Women who are named and who do things and work to draw closer to the Lord. ⁣

The Old Testament is a unique book of scriptures because we get quite a few beautiful, powerful examples of righteous women. ⁣

I have loved studying Rebekah this week. ⁣

She gives me so many attributes to look up to, and one that I want to mention is found in Genesis 25:22. ⁣

Rebekah was finally pregnant, after years of dealing with infertility. ⁣

But she was pregnant with twins, and she could feel the struggle of these two babies within her womb as she carried them. ⁣

And so what did she do? ⁣

“She went to inquire of the Lord”. (Genesis 25:22)⁣

I love this powerful yet simple reminder from Rebekah that when we have questions, we can take them straight to the Lord. ⁣

I can relate to Rebekah a lot right now. In my personal life, I have some questions about what the future may look like.

We can ask, and then we can receive answers.⁣

It’s a beautiful yet simple pattern.

Have you inquired of the Lord recently?

“Please believe how very much your loving Heavenly Father wants to bless you. But… we must ask for His help.” – J. Devn Cornish

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Rebekah’s example  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

It wasn’t until she walked away that I realized… this was not what I had ordered. ⁣

I had ordered a burger. ⁣

Ugh. I knew what this meant.⁣

I sat there and silently gave myself the pep talk that I knew I needed.⁣

I saw the waitress serving a few tables away, and she wasn’t walking anywhere near me. ⁣

Finally she got close enough and I waved her over. ⁣

“Excuse me! I am so sorry, but I ordered a burger, so I think I got the wrong order.”⁣

I seriously felt so rude, even though I knew I was technically saying nice words. ⁣

I was just so uncomfortable about asking for something and disrupting the normal flow of a server/customer dynamic. ⁣

“Oh, you are totally right!” She quickly said. ⁣

“You can actually go ahead and keep that sandwich, and I’ll be out with your burger in just a minute.” ⁣

In D&C 90:1, the Lord is giving a revelation to Joseph Smith, and he starts by saying: ⁣

“Verily, verily I say unto you my son, thy sins are forgiven thee, according to thy petition, for thy prayers and the prayers of thy brethren have come up into my ears.”⁣⁣

Did you catch what the Lord said that Joseph had been doing?⁣

Joseph had been petitioning the Lord in prayer for forgiveness from his sins. ⁣

I know that I fall victim to sinning, feeling remorse, and wanting to improve without ever actually asking my Father in Heaven for forgiveness.⁣

But it’s not rude to ask. ⁣

It’s not pretentious. ⁣

It’s just good communication and a necessary part of creating a good, honest relationship. ⁣

When we need something, we have to ask.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Wrong order! first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

When not all of my questions or requests are actually answered?⁣

And…⁣

How am I supposed to make my prayers more about aligning with God’s will…

Instead of just listing off my thanks and requests?⁣

2 tricky questions with I think the same exact answer.

The Lord teaches pretty succinctly in D&C 46:30:⁣

“He that asketh in the Spirit asketh according to the will of God; wherefore it is done even as he asketh.”⁣

The Lord is teaching specifically about requesting more spiritual gifts, but I think this applies perfectly to any request we have of Him. ⁣

The answer to both of my questions is the presence of the Spirit. ⁣

When I have the Spirit with me as I pray, I know what to pray for. ⁣

I had a very powerful moment in my life where I went to pray for someone’s healing, but I suddenly knew NOT to pray for healing, and to pray for comfort of loved ones instead. ⁣

And I had a very powerful moment in my life where I went to pray to accept the outcome, no matter what it was, but I suddenly knew that I SHOULD pray and request healing. ⁣

It’s hard to explain. ⁣

It’s those quiet whisperings of the Spirit that lead me toward asking the right question, and confirming in my heart that I am knocking on the right door. ⁣

But when I’m saying prayers without requesting the presence of the Spirit, or not living worthily to invite His presence, then I end up asking questions that aren’t ready to be answered yet. ⁣

It all comes back to the Sacrament for me. ⁣

That is such a serious covenant that I renew each week. ⁣

I always want His Spirit to be with me. ⁣

And so I try to always remember Him and keep His commandments. ⁣

My prayers have night-and-day differences when I have the Spirit with me.

And one of the biggest blessings is that I know what to pray for. ⁣

My will starts to be swallowed up in the Father’s will. ⁣

And the spiritual gifts that I request and seek after are given to me as I work hard to obtain them. ⁣

I knock, and it’s opened.

Because I have the Spirit with me to let me know I’m at the right door.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Am I knocking at the right door? first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

A few kids would always raise their hands and ask clarifying questions so that they could get to work.

But I knew there were a few confused students who just wouldn’t raise their hands.

Maybe they were embarrassed not to know something.

Maybe it wasn’t cool to raise their hands.

Maybe they were nervous about asking me anything.

But they just wouldn’t ask questions.

The Lord reminds us gently:

“And inasmuch as they sought wisdom they might be instructed.” (D&C 1:26)

Do you want to know one reason why I love studying the Doctrine and Covenants?

Because virtually every single revelation in this book came as the result of a question.

The Doctrine and Covenants is NOT filled with random revelations that the Lord gave to Joseph while Joseph was hanging out with his friends.

The Lord gave Joseph revelation after revelation after revelation because Joseph (and others) kept asking questions.

“Asking questions isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s a precursor of growth”. – Elder Uchtdorf

What questions do you have in your heart?

We can’t forget that we ask.

And the Doctrine and Covenants is proof that, within our stewardship, the Lord uses our questions as an opportunity to teach and reveal.

What a cool pattern!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Afraid to ask a question first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

They were struggling for their lives. They were being slaughtered. Their peace was being destroyed. ⁣

And yet they didn’t call on God for help. ⁣

“They… did struggle for their lives without calling upon that Being who created them.” (Mormon 5:2)⁣

How could they not even ASK for help when they were struggling so much?! ⁣

Just a few weeks ago, I hit a real “low” when it came to my time management. ⁣

I have a lot going on, but I was dropping every single ball instead of at least keeping a few in the air. ⁣

I actually enjoy learning about time management and all sorts of productivity hacks, so I dug into research mode. ⁣

I was trying out new strategies, failing, learning more, trying it out, dropping all the balls again…⁣

I had this weird story in my head that Heavenly Father was really disappointed in me that I couldn’t handle everything right now, and that He needed me to use my own agency to figure it out. ⁣

Not because I felt that prompting from Him, but because I don’t enjoy asking for help and this was the story I had come up with. ⁣

I was struggling, and I wasn’t calling upon my God for any help. ⁣

I fall into this trap ALL OF THE TIME. ⁣

And then, finally, my scripture study reminded me of the importance of prayer. ⁣

I thought, “Maybe I should ask Him for help.”⁣

And bam. ⁣

Inspiration came. Doors were opened. My mindset changed. ⁣

So why do we do this to ourselves?!⁣

We struggle. With overwhelm. With spirituality. With time management. With grief. ⁣With real problems.

And sometimes we just don’t call upon the One who created us. ⁣

Maybe we feel like He is disappointed in us for needing help. ⁣

But He is ready and waiting. ⁣

He wants us to ask for help. ⁣

Instead of prayers filled with only gratitude and normal blessing requests, we can include sincere pleas for help. ⁣

It is okay to ask for help from the divine Being who wants to help us come Home.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Asking for help  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I thought about telling some people beforehand…

But I didn’t want to seem like I was just looking for attention.

I mean, the procedure really wasn’t a big deal.

I could totally handle it all on my own.

And I did.

It all went well.

When I got home from the hospital, my ministering sister texted me and asked if she could stop by and chat with me for a bit.

I told her I wasn’t in a state for a visitor since I had just gotten home from the hospital and needed time to recover.

She responded:

“What? You are supposed to tell your friends when this happens so we can help you and bring you ice cream!”

I realized that I had denied her a chance to serve and love me.

It’s hard to ask for what we need sometimes.

My pride kept me from asking for support, prayers, and ice cream because I didn’t want to seem like I needed attention.

But as I reflected, I realized that I have absolutely never thought that someone going to the hospital was just asking for attention!

⁣People can’t help if they don’t know that you need help.

And as I’ve worked to be okay with asking for assistance when I need it, I’ve noticed that Heavenly Father has told us time and time again in the scriptures that He wants us to ask.

“. . .asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive.” (Alma 7:23)  

Even though sometimes our mortal sources of assistance fail us despite us asking for help…

Our loving Father will always give us exactly what we need.

He just requests we do our part to lay aside our pride and ask.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Missed opportunities for ice cream  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

A few years ago, I consciously decided that I was ready to have a spiritual experience every single day when I opened the scriptures.

I wanted to invite the power that I knew I could claim into my scripture study.

So I started asking “So what?” when I read. ⁣⁣

Instead of just reading powerful verses and stories and thinking “cool” — I would ask, “So what can I do in my life right now because of what I just read?”⁣⁣

And if you’ve been following this account for any amount of time, you know that is the entire premise of everything that I write and share. ⁣⁣

Lehi told his family all about his extensive dream and vision. ⁣⁣

For Laman and Lemuel, they were confused for a bit and then moved on.

But Nephi turned to the Spirit.

I imagine that he asked his own version of, “So what?”

And he was filled with the desire to experience the vision himself.

He heard the dream and decided to act – and his action was to request the vision for himself. ⁣⁣

“For it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat pondering in mine heart I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord…” (1 Nephi 11:1)

Asking “So what?” has truly transformed my scripture study experience. ⁣

Instead of reading and thinking, “Wow, that was cool!” and then never thinking about it again (or even worse, but still common, “I got NOTHING out of that”)…⁣⁣

… I’m trying to think more and more, “What does the Spirit want me to learn from this?”⁣

Nephi KNEW that the Holy Ghost would give him that personal instruction, and our current prophet has continued to make that his theme song.⁣⁣

“The Holy Ghost will be your personal tutor as you seek to understand what the Lord would have you know and do. This process is neither quick nor easy, but it is spiritually invigorating.” – President Nelson, Oct 2019

The Holy Ghost will be our personal tutor. He will teach us exactly what WE need to know from everything we go through.

BUT – we have to give him a chance to teach us. We have to ask for his help.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Asking and pondering first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

When faced with a tragedy, most people say that the traditional offering of “thoughts and prayers” doesn’t do anything.

People say that only actions will change things or offer any real help.

I always think:

Why not both?

Thoughts and prayers AND action!

We should always accompany our prayers with sincere effort.

Effort matters!

Whether that’s taking steps to support family members who need help.

Or actually reaching out to the ward members who aren’t at church.

Or becoming involved in advocacy for national or international causes that you care about.

But what do we do when “action” isn’t an option?

What do we do in those impossibly difficult moments when someone is enduring a trial that we wish we could take away but can’t?

What do we do when someone’s heart is too hardened to notice our efforts?

What do we do when we can’t control the outcome?

I have learned that prayer works.

Prayer really works.

God is powerful.

There are some blessings that God wants to give to us, but He needs us to ask Him in prayer.

The Bible Dictionary entry for “Prayer” says:

“The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant but that are made conditional on our asking for them.

“Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them.

“Prayer is a form of work and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings.”

That’s the only condition for many blessings!

We have to ask.

We have to intentionally ask.

“We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers.” (1 Thessalonians 1:2)

We can plead for those around us in our prayers.

We should absolutely accompany our sincere prayers with actions and service if possible. ⁣

But our Heavenly Father recognizes the form of “work” that offering a prayer is and is willing to give us and others blessings from that action.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Thoughts and prayers! first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I said this my freshman year at BYU.

I grew up in a household of all sisters and football seemed like a weird, confusing sport.

It wasn’t just “score a goal”— there were tons of weird rules for how to get there and all sorts of strange hand motions and formations.

So I was the stereotypical clueless girl attending football games, yelling “first down” when everyone else did, just having fun.

“Football is so confusing! None of it makes sense!”

But I actually hate not knowing what’s going on, so curiosity got the best of me.

I started asking questions.

“Why is everyone booing?” “What do the downs even mean?” “What position is that guy playing?”

And surprisingly… football started to make sense!

I “got it”. I could attend a game and make a comment while sounding vaguely educated.

It turns out that if you never ask questions about how football works, it will always seem confusing.

And it turns out that as soon as you start asking questions, you start learning and things make sense.

It reminds me of the classic exchange between Nephi and his brothers:

“And I said unto them: Have ye inquired of the Lord?

“And they said unto me: We have not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us.” (1 Nephi 15:8-9)

AKA— I don’t know how football works because no one has told me.

Even Zephaniah prophesied:

“And them that are turned back from the Lord; and those that have not sought the Lord, nor inquired for him.” (Zephaniah 1:6)

He’s teaching us that the people who turn away from the Lord are the ones who aren’t inquiring for Him.

They aren’t seeking Him. They aren’t yearning for a relationship with Him. They aren’t asking Him the questions in their hearts.

If we want more knowledge, a stronger relationship, or more devotion, we can’t forget how essential it is to inquire from the original Source.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

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

Women who are named and who do things and work to draw closer to the Lord.

The Old Testament is a unique book of scriptures because we do actually get quite a few beautiful, powerful examples of righteous women.

And side note: If you want to dive into this topic even more, listen the interview we did with Amy Fisher called “Women in the Old Testament”. It was episode 614 of the One Minute Scripture Study podcast.

I have loved studying Rebekah this week.

She gives me so many attributes to look up to, and one that I want to mention is found in Genesis 25:22.

Rebekah was finally pregnant, after years of dealing with infertility.

But she was pregnant with twins, and she could feel the struggle of these two babies within her womb as she carried them.

And so what did she do?

“She went to inquire of the Lord”. (Genesis 25:22)

I love this powerful yet simple reminder from Rebekah that when we have questions, we can take them straight to the Lord.

And I especially relate to her as a very pregnant woman myself right now, who has questions about the future.

We can ask, and then we can receive answers.

Have you inquired of the Lord recently?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Inquisitive Rebekah first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.