The music that I needed to clean up, the prayers that I was forgetting to say, the ministering assignment I wasn’t doing…

And slowly, this phrase started being added to more and more of my prayers:⁣

“Please let me know what I can let drop out of my life that will help me to feel the Spirit more.”⁣

That’s why I love President Nelson’s message so much. ⁣

“Pray to identify the debris you should remove from your life so you can become more worthy.” – Russell M. Nelson  

This idea that we all have the junky debris that is keeping us from our full potential. ⁣

It’s not straight up sin or filled with evil. ⁣

But it’s keeping the Spirit from being as present as possible in my life. ⁣

It’s keeping me zoned out and enjoying a dramatic storyline, instead of having that thought to text a friend. ⁣

It’s keeping me scrolling through a feed looking at pictures I don’t really care about, instead of spending a few more minutes in the scriptures being taught a lesson I need to hear. ⁣

It’s keeping me with frustratingly impossible standards for my family members, instead of learning how to love unconditionally. ⁣

The debris blocks out a lot if I let it pile up. ⁣

The Lord also gave this advice to Joseph Smith’s own family in D&C 93:48:⁣

“Your family must needs repent and forsake some things”. ⁣

Repent = change; Forsake = forget⁣

Your family needs to forget some things they are doing, and make some changes. ⁣

Don’t we all need to hear that message?!⁣

I want to build so many great things in my life. I want to build places of beauty, of love, of safety. ⁣

I want to build sacred places in my life. ⁣

But even with the best intentions and the perfect building plans…

I have to start by clearing the debris.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Clear the debris  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Elder Holland says, “I testify … that a perfect Father did not forsake His Son in that hour. ⁣

“… Nevertheless, that the supreme sacrifice of His Son might be as complete as it was voluntary and solitary, the Father briefly withdrew from Jesus the comfort of His Spirit, the support of His personal presence.”⁣

Heavenly Father did NOT forget His Son.

In fact it seems crazy to think that Heavenly Father would even possibly forget Jesus, especially in His greatest time of need.

But do we ever feel like we have been forgotten by Heavenly Father?⁣

Do we feel like He isn’t answering our prayers? ⁣

Do we feel like our deepest desires are not being granted?⁣

Do we feel like we are doing everything right but missing out on promised blessings? ⁣

And yet, how absurd to think that OUR Father in Heaven would actually forget us! ⁣

ESPECIALLY in our greatest time of need!⁣

It is okay to THINK that God has forgotten us from time to time.

Life is really rough.

Things don’t go according to how we think they should. ⁣

We have to suffer a lot. ⁣

Our Savior asked this same question. ⁣

“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)

And yet, deep down, we know that we have not actually been forgotten. ⁣

We know that sometimes we have to endure awful things. ⁣

We acknowledge that we don’t understand the bigger picture. ⁣

I think that is true faith right there. ⁣

Even when others point to circumstances as evidence of “no God”, we push forward. ⁣

Even when things feel numb, we continue to show faith.

Heavenly Father did not forget His Son on the cross. ⁣

Heavenly Father does not forget you on your knees, praying. ⁣

Heavenly Father does not forget you, crying in the bathroom so no one else sees. ⁣

Heavenly Father does not forget His children.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post God does not forget you  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I’m sure Joseph felt this excitement as he interpreted the butler’s dream down in the prison.

Because the dream meant the butler was going to make it out just fine and be restored to his place by pharaoh’s side!

So immediately after interpreting this dream, he asked the butler to put in a good word for him with the pharaoh.

He explained that he was an innocent Hebrew who had been sold into slavery and who hadn’t done anything wrong.

And so what did this butler do when he was restored to his position by the pharaoh’s side?!

“Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him”. (Genesis 40:23)

And it wasn’t until TWO YEARS later that the pharaoh had his own dream and the butler thought, “Wait a second, I should have mentioned this guy I met in prison earlier.”

TWO YEARS.

I’m not sure what kind of inspirational thought this is, but I couldn’t get this practical lesson out of my mind as I studied:

Sometimes, people just forget.

They forget to do things that they’ve promised, even things that seem especially important to us.

And sometimes, we forget.

We forget to reach out to that old friend after receiving a prompting.

We forget to check up on that person that we said we would.

We forget to make that next temple appointment.

Life is messy and mortal, and even with the best of intentions, people will forget stuff.

Sometimes it’s just good to remember that we all need grace because we all forget.

And yet, even if we have to wait for 2 years for someone to remember we even exist, God can always make miracles happen.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post People forget first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.