This has been a fascinating journey for me. ⁣

Especially in the streaming era where I have access to thousands of shows with various ratings and content. ⁣

Many of us were taught to stay away from certain ratings. ⁣

That’s the behavior that culturally gets taught, either in families or in church. ⁣

And then you start to wonder… why?⁣

Would it really be that bad to watch a movie with that rating?⁣

Is that really doctrine?⁣

Good intentions from teachers and parents turn into kids wondering what the truth really is. ⁣

Teaching behavior can sometimes fix behavior. ⁣

But you know which strategy has been recommended by the Lord?⁣

“And I give unto you a commandment that you shall teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom.” D&C 88:77⁣

Doctrine. ⁣

“The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior.” -Boyd K. Packer⁣

What’s the doctrine behind media choices?⁣

The doctrine is that we do SO much to have the Holy Spirit’s presence with us as often as we can. ⁣

We repent and get baptized and take the sacrament so that we can receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. ⁣

When we have the Spirit’s presence with us, we are literally accompanied by a member of the Godhead. ⁣

We feel more peace, we receive direction, we feel comfort, we are warned… there are countless blessings from having the Spirit with us. ⁣

And there are warnings for what happens when we harden our hearts and make choices that keep the Spirit away from us. ⁣

Powerful doctrine, right?⁣

When the conversation shifts to doctrine, behavior changes a whole lot faster. ⁣

What’s that practice or application your loved one is really struggling with?⁣

Take the time to consider what the DOCTRINE is behind that action, and try starting there. ⁣

Studying behavior can certainly change behavior. ⁣

But for the real, long-lasting effects and for our hearts to be in the right place, we need to focus on teaching the doctrine.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Doctrine and behavior  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I knew immediately what my topic would be.

But here was the catch—

We could ONLY use scriptures or quotes from General Conference talks as the “research” for our paper.

No outside thinking.

No other books.

No commentaries.

No blog posts. ⁣

Our professor wanted us to get very clear on what the DOCTRINE was behind whatever topic we had chosen. ⁣

Just the scriptures and General Conference talks (which are our most modern scriptures).

Pure doctrine. ⁣

This was LIFE CHANGING.

I pushed all of the internet’s random well-intentioned thoughts and speculations aside about my topic.

And I really dove into what the doctrine was. ⁣

And honestly, my mind was opened to some nuances and doctrinal points that were different than what I had previously thought. ⁣

I could see the pure truths beneath all of the confusion. ⁣

The “philosophies of men, mingled with scripture” are not always from ill-intentioned people trying to lead us astray.

Most of the time, they look like honest conversations with friends where no one is quite clear on the doctrine and it turns into speculation.

Or a social media post from an acquaintance who is putting their opinion out there, and you think, “yeah, that sounds right!”

But when we turn to the PURE doctrine and what the SCRIPTURES say (which includes modern revelation), we discover that they are the best source of LEARNING and for our PROFIT. ⁣

“I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning.” (1 Nephi 19:23)

It was a long process to gather relevant quotes and scriptures and connect them all together.

But I honestly cannot overstate the clarity that came from stepping back from “things I had heard” and jumping into the original source.

Likening the scriptures, both ancient and modern, unto ourselves is NOT JUST a nice thing to do to make our scripture study more exciting. ⁣

It is ESSENTIAL if we are going to comb through the cacophony of voices and find true clarity.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Religion research paper  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

This has been a fascinating journey for me.

Especially in the Netflix era where all of a sudden, I have access to hundreds of shows with various ratings and content.

Many of us were taught to stay away from certain ratings.

That’s the behavior that culturally gets taught, either in families or in church.

And then you start to wonder… why?

Would it really be that bad to watch a movie with that rating?

Is that really doctrine?

Good intentions from teachers and parents turn into kids wondering what the truth really is.

Teaching behavior can sometimes fix behavior.

But you know which strategy has been recommended by the Lord?

“And I give unto you a commandment that you shall teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom.” D&C 88:77

Doctrine.

“The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior.” -Boyd K. Packer

What’s the doctrine behind media choices?

The doctrine is that we do SO much to have the Holy Spirit’s presence with us as often as we can.

We repent and get baptized and take the sacrament so that we can receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

When we have the Spirit’s presence with us, we are literally accompanied by a member of the Godhead.

We feel more peace, we receive direction, we feel comfort, we are warned… there are countless blessings from having the Spirit with us.

And there are warnings for what happens when we harden our hearts and make choices that keep the Spirit away from us.

Powerful doctrine, right?

When the conversation shifts to doctrine, behavior changes a whole lot faster.

What’s that practice or application your loved one is really struggling with?

Take the time to consider what the DOCTRINE is behind that action, and try starting there.

Studying behavior can certainly change behavior.

But for the real, long-lasting effects and for our hearts to be in the right place, we need to focus on teaching the doctrine.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Teaching doctrine first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Ready to dive in?

What are we going to find this year?

What will we discover?

The Lord is speaking directly to us in Section 1.

Which is, side note, one of my favorite parts of the Doctrine and Covenants – we just get to listen to the voice of the Lord all the time, in every single verse!

And the Lord is commanding us to search these revelations contained in this book.

All year long, we will search.

I am excited to search.

But what do we search for?

“Search these COMMANDMENTS, for they are true and faithful, and the PROPHECIES and PROMISES which are in them shall all be fulfilled.” 1:37

There are commandments, prophesies, and promises contained in these 138 revelation sections in the Doctrine and Covenants.

But as we search for these commandments, prophecies, and promises, the Lord promises us some of the best news:

The commandments in these revelations are true.

And the prophecies and promises will be fulfilled.

What comforting thoughts, right?!

The Lord keeps his promises to us. And he gives us truths to guide us along the way.

The Lord is trustworthy. He is constant. He has pure integrity.

He is someone I want to work and collaborate with.

He won’t leave me hanging. He won’t find excuses. He won’t execute harsh or overbearing judgment.

And I want to do my best to keep up my part of my promises and commitments and covenants.

So that’s what I’m going to search for this year.

In the Doctrine and Covenants, I will search for both:

The truths and the promises.

The commandments and the prophecies.

The DOCTRINE and the COVENANTS.

Let’s go!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Searching in the D&C first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Pride, craftiness, contention, forgetting their duty…

I’m sure Alma actually went around and taught them about the dangers of pride and craftiness and contention and forgetting their duty.

But what did he find the most effective?

“Bearing down in pure testimony” Alma 4:19

This always makes me think about teaching the youth in the church.

When they are struggling with modesty, language, media intake, making good friends, reading scriptures…

It’s never a bad thing to have a specific lesson on those specific topics.

BUT

The real change happens when we teach pure doctrine through pure testimony.

And who does pure doctrine and testimony point us toward?

Jesus Christ.

When we preach of Christ, we teach all of the lessons at once.

And when we learn of Christ, we learn all of the lessons at once.

My view of modesty was not molded by a really clever lesson on modesty. It was shaped as I grew to know my Savior more, and learned that I wanted my outward appearance and behaviors to reflect my inner testimony.

No matter the question or the sin or the concern… the pure doctrine of Christ is the answer.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Pure testimony first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I knew immediately what my topic would be, because there had been a subject that had been weighing on my mind for a while.

But here was the catch – we could ONLY use scriptures or quotes from General Conference talks as the “research” for our paper. No outside thinking. No other books. No commentaries. No blog posts. 

Our professor wanted us to get very clear on what the DOCTRINE was behind whatever topic we had chosen. 

Just the scriptures and General Conference talks (which are our most modern scriptures). Pure doctrine. 

This was LIFE CHANGING as I pushed all of the internet’s random well-intentioned thoughts and speculations aside on my topic, and I really dove into what the doctrine was. 

And it was quite a bit different than what I had previously thought. 

It lifted a huge weight from my shoulders. I could see the pure truths.

The “philosophies of men, mingled with scripture” are not always from ill-intentioned people trying to lead us astray. Most of the time, they look like honest conversations with friends where no one is quite clear on the doctrine and it turns into speculation. Or a social media post from an acquaintance who is putting their opinion out there, and you think, “yeah, that sounds right!”. 

But when we turn to the PURE doctrine and what the SCRIPTURES say (which includes modern revelation), we discover that they are the best source of LEARNING and for our PROFIT. 

It was a long process to gather relevant quotes and scriptures and connect them all together – but I honestly can not overstate the clarity that came from stepping back from “things I had heard” and jumping into the source of learning and profit. 

Likening the scriptures, both ancient and modern, unto ourselves is not just a nice thing to do to make our scripture study more exciting. 

It is ESSENTIAL if we are going to comb through the cacophony of voices and find true clarity.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Weeding out the philosophies of men first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.