judged by our works.⁣

So we start to feel like we are drowning because we just can’t seem to be consistent with our scripture study or prayer habits. ⁣

If we are going to be judged by our works, that puts a lot of pressure on us when we feel like we are constantly falling short.

But here’s what we learn in D&C 137:9.⁣

“For I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts.”⁣

That last part is the key.

Yes, we are judged according to our works, but it is “according to the desire of their hearts”.⁣

To me, this isn’t an excuse, but instead a beautiful showing of mercy.⁣

How many times have I been stopped from going to welcome a new member at church by a kid who needed me immediately?⁣

Or how many times have I been trying to read my scriptures as my eyes keep closing after a long day?⁣

God sees and understands EVERYTHING.⁣

He isn’t keeping track of our daily scripture study as tick marks for or against us.

He has just asked us to come closer to His Son, Jesus Christ, and He is happy to see any good works we choose to do to bring ourselves closer.⁣

And He also completely understands the desires of our hearts when we fall short of what we wanted to do. ⁣

He sees both. The actions, and the desires. ⁣

How merciful is our God!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Guilt from missing scripture study  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Can you put your name in that sentence?

He did this to Paul.

“And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul.” (Acts 23:11)

Paul, as usual, was in dire circumstances with people plotting against his life from every angle. ⁣

But Paul, as usual, was still preaching of Christ and doing what he thought was right. ⁣

And that’s why the Savior told him he could be of good cheer. ⁣

Not because of Paul’s circumstances.

But because of his actions and choices!

No matter the circumstances in your life right now,

Whether they are dire, confusing, boring, joyous, frustrating, or nerve-wracking…

The Lord knows you can choose to do what is right.

I know, I know, that sounds too simple.

But none of us are predestined to fail or to turn away from God.

There is always room for service, love, personal gospel study, and keeping the commandments!

Our Savior invites us to be of good cheer because He knows we can use our agency to do something good and righteous despite our circumstances.

Our attitude and actions will always speak louder than our circumstances.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Can I find cheer in any circumstance?  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I also remember him teaching me that when I was dunked under the water, it was as if I was being buried and then coming back to life, just like Jesus.

I thought that was pretty cool, because it’s as if we were acting out what was happening!

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that a lot of ordinances are accompanied with physical actions.

Like when we take the bread and water for the sacrament!

But I’ve also learned that the action itself isn’t what causes me to make a covenant.

Just eating bread and water itself isn’t what’s renewing my covenants each week.

Yes, ordinances are formal acts that are super important.

But we also have to make sure our mind is engaged with what we are actually promising!

Our heart and our mind have to be involved with some level of intention.

When Moses was instructing the children of Israel on how to perform the Passover to avoid their firstborn sons dying, he referred to the act of painting their door frames with lamb’s blood as an “ordinance”.

So the Passover was an ordinance for the children of Israel!

The physical act of what they did was so important… but so was what their hearts were doing at the same time.

Look at what they were thinking about as they reflected on this ordinance:

“It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt… And the people bowed the head and worshipped.” (Exodus 12:27)

They worshipped.

I think it is so cool that so many ordinances have physical acts associated with them that can help us ponder even deeper on the covenants being made.

But I also know that just “going through the motions” isn’t what saved the firstborns during the Passover.

And “going through the motions” isn’t what will help our hearts become molded to what the Lord wants them to be.

The sacred action + engaging our minds = true worship and lasting change!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Ordinances and actions first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

“He did ease the burden of the people, by which he did gain favor in the eyes of the people.” (Ether 10:10)

He took away all of their grievous taxes and let them live wonderful lives!

But the catch?

“He did do justice unto the people, BUT NOT unto himself because of his many whoredoms; wherefore he was cut off from the presence of the Lord.” (Ether 10:11)

He sought to gain favor with his subjects and to ease their burdens.

But he never turned to the Lord and repented of sins.

He was a blessing outwardly to many people, but he didn’t save his own soul and turn to the Lord.

Did you know it’s possible to do good things without gaining a relationship with Christ?

It’s possible to go to church and fulfill your calling just to socialize.

It’s possible to pay tithing just to keep your temple recommend, so you aren’t left out of the temple for the upcoming wedding.

It’s possible to post a bunch of #givethanks pictures just so other people don’t judge you for not doing it. 

But…

We often hear that we gain testimonies of principles as we follow them – so how do we do this without being hypocrites?

I think it all comes down to one thing.

Desire.

When we are struggling to want to go to church in order to worship the Lord, we can still go with a desire to want to go to church more often in the future.

If paying tithing becomes a big challenge, we can still pay it with a desire to gain a stronger testimony of it in the future.

If we don’t want to participate in another social media challenge, we can try to post with a desire that it will become more authentic and fill us with gratitude and peace.

Doing righteous actions is fantastic. Blessing lives through our example, our service, our money, our testimony… that is amazing.

But are we neglecting our own hearts? Or are we using our actions to turn our hearts to our Savior?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Actions and desire first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.