Sure, they complained about it. ⁣

But they still ate the miraculous manna from heaven. Every day. ⁣

“Manna” is usually compared to the “daily” gospel stuff we are asked to do. ⁣

Prayer. Scripture study. Pondering. Service. ⁣

If we use this analogy, then technically, the Israelites WERE doing all those things each day. ⁣

They LOOKED like they were obedient!

But what was their attitude about it?⁣

“There is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.” (Numbers 11:6)⁣

They had completely lost their GRATITUDE for the daily miracles.⁣

They interacted with God so consistently that they forgot to feel grateful for the interactions.

So are we forgetting how miraculous it is to have scriptures?⁣

What a miracle it is that we even have access to these ancient texts?⁣

What a miracle it is that we can be taught and guided by their words?⁣

What a miracle it is that we are able to approach the God of all the universe in individual prayer?⁣

Here’s what I’ve found:⁣

When I remember what a miracle each of these daily touch points are, I can’t help but feel overwhelming gratitude. ⁣

And when I feel that gratitude, I am more likely to actually study my scriptures or say my prayers. ⁣

Gratitude is a beautiful motivation to interact with the divine each day. ⁣

I am grateful for all the ways I get to connect with heaven each day.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Grumbling about manna  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I almost always get a carton of eggs during our weekly shopping trip.

It’s a staple in our household for baking, scrambled eggs, and breakfast sandwiches.

So when the egg prices started to climb last year, I was shocked each time I added them to my cart.

So expensive!

And then, one week, there were no eggs available.

None.

“No big deal,” I thought. “We can do without eggs this week.”

But then, the next week, there weren’t any eggs either.

And still again, the next week, there weren’t any.

Finally, on my next shopping trip, I found the shelves filled with eggs again!

As I put a carton in my cart, my heart filled with gratitude.

I don’t think I have ever been grateful for eggs before…

But having to wait such a long time allowed my heart to feel that dependence on and gratitude for the Lord for such a simple blessing as eggs.

The Israelites had suffered for a long time.

So when they saw Moses and Aaron’s signs and heard their testimony that they had been sent from God to free them,⁣

“The people believed: and when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.” (Exodus 4:31)

When I have to wait for a blessing for a long time, my gratitude increases exponentially. ⁣

Maybe that’s why the Lord likes to let us wait sometimes.

He knows that our hearts need the training.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Grateful for eggs 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.

Life isn’t perfect. ⁣

Maybe today isn’t even what you planned. ⁣

Maybe you’ve got a lot of “other stuff” going on so you feel like you can’t be fully present. ⁣

But no matter what your circumstances are like today, no matter what kitchen mishaps or missing family members or awkward moments…⁣

“Praise the Lord with singing, with music, with dancing, and with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving.” (D&C 136:28⁣)

A prayer of praise and thanksgiving is always an option. ⁣

Praise. And thanksgiving. ⁣

Don’t those go perfectly hand in hand?⁣

Recognizing the goodness and glory of God, and then feeling gratitude for all that He has done for you?⁣

Today, no matter what my day looks like, I’m going to offer a prayer of praise and of thanksgiving. ⁣

And, knowing me, there will be some music and singing involved, too. ⁣

But I want to praise my Lord by remembering all that He has given me!⁣

This beautiful earth! ⁣

My body! ⁣

My friends, both old and new!⁣

My family members!⁣

The opportunity to change when I make a mistake!⁣

My scriptures! ⁣

Feeling overwhelming love!⁣

The Holy Spirit!⁣

My covenants!⁣

Something to be optimistic about!⁣

The chance to be alive!⁣

Praise and thanksgiving to my Lord today, and every day. ⁣

What are you feeling especially grateful for today? 

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post  Praise and thanksgiving!  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

And you know what?⁣

It’s okay. ⁣

I don’t understand all the intricacies of what my own parents did day in and day out to provide the life for me that I had. ⁣

And then I think about my spiritual heritage. ⁣

All 16 of my great-great-great grandparents on my mom’s side joined the church at some point, usually at a great physical or financial sacrifice. ⁣

And I’ve got a similar spiritual heritage on my father’s side. ⁣

I will never fully understand what they had to give up, the hard decisions they had to make, and the cost of their consistency and devotion to the gospel. ⁣

And it’s okay that I don’t fully understand (although I love learning their stories).

What Joseph Smith sacrificed to bring forth the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and numerous other revelations is incomprehensible. ⁣

“The reader in every nation will be reminded that the Book of Mormon, and this book of Doctrine and Covenants of the church, cost the best blood of the nineteenth century to bring them forth for the salvation of a ruined world.” (D&C 135:6)

He sacrificed his own life for the cause. ⁣

I will never fully understand what that is like. ⁣

And I will never fully understand what my Savior Jesus Christ did for me, and continues to do for me. ⁣

I learn, I study, I receive blessings, and I get little glimpses into what He has done. ⁣

But I’ll never truly “get it”. ⁣

Not understanding the extreme sacrifices of our predecessors is a natural, short-sighted, human thing to do. ⁣

But that doesn’t excuse me from the opportunity to be grateful. ⁣

To reflect on what my family members, both near and far, have done for me.

To ponder on the prophet Joseph and other spiritual leaders.

And to revere my Savior for His great atoning sacrifice and continued, sustaining help. ⁣

I will never fully understand all the sacrifices made to give me the plethora of privileges I enjoy. ⁣

But I can still learn about them and feel extreme gratitude for those who have given me my firm foundation.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post My kids will never understand first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

It wasn’t impossibly far away, but it was just far away enough that we usually did two youth trips a year to go and do baptisms and confirmations. ⁣

We would make a whole day of it, and, of course, grab ice cream at Fenton’s afterwards. (If you know, you know.)⁣

When I went off to BYU, I was suddenly in very close walking distance to a temple. ⁣

What a shift!⁣

I attended with my roommates, and we all went once or twice a month.

After my husband and I got married and moved to Arizona, we lived about 20 minutes from the Mesa temple. ⁣

And suddenly, we realized… we were on our own for temple attendance. ⁣

No more youth group trips. No more roommates going with us. If our ward had temple trips, they were often during times when one of us was working. ⁣

We had to grapple with the question:⁣

Why do we really attend the temple?⁣

I didn’t love my reasons at first. ⁣

But throughout the years, my answer has shifted. ⁣

When I read D&C 97:13-14, I was reminded of some of my favorite reasons. ⁣

The Lord was teaching these saints, pretty passionately, about why they NEEDED to get to work on building that temple. ⁣

Throughout these verses, He mentions 3 things:⁣

1. For a place of thanksgiving for all saints⁣

2. For a place of instruction⁣

3. That they may be perfected⁣

Thanksgiving, instruction, and perfection. ⁣

It’s hard not to be filled with gratitude while sitting in a beautiful building surrounded by beautiful reminders of all that God has done for us. ⁣

Instruction is given every single time we are in the temple, and the more that I’ve tried to pay attention and learn, the more my eyes have been opened to the wealth of knowledge that is available. ⁣

And as we learn more about the power of God and His priesthood, we become perfected. When we do work for our ancestors, we become perfected. When we sacrifice any item on our to-do list for time in the temple, we become perfected. ⁣

Isn’t that a beautiful trio of reasons why we need temples?! ⁣

What blessings have you seen from worshipping in the house of the Lord?

And what is your biggest WHY right now for wanting to be there regularly?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

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

Breathing through one nostril is for sure one of the most obnoxious minor inconveniences to exist. ⁣

I suddenly waxed very poetic and thought about all the times that I had walked around with two functioning nostrils, and hadn’t even appreciated them for the blessings they were. ⁣

I feel like I get this way every time I have a cold. ⁣

And yet, when I’m perfectly healthy, I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned in prayer any gratitude for functioning nostrils. ⁣

And I think that’s the real secret to success with gratitude. ⁣

Maybe I really should practice being filled with gratitude every day that I wake up with two functioning nostrils! ⁣

That wouldn’t necessarily bring me more blessings in my life. ⁣

But by thinking of the health and full function of various body parts, I start to realize just how many blessings I really have. ⁣

It’s not only the vain repetitions that I sometimes utter in prayer. ⁣⁣

It’s not just: family, house, and “all my many blessings”. ⁣

In D&C 78:19, the Lord reminds the saints that:⁣

“He who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; ⁣

“and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more.”⁣

I don’t know that this necessarily means that being grateful GIVES me infinitely more blessings. ⁣

Maybe it’s really that there are an infinite number of things to be grateful for, and when I open my eyes to see that, then I’ve added that many blessings to my list. ⁣

I want to see hundreds and hundreds of things around me, and feel that gratitude. ⁣

Not necessarily for a list to mention in my prayers. ⁣

But so that I can allow my attitude of gratitude to fill my soul and point me to the One who makes it all possible.

“Sincerely giving thanks not only helps us recognize our blessings, but it also unlocks the doors of heaven and helps us feel God’s love.” – Thomas S. Monson  

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

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

I’m not sure exactly the emotions, but I’m willing to bet there was anxiety.

Doubt.

Probably some fear.

All flashing through the Jaredites’ minds to some degree.

But what did the Jaredites choose to do?

“They did sing praises unto the Lord; yea, the brother of Jared did sing praises unto the Lord, and he did thank and praise the Lord all the day long; and when the night came, they did not cease to praise the Lord.” (Ether 6:9)

I’ve always loved the holiday of Thanksgiving!

It’s fun to hear all the people around me express their gratitude for the things they are thankful for.

But when we focus on our “gratitude list,” it can be easy to be jealous of what others have.

Or it can even be tempting to wallow in self-pity for what we are missing out on.

Instead, we can take inspiration from the Jaredites and feel joy and gratitude to the Lord no matter our circumstances.

“I’m suggesting that instead of being thankful for things, we focus on being thankful in our circumstances—whatever they may be.” – Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Whether we are trapped in a tiny wooden barge traveling hundreds of miles through the ocean.

Whether we are dealing with other really rough times.

Whether we are concerned for the wellbeing of others.

We can always choose to feel gratitude to the God who gives us life and love.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Gratitude in the barge  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

It was so annoying!

From eating to speaking to sleeping…

I found that so many of my daily habits were affected by my inability to breathe through my nose.

When my sinuses finally cleared, I was so excited.

I could finally breathe through my nose again!

It was all I could think about.

And I quite literally prayed many prayers of gratitude for my nose.

I’m not going to lie; it usually is not fun to think about this truth:

“For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things.” (2 Nephi 2:11)

But it is true.

If I had never had a stuffy nose, I would have never felt gratitude for a clear one.

The negative opposition isn’t fun to experience.

This goes from things as trivial as stuffy noses or headaches…

To much more serious issues like family arguments, physical trials, or emotional issues.

These hard times can be really tough to dwell on.

But if we keep the proper perspective, we can use these hard times to teach us gratitude.

We can use opposition as fuel to keep constant gratitude in our hearts.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post My stuffy nose  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Sometimes they are singing, other times they are playing a solo instrument…

But I’m asked to be their accompanist.

I love it— I truly think it’s so fun to accompany people!

Each time I am asked to do this, I put time and effort into learning the, sometimes very complicated, piano piece.

I follow the soloist with precision and rubato, and perform with the best emotion or Spirit that I can bring.

It’s a beautiful experience to create live music together and share it with others.

And… do you know who usually gets all the praise afterward?

The soloist.

I always feel a sting of jealousy or sadness when someone compliments them without mentioning me.

I know, it’s a manifestation of my pride, and the soloist is often extremely talented and worked very hard.

But I still just feel a bit… forgotten.

Now, there have been many times when the soloist or others have gone out of their way to make sure that I am recognized for my efforts.

It feels good to be acknowledged.

And it sure doesn’t feel great to be forgotten.

John wrote:

“Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him.” (Revelation 19:7)

Jesus deserves every honor, credit, and praise.

Anything that we do, we do because of Him.

We may know this…

But do we acknowledge this?

Do we show Him our gratitude for making everything possible?

Do we thank Him for being the essential “accompanist” for the performance we sometimes take all the credit for?

I’m working on getting better at noticing the other people around me who are often overlooked.

The ones who might feel forgotten, and who never hear “thank you”.

And while I do this with the people around me, I’m also trying to improve my recognition to Jesus.

All the praise, honor, and credit belong to Jesus!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

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