I said this my freshman year at BYU.

I grew up in a household of all sisters and football seemed like a weird, confusing sport.

It wasn’t just “score a goal”— there were tons of weird rules for how to get there and all sorts of strange hand motions and formations.

So I was the stereotypical clueless girl attending football games, yelling “first down” when everyone else did, just having fun.

“Football is so confusing! None of it makes sense!”

But I actually hate not knowing what’s going on, so curiosity got the best of me.

I started asking questions.

“Why is everyone booing?” “What do the downs even mean?” “What position is that guy playing?”

And surprisingly… football started to make sense!

I “got it”. I could attend a game and make a comment while sounding vaguely educated.

It turns out that if you never ask questions about how football works, it will always seem confusing.

And it turns out that as soon as you start asking questions, you start learning and things make sense.

It reminds me of the classic exchange between Nephi and his brothers:

“And I said unto them: Have ye inquired of the Lord?

“And they said unto me: We have not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us.” (1 Nephi 15:8-9)

AKA— I don’t know how football works because no one has told me.

Even Zephaniah prophesied:

“And them that are turned back from the Lord; and those that have not sought the Lord, nor inquired for him.” (Zephaniah 1:6)

He’s teaching us that the people who turn away from the Lord are the ones who aren’t inquiring for Him.

They aren’t seeking Him. They aren’t yearning for a relationship with Him. They aren’t asking Him the questions in their hearts.

If we want more knowledge, a stronger relationship, or more devotion, we can’t forget how essential it is to inquire from the original Source.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Inquire and seek  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Women who are named and who do things and work to draw closer to the Lord.

The Old Testament is a unique book of scriptures because we do actually get quite a few beautiful, powerful examples of righteous women.

And side note: If you want to dive into this topic even more, listen the interview we did with Amy Fisher called “Women in the Old Testament”. It was episode 614 of the One Minute Scripture Study podcast.

I have loved studying Rebekah this week.

She gives me so many attributes to look up to, and one that I want to mention is found in Genesis 25:22.

Rebekah was finally pregnant, after years of dealing with infertility.

But she was pregnant with twins, and she could feel the struggle of these two babies within her womb as she carried them.

And so what did she do?

“She went to inquire of the Lord”. (Genesis 25:22)

I love this powerful yet simple reminder from Rebekah that when we have questions, we can take them straight to the Lord.

And I especially relate to her as a very pregnant woman myself right now, who has questions about the future.

We can ask, and then we can receive answers.

Have you inquired of the Lord recently?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

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

It’s a scripture I’ve read and heard quoted throughout my life.

But I would venture to say that anyone who has asked a question during a prayer has experienced a time when no answer was received.

So… what advice does the Lord give to David Whitmer in his time of struggling? (D&C 30:3)

INQUIRE

and then

PONDER

Ask the Lord, of course.

But then ponder.

I can think of times where I pray and then my mind is brought to events way in the back of my memory. I usually view it as my mind randomly wandering…

Until I ponder about why the Spirit would bring that event to my remembrance.

And all of a sudden, the connection is made. The answer is clear. Or at least, a little more clear.

I can think of other prayers where my mind doesn’t seem to be brought anywhere. And then I have a very normal day. And then I ask the same question again in a different prayer, and suddenly my mind thinks about that random conversation I had with a friend at the park.

There was my answer to my prayer, and I didn’t even realize it.

And other times, I’ve asked. And asked. And asked.

And it feels like there’s nothing, although I have faith that there’s something.

Until finally, a year later, I look back and realize that my prayer was totally answered, piece by piece, day by day.

The Lord answers prayers when we ask.

But sometimes, and more often than I’d like to admit, I don’t even notice the little answers, the nudges, the guidance.

Pondering is that missing piece for me.

It’s that opportunity for the Lord to give answers, yes.

But it’s also the opportunity for the Spirit to show me that answers were already given in ways that I didn’t even notice.

Seek. Ask. Inquire.

PONDER.

And then, ye shall receive and find.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Inquire and ponder first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.