As the Israelites escaped from the Egyptians, they, “walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.” (Exodus 14:29)⁣

There have been so many times in my life where dangerous and chaotic waters are swirling all around me. ⁣

Lost jobs, financial setbacks, or emotional trials have made it seem like everything is piling up. ⁣

It has seemed overwhelming. Like I’m just one step from it all crashing down. ⁣

And anyone else looking into my life would see how turbulent it is. ⁣

But yet…⁣

My feet have stayed on dry ground. ⁣

I have felt peace. ⁣

I’ve had others join me on the journey so that I feel supported. ⁣

I’ve focused on just taking that next step forward. ⁣

All because of Jesus Christ. ⁣

He is the one who makes it all possible. ⁣

The chaos and the swirling waters pile up sometimes. ⁣

But they don’t need to mean my destruction when I have faith in Jesus Christ. ⁣

When I keep looking forward and taking a step. ⁣

Even when that step forward means the waters around me are getting even higher and higher. ⁣

There is peace in Christ.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Walking on dry ground first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

That’s essentially what Hilkiah, one of King Josiah’s priests, did!

He discovered a lost “book of law”, and when Josiah learned what was contained in these scriptures, he was DEVASTATED.

In 2 Kings 22:13, we read: “Great is the wrath of the Lord that it is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book”. (2 Kings 22:13)

Josiah was realizing how much they had missed out on following the Lord for generations, all because they didn’t have these scriptures.

The scriptures are SO. IMPORTANT.

From a historical viewpoint, there are so many civilizations that didn’t keep a written record of what happened, which means we know virtually nothing about them.

I mean, we don’t have any written record of the 10 tribes from the northern kingdom of Israel after they were taken by the Assyrians, which is why we consider them “lost”.

The scriptures contain our spiritual history!

They keep us grounded in what the gospel really is.

They keep us grounded in what the Lord has promised and done for us.

They remind us of what He did for our ancestors.

In them, we can clearly see the patterns of what He has done over time.

This is why I have fallen in love with the scriptures–

They are like a constant checkpoint I can return to in order to make sure I’m not adding on or taking away from what God really wants to teach me.

I love the scriptures.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Why the scriptures first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

That stoplight had a sign that said “no right turn on red”.

I despised that sign so much, because I couldn’t see any purpose for it.

Plus, the light took what seemed like forever to change every time I went to turn right.

I noticed something interesting about myself, though.

Whenever I got to the light and there was another car behind me, I would patiently wait until the light turned green.

But if I got to the light, and there wasn’t a car in sight, I would make the right turn whenever I wanted.

I thought about this pattern one time, and I realized that I only cared about following that traffic rule when someone was watching me that would judge me.

But when I was on my own, I did whatever I wanted!

I had no “integrity” when it came to following that traffic rule.

I only cared about whether or not other people thought I was following the rules.

This reminds me of the Israelites.

They sometimes got a little more righteous because a good judge was with them!

But then…

“And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers”. (Judges 2:19)

As soon as the judge was gone, they went back to their wicked ways.

They KNEW what was right the whole time, but they only turned to the Lord when someone was there with them.

Do we only do the right thing when others are watching?

Do we only say our prayers if our spouse will see?

Watch appropriate media if someone is in the room?

Or do we have integrity to keep the same standards, no matter who is there?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Integrity with the Israelites first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I had been asked to play a musical number for the Saturday evening session of our stake conference.

And I was SO NERVOUS.

I knew this hymn arrangement super well and it was completely memorized.

But I kept messing up!

Each time I played a wrong note, I would pull the music out and practice that part over and over.

And then I would completely butcher another part that I had always played perfectly.

I focused on each individual note so hard.

Day after day.

The stake conference was approaching and I was honestly embarrassed. I thought I had this piece memorized flawlessly, and yet here I was thinking about every single note and messing up in random spots.

As I sat down discouraged to practice one last time, a thought came to my mind:

“Invite the Spirit and play your testimony.”

I put the music away, closed my eyes, and started playing.

But this time, I tried not to think about any notes.

I just thought about the message and the spirit that I hoped to share as I played.

And I played it perfectly.

I realized later that I played it perfectly BECAUSE I had stopped worrying about all the details.

I had stopped harping on every single mistake that I made and making it a super big deal.

I just got to the core of why I love to play the piano— because it helps me bear my testimony of God and light and hope.

Isn’t this true in regular life, too?

When I try to follow all the rules perfectly and feel overwhelmed with guilt every time that I mess up, then I notice even more mistakes.

Things get even worse. Even messier. I can’t fix it all.

I need a good dose of that simple but powerful lesson Moses tried to teach the Israelites with a brass serpent:

“Every one that… looketh upon it, shall live.” (Numbers 21:8)

It’s too simple.

We just have to love Jesus and God and invite the Spirit to be with us.

That’s all.

And when we do those things with our whole souls, all the rest of the little details fall into place.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Messing up on the piano first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

As I walked through one of these beautiful temples, one of our ushers told us that the reason why the church only wants the best and most beautiful craftsmanship within temples is not to show off or spend money needlessly.

Instead, he actually drew a comparison to the tabernacle of ancient Israel.

They set the pattern of using the best materials that they could, spending countless hours preparing every detail, as a symbol of their sacrifice and dedication to the Lord!

If the tabernacle was going to be used to worship the Lord, then they wanted to put forth their best effort in every single detail.

“And he overlaid it with pure gold within and without, and made a crown of gold to it round about.” (Exodus 37:2)

This lesson from my temple open house usher really stuck with me.

Am I giving my absolute best to the Lord as a symbol of how I feel about Him?

Or is He getting my leftovers from whatever else I have going on that day?

Don’t get me wrong, life is busy and crazy and insane.

With everything I have going on as a mortal human being, it’s not really possible to spend all day every day giving Him my best.

And I hope those questions don’t weigh you down with shame.

Instead, I hope they inspire you to do a little better in some small way.

Can I give more of my best self to the Lord?

Can I make sure He isn’t ever the one getting pushed off my to-do list due to over scheduling?

Can I give Him time when I know my mind is in the best shape it can be?

Do I make sacrifices to give Him time?

My little inspiration, my little nudge from the Spirit in response to these questions probably looks different than yours.

“My best” changes every day.

But just like ancient Israel, I think I can do a little better at choosing to give my best to the Lord as a symbol of what He means to me.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Giving my best  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Up the mountain with the thunder and the storm.

Days passed.

Weeks.

Moses was nowhere to be found.

Slowly, panic replaced faith amongst the Israelites.

“And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods”. (Exodus 32:1)

And in their panic, they turned to the worship of something that was familiar to them, more concrete, unchanging and easy to understand.

(I know, I know, a golden calf seems weird to us but it was a comfortable and logical move for them to make.)

I’ve learned in my life that patience and faith in God are completely intertwined.

“When we exercise patience, our faith increases. As our faith increases, so does our joy.” —Elder Jeremy R. Jaggi

Attending the temple hasn’t always made perfect sense to me.

After first receiving my endowment, there were a lot (A LOT) of things I was confused about.

But I had heard that the more often you go, the easier it is to gain a testimony of temple worship and work.

And I clung to that.

President Nelson has even recently counseled that if we don’t yet love temple work, to go more often.

And slowly but surely, trip after trip, drop by drop, I’ve learned to love attending the temple. I’ve learned, I’ve worshipped, I’ve served, I’ve received priceless revelation.

But it took a lot of patience. And waiting.

AND it took faith in God in waiting for the answer and the testimony to come.

I can think of so many more examples of this in my life with the law of tithing, keeping the Sabbath holy, fasting, following the prophet…

Patience in God’s timing and in His laws and principles takes a whole lot of faith.

Faith that He will actually reveal truths, or fulfill promises, or give us a testimony, or keep His covenants.

But keeping that faith while I wait has always resulted in long-term joy.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Patience and Faith first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I’ve noticed that there are times when I start to get really down on myself for how often I’m making the same mistakes over and over.

But I can feel the Spirit whisper that I am facing the right direction.

I feel remorse when I sin.

I want to become better.

I don’t give up on trying to become more Christlike.

Sure, I might be taking steps forward and backward.

But I am still facing the Savior.

One thing that I noticed about the Israelites though, is that they seemed to have made some pretty big mistakes while they were waiting for Moses on the mountain.

Breaking covenants, not keeping commandments, those are all not super awesome things to do.

But even more concerning is what we learn in Exodus 32:8:

“They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them”.

They were facing the wrong direction.

They needed a whole lot of support and intervention before their hearts desired repentance. Before they desired to try to do better.

The Lord knew what kind of commandments and priesthood they needed, what kind of temple worship they needed, what kind of ordinances and covenants they needed in order to keep their hearts facing toward Him.

We will all take plenty of steps both forward and backward along the path back to eternal life.

But when we make those mistakes, what are our desires afterward?

Do we want to keep trying to go back to that comfortable sin? Do we want to be sneaky so others don’t notice? Do we want to find more situations to do the same thing?

Or do we desire to do better?

Even if it takes an entire lifetime filled with sinning and repenting, a desire to repent shows us which way we truly face.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Which way do you face?  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Ever felt that way before?

I have.

I have followed through on a prompting, just to have to deal with a lot of emotional pain from all the fallout.

I’ve decided to keep sticking to church standards and lost a friend because of it.

I’ve reached out and offered service, only to have a super awkward result that left me feeling frustrated.

Can’t you just hear the emotion in Moses’ voice here?

He had been asked BY THE LORD to go talk to the pharaoh and request that he let the Israelites go.

The Israelites were looking up to Moses as the prophet who would free them from captivity!

And how did the pharaoh respond?

He increased the burdens on the Israelites to the point where they couldn’t even bear them anymore.

And so Moses went to the Lord in frustration.

He did what he was supposed to do, and things got worse for everyone.

“Why is it that thou hast sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.” (Exodus 5:22-23)

The Lord didn’t deliver on His promise.

Or so it seemed.

Doesn’t obedience = blessings?!

It’s like that cartoon online I’ve seen tons of times—

We think that obedience to God’s commandments, revelation, and inspiration is going to lead us in a steady, straight, upward climb.

… when obedience often looks like a path filled with lots of mountains, valleys, and steep drop offs.

I’ve learned that it takes a lot of faith to believe that following promptings and keeping commandments will always work out in the long run.

Because no matter the short-term difficulties and obstacles

The Lord knows what we need to fulfill His plan. 

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post This was not the plan first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I stayed up late, I had extra babysitters come during the day, and I hit my deadline.

I love writing and creating, so I truly enjoy these last minute work times, which probably reinforces my habit of procrastinating, but oh well.

Everything was on schedule to be published at the perfect time.

The rest of the process was out of my control.

I pressed “submit” and waited.

And waited some more.

Days went by.

And suddenly, I was having to wait longer than I have ever waited before for my work to be approved.

And then it was twice as long as I’ve ever had to wait.

And then three times as long.

I had a great real-life practice of my mantra about not worrying about things outside my control. But boy was that a tough wait.

I was to the point where I almost expected it would never get approved and published for some reason.

And then!

I opened the email. It was approved! Published! Good to go!

My immediate first thought was pure gratitude.

I bowed my head and said a quick but super sincere prayer of overwhelming gratitude.

So so grateful and so so blessed. God is good.

And immediately after this gratitude, it hit me.

I’ve never been grateful for publishing services before.

I’ve never given a second thought to having my work “approved” and “published”.

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

The Israelites had suffered for a long time.

And 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 Waiting on a deadline first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I mean, they kept growing and multiplying, and who knew what would happen next?!

And so what did this king do?

“He said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: Come on, let us deal wisely with them… Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens.” (Exodus 1:9-11)

The pharaoh was literally so afraid about the hypothetical military power this group of people could have in the future, that he did everything he could do to keep them oppressed.

Do you know what I can’t help but think about here?

“Unity requires effort. It develops when we cultivate the love of God in our hearts and we focus on our eternal destiny.” – Elder Dale G. Renlund

One of the biggest messages our modern church leaders have been teaching over and over again is:

UNITY

We can have cultural and social differences and still find unity when we realize that we are all identified as children of God, first!

Can you even imagine if the new king said:

“Hey Israelites! You keep growing and growing, and we love you guys. What can we do to help you feel more included? Do you have any new ideas for how to make our kingdom even better?”

And yet, this king chose division and labeling people as “others”.

Which then led to him inflicting pain and burdens.

So how can you create unity where you live right now?

Who are you tempted to think about in divisive ways, and how can you turn that into love and unity instead?

Kicking other people out or purposefully increasing their burdens just to keep another group comfortable isn’t the way the Savior worked, and it’s not how He wants us to work, either.

Unity looks like hard work. It takes effort. It requires people to get uncomfortable.

And the end result is so much more love, peace, and Christlike charity.

Unity is worth the effort.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Unity is worth the effort  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.