I wanted to improve my interactions with my family members and be more present.

And I felt like my phone was holding me back a bit from that. ⁣

So I decided to do better. ⁣

Notifications would pop up and I would ignore them. I let emails go unread. I stopped scrolling just because I had “down time”.⁣

I was doing it! I was resisting the temptation to waste my time on things that don’t matter.

But then…

I got a notification that looked really important. ⁣

And then I got an email that was super interesting and I just had to open it. ⁣

And then my phone was once again in my hand more often than it should be. ⁣

I wasn’t doing so well with my goal.

Finally, I decided I needed to tether it to a charger across the room with the sound on only for texts or phone calls – the actually important alerts. ⁣

And it worked. ⁣

I forgot about all of the missing notifications, and I was in the moment. ⁣

And when I intentionally picked up my phone later, all my notifications were still there for me to peruse on a timeframe that worked for me.

Resisting my go-to sin started out strong, but I kept finding “reasonable” excuses until I was back to where I was before. ⁣

Resisting my sin was really easy when I removed the temptation.

In fact, I didn’t really have anything to “resist”. ⁣

So yes, I am comparing my cell phone to the Anti-Nephi-Lehies’ swords. (Pretty similar, right?!)

“…we will hide away our swords, yea, even we will bury them deep in the earth…” (Alma 24:16)

But you can fill in the blank with whatever your go-to sin is right now: anger, inappropriate media, word of wisdom issues, self-deprecation, pride…

What makes you want to indulge in your sin?⁣

A notification? A group of friends? A certain habit or routine? A social media account?⁣

Try removing it. ⁣

Or at least try changing it as much as you have the ability to change it.

“It is easier to avoid temptation than it is to resist temptation.” – Lynn G. Robbins

Although we can ask for the strength to resist our favorite sins, often Heavenly Father asks that we take the initiative and remove the temptation altogether (or as much as possible). ⁣

And if we have great faith, we can bury that temptation deep in the earth, never to dig it up again.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post My distracting phone first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I was super committed.

I deleted apps that sucked my time.

I set time limits.

I was ready.

But then I noticed that even though I had made the goal…

Whenever I had a spare moment, I’d still pull my phone out of my pocket and find something to still distract me!

Something had to change in order for it to work.

I realized that the only way I was going to improve was if I got rid of the temptation.

I started plugging my phone into the charger in a different room.

And funny enough, my success rate suddenly improved!

It’s not a sin to be tempted.

Jesus, the perfect person, was tempted in three different ways as He finished communing with God through fasting.

But we can always control how we react to those temptations, right?

And, as usual, our Savior gives us the perfect example.

He responded with:

“Get thee hence, Satan.”⁣ (Matthew 4:10)

He got rid of the temptation.

He asked it to leave.

He made it so that He wouldn’t have to endure the temptation for too long.

I can attest to this being true.

It is so hard to have to constantly resist temptation.

When I’ve used my creativity and agency to get rid of the temptation (as reasonably as possible), I am much more likely to be able to cast out my distractions and refocus on what matters most.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Get thee hence first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

It looks so sleek, and whatever the new features are seem incredible.

The camera quality seems noticeably sharper.

I just want to show my new phone off to everyone!

…And then fast forward a month, and it’s all changed.

It doesn’t seem quite so special or exciting anymore.

It seems like every other phone I’ve had.

I even get a little bit frustrated when the app doesn’t load as quickly as I am now used to.

I’ve lost all the “awe” I had with my phone.

Look at how the shepherds reacted after seeing baby Jesus:

“And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.” (Luke 2:20)

They had come with great speed.

But they left in awe, worshiping Jesus!

Do we find that same kind of awe and joy in the Savior?

It’s tough.

When life gets serious and challenging, it’s hard to remember.

Everything seems like such a big, weighty deal.

But every once in a while, I remember that having the ability to worship my Savior should fill me with so much happiness and joy!

It’s happy! It’s light!

It is worth praise and joy!

It is glorious to be able to worship!

How can you still find ways to be in “awe” of Jesus?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Stay in awe first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.