It’s the one where little kids were put in a room with a marshmallow, and told that if they DID NOT eat the marshmallow by the time the adult came back, they would get a second marshmallow. ⁣

Some kids couldn’t resist it and just ate the first marshmallow. ⁣

Others waited patiently (or painstakingly) but received a second marshmallow and got to eat both. ⁣

I honestly can’t think of a better parallel to the commandments!⁣

— Hey, it really would be better if you avoided watching media that depicted unwholesome things. ⁣

But it’s your choice. ⁣

You can just watch it and get pleasure now. Because, yes, it can be very enjoyable. ⁣

OR you can avoid it, feel disappointed for a bit, but then TRUST that I will reward thee twofold at a later time. ⁣

(Repeat the scenario with any commandment that is tricky for you right now: sleeping instead of reading scriptures, doing things on the sabbath that probably aren’t the best, avoiding service opportunities instead of saying yes, getting immediate results from being angry and rude…)⁣

“For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” (Hebrews 10:36)

As Latter-Day Saints, we’ve just got to be PATIENT a lot. ⁣

There are so many immediate pleasures that we put off in search of future blessings. ⁣

And that sure takes a lot of spiritual maturity to do. ⁣

So this is a cheer-you-on post!

You’ve got this!

You are not alone!⁣

It is HARD to sometimes sit and stare at that marshmallow when you know other people around you are eating it. ⁣

But you trust! You have faith! You KNOW someone is coming back with another marshmallow (or honestly, a reward greater than any amount of marshmallows!)⁣

We can do the will of God, be patient, and KNOW that we will receive the promised blessings!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The marshmallow test first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I can already tell you that one of my kids would choose to wait for the two marshmallows.

And the other would gobble up the first one before I even finished the question. 

Let’s consider this famous marshmallow experiment in the spiritual sense.

Has it ever seemed like people who are not members of God’s covenant church have a lot of good things going on in their lives?

Of course, there are amazing people who are not members of the covenant who are still building up the kingdom of God in good, righteous, amazing ways.

But even the people who deliberately choose evil or purposefully break covenants can often seem super happy, successful, rich, and indulgent.

When that happens, I think a part of us goes, “huh.” ⁣

But Christ has told us that this is what happens!

People do “find happiness” in things other than the gospel.

Not lasting peaceful joy, but some immediate happiness.

And in Matthew 5:12, Christ teaches:

“Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad: for great is your reward in heaven.”

Are we “spiritually mature” enough to not need the greatest of our rewards RIGHT NOW?

Can we wait and endure?

Can we be okay with being persecuted and poor if that is part of our path?

Can we find joy and peace along our journey, no matter what we may encounter?

If we can endure some time right now looking at the marshmallow that others are enjoying, then later we can receive unspeakable rewards in heaven!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The marshmallow experiment  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

You know, that one they did at Stanford years ago where they placed a marshmallow in front of a kid and told them that if they didn’t eat it before the adult returned, they would get two marshmallows.

(For the record, my mom always said that I was the type of kid who would have waited for the two marshmallows, even from a super young age.)

As I’ve studied about the famous covenant that God makes with Abraham, one thing that really caught my eye is that so many of the blessings of this covenant are for AFTER Abraham’s lifetime!

The Lord makes promises that Abraham’s seed will know God, and that “unto thy seed have I given this land”. (Genesis 15:18)

His seed were promised land and great spiritual blessings, but most of this would not be during Abraham’s lifetime.

And yet Abraham still rejoiced in this covenant!

Not all of our covenant blessings are going to be fulfilled while we are here on the earth.

Some will, just like Abraham was still given a firstborn son. And certain covenants, such as our baptismal promises to always have His spirit to be with us, are being fulfilled constantly here on earth.

But there’s also a huge portion of our “reward” that we can barely even imagine right now.

Promises for our future posterity that won’t be fulfilled until after this life.

Promises about our own future that won’t be fulfilled until the eternities.

Blessings of peace and rest that we can get glimpses of now, but that might not be fully realized until much later.

There is so, so, so much good that God gives us right now on the earth.

It’s like He is giving us one marshmallow and telling us we can enjoy it now.

But there is also another marshmallow waiting on the other side.

Probably a million more marshmallows, actually.

So are we willing to be patient? To look for the blessings filling our life now, but also to expect so much more in the future?

Covenants are powerful and binding and real, and we can count on God to pour out the blessings when we fulfill our portion, even if that means practicing some delayed gratification.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Covenants and marshmallows first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.