It wasn’t until she walked away that I realized… this was not what I had ordered. ⁣

I had ordered a burger. ⁣

Ugh. I knew what this meant.⁣

I sat there and silently gave myself the pep talk that I knew I needed.⁣

I saw the waitress serving a few tables away, and she wasn’t walking anywhere near me. ⁣

Finally she got close enough and I waved her over. ⁣

“Excuse me! I am so sorry, but I ordered a burger, so I think I got the wrong order.”⁣

I seriously felt so rude, even though I knew I was technically saying nice words. ⁣

I was just so uncomfortable about asking for something and disrupting the normal flow of a server/customer dynamic. ⁣

“Oh, you are totally right!” She quickly said. ⁣

“You can actually go ahead and keep that sandwich, and I’ll be out with your burger in just a minute.” ⁣

In D&C 90:1, the Lord is giving a revelation to Joseph Smith, and he starts by saying: ⁣

“Verily, verily I say unto you my son, thy sins are forgiven thee, according to thy petition, for thy prayers and the prayers of thy brethren have come up into my ears.”⁣⁣

Did you catch what the Lord said that Joseph had been doing?⁣

Joseph had been petitioning the Lord in prayer for forgiveness from his sins. ⁣

I know that I fall victim to sinning, feeling remorse, and wanting to improve without ever actually asking my Father in Heaven for forgiveness.⁣

But it’s not rude to ask. ⁣

It’s not pretentious. ⁣

It’s just good communication and a necessary part of creating a good, honest relationship. ⁣

When we need something, we have to ask.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Wrong order! first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Clothes, toiletries, chargers…

They are important to me so I pack them in first!

On the top of my suitcase is where I pack the book that I probably won’t have time to read, the journal I won’t write in, and random trinkets that I find at the last minute that I think might be nice to have.

(Am I the only one who always seems to pack a book, yet never reads it?!)

The order that we do things tends to show their priority in our life.

What we do when we wake up.

What we make sure happens before we go to bed.

What we do when we get some free time.

What we do when we get in the car.

Order can tell us a lot about our purposes and priorities!

So… why did the Lord create the world in the order that He did?

“The sequential order in which the earth was created gives us a glimpse not only of what is most important to God but also why and for whom He created the earth.” -Vaiangina Sikahema

The light. The atmosphere. The oceans. Plants. The Sun. Animals.

And then Sons and Daughters of God.

Everything in the proper order. The only order for it all to work.

Culminating the creation with WHO this is actually for.

Light for us to see. Atmosphere for us to survive. Land and seas for variety and function. Plants for beauty and for nourishment. Stars and the moon for us to be able to tell time and location. Animals to multiply and fill the earth.

All for us.

The order teaches us.

Order doesn’t have to mean that what comes first is the most important— some people suggest that if you don’t read your scriptures first thing when you wake up, you are choosing the wrong priority, but my mind does not work that way.

Man and woman were the last creations.

Because that’s the way it needed to be.

So I think it’s worth taking some time to ponder on the order of things in our life each day.

What are my priorities? What am I making time for, no matter what? What do I always seem to run out of time for?

The order can teach me what is most important in my heart.

Happy Studying!

-Cail Black

The post Order and priorities first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I try to pay attention to little promptings, and I feel proud about every piece of writing that I post on my account.

I also have received countless messages where people have told me that something I wrote has been an answer to their prayers– some even in specific and dramatic ways.

I don’t say this to make myself sound awesome. In fact, I want to make a point about this–

I am not authorized to receive revelation for any of you.

I have not been set apart with priesthood power, nor have I entered into a priesthood covenant that gives me stewardship over any of you (unless my children or members of my Sunday School class are reading this). 

I AM grateful that Heavenly Father wants to answer your prayers and give many of you comfort, and that He sometimes uses the words that I write or speak in order to answer those prayers.

But I think it is super important to know who we have stewardship over– and who we don’t.

I LOVE that the Lord is so organized when it comes to how revelation happens in this church.

The Lord reminded Joseph and Oliver in Section 28:2 that “no one shall be appointed to receive commandments and revelations in this church excepting my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., for he receiveth them even as Moses.”

So the prophet is the only person who can receive revelation for the entire church!

When I’m deciding whether or not an activity is appropriate for the Sabbath day, I can look to the prophet and other general leaders for their counsel.

And if there isn’t anything specifically about my situation, I can use my best judgment and personal revelation to make my decision.

And then I don’t have to worry AT ALL about what my neighbor chooses to do or not do on the Sabbath… because I don’t have any stewardship over them!

But I can help and guide my children on what we do on Sundays, because I do have stewardship over them.

And then I can be inspired with how to teach my Sunday School class about the Sabbath day in a way that might be an answer to their prayers. I have been set apart with priesthood power to teach them.

I think it is so important to know who we have stewardship over, and to help guide and teach those people.

And it’s equally important to know who we don’t have stewardship over, so that we can love and lift them where they are.

God’s house is a house of order.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Knowing our stewardship first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.