But I was still nervous. ⁣

It was my first time going into a real elementary school classroom as an assistant while I was earning my teaching degree. ⁣

Everyone kept saying that we should just jump in and help but… I still didn’t know what to do. ⁣

I spent way too long standing at the back of classrooms afraid that I would mess something up. ⁣

Years later, as I stood in front of 35 sixth graders and an assistant walked in to help me, it did not even cross my mind that my helper would “mess everything up”. ⁣

I just desperately needed help and was happy someone was there!

The Lord told Joseph, as Joseph was concerned about procuring the proper materials for the sacrament:⁣

“It mattereth not what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink when ye partake of the sacrament, ⁣

“if it so be that ye do it with an eye single to my glory—remembering unto the Father my body which was laid down for you, and my blood which was shed for the remission of your sins.” D&C 27:2⁣

In other words, stop worrying about all those details. ⁣

Stop worrying about not understanding every aspect of that new calling you just received. ⁣

Stop worrying about that new position at work. ⁣

Stop worrying about getting all of the parenting techniques right. ⁣

And just get your heart in the right place. ⁣

That’s what the Lord wants when we take the sacrament, more than anything else. ⁣

Are we focused on Him?⁣

Then the details will work themselves out. ⁣

Then the details of that calling, that job promotion, and that tough parenting situation will work themselves out. ⁣

That doesn’t mean, of course, that we throw the details out of the window. We don’t use candy and soda for the sacrament every week for a good reason. ⁣

But when we let go of trying to get every single detail right, and instead focus on turning our hearts and desires to what matters the most…⁣

That’s when our hearts start to change.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Nervous teaching assistant  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

“O Lord, in them there is no light; whither shall we steer? And also we shall perish, for in them we cannot breathe, save it is the air which is in them; therefore we shall perish.” (Ether 2:19)

But the brother of Jared had been the one who had built the barges!

I have a feeling that as he was building, he may have realized that light and air were going to be issues.

He had faith, though, that if the Lord had asked him to build these barges, then they could figure out the details later.

I really like to “see the forest before the trees” when I move forward with my life.

I like to feel confident in the big picture before I start working on the details.

But often, the Lord just shows us one tree at a time.

The whole forest won’t come into focus until after we’ve shown our obedience to the little stuff, even if we think it can’t possibly come together in the end.

Can we build our faith so that we trust the Lord will show us how it all fits into a big, beautiful forest someday?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The forest and the trees first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

“Joseph, my son, if thou livest until thou art eighty-five years old, thou shalt see the face of the Son of Man; therefore let this suffice, and trouble me no more on this matter.

“I was left thus, without being able to decide whether this coming referred to the beginning of the millennium or to some previous appearing, or whether I should die and thus see his face.”

These are from Joseph’s own words, as recorded in D&C 130:14-16.

Joseph keeps praying and asking the Lord when the Second Coming will happen.

The Lord finally says, listen, if you live until you are 85, you’ll see Jesus Christ. Please don’t ask again because that’s all I’m giving you.

And my absolute favorite part is how Joseph responds!

He knows the Lord.

He knows how the Lord teaches and reveals.

And so Joseph knew better than to think that the Lord just told him the Second Coming would happen when he was 85 years old.

I mean, it COULD mean that.

Or it could be referring to another appearance of Jesus Christ, since the “Second Coming” wasn’t specified.

Or it could mean that he is going to die before he reaches 85, so he’ll see the face of Jesus in the next life.

The Lord doesn’t give us the answers in specifics and literal details.

I can see that while reading Christ’s teachings in the New Testament.

I can see that while reading the covenants He makes with Abraham and Noah in the Old Testament.

Joseph saw it as the Lord gave him instruction about when he would see Jesus’ face.

I’ve seen it in my life in much smaller ways when I get a strong prompting to “apply for that job because it will change your life.”

Only to not get the job… and then be led in a completely different and completely better direction.

When I’ve felt, “yes, this is the time to serve a mission, so start preparing”.

Only to have my life go in a different direction, one where I am blessed by my preparation to serve a mission every day.

The Lord isn’t always literal and obvious…

And I love that.

It’s like this giant, exciting, God-led mystery that’s about to unfold and I get to see how all the clues fit together as I act in faith and move forward.

God is not giving us the exact answers on everything.

He’s not even giving them to His prophets.

Which means, all those details aren’t all that important to get right, anyways.

We can head into the unknown and take direction the best that we can.

And we can have faith that we will always be able to look back and see how everything fit together perfectly.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post 85-year-old Joseph first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

But I was still nervous.

It was my first time going into a real elementary school classroom as an assistant while I was earning my teaching degree.

Everyone kept saying that we should just jump in and help but… I still didn’t know what to do.

I spent way too long standing at the back of classrooms afraid that I would mess something up.

Years later, as I stood in front of 35 sixth graders and an assistant walked in to help me, it did not even cross my mind that my helper would “mess everything up”.

The Lord told Joseph, as Joseph was concerned about procuring the proper materials for the sacrament:

“It mattereth not what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink when ye partake of the sacrament,

“if it so be that ye do it with an eye single to my glory—remembering unto the Father my body which was laid down for you, and my blood which was shed for the remission of your sins.” D&C 27:2

In other words, stop worrying about all those details.

Stop worrying about not understanding every aspect of that new calling you just received.

Stop worrying about that new position at work.

Stop worrying about getting all of the parenting techniques right.

And just get your heart in the right place.

That’s what the Lord wants when we take the sacrament, more than anything else.

Are we focused on Him?

Then the details will work themselves out.

Are we focused on serving our neighbors?

Are we focused on our technical strengths and learning quickly?

Are we focused on making sure our kids feel tons of love from us?

Then the details of that calling, that job promotion, and that tough parenting situation will work themselves out.

That doesn’t mean, of course, that we throw the details out of the window. We don’t use candy and soda for the sacrament every week for a good reason.

But when we let go of trying to get every single detail right, and instead focus on turning our hearts and desires to what matters the most…

That’s when our hearts start to change.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Letting go of the details first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.