It’s a question that I have been asked variations of over and over again.

And I have some great suggestions to share that I’ve learned on my own.

⁣But in many of the messages, I actually hear my own concerns from a few years ago echoing in their words:⁣

“I just can’t seem to do consistent scripture study, and this means I am failing.”

In our church, reading the scriptures and praying every day are preached so often, that sometimes we mistakenly start to think that salvation comes through their repetition. ⁣

It’s like reading our scriptures becomes the goal.

We will make it if we can just read our scriptures every day!

But I want to look at what the Anti-Nephi Lehies had so wisely figured out:

“They did not suppose that salvation came by the law of Moses; but the law of Moses did serve to strengthen their faith in Christ.” (Alma 25:16)

Keeping the commandments and reading our scriptures every day are not part of the checklist we need to complete in order to earn salvation and get into heaven.

We keep the commandments and read our scriptures BECAUSE these actions strengthen our faith in the Savior.

Salvation comes only in and through Jesus Christ.

And everything He asks us to do is to point us to Jesus even more.

That is what God really wants us to do.

The goal isn’t to study our scriptures every day; the goal is to be totally focused on Jesus Christ as the center of our salvation, and scripture study is one of the easiest ways to focus us.

Don’t misinterpret here— I’m not saying “the law” or scripture study isn’t important.

I quite literally think effective scripture study can change lives, and it’s a worthy habit to develop.

But consistent scripture study isn’t the endgame.

Feasting on the scriptures daily is important BECAUSE it so naturally points us toward Jesus Christ.

Salvation doesn’t come by keeping the “law,” but the “law” helps us to become more Christlike if we keep willing and sincere hearts.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Failing at scripture study first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I wanted to improve my interactions with my family members and be more present.

And I felt like my phone was holding me back a bit from that. ⁣

So I decided to do better. ⁣

Notifications would pop up and I would ignore them. I let emails go unread. I stopped scrolling just because I had “down time”.⁣

I was doing it! I was resisting the temptation to waste my time on things that don’t matter.

But then…

I got a notification that looked really important. ⁣

And then I got an email that was super interesting and I just had to open it. ⁣

And then my phone was once again in my hand more often than it should be. ⁣

I wasn’t doing so well with my goal.

Finally, I decided I needed to tether it to a charger across the room with the sound on only for texts or phone calls – the actually important alerts. ⁣

And it worked. ⁣

I forgot about all of the missing notifications, and I was in the moment. ⁣

And when I intentionally picked up my phone later, all my notifications were still there for me to peruse on a timeframe that worked for me.

Resisting my go-to sin started out strong, but I kept finding “reasonable” excuses until I was back to where I was before. ⁣

Resisting my sin was really easy when I removed the temptation.

In fact, I didn’t really have anything to “resist”. ⁣

So yes, I am comparing my cell phone to the Anti-Nephi-Lehies’ swords. (Pretty similar, right?!)

“…we will hide away our swords, yea, even we will bury them deep in the earth…” (Alma 24:16)

But you can fill in the blank with whatever your go-to sin is right now: anger, inappropriate media, word of wisdom issues, self-deprecation, pride…

What makes you want to indulge in your sin?⁣

A notification? A group of friends? A certain habit or routine? A social media account?⁣

Try removing it. ⁣

Or at least try changing it as much as you have the ability to change it.

“It is easier to avoid temptation than it is to resist temptation.” – Lynn G. Robbins

Although we can ask for the strength to resist our favorite sins, often Heavenly Father asks that we take the initiative and remove the temptation altogether (or as much as possible). ⁣

And if we have great faith, we can bury that temptation deep in the earth, never to dig it up again.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post My distracting phone first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

No weapons.

The Anti-Nephi-Lehies were walking out onto the battlefield completely defenseless, knowing what was inevitably coming.

And what did they do as they walked to almost-certain death?

⁣They began to praise God.

“The Lamanites saw that their brethren would not flee from the sword. . . but that they would lie down and perish, and praised God even in the very act of perishing under the sword.” (Alma 24:23)

They praised God even in the very act of perishing.

Even as they anticipated death, their hearts were still communing with God in gladness and peace.

What an impressive but important feat–

To be able to praise God at all times completely independent of what we are going through.

To praise God even when life is falling apart.

To praise God even when we have hit our emotional limit.

To praise God even when we are frustrated.

Why does this matter?

Why would this be a goal for us— to be able to praise God at all times?

Most importantly, God deserves all the praise because of who He is.

The more I learn about God, the more I naturally praise Him and His Goodness.

I’ve also learned that praising and worshiping can be for our benefit.

Pondering about the goodness of God, feeling gratitude for Him, and being filled with reverence and joy ultimately brings us peace, joy, and happiness completely independent of what we are enduring.

We too can do as these brave soldiers did long ago and choose to praise God at all times, even if we are in the very act of perishing.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Praise while perishing  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I love getting these questions, and I have practical advice and tips to share.

But in many of the messages, I hear my own concerns from a few years ago echoing in their words:

“I would be so much more righteous if I could actually read my scriptures every day. God is probably disappointed that I can’t even get this right.”

In our church, reading the scriptures and praying every day are preached so often, that sometimes we mistakenly start to think that salvation comes through their repetition.

So I want you to think for a second:

WHY do YOU study the scriptures?

What’s your reason?

If it’s to fulfill your “righteousness checklist” for the day, then it might be helpful to look at the Anti-Nephi-Lehies’ example.

They kept the Law of Moses with exactness after their conversion. But…

“They did not suppose that salvation came by the law of Moses; but the law of Moses did serve to strengthen their faith in Christ”. Alma 25:16

THAT is why we are asked to read and pray every day.

Not because they will complete the checklist and get us into heaven.

But because those actions strengthen our faith in the Savior.

Those actions help us become more Christlike.

And that’s what God IS looking for.

People who try. People who are kind and caring. People who serve. People who have the desire to be a little bit better.

And our daily scripture study and prayers are powerful tools to help us make that mighty transformation.

So if you are caught up in the guilt of the checklist, try instead asking yourself, “What can I do today in order to become more Christlike?”

And I think you might more willingly place studying and praying at the top of your activity list.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Where does salvation come from? first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Completely sword-less.

They began to praise God.

I imagine they lifted their voices in prayer.

I imagine they pondered on the goodness and mercy of God.

I imagine they thought about His all-knowing power, and accepted His will be done.

I imagine some of them started to sing some hymns.

I imagine they sat there, solemn and happy.

And they never stopped.

Even in the very act of perishing, their hearts were still communing with God in gladness and peace.

While they were perishing.

What an impressive but important feat – to be able to praise God at all times, completely independent of what we are going through.

Even when we feel like we are perishing.

We can still find joy in pondering on, speaking of, singing about, and praying to our loving God.

We can praise His goodness and His mercy.

Even as we perish.

Many are mentally and emotionally perishing. Especially right now.

And it’s hard. And painful. And we can plead for a different cup than the one we’ve been asked to drink.

But we can still choose to praise God, even in the hardest of times.

Because ultimately, our praising and our worshipping is for our benefit.

Praising brings us peace, and joy, and happiness, independent of what we are enduring.

Praising allows God to send His Spirit to stay with us and bring comfort.

And so we, as these brave men did long ago, can praise God in the very act of perishing.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Praising and perishing first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

A few weeks ago, I set a personal goal for myself to make sure I wasn’t on my phone as often.

I wanted to improve my interactions with my family members and be more present, and I felt like my phone was holding me back a bit from that.

So I decided to do better.

Notifications would pop up and I would ignore them. I let emails go unread. I stopped scrolling just because I had “down time”.

But then I got a notification that looked really important.

And then I got an email that was super interesting and I just had to open it.

And then my phone was once again in my hand more often than it should be.

Finally, I decided I needed to tether it to a charger across the room with the sound on only for texts or phone calls – the actually important alerts.

And it worked.

I forgot about all of the missing notifications, and I was in the moment.
And when I intentionally picked up my phone later, all my notifications were still there for me to peruse.

Resisting my go-to sin started out strong, but I kept finding “reasonable” excuses until I was back to where I was before.

Resisting my sin was really easy when I removed the temptation. In fact, I didn’t really have anything to “resist”.

So yes, I am comparing my cell phone to the Anti-Nephi-Lehies’ swords. (I told you this would be a #millennialprobs post!)

But you can fill in the blank with whatever your go-to sin is right now: anger, inappropriate media, word of wisdom issues…

What makes you want to indulge in your sin?

A notification? A group of friends? A certain habit or routine? A social media account?

Try removing it.

Or at least try changing it.

Although we can ask for the strength to resist our favorite sins, often Heavenly Father asks that we take the initiative and remove the temptation altogether (or as much as possible).

And if we have great faith, we can bury that temptation deep in the earth, never to dig it up again.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Removing instead of resisting first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.