People in the streets were saying that Saul had slain thousands of wicked people, but David had slain tens of thousands of wicked people. ⁣

Saul did NOT like this comparison! ⁣

“Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him… And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.” (1 Samuel 18:8-9) ⁣

Saul couldn’t be happy that the threat of destruction from the Philistines was gone because he was bothered that David had done even more than he had done. ⁣

AND people were noticing the difference! ⁣

Do we ever get caught up in this mind game of comparison? ⁣

It can be difficult to be confident with our act of service, our family scripture study, or our sacrament meeting talk in church if we are constantly comparing what we are doing to everyone else. ⁣

Our family scripture study looks very simple right now. ⁣

And when I think about it, I feel this little confirmation and peace in my heart that it’s perfect for what my family members need right now. ⁣

It’s only when I start to hear what some other people are doing for scripture study that I start to feel inadequate. ⁣

But I’ve also realized that this trap of comparison is so self-focused and has literally nothing to do with my relationship with God. ⁣

Is my version of family scripture study teaching us more about God and Jesus? Awesome. That’s what it’s supposed to do.⁣

And if other families accomplish that same goal in different ways, I’m gonna cheer them on for turning closer to the Savior too. ⁣

So if the teacher in church the week after you gives an amazing lesson that everyone won’t stop talking about, awesome. More people turned toward Jesus. ⁣

If someone else’s kid has a better knowledge of the gospel than yours, good for them! More people with a knowledge of Jesus. ⁣

We’re all on our own path.

Saul couldn’t stop comparing himself to David, and it ended up causing a lot of issues for his heart. ⁣

When it comes to building up the kingdom of God and becoming like Jesus, the more the merrier.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Saul vs David first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

In other words, don’t be jealous. ⁣

Why? ⁣

Why would this make the Lord’s Top Ten List for basic commandments that He wanted the children of Israel to follow, and that He still asks us to follow today?⁣

I think I’ve realized that jealousy is one of the biggest signs of where our heart is. ⁣

If I’m over here spending all my time jealous of my friend’s beautiful new backyard, or that trip that they just went on, or the bonus I know that they got…⁣

Then I’m not spending my time loving them. ⁣

I’m probably a lot less likely to want to serve them. ⁣

I probably am not praying for them. ⁣

And it also means my heart isn’t showing gratitude. ⁣

I’m probably not overwhelmed and grateful with how dependent I am on the Lord. ⁣

I might not be as willing to pay tithing.⁣

My heart starts to worry about the wrong things.⁣

This is a tough one in today’s super materialistic world, and it’s not a commandment I’ve conquered yet. ⁣

But I think it is worth every effort to try and root out that pride and jealousy.⁣

Because then we make a little bit more room to love.

“Most ‘thou shalt not’ commandments are meant to keep us from hurting others, but I am convinced the commandment not to covet is meant to keep us from hurting ourselves.” – Jeffrey R. Holland

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Why not covet? first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Growing up, I was asked to play the piano for everything. ⁣

Sight-reading has always been my strength, so I could play all the hymns or learn accompaniments super quickly. I was the one playing for seminary, every fireside, ward choir, musical numbers… you name it. ⁣

I was shocked one day to learn that someone started talking about how jealous they were that I could play everything so easily, and that it wasn’t fair that I was the only one asked to play the piano all the time. ⁣

I was honestly surprised at how much it hurt me to learn that someone else was jealous of me. ⁣

I wanted to explain all the hard work that went into practicing the piano for hours and hours each week. ⁣

I wanted to explain that I knew that sight-reading was also a gift that I had when it came to music (don’t ask me to improvise or compose anything!).⁣

I also wanted to explain that I was not volunteering for these opportunities, I was just saying “yes” when asked. ⁣

Basically, I did not like being envied. ⁣

And then I realized… I envied other people. ⁣

I envied other people for their natural beauty, their fashion, their humor, their wealth, their talents…⁣

I had this realization that each person I envied would probably also have some sort of explanation for why they were that way. ⁣

Envying does no good. ⁣

Envying leads to separation. ⁣

Separation from that person and separation from God for not feeling gratitude for what we have. ⁣

Joseph had a tough time with his brothers because “his brethren envied him” (Genesis 37:11). ⁣

It seems like Joseph had lots of explanations for why. ⁣

⁣He couldn’t help that he was the firstborn of his father’s favorite wife. He clearly had a natural talent for interpreting dreams. He obviously had a close relationship God, so he likely worked hard to develop his gifts. ⁣

And instead of embracing Joseph for his uniqueness, his brothers turned their feelings into envy, which boiled into hatred. ⁣

Who do you envy right now?⁣

Envy never leads to sweet fruits.

How can you cheer them on instead? ⁣

Because love is always better than envy.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post When someone envied me  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Their lives look so awesome!

I want to do what they are doing!

Why is my life so boring?!

The Lord taught some of the Saints who argued about who could write the most eloquently to:

“. . . strip yourselves from jealousies and fears.” (D&C 67:10)

But how do we do that?

How do we get rid of the jealousy that creeps up when we see someone whose life seems better than ours?

Here’s what I’ve tried recently:

I become their cheerleader.

Are you going on an amazing vacation?

Awesome!

I want to hear all about it and see all your pictures.

I want to feel genuine joy that you got to have that experience.

Life here on earth is going to be unfair.

Some people will always have more than we do.

And some people will have much less.

But we are all equal in God’s eyes.

Truly.

The amount of money people may or may not have for a vacation has no bearing whatsoever on the things that really matter.

What really matters is that I follow His commandment to love everyone, including the people who take cooler vacations than I do.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Vacation photos first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

And I lost.

Obviously, I was disappointed.

I spent some time avoiding the girl who had won.

It felt awkward.

Finally, I thought, “I really should just go congratulate her.”

I found her and told her I was happy for her.

I didn’t know how she would react, but I was so pleasantly surprised.

She hugged me and said she was sad we couldn’t both win.

This disarmed me from my awkwardness.

I told her that I knew she would be great in this position and that I was excited to support her.

I felt so good inside!

It felt great to transition from feeling jealous and inadequate to cheering her on in her strengths.

The Lord teaches: “To some is given one, and to some is given another, that all may be profited thereby.” (D&C 46:12)

Sometimes, it’s easy to see that all of our different gifts are complementary and bless other people’s lives.

I’m going to easily compliment the person who bakes amazing cookies, because I don’t enjoy baking.

But do we also show gratitude, love, and support for the people who have very similar gifts to ours?

It was harder for me to acknowledge my senior class president because she had a very similar skill set to mine.

But I have learned that building people up is much more fun than competing with them.

Let’s use our gifts to help everyone around us.

And let’s cheer other people on when they use their gifts, too!

In this way, we all can be profited thereby.

“As we lift others, we rise a little higher ourselves.” – Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Competing gifts first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

In other words, don’t be jealous.

Why?

Why would this make the Lord’s Top Ten List for basic commandments that He wanted the children of Israel to follow, and that He still asks us to follow today?

I think I’ve realized that jealousy is one of the biggest signs of where our heart is.

If I’m over here spending all my time jealous of my friend’s beautiful new backyard, or that trip that they just went on, or the bonus I know that they got…

Then I’m not spending my time loving them.

I’m probably a lot less likely to want to serve them.

I probably am not praying for them.

And it also means my heart isn’t showing gratitude.

I’m probably not overwhelmed and grateful with how dependent I am on the Lord.

I might not be as willing to pay tithing.

My heart starts to worry about the wrong things.

This is a tough one in today’s super materialistic world, and it’s not a commandment I’ve conquered yet.

But I think it is worth every effort to try and root out that pride and jealousy.

Because then we make a little bit more room to love.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Jealousy and charity  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

And I lost.

Obviously, I was disappointed. And pretty jealous of the girl who did win. And a little embarrassed that I ran a campaign that failed.

I knew the girl that I lost to pretty well, and I spent a little bit of time avoiding her.

And then I thought, “I really should just go congratulate her.”

I found her and told her congratulations. She gave me a hug and said she was sad we couldn’t both win. I told her that I knew she would be a great Class President.

I felt so good inside.

I realized that I could be HER cheerleader. Her support. I could raise her up.

Everyone would benefit from this other girl doing a fantastic job.

She had great leadership qualities, and that took literally nothing away from the leadership qualities that I had.

I’ve honestly tried to live my life with that moment in mind ever since.

It’s pretty easy and natural to cheer people on when they are doing something I’m not good at.

I’ll praise people’s cooking and root for them at sporting events without any real jealousy, because I don’t excel in those areas.

But when someone plays a piano piece in sacrament meeting or writes a spiritual thought on social media that goes viral, the natural woman in me tends to want to ignore or wallow in jealousy.

But I’ve found so much freedom and peace from cheering everyone, absolutely everyone, on in whatever good things they are doing.

The Lord teaches in D&C 46:12:

“To some is given one, and to some is given another, that all may be profited thereby.”

Sometimes it’s easy to see that all of our DIFFERENT gifts are complimentary and bless other people’s lives.

But do we also show gratitude, love, and support for the people who have very similar or identical gifts as we do?

Not to compete, but to build each other up.

I fully believe the world is a better place when we each cheer each other on. When we really truly believe that one person succeeding doesn’t mean that others can’t. Even if one of them wins an election and we don’t.

We’re all still awesome. And we’ve been so blessed.

Let’s use our gifts to help everyone out around us, and let’s cheer other people on when they are using their gifts, too!

That way, we all can be profited thereby.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Jealousy and spiritual gifts first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.