“Blessed is my servant Hyrum Smith; for I, the Lord, love him because of the integrity of his heart, and because he loveth that which is right before me, saith the Lord.” D&C 124:15

(Besides pregnancy hormones, I’m crying at everything right now to be honest.)

It is just so tender and personal.

God really knows our heart.

Like, He REALLY knows.

Deep down, He knows what we love most and what we want.

He knows the good intentions and the selfish intentions.

He knows the true weaknesses, and He knows the continued excuses.

He sees us as we really are.

That is… a vulnerable realization, right?

Like, there isn’t hiding a thing from Him.

(Just a reminder that He sees all this and still loves you completely and isn’t expecting a perfect heart right now.)

But I think that’s what makes the Lord’s comment about Hyrum Smith so beautiful.

He could see that Hyrum wanted to do what was right.

He had good intentions, he had integrity.

And he loved, truly truly loved, righteous things.

Yet, I haven’t heard any reports that Hyrum was a perfect man.

The Lord isn’t saying that everything that Hyrum DID is good. Or that everything he SAID is good.

His intentions and his heart were always good.

Good and perfect are very different.

So how can I become focused on turning my heart to be a little more righteous today?

How can I get rid of the things in my heart that I know aren’t the best for me?

What do I truly love?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Integrity and love first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Keep my commandments.

Hold your peace.

And appeal unto my Spirit.

The Lord knew that Hyrum needed this advice, and I think I need it too.

There’s a lot going on right now.

There’s a lot to get done, there are decisions to make, there are goals to meet, there are people to take care of.

And there’s some laundry to fold, too.

And in the middle of this chaos, these three reminders seem to ground me.

KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS.

I can stay on the straight and narrow, I can do the simple things that I know are best.

I can also cut out the things that aren’t related to keeping the commandments.

HOLD YOUR PEACE.

What a phrase.

To find that inner peace and then to hold it.

To let the storms of to-do lists and obligations rush around outside of me, but to feel the cool calm within.

To stay focused on my Savior, on my true identity, on my love.

And then to hold it in my heart as I go from thing to thing.

APPEAL UNTO MY SPIRIT.

Actively asking for the Spirit’s guidance, assistance, and knowledge.

Making sure that I’m really in line with what is best for me.

Seeking for his constant companionship, and making adjustments when when I’ve lost it.

Someone asked me recently if the Doctrine and Covenants is really for us to read and apply to our lives, because they sometimes feel like we are just intruding and reading in on revelations that were meant for other people.

I fully understand where this question came from, and I would encourage anyone wondering about that same question to read Section 1 in the Doctrine and Covenants and study how that section came to be.

But it’s also scriptures like D&C 11:18 that confirm to me that God knows what I need to hear, and it just so happened to be what Hyrum needed to hear 192 years ago, too.

He’ll use any words that He can to speak to us.

Keep the commandments.

Hold your peace.

And appeal to the Spirit.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post 3 powerful directions first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I mean, I’m a teacher by profession, but something about sitting in a small room with a small group of youth for almost an hour seemed intimidating to me.

I looked online and found the best resources. I printed things out. I found good discussion questions.

I used all my knowledge of how to engage and educate.

And the lesson went well! I don’t remember the topic I taught about, but I totally remember that it was great! I was spiritually uplifted, the youth seemed engaged, and everything went smoothly.

The next week that I had to teach, I saw that my topic was “scripture study”, and I got so excited!

THIS was a topic I was passionate about.

I had prayed and studied for a long time about how to improve my scripture study.

I felt like I had so much life experience to share, and real, practical advice.

I wanted to search online for resources again, but I decided this time to just create something from what I knew.

I wrote down a basic outline, and my mind kept running.

When I taught that lesson, it was mostly just me talking. I shared stories and experiences and I asked questions to the youth.

And it was POWERFUL.

Not just a “good lesson” – it was transformative. I had sincere gratitude shown by many of the class members at the end of the lesson. And I still remember it to this day.

Do you wanna know one of the reasons I started Come Follow Me Study over 2 years ago?

Because when I searched for “Come, Follow Me” resources, I only found ways to teach your kids about the lessons, or how to teach a church lesson on the topic.

And I have gained such a strong testimony that we have to learn for ourselves first.

In fact, I think that’s the best way to teach – to share what we have learned from the heart. From real life experiences. From real struggles and testimonies and tests.

Authenticity.

This is not a knock at lesson-helps – I actually have tried and currently use many that I love. They totally have their place, and I am so grateful for those who use their talents in that area.

But… are we TOO concerned about how to teach a topic? How to give a good talk? How to keep our class engaged?

Or is our focus on how WE can gain a better understanding of a concept?

And I think that’s the point the Lord wanted to share with Hyrum Smith in Section 11.

The Lord knew Hyrum wanted to get out there and preach the word as a missionary.

But Hyrum needed to obtain it first. He needed to learn of the doctrine and keep the commandments all by himself before he could go out converting others.

Obtaining first is better than declaring first.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Obtaining the word first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.