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.

A holy place, to me, is a place where I feel closer to God. ⁣

It is different than the ordinary. It is special. ⁣

⁣Unique. ⁣

And when I think of holy places, there usually is something different that I do with my outward appearance in order to reflect the holiness that I feel.⁣

⁣One of my favorite parts of learning about Moses seeing the burning bush is one of the first things that the Lord says to him:⁣

⁣“And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” (Exodus 3:5)⁣

⁣Moses was asked to make a change, a symbolic change, to reflect how his heart felt about entering a holy place. ⁣

⁣My church building is a holy place to me, a place where I partake of the sacrament and renew powerful covenants. ⁣

And so I dress a little nicer than I do the rest of the week.⁣

⁣When I attend the temple, I also dress nicer as I enter, and I prepare for more opportunities to make my outward appearance reflect the uniqueness of the temple spirit. ⁣

⁣I know that God is with me in the casual moments, in the messy house and the undone hair and the random sprinkles of shredded cheese that somehow always make it on the floor. (Anyone else?!) ⁣

⁣But I also love being able to take opportunities to show God that I am willing to make an effort to show my gratitude for the holy grounds that I am able to walk on.⁣⁣

What is one way you show God gratitude for your holy places?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post  Holy places  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I was of absolutely no use that day, since I had recently found out I was pregnant with our first, and I was beyond sick. ⁣⁣⁣⁣

But my husband was doing great! ⁣⁣⁣⁣

My heart sank as I looked at our completely empty apartment, though. ⁣⁣⁣⁣

Because even though our stuff was all gone, there was so much CLEANING that still had to happen before we handed the keys back to management the next day. ⁣⁣⁣

And my husband’s grad school schedule meant the cleaning would all fall to me. ⁣⁣⁣⁣

Even though I was so sick and so tired. ⁣⁣⁣⁣

I remember my husband suggesting we just give the apartment back as it was, willingly forfeiting our deposit. ⁣⁣⁣⁣

But it was a huge deposit, and I wanted to get that money back. ⁣⁣⁣⁣

I prayed that night that I would feel well enough to clean. ⁣⁣⁣⁣

That next morning, I woke up to a text from a lady in our ward that we were leaving:⁣⁣⁣⁣

“Hey Cali! I heard you are feeling really sick! My family wants to come clean your apartment today so that you don’t have to. We’ll bring all our own cleaning supplies and make sure it’s super clean. You just rest and relax today!”⁣⁣⁣

I never set foot in that apartment again, and a month later, we got our full deposit back. ⁣⁣⁣⁣

I’ve thought a lot about this lady’s ridiculously kind offer, her teenage kids that probably weren’t super happy to learn about their family activity that evening, and her charitable heart that acted immediately after hearing a need. ⁣⁣⁣⁣

I also have thought about how the Lord COULD have given me strength to clean my apartment. He could have caused my sickness to subside. ⁣⁣⁣⁣

But instead he gave this family a chance to serve and to act. ⁣⁣⁣⁣

“We will surely be blessed with opportunities to be instruments in His hands”. -Elder Ulisses Soares ⁣⁣⁣⁣

It’s a blessing to be able to do what the Lord would do. ⁣⁣⁣⁣

He could make it all happen on His own, without any of us helping.⁣⁣⁣⁣

But He generously gives us the blessing of being able to act in His behalf. ⁣⁣⁣

Moses got this blessing, too. ⁣⁣

There were many ways the Israelites could have been freed. ⁣Yet the Lord was kind enough to let Moses lead.

“Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.” —Exodus 3:10

How could the Lord be calling to you to invite you to be part of His work as a massive blessing to you right now?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The apartment cleaning deposit first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Gratefully, that has not been the case in my life thus far. ⁣

But… I sure face temptations. ⁣

In my teenage years, the temptations were more focused on “choosing the wrong”. ⁣

It wasn’t all that difficult to figure out where the enemy was tempting me: to lie, to cross that line, to make that choice. ⁣

It was a clear temptation to do something I knew logically was wrong. ⁣

But as I’ve matured spiritually, I’ve recognized that the adversary has needed to change tactics with me. ⁣

Now the temptations are more like “choose this fun thing over this thing that would be best” or “you’re doing fine compared to these other people so no need to improve” or “you’ll never be good enough so why even bother trying”. ⁣

And I’ve noticed it’s actually harder to call these out as “temptations”.⁣

But Moses gives us the perfect pattern that can help. ⁣

When we remember who we are and our divine identity, the temptations are a whole lot easier to call out and rebuke. ⁣

“I am a son of God, in the similitude of his Only Begotten… Get thee hence, Satan; deceive me not”. (Moses 1:13-16)⁣

Elder Stevenson taught:⁣

“Command the enemy of your soul by saying: ‘Go away! You have no glory. Do not tempt or lie to me! For I know I am a child of God. And I will always call upon my God for His help.’”⁣

He tempts and he lies. That’s his work. ⁣

God’s work and glory is infinitely more magnificent. ⁣

And we are His children. ⁣

The more I understand this, the easier it is to identify: “Wait a second, why would I ever think that it’s not worth trying to improve? I’m a daughter of God and so of course I’m going to keep trying.”⁣

“I’m a daughter of God and I know that so much more joy comes from service and work than from another round of that TV show.”⁣

“I’m a daughter of God so I know I can’t compare myself to others to judge my progress. I want to keep getting closer to God, no matter what.”⁣

Knowing my identity makes it easier to call out the lies.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Calling out the lies  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I sat through a fascinating church discussion one time about this concept. ⁣

“If you feel any fear, it means you’ve lost your faith. If you had perfect faith in God, you’d never feel fear.”⁣

One person made this comment and some agreed. ⁣

Another said:⁣

“I’ve had to deal with some truly terrifying things in my life, and I have felt fear. But I feel like it was a natural response to what I was facing.”⁣

Others agreed with this. ⁣

I feel like “fear” can often be a loaded word at church. ⁣

We’ve been told to fear not, and yet here we are feeling fear from time to time. ⁣

Which is why this verse from Moses jumped out to me so much: ⁣

“Moses began to fear exceedingly; and as he began to fear, he saw the bitterness of hell. ⁣

“Nevertheless, calling upon God, he received strength”. (Moses 1:20)⁣

That word: NEVERTHELESS. ⁣

Moses felt fear. ⁣

And for great reason too— the adversary was literally yelling at Moses to worship him. ⁣

It was a scary situation. ⁣

So Moses felt fear. ⁣

NEVERTHELESS Moses still called upon God and received strength to know what to do next to conquer his trial. ⁣

It sure doesn’t sound like Moses waited for all the fear to leave before he started calling on God. ⁣

The fear and the faith-filled pleading to God happened at the same time. ⁣

And it resulted in great strength. ⁣

I think we can feel fear in our life from time to time and nevertheless, still choose to pray to God for strength to know the next step to take. ⁣

I’ve had some terrifying moments where I’ve felt some fear at the same time that I’ve been filled with faith that God could give me the answer. ⁣

And truthfully, those moments have given me some of the most powerful experiences in my life. ⁣

I don’t think Moses dwelt in fear. I think he felt the fear and then got rid of it pretty soon after. ⁣

But his fear didn’t negate the fact that he also had faith in that moment, knowing exactly who to call on to be delivered from that fear.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Is fear a sin? 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.

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 hear this constantly from my kids.

Sometimes they can do something by themselves and I get to see them grow in their development.

Buuuuut a lot of times they can’t really do it by themselves.

Or it would be so much easier or faster if they let me help.

Don’t we feel that same pressure as adults?

“Oh no, I can do it all by myself.”

Whether or not we actually can.

Or whether or not it would be easier or faster if we let someone help.

We don’t want to bother anyone.

“The thing that thou doest is not good.

“Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee:

“for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.” (Exodus 18:17-18)

I’ve recently watched my ward family rally around someone in need in truly epic ways.

I think that’s one of the real purposes of small, local congregations.

To see the immediate, too heavy burdens, and to step in and mourn with those who mourn and comfort those who stand in need of comfort.

I’ve had friends, family members, and ward members help to bear my burdens in too many ways for me to number.

There have been some beautiful experiences where the Lord has helped me release my pride and ask for or accept help that others selflessly give.

But even when others fail.

When people don’t help or support in the ways we wish.

The Savior is always there.

Saying, “You will wear away if you keep trying to do this all.

“It’s too heavy for you alone.

“Let me help bear the burden with you.

“Because I’ve already been through it alone.”

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post I can do it all by myself! first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I’ve had this experience recently, and I’ve been praying constantly for how to help solve this person’s problems so that they aren’t in so much pain.

But the impression that keeps coming back to my mind is: “This is their trial to deal with. What you can do is support and love and lift.”

And I’ve taken that to heart.

I can’t take away the trial or the pain or the heartache.

But I can love and support and lift this person through little acts of service, communication, heart-to-heart conversations, and lots of prayer.

So often, the story of Moses raising his hands in prayer to help the Israelites win their first battle in the wilderness is interpreted one specific way.

But these words touched my heart as I read Exodus 17:12:

“But Moses’ hands were heavy;

“and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon;

“and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side;

“and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.”

Two friends.

One of them a brother, in fact.

Staying by Moses’ side until the sun set.

They couldn’t take away the heavy task that had been given to Moses, of staying with his hands raised in prayer.

But they knew that they could be there to love, support, and lift.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Lifting the heavy hands first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

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 are getting even higher and higher.

There is peace in Christ.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Waters all around  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.