There are people who have spent their entire lives studying things and even they don’t know it all.

It is mind blowing how much we don’t know.

I get that same feeling when I read through Moses chapter 1.

God talks about the numberless worlds He has created and inhabitants everywhere. 

Woah.

There is so much information Heavenly Father has not shared with us yet.

And I think Moses even felt slightly overwhelmed when he humbly asked the Lord why He’d created this whole plan. 

But do you know what I am grateful for?

God answers Moses’s question.

He gives Moses and us “the why.”

“For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” (Moses 1:39)

It’s for immortality and eternal life.

That’s why we are here.

That’s why we have a veil and can’t remember anything from before.

That’s why life is fantastic and also painful.

That’s why Jesus is so important.

We may not know everything, but it’s all for our immortality and eternal life.

And we can trust that He’s got a plan to help us get there.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Walking into a library first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I was paying attention… then I zoned out. ⁣

And then he finished the training. ⁣

“Any questions?” ⁣

Purely to protect my pride, I said “Nope, that all sounds great!”⁣

But I had no clue what to do for most of the tasks. ⁣

I’ve found this dichotomy interesting to reflect on:⁣

My supervisor did exactly what he was supposed to do. ⁣

He taught me everything. He was very kind. ⁣

But I had completely disengaged as a learner, and it was reflected in how much help I needed the first few days of the job. ⁣

Had he failed his training because I struggled? ⁣

I don’t think so. ⁣

A lot of emotions run through my mind when I read this statement in the Family: A Proclamation to the World:⁣

“Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.”⁣

But one thing I’ve been focused on is: ⁣

The effectiveness of my teaching is not always reflected in how well the students learn. ⁣

Both the teacher and the learner need to be willing in order for true understanding to occur. ⁣

This doesn’t excuse poor or half-hearted teaching, but it takes away our complete dependence on results in order to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching. ⁣

We, as parents, are asked to teach our children how to love, to serve, to work hard, and to keep the commandments. ⁣

Not to make them be loving, service-filled, hard-working, commandment-keepers. ⁣

We have a solemn responsibility to teach as well as we possibly can, pleading with the Lord to know exactly what our children might need from us. ⁣

Nothing more and nothing less.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post My job training failure first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I had been called as the Ward Activities Co-Chair in our singles ward at BYU.⁣

For the month of November, my co-chair and I had planned a big Friends-giving Feast for the entire ward in our church building. ⁣

I was in charge of decorations and costumes for the party, and I had planned to make over 100 paper hats for everyone to wear as they arrived. ⁣

As the party day arrived, my committee members were suddenly all too busy to help me cut out, glue, and tape these hats out of construction paper. ⁣

Kyle and I hadn’t been dating for super long at this point, but I thought I’d see if he could help me out. ⁣

I ran over to his apartment with stacks of construction paper, a few samples, and he immediately set aside whatever homework he was doing to help me out. ⁣

I asked him to do whatever he could, and that I’d be back once I took care of a few other things. ⁣

A couple hours later, I got a text that they were all done. ⁣

It was a big enough task that I knew it had taken him quite a bit of sacrifice to do. He wasn’t just casually trying to be nice to me; he really cared. ⁣

The ward party was a smashing success. 

But ever since that day, my husband has shown nothing but kindness and love and respect for me when I rope him into doing whatever random project, party, or huge activity I end up being in charge of. ⁣

When I was reading The Family: A Proclamation to the World, I read a sentence I know I’ve read many times before, but I took off the last 4 words of it and found completely new meaning. ⁣

“Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other”. ⁣

If you are married, it’s a solemn responsibility that we have to actively love and care for our spouses. ⁣

As life gets even busier and busier than when we were both college students, it gets even easier to let that intentional loving and caring slip by. ⁣

Marriage is so important. And our spouses deserve our best, not our leftovers. ⁣

And so focusing on loving and caring for our spouses, even when life is busy and messy, will show God that we understand the sanctity of marriage.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post I knew I’d marry him  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Which means our levels of “forgiveness” and “patience” are probably a little lower than usual. ⁣

So looking at this list about “successful marriages and families” just stressed me out at first.

“Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.” – The Family: A Proclamation to the World ⁣

But families are the best place to see each other’s weaknesses and strengths, right?⁣

We see our kids’ best qualities and their absolute worst moments. ⁣

We see our spouse at their absolute best and their weakest. ⁣

And we show our most awesome versions of ourselves, and we make our biggest mistakes. ⁣

Which means that together as a family unit, we are gonna have times when we are totally on it, and other times when we have completely fallen off the wagon. ⁣

Like, way off the wagon. ⁣

Here’s what I’m doing this week, and I encourage you to join me. ⁣

When looking at that statement from the Proclamation, what is the ONE thing that stands out the most to you as an area your family is doing pretty well?⁣

Give yourself credit for the good things I know you are doing. ⁣

And what is the ONE thing that stands out to you as the area your family can work on improving right now?⁣

You could even ask your kids what they think, too.

Maybe you want to get back into the habit of praying with your spouse. ⁣

Maybe you want to get your family involved in working together more. ⁣

Maybe you need to stop all the to-do lists and just have more fun together. ⁣

Maybe you need to repent from a bad habit all your family members know about, and so you decide to talk to your family about how you are trying to change and want their support. ⁣

Getting overwhelmed with everything your family is “failing” at is about as helpful as getting overwhelmed with all of your weaknesses at the same time. ⁣

One step at a time is the best way to walk.

“Every effort to change we make—no matter how tiny it seems to us—just might make the biggest difference in our lives.” – Michael A. Dunn

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Too much to fix  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

What would be gone if every child was raised with this knowledge? ⁣

Maybe hatred would disappear. ⁣

Maybe competition and jealousy. ⁣

Maybe self-loathing and criticism. ⁣

I know this won’t happen right now. ⁣

But I can control what my children learn. ⁣

How might they behave differently with this knowledge in their life?⁣

Now who knows the paths their lives will take, but I want to do my absolute best to ground my children in this beautiful knowledge that I think can transform the world. ⁣

“Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny.” -The Family: A Proclamation to the World⁣

Do we teach this clearly enough to every young person we come in contact with?⁣

Do WE believe it?⁣

When we know that we have Heavenly Parents who love us, when we REALLY know this, I think we can change the world one person at a time. ⁣

Feeling loved and feeling important can change anyone.

“Our Heavenly Father wants us to love ourselves—not to become prideful or self-centered, but to see ourselves as He sees us: we are His cherished children.” – F. Gifford Nielsen

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Do you know who you are?  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

As a pianist, I have felt the Spirit so many times while playing completely secular pieces of music. ⁣

I’ve felt the Spirit while watching a dance recital. ⁣

I’ve felt the Spirit while watching a TV show that isn’t about anything religious. ⁣

I’ve felt the Spirit while looking at flowers, while reading a book, while driving by new homes that are almost finished. ⁣

In my life, feeling the Holy Spirit has not been contained to just when I’m at church or reading my scriptures. ⁣

There is so much good in the world that isn’t obviously tied to religious purposes. ⁣

But I see the good in accomplishment. ⁣

In learning a new skill. ⁣

In watching someone try their best. ⁣

In feeling the potential of what is to come. ⁣

In happiness and joy, devoid of vulgarness. ⁣

In viewing carefully crafted creations. ⁣⁣

“If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.” – Article of Faith 13

We can pursue talents, and gifts, and skills, and knowledge!⁣

Good things aren’t contained to my church. ⁣

(Although there are so so so many good things within my church.)⁣

But my loving God has given the world so much that goodness is overflowing everywhere. ⁣

What is something (not necessarily church-related) virtuous, lovely, of good report, or praiseworthy that you’ve been seeking out lately?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Feeling the Spirit at a dance recital first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

There was no way what my HR director was telling me was true. ⁣⁣

“But I’ve signed up for short-term disability for the past three years!”

“Oh,” the HR director said. “But did you also fill out the physical application for it each year, too?”⁣⁣

I had no clue about a physical application. ⁣⁣

I’m a fairly competent, intelligent person who had attended the employee benefits meeting every year. ⁣⁣

And I truly, honestly did not remember hearing about this extra step. ⁣⁣

I was frustrated, devastated, concerned for our financial situation…⁣⁣

But nothing could change that. I hadn’t paid into the insurance, and so I didn’t get it. ⁣⁣

It was one of the worst feelings in the world:

The feeling of being punished for something that you truly had no clue you were doing wrong. ⁣⁣

Real life is rough like this sometimes. ⁣⁣

Honest mistakes and innocent oversights can have devastating impacts. ⁣⁣

I can hardly even imagine a loving Heavenly Father who would hold something over my head that I did not knowingly do. ⁣⁣

Instead, “We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.” (Article of Faith 2) 

I think of silly times, like when I thoroughly enjoyed a cake at a neighborhood party, just for my mom to realize it was filled with coffee afterwards, and I felt so guilty. ⁣⁣

Or more somber times when I believed I was helping someone out, only to discover that I had unknowingly harmed their spiritual progress. ⁣⁣

I am grateful that I will be punished— or held accountable— for my own sins.

In order to sin, I have to have a knowledge of the principle against which I am sinning.

This seems totally fair to me.

I won’t be held accountable for anyone else’s transgressions, whether it’s Adam’s, Eve’s, a leader’s, or a friend’s mistake.

God will only hold me accountable for the sins I choose. 

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post My honest mistake  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I saw a meme recently that said being an adult is basically saying that phrase over and over each week. ⁣

I had to laugh, because I know for sure that I’ve said that sentence countless times. ⁣

And do things ever “die down”?!⁣

Not really. I mean, maybe a bit. But there’s always “something new” coming up. ⁣

It’s life. ⁣

And I’ve actually found a lot more joy and acceptance when I lean into that chaos a bit! ⁣

Instead of always waiting for things to “calm down”, I find that life is actually pretty good when I accept that there’s always going to be “something”. ⁣⁣

There will always be a big event or deadline or life change or serious decision looming. ⁣

And it’s all good!⁣

The 13th Article of Faith is so good, but one of my favorite lines is tucked away in the middle of it:⁣

“We have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things.”⁣

Isn’t that awesome?!⁣

NOT: “We have endured many things and hope that things will calm down and we will actually get blessings pretty soon here”.⁣

But instead, embracing the fact that the future is going to be filled with more things to endure!⁣

We aren’t looking for rest and calm in this life. That isn’t our doctrine. ⁣

Our doctrine is that we are ready to endure. ⁣

We’ve done it in the past, we are ready to do it some more in the future, and we have hope that we can handle it through relying on Christ.

So is this week looking crazy for you?⁣

Ready for things to die down a bit?⁣

After December, honestly, maybe they will for a while! ⁣

But we are Latter-day Saints who have endured many things, and sure hope to be able to endure all things that will come our way in the future. ⁣

We’ve got this.

“To completely avoid the problems, challenges, and difficulties of this world would be to sidestep the process that is truly necessary for mortality to work.” – Brook P. Hales

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post After this week, things won’t be so crazy!  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I remember one day in middle school when I was hanging out with my friends at someone’s house.

It was the first time someone had asked me this question, and I was excited to answer!

I felt like I had been preparing for this my entire life.

I decided to launch into an explanation about the Plan of Salvation, and I even remember drawing out the whole diagram with arrows, earth life, and ending with the three kingdoms of glory. ⁣

That moment was so powerful in my mind because I was totally on my own, having to explain my beliefs. I was proud of what I did.⁣

But I also realized that what I was explaining wasn’t having the impact that I wanted. ⁣

I could tell I had lost their attention and their interest. (I’ve always been a very self-evaluative person.)⁣

Should I have started with Joseph Smith instead? Or maybe the Book of Mormon? ⁣

This dilemma stuck in my mind for a long time. I wanted to find the right thing to start these conversations with, so that other people would really “get” our religion without me launching into obscure concepts right off the bat.

And then, years later, I saw the opening lesson in the Preach My Gospel manual. ⁣

It is a lesson on the First Vision, yes, but the first concept that is taught is: ⁣

“God is our loving Heavenly Father.”⁣

That felt so right to me. That’s where I should begin.⁣

And then I made the connection…⁣

What’s that first Article of Faith I had learned all those years ago?⁣

“We believe in God, the Eternal Father…” ⁣

We believe in God, and we know that God loves us.⁣

That statement was much more simple than the answer I thought I had been looking for. ⁣

But that statement is also so much more powerful. ⁣

Do you believe in God?⁣

And do you believe that God is a loving, eternal, Heavenly Father?⁣

What a blessing that is to believe!⁣

And I’ve found that when I share that joy with others, I am able to give them the quickest glimpse into what truly matters to me.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post  What do Mormons believe? first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

When I looked at it, I thought, woah, I looked really different then.

Bodies are so interesting from an earthly perspective, because there is so much pressure, especially for women, to constantly be losing weight, “getting your body back”, or fitting into old jeans or dresses. ⁣

But from an eternal perspective, bodies take on a whole new meaning. ⁣

We agreed to come to earth, to deal with the terrible trials and heartaches we knew we would face, all to get a body (and everything that accompanies obtaining a body).⁣

And those spirits who chose Lucifer’s plan instead?⁣

Their PUNISHMENT was to never receive a body. ⁣

Your skin, your heart, your bones, your muscles, your blood… ⁣

They aren’t punishments.

Your body is one of the biggest blessings and gifts you’ve been given. ⁣

And when we have to leave this life and are separated from our bodies again? ⁣

I think we’ll miss them. ⁣

Until:⁣

“Their sleeping dust was to be restored unto its perfect frame, bone to his bone, and the sinews and the flesh upon them, the spirit and the body to be united never again to be divided, that they might receive a fulness of joy.” (D&C 138:17⁣)

Being reunited with our beautiful bodies will allow us to receive a fullness of joy. ⁣

Sure, bodies aren’t always totally awesome. ⁣They can cause us grief, or something can go terribly wrong.

But we can still feel gratitude for what’s going right.

And our bodies will be “perfected” when we are reunited with them again.⁣

But what our bodies look like or what size we wear is so far from the point in the eternal scheme of things. ⁣

What our bodies do, what our bodies allow us to experience, from emotions, to service, to fun, to breathing, to learning, to worship, and everything between…⁣

Getting the opportunity to do these things in a body, created by God, allows us to experience joy here on earth, and obtain a fullness of joy in the world to come.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

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