Kids would ask me a question and I felt like I needed to know every answer. ⁣

I needed to be the knowledge authority in my classroom, right?!⁣

But the best and worst part of teaching sixth grade is that the kids would start to (respectfully, for the most part) call me out when I said something incorrect. ⁣

It took a few months, but I finally realized how ironically empowering it was to admit that I didn’t know something to my students. ⁣

“Mrs. Black, why did you say THAT part of the story is the climax? Wouldn’t it be THIS part instead?”⁣

I figured out that it felt SO much better (and by the way, MUCH more effective for teaching) to say:⁣

“Oh interesting! Why do you think that? I could totally be wrong!”⁣

The discussions that comments like this would spur were AMAZING. And tons of class members would start to chime in with their opinions, too. ⁣

Real learning would occur. ⁣

I loved it. ⁣

And I feel like right around this same time at the beginning of my teaching career was when I started to adopt this humility into my personal life, too. ⁣

Instead of thinking I had the right answer in my marriage, or in my church callings, or in other decisions that I had to make, it was so much more empowering to recognize that I COULD be wrong.⁣

Replacing pride with humility one little step at a time has brought nothing but peace to my life. ⁣

In a gospel context:⁣

“Humility enables us to have broken hearts when we sin or make mistakes and makes it possible for us to repent.” —Elder Steven E. Snow⁣

I have found that it’s actually so freeing to acknowledge that I’ve been wrong. ⁣

I’m not perfect at it at all. ⁣

There are some sins that I want to cling to, like an insecure middle school teacher who insists they know the right answer. ⁣

“How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me?” (Exodus 10:3)⁣

I hope I don’t take too long, though, to loosen my grip on those favorite sins, those rationales, those prideful tendencies. ⁣

Humility is much more freeing than pride.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post I have to be right! first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Immediately, I was bombarded with responses that all sounded very similar:

The girls needed to learn their self-worth and true identity.

The Lord invites us to look at the people around us and “Let thy love be for them as for thyself.” (D&C 112:11)

We need to love others, but we also need to take the time to love ourselves. ⁣

To trust that God loves us exactly as we are, which means we can, too. ⁣

To be empathetic and understanding to ourselves, and to others. ⁣

In my mind, it fits perfectly with the Lord’s earlier command to “be thou humble” in D&C 112:10. ⁣

I’ve learned that true humility is recognizing that ALL of us, every single one of us, including you, are perfectly loved by God. ⁣

No one is greater. No one is lesser. ⁣

And putting anyone on a different spot other than the equal line that we are all standing on, is pride. The opposite of humility.

Thinking that your bishop is more loved by God than you are because of his calling, is pride. ⁣

Thinking that you are more loved by God because you are a member of the restored Church of Jesus Christ than your neighbor down the street, is pride. ⁣

Thinking that you have failed God and that you are completely out of the reach of His love, is pride. ⁣

Thinking that it doesn’t matter whether or not you keep up on small spiritual habits because you can handle life without all of that, is pride. ⁣

Pride is believing anything other than the fact that we are all equally loved by God and that we are all His children. ⁣

And humility is getting everyone, including yourself, back on that same playing field. Recognizing that God loves all of His children equally. ⁣

Let your love for others be the same as the love for yourself. ⁣

And whether that means you need to work on realizing your exact relationship with God a little better, or recognizing other people’s relationship with God better, or maybe a little bit of both…⁣

Then you are following the counsel to be thou humble.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post A different view of pride first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I love learning new things, and so the prospect of walking across campus and sitting down in various classes to learn from people who are experts in these subjects was just fascinating to me. ⁣

Looking at a syllabus to see how we could fill an entire semester with hours of learning about different facets of one subject was exhilarating. ⁣

Call me a nerd, I know. ⁣

And it’s not like I totally loved the act of reading every assigned book and writing every research paper. ⁣

But ultimately, I felt the spirituality that was inherently intertwined with learning. ⁣

Gaining knowledge was spiritual to me. ⁣

The thing that made me sad though were some of my fellow classmates who learned from the same classes that I did and eventually reasoned their way out of their gospel beliefs. ⁣

Gaining knowledge had become a worldly pursuit that pulled them further from God. ⁣

“The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth.” (D&C 93:36⁣)

The ultimate glory of God is intelligence. ⁣

Intelligence is vital and it is championed by God. ⁣

And what is intelligence?⁣

It’s not just knowledge. It’s not just getting a good test score. ⁣

Intelligence is light and truth. ⁣

Intelligence is the light of Christ, the presence of the Spirit, at the same time as the acquisition of truth. ⁣

It’s learning under the influence of the Spirit. ⁣

And then it leads to intelligent action that is completely congruent with what we’ve learned. ⁣

We are created to crave learning. ⁣

Maybe it’s math. Maybe it’s music. Maybe it’s recipes. Maybe it’s emotional strategies. Maybe it’s history. Maybe it’s education pedagogy. Maybe it’s public service. Maybe it’s the scriptures. ⁣

When we are truly aligned in our spirituality, when we are inviting the Spirit into our lives with every action and thought, I believe that our curiosity is ignited. ⁣

There is so much knowledge out there. ⁣

And God is looking for righteous, spiritual individuals who are going to learn and then act. ⁣

I want to hear— when YOU are aligned spiritually, what is an area you feel your curiosity is led toward?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post I love learning  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Now, after you come back from Disneyland…

I think it is a fascinating question to ponder.

I’ve heard many people say something along the lines of:

“Having lots of money just makes you more of who you already were.”

Basically, if you are barely scraping by financially right now, but you still pay your tithing and help a neighbor out when they need a meal…

Then you would likely be a wealthy person who still pays their tithing and can help people in need in much more dramatic ways.

But if you are living comfortably right now, but stingy with giving away any money…

Then it’s likely that you would find reasons to be stingy with your money when you had a lot more of it, too.

The Lord says:

“Wo unto you rich men, that will not give your substance to the poor, for your riches will canker your souls . . . Wo unto you poor men, whose hearts are not broken, whose spirits are not contrite.” (D&C 56:16-17)

So, if both the rich and the poor receive warnings from the Lord here, what can we do to make sure we are doing as we should?

Rich AND poor people can be prideful with hardened hearts.

Rich AND poor people can be humble with broken hearts.

It doesn’t really matter what our bank account looks like if our hearts are pure, broken, and humbled before the Lord.

We might not be able to control how much money we have, but we can always control the state of our heart.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Rich and poor hearts first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I had so many things on my to-do list, and after a tough day with my kids…

I just honestly didn’t want to be there.

There was a service activity set up on the tables that required us to sew.

(Something that I am not good at.)

I glanced over at the dessert table in the corner and noticed it was filled with cheesecake.

(My least favorite dessert.)

Pride is one of the sneakiest sins because it’s tricky to notice.

I wish I could tell you I had a change of heart at that service activity…

But I didn’t.

It wasn’t until I was reflecting later that I realized most of my bad attitude stemmed from me thinking all about myself and what I thought was best.

What if I had walked in with a humble attitude, ready to serve and do God’s will?

Maybe I could have made a new friend.

Or comforted someone else who was having a rough day, too.

Maybe I could have humbly tried to learn a new skill and strengthened a friendship in the process.

Maybe I could have offered to help clean up while others enjoyed dessert so the organizers wouldn’t have to stay late.

The Lord so succinctly warns: “Beware of pride.” (D&C 38:39)

It is truly so difficult to weed out pride in our fallen state.

But I have found it becomes much easier when I think:

“Is this what a humble servant of God with a soft and willing heart would do?”

Beware of pride.

“Simply stated, if you or I do not believe we could be afflicted with and by pride, then we are vulnerable and in spiritual danger.” – David A. Bednar

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Beware of pride  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Because sometimes, His path for my life and His blessings just seem completely out of left field. ⁣

Right out of BYU, I thought I had this one teaching job in the bag. ⁣

I loved the job, I wanted it, and I knew the staff and principal liked me. ⁣

And then I found out that I didn’t get the job due to some unforeseen complications. ⁣

I was devastated. ⁣

And I was humbled. ⁣

Instead of relying on my networking to get me a job, I had to turn to cold interviews. ⁣

My humility was through the roof. I was relying on God like I hadn’t in a long time. I was praying constantly. I was turning my will over to His. ⁣

And then, suddenly, a random recommendation, an interview, and a job offer that changed my life for the better. ⁣

Out of left field. ⁣

But the miracle came because I had humbled myself. ⁣

I think about young Joseph, who had been so excited after the First Vision. He was ready to learn about this new church!⁣

But after three years, his heart was growing weary. He felt weak and unclean from sins. ⁣

So he went to his knees in humility, wanting to repent and turn his heart back to God.⁣

“While I was thus in the act of calling upon God, I discovered a light appearing in my room”. (JS-H 1:30)

I can almost guarantee he wasn’t expecting an ancient prophet from a forgotten civilization showing up in his bedroom and telling him about gold plates buried in a hill three miles away!⁣

But that was exactly the unexpected miracle that Joseph, and all mankind, needed. ⁣

Miracles happen. Unexpected miracles happen. Completely unexpected and unlikely miracles happen. ⁣

But the first requirement that I’ve seen over and over?⁣

Humility.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Out of left field first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I didn’t realize that much thought work, planning, and research went into effective teaching.

But pretty soon I was spending my homework time crafting the perfect inquiry-based math lessons and engaging anticipatory sets for literacy. ⁣

And, with the super analytical brain that I have, I started seeing these teaching patterns everywhere, from my own professors to church teachers! ⁣

I started noticing what my Sunday School teachers, Relief Society teachers, and bishopric members did well when it came to teaching gospel topics. ⁣

I do think that effective teaching strategies matter. ⁣

But at the end of the day, it’s not the most important thing, right?⁣

“That the fulness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world, and before kings and rulers.” (D&C 1:23)

I’ve learned the gospel from someone who didn’t ask any probing questions. ⁣

I’ve felt the Spirit listening to someone reading a quote completely out of context.

I’ve been bored during a lesson, only to have the Spirit bring one particular sentence the teacher says to my mind. ⁣

The gospel can be proclaimed by the weak and the simple. ⁣

How cool is that?!⁣

And in the most important setting, our home, teaching the gospel in the best ways that we personally can will always be good enough. ⁣

We are good enough to teach our families. ⁣

We are weak. Uneducated in many things. Simple and plain. ⁣

And yet, we can teach the fullness of the gospel.

“Everything that is done in the Church—the leading, the teaching, the calling, the ordaining, the praying, the singing, the preparation of the sacrament, the counseling, and everything else—is done by ordinary members, the ‘weak things of the world.’” – Boyd K. Packer

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

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

Things that are unexplainable, grand, and inspiring. ⁣

But I have found that most of the time, my success comes from my hard work, my desire to learn, and my application of knowledge. ⁣

… so is that taking God out of the equation to acknowledge that?⁣

Let’s look at Captain Moroni’s battle against Zarahemnah’s Lamanite troops. ⁣

Moroni and Lehi had surrounded the Lamanites and were asking for their surrender.

Moroni verbally expressed that he knew the Nephite armies had prevailed because of their faith in God. ⁣

Zarahemnah’s response as he was surrounded by Nephite armies?⁣

“We do not believe that it is God that has delivered us into your hands; but we believe that it is your cunning that has preserved you from our swords. Behold, it is your breastplates and your shields that have preserved you.” (Alma 44:9)⁣

In other words, “Moroni, it certainly wasn’t a god who helped you. You just wore armor and were very smart about your battle plans – that’s why you won!”⁣

What Zarahemnah did not know is that Moroni had gone to the high priest Alma in order to find out where the Lamanite armies were going and how they should attack. ⁣

Moroni was cunning and brilliant with his battle plans – because he had faith in God who showed him what to do. ⁣

And that armor they wore? The Nephites traditionally always had better defensive wear than the Lamanites. So I’m sure Moroni used his God-given brilliance to continue those same preparations. ⁣

Zarahemnah was partially right in his argument. ⁣

Moroni won due to his cunning and armor. ⁣

But Zarahemnah missed the big, obvious connection that Moroni attributed his cunning and armor to the One who gave him breath. ⁣

Using my talent and intellect to find success in this life is exactly what God intends me to do with my gifts.

But He also wants to make sure I don’t lose sight, like Zarahemnah did, of where all of my power comes from.

Miracles that look like logical outcomes are still miracles from a loving Heavenly Father.

And acknowledging this constantly is what can help keep my heart soft and humble. 

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post That wasn’t a miracle!  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

For some reason, we started talking about different callings in the church. ⁣

I felt like I should ask him what his favorite calling had ever been. ⁣

This is a man who had been a mission president in Romania, a branch president at the MTC, a bishop, and pretty much every other “prestigious” calling in the book. ⁣

He thought about my question for a while. ⁣

I was pretty sure he would say mission president.

But then he said his favorite calling was being a ward Sunday School teacher. ⁣

He said that he loved just discussing the gospel with other people. ⁣

That conversation has always stayed with me.

Because to me, he had served in so many “important callings”…

And yet the one that he picked seemed so mundane. ⁣

But my grandpa also really loved the gospel. ⁣

I think he understood that the “prestige” of his callings didn’t really matter.

They didn’t make him any better than anyone else. ⁣

At the end of the day, he loved teaching the gospel and listening to the gospel being taught. ⁣

I love the beautiful, cyclical nature of callings in the church. ⁣

We get taught lessons by new converts, by young moms, by former stake presidents…

And there’s always something to learn!⁣

I love this commentary from Alma chapter 1:

“And when the priests left their labor to impart the word of God unto the people, the people also left their labors to hear the word of God.

“And when the priest had imparted unto them the word of God they all returned again diligently unto their labors;

“and the priest, not esteeming himself above his hearers, for the preacher was no better than the hearer, neither was the teacher any better than the learner;

“and thus they were all equal, and they did all labor, every man according to his strength.” (Alma 1:26)

It’s a beautiful reminder that in this church, none of us is greater than the other. ⁣

Unlike other establishments where people seek power or high ranks or to “move up the ladder”, we get the cool opportunity to serve other people in different ways at different times. ⁣

And when pride or jealousy start to creep in, those are great reminders to keep in perspective. ⁣

Every “calling” in this church is temporary.

None of them dictate how much value we hold.

All of them give us opportunities to serve and become a little better.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post My grandpa’s favorite calling first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

There are seven blind mice who each try to figure out what the large object in front of them is. ⁣

One feels the foot and thinks it’s a pillar.

Another one feels the trunk and thinks it’s a snake.

And so on. . .

They all are accurate in their assessment of what they physically feel, and draw completely reasonable conclusions. ⁣

But they are all wrong. ⁣

It’s an elephant. ⁣

The Lamanites made a reasonable, but very incorrect, assumption that the people who kidnapped some of their women were the people of Limhi they kept clashing with next door.

“They were angry with the people of Limhi, for they thought it was the people of Limhi.” (Mosiah 20:6)

But they were wrong. ⁣

This is an essential lesson to learn here on earth: ⁣

While we do our best to draw accurate conclusions each day, there are many times when we are very wrong. ⁣

Your ministering sister who didn’t reach out to you when you were clearly struggling, is dealing with brutal anxiety.

Your bishop who completely ignored you when you obviously needed help, had just received some concerning personal news.

Your friend who didn’t respond to your text, saw your message but then got interrupted by her kids and honestly forgot to reply.

We do our best to create the truth of what’s happening around us, but at the end of the day, we are often wrong in our assumptions of other people. ⁣

And other people are wrong about us. ⁣

So what do we do about this?

I think happiness and peace are found in letting go of the frustrating stories we make up when we don’t actually know the whole truth. ⁣

Sometimes I like to come up with my own backstories in my mind that completely and reasonably explain what someone did.

But most of the time, I’ve learned to just give it to God.

I’m naturally going to feel frustrated, confused, let down, forgotten, annoyed. . .

But I can quickly return to happiness and peace when I let that anger go and humble myself before Jesus Christ, the only One who knows exactly what everyone is going through.

Humility, surrendering it to God, and finding love instead.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Seven Blind Mice first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.