I have had times when my testimony has been built on friends.

It’s sometimes been built on awesome ward members and leaders.

Sometimes it’s been built on callings I’ve had or organizations I’ve been part of.

Sometimes it’s even been built on how much I love “the Church”.

Honestly, I think that these aren’t bad things to have testimonies of. ⁣

There are some great important but tangential aspects to love and feel strongly about out.

But Helaman wisely warned his sons of the dangers of building their foundations on anything other than Jesus Christ:

“And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation;

“that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.” (Helaman 5:12)

The storms WILL come.

Ward members will be rude and insensitive.

Leaders we love will make serious mistakes.

We will get released from callings.

And so much more.

But when we bind ourselves to Jesus Christ, the rock, we can have faith that He will never go away.

It’s all built on Jesus.

And there’s not a single piece of research, news article, scathing podcast, social media comment, or even differing opinion that can ever shake me from that firm placing of my foundation.

How do I feel about Jesus?

What is my relationship like with Him?

What have I personally seen and heard about Him?

How do I choose to tie myself to Him?

If I’m sure in my answers to those questions, I will not fall away from Him.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post How can I never fall?  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I’ve heard it all about my religion.⁣

But check out what we read in the Introduction to the Book of Mormon:

“We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true.

“Those who pursue this course and ask in faith will gain a testimony of its truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost.”

⁣Any sort of argument against my beliefs completely breaks down when I can bear testimony of the Book of Mormon. ⁣

I wasn’t peer pressured into thinking the Book of Mormon is true.

I had a personal, powerful experience that led 14-year-old me to realize that this book was actually true.⁣

And my life since then has been sprinkled with moments, both big and small, where I am positive that this book contains nothing but truth.

And I’ve discovered that my testimony of the Book of Mormon has been something I’ve needed to lean on.

Joseph Smith was told that his name would be had for good and for evil throughout the world.

And boy is Satan working on fulfilling that prophesy full-time. ⁣

And I won’t lie, I’ve had to wrestle with some info about Joseph.

But no matter the accusations from the outside, or the wrestling within…

The adversary can never take away the personal witness that I have received while reading the Book of Mormon and acting on its words.

And there are millions who have received this same witness for themselves.

And the cool part?

We can get this witness over and over if we ask with real intent. ⁣

In fact, what a cool way to start your study of the Book of Mormon:

Skip to the last chapter.

Moroni Chapter 10.

Read it and pray.⁣

Your powerful witness might come all at once.

Your powerful witness might come gradually as you make the Book of Mormon more important in your life this year. ⁣

But the witness will come. ⁣

The witness will come to YOU.

I’m so grateful for a religion that encourages me to study and decide on my own.

And for a sacred Book that has never let me down.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

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

I’m not an avid climber, but I was surprising myself with how well I was doing!

And then…

I went to grab onto the next big rock, and my hand slipped right off.

My confidence was dashed to fear and then a little bit of embarrassment.

Even though the rock had looked like a good one to hang onto from the view below, it was acutally rounded on the top, and my hand wasn’t prepared for it.

I hung there for a bit and looked around and found a rock that looked like it would be a much better strong hold.

I examined as many angles as I could.

That one worked.

I’ve had some difficult emotional moments in my life.

From health struggles, to busy schedules, to heartbreaking losses, I’ve had to figure out what wasn’t worth holding on to.

And I’ve had to figure out what my strong hold would be.

The best strong hold I’ve ever had is my good friend, Jesus.

As the prophet Nahum taught, “The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble”. (Nahum 1:7)

I want Jesus to always be my top priority.

He is someone I know I can hold on to.

He won’t surprise me.

He won’t bring fear.

He won’t embarrass me in front of others.

He’s just strong. And steady. And reliable.

The type of friend I know I can rely on, in any day of trouble.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post A Strong Hold  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

As I’ve developed in the gospel, I’ve had times where my testimony has been built on awesome ward members and leaders.

Sometimes, it’s been built on callings that I’ve had, or organizations I’ve been a part of.

Sometimes, it’s been built on “the church”.

None of these are bad things to have testimonies of.

But Helaman wisely warned his sons of the dangers of building their foundations on anything other than Jesus Christ.

Because the winds and the storms will come.

Ward members will be rude.

Leaders will make serious mistakes.

We will get released from callings.

Organizations are re-organized, and re-organized again.

We can’t go to church.

These are the winds!

So where do I build, even when everything I used to love about the church starts to crumble?

Jesus Christ.

He is the rock.

He is who I can trust to ALWAYS be there.

I have worked to rebuild my testimony up from there.

From that sure foundation.

Our ward, our callings, our friends, our church buildings…

They all can point us to Jesus Christ when we have this new perspective change.

But we have to make sure that they are support beams compared to the role that our Savior plays in our spiritual development.

If we build on him, we will not fall.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Building on Christ first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.