I love this book so much.

If you have read it too, you know about the wooden Wemmicks.

These Wemmicks give each other gray dots if they do something “lame”.

And they give each other gold stars if they do something “cool”.

Public judgments, with stars and dots for everyone to see.

But Lucia is a special Wemmick.

She doesn’t have a single dot OR star on her!

The reason?

Lucia honestly does not care about the other Wemmicks’ judgments of her.

She learned that caring what other people thought gave them power over her own emotions and actions.

The gray dots and gold stars have no power over her.

And why doesn’t she care?

Lucia knows who created her.

I have always loved Lucia’s powerful example of not caring what other people think.

Which surprisingly includes when people praise us as well as when they criticize us.

She knew whose opinion actually mattered!

This reminds me so much of those who were partaking of the fruit in Lehi’s dream and then looked over to the people in the great and spacious building.

“They did point the finger of scorn at me and those that were partaking of the fruit also; but we heeded them not.” (1 Nephi 8:33)

The laughter and mocking from the great and spacious building didn’t matter.

That is often easier said than done.

It’s tough to just try and convince ourselves “to not care”.

Cuz… we all do. At first.

But the key to not heeding the judgments from the big building for a super long time?

Learning more about our Creator.

Reading His word and feeling of His love.

And then enjoying the delicious, peaceful, joyful fruit of that focus.

Everyone else’s opinions and actions and judgments just seem to matter a little less.

“We will heed not what the wicked may say, but the Lord alone we will obey.” -Hymns, “Let Us All Press On”

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post A lesson from the Wemmicks first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

She sat her teenagers down and told them something new they would try:

She would be setting time limits on certain apps on their phones.

One child in particular expressed some unhappiness about this new limit.

So the mom said that she would set the same exact time limits on the same apps on HER phone that she was requiring for them.

They would all be in this new challenge together.

And she would take the lead. ⠀⁣⁣

She was then shocked the next day when her “time limit” alert came much sooner than she expected.

She didn’t realize how much she probably needed the time limits, too.⁣

What a beautiful example of a mother leading by example in her family.

She was then able to sympathize and work on her own habits, while setting an invaluable example for her teenagers. ⠀⁣⁣

Who partook of the fruit first in Lehi’s dream? ⁣

Lehi.⠀⁣⁣

This fruit “…was desirable above all other fruit.” (1 Nephi 8:12)

Lehi tasted of that happiness and joy first.

And THEN he desired that his family should partake of this same happiness.⁣

I think the order of this is so important.⁣

He tasted of this joyous fruit, STAYED by the tree, and beckoned his family members to come join him.

He didn’t tread through the mists of darkness, he didn’t search through the great and spacious building, he didn’t wade through the water.⁣

He didn’t look at the tree from afar, hoping everyone else could get there but not making his own journey his top priority.

He stayed by the tree as an example for his family members to follow.

And many of them did follow him!⁣

This is my passionate viewpoint for scripture study as well.⁣

Are WE studying and learning and growing from the scriptures, tasting of that fulfilling JOY that comes from the Book of Mormon, and then beckoning our family members to come join us?⁣

Or do we sometimes try to push our family members toward the scriptures and the tree while forgetting to stay by the sweet, pure, happy tree ourselves?⁣

“Let’s stay at the tree, partake of the love of God, and share it. By lifting the people around us, we ascend together.” – Sister Runia Oct 2023

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Phone Usage and Staying at the Tree  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Lehi started by traveling through darkness for several hours.⁠

Several hours of darkness.

Can you imagine how that felt?

Actually, maybe you can imagine what it is like to feel darkness and emptiness for an extended time.

But Lehi wasn’t just randomly in the darkness.

He knew he was supposed to be there!

He had followed an angel in a white robe to this very spot.

Can you imagine how confusing that might have felt?

Actually, maybe you know what it is like to follow a prompting and feel like the heavens are closed despite your obedience.

So what did Lehi do at this point?

Honestly, pause for a moment and think about what you would do.

Led by an angel and then seemingly abandoned in the darkness for hours.

What would you do next?

Here’s what Lehi did:

“And after I had traveled for the space of many hours in darkness, I began to pray unto the Lord that he would have mercy on me, according to the multitude of his tender mercies.” (1 Nephi 8:8)

Lehi prayed!

Lehi prayed that the Lord would have mercy on him.

No frustration.

No complaining.

No accusations.

Just pure humility from Lehi.

“To be humble is to recognize gratefully our dependence on the Lord.” – Gospel Topics, “Humility”

I have learned that asking for mercy from God is not as easy as it may sound.

Asking for mercy, pleading for mercy, shows an ultimate understanding of our true relationship with God.

It embodies the abandonment of all entitlement.

We all wander dark, empty areas.

Some of us for longer than others.

And for some of us, it was righteousness and promptings that brought us to the darkness.

But will we stay humble in the darkness?

If we continue to plead for mercy and recognize our dependence on God even in the darkness, then a beautiful experience of enlightenment may be just around the corner.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Wandering on darkness  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.