Yeah, he was a lazy and wicked man.

But Abinadi had just spoken with clear power from God. ⁣

“King Noah was about to release him, for he feared his word; for he feared that the judgments of God would come upon him.” (Mosiah 17:11)

But his priests, the friends he had chosen to surround himself with, added pressure.

They found accusations against Abinadi.

They got angry. ⁣

And this brought Noah back into his prideful anger, leading Noah ordering Abinadi to be tortured and then burned to death. ⁣

We are all responsible for our own actions. ⁣

But the people we surround ourselves with can make a huge difference. ⁣

This is easy to see when a wayward child is influenced by a group of their peers. ⁣

But it’s a little harder to see in myself.

Who am I surrounded by?

Family members, friends, neighbors, coworkers…

But what about the other influences on my mind too?

Social media accounts, TV shows, podcasts, books…

How are they affecting me?

Am I being subtly nudged toward complaining, making fun, judging harshly, or doubting?

Is my support system supporting my most important goals in life? ⁣

I’m not just saying to only surround myself with “members of the Church”, but doing my best to ensure that the people I willingly interact with the most are kind and have good intentions, no matter their religious affiliation.

And I think the flip side is just as equally worth considering—

Am I being a righteous support system to others – encouraging and loving and accepting and uplifting the best that I can?⁣

“Find good friends. Be good friends. Support one another wherever you are. Stand with holy people.” – Gary E. Stevenson 

We know we are in control of our own actions. ⁣

But Noah’s choices of friends tipped the scale in a dire direction.

And a kind, supportive, loving friend can make all the difference.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Choose your friends wisely  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

“If ye teach the law of Moses why do ye not keep it?” (Mosiah 12:29)

They knew the scriptures.

They knew the commandments. ⁣

But they were still lazy and rude and evil. ⁣

Their knowledge didn’t change them. ⁣

Abinadi had the same knowledge of the scriptures and the law. ⁣

But he used that knowledge to open a channel of communication with the Lord, receive the personal revelation that he needed to preach repentance (twice!), and then followed through on the promptings. ⁣

Our knowledge can’t save us. ⁣

Knowing the scripture stories won’t save us. ⁣

Knowing the doctrine won’t save us. ⁣

Our actions will. ⁣

Studying the scriptures and then using that knowledge to change our actions. ⁣

Learning and connecting with the doctrine and then using that to propel us to become more Christlike. ⁣

King Noah, his priests, and Abinadi all had the same knowledge. ⁣

But their hearts were in completely different states.

“In contrast to the institutions of the world, which teach us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something.” – Dallin H. Oaks

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Knowing versus acting first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

“He that is ​​​faithful​ in ​​​tribulation​, the ​​​reward​ of the same is greater in the kingdom of heaven.” D&C 58:2

Abinadi passed the test and I can guarantee earned the greatest reward.

He was called twice to teach to these wicked people, mocked and tortured, and killed for his bold preachings of Christ.

His faith allowed him to see the bigger picture.

He told Noah and his priests that if he needed to seal his words with his blood, he would.

He knew that pain and suffering and even death were just mortal experiences.

He knew that God wouldn’t leave him alone.

And he also had faith that his personal mission would be fulfilled.

Other prophets had their lives saved in miraculous ways. Other prophets converted entire cities and softened the hardest hearts.

But that wasn’t Abinadi’s mission.

His was to preach repentance to hardened hearts, convert young Alma who would be cast out, and die a brutal death.

We’ve all got different missions here on earth.

Some will endure difficult financial situations. Some will be saddled with mental illness. Some will know the pain of losing loved ones.

But the thing that carries us through is our faith.

Abinadi knew. Maybe not from the very start of his preaching. But by the time Noah was getting angry, he knew that he would seal his words with his blood and that physical deliverance would not be his in this life.

And so, he was filled with that faith even until the last moments as the flames surrounded him.

He knew where his soul was going because he had completed his mission.

Do we have the faith to endure our personal missions?

We can’t compare them to other people’s. Because we’ve all been asked to endure different things.

And our faith can help us endure them well.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Faith for our journey first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Yeah, he was a lazy and wicked man. But Abinadi had just spoken with clear power from God.

Noah felt the fear of the Lord.

And so he was going to let Abinadi go.

But his priests rallied against this. They found accusations against Abinadi. They got angry.

And this brought Noah back into his prideful anger, ordering Abinadi to be tortured and then burned to death.

We are all responsible for our own actions.

But the people we surround ourselves with can make a huge difference.

This is easy to see when a wayward child is influenced by a group of their peers.

But it’s a little harder to see in ourselves.

Who are we surrounded by? Family members, friends, neighbors, coworkers, social media friends…

How are they affecting us?

Are they nudging us toward love and peace and Christ?

Or… not?

Because when life gets reaaaaally tough – we tend to turn to those who are around us for support.

So it’s good to reflect – is my support system supporting my most important goals in life?

And am I being a righteous support system to others – encouraging and loving and accepting the best that I can?

We know we are in control of our own actions.

And Noah is a perfect example of when our friends can influence us for evil.

But we also have wonderful stories like Alma and Amulek where peers lift each other up.

Life is hard enough without having to fight poor influences who are emotionally close to us.

Surround yourself with light, and be the light to others.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Strong influences first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Abinadi called Noah’s priests out.

They knew the scriptures. They knew the commandments.

But they were still lazy and rude and evil.

Their knowledge didn’t change them.

Abinadi had the same knowledge of the scriptures and the law.

But he used that knowledge to open a channel of communication with the Lord, receive the personal revelation that he needed to preach repentance (twice!), and then followed through on the promptings.

Our knowledge can’t save us.

Knowing the scripture stories won’t save us.

Knowing the doctrine won’t save us.

Our actions will.

Studying the scriptures and then using that knowledge to change our actions.

Learning and connecting with the doctrine and then using that to propel us to become more Christlike.

King Noah, his priests, and Abinadi all had the same knowledge.

But their hearts were in completely different states.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Knowing vs doing first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Stable jobs, concerts, ceremonies, activities, routine meetings…

Nothing is guaranteed.

Sometimes, this is great. Sometimes, this is sad.

When Abinadi was preaching that King Noah and his people would be destroyed if they didn’t repent, this is how King Noah’s priests consoled him:

You’ve already prospered in the land! This means you will continue to prosper! No need to change anything! You’re obviously doing great!

I think the adversary likes to focus on things staying the same.

You have a bad habit? You’ll never overcome it.

You aren’t getting any sleep right now because of the baby? It will always be this bad and you should feel overwhelmed and frustrated.

Your life is going super well even though you aren’t keeping the commandments you know you should? Then obviously those commandments aren’t important and don’t make a difference.

But our Savior?

He’s all about change.

You’ve got a bad habit? Let me help you overcome this.

Your baby isn’t sleeping? Find peace in my love. Things will get better, and I can give you strength to endure this well.

Your life is going well without keeping the commandments right now? You are missing out on a lot of peace and joy, and the natural consequences will eventually become more clear.

Nothing ever stays the same.

And that is the best news, ever.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Convincing us things will stay the same first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

A couple weeks ago, I was having one of those days. You know what I mean.

I was metaphorically dropping every single ball that I was trying to hold.

In the afternoon, I finally got my baby to go to sleep. I sat down at my computer and I immediately heard my toddler wake up from her nap.

I sent up a silent prayer of exasperation – “I’m just feeling out of it. I can’t get anything done. My motivation is gone. Can I have some help?”

And the thought came to me – you haven’t read your scriptures yet.

Yeah, it’s been a crazy day. I’ll get to that later.

And then I caught myself. Was I pushing away a prompting to read my scriptures?

I sat down and pulled out my scriptures. I started reading, and I felt immediate peace and clarity.

I only read for about 3 minutes before I needed to grab my daughter, but I felt calm.

I didn’t magically accomplish everything I wanted to that day – but I did feel peace and clarity as I focused my efforts.

I felt “in the moment” as I comforted my crying baby and just held him. The dishes didn’t seem important anymore. My daughter got really involved in a game so I could do a couple things for work really fast.

When I’m not putting the Lord first, my laziness or my “spin my wheels but never actually get anything done” attitudes slowly creep in.

But when I put the Lord first, my priorities fall into place.

This pattern is painted dramatically with the contrast between Zeniff’s righteous and industrial leadership, and Noah’s gluttonous and lazy lifestyle.

When we do what is right, we are motivated to do other things that are good.

Not that we suddenly can “do it all” – but we can more clearly see where our efforts should be or which hat we should wear.

Faith in God is a motivating influence that can permeate everything we do and give us the clarity we need.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post In their laziness first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.