“Joseph, my son, if thou livest until thou art eighty-five years old, thou shalt see the face of the Son of Man; therefore let this suffice, and trouble me no more on this matter.⁣

“I was left thus, without being able to decide whether this coming referred to the beginning of the millennium or to some previous appearing, or whether I should die and thus see his face.”⁣

These are from Joseph’s own words, as recorded in D&C 130:14-16. ⁣

Joseph keeps praying and asking the Lord when the Second Coming will happen. ⁣

The Lord finally says, listen, if you live until you are 85, you’ll see Jesus Christ. Please don’t ask again.

And my absolute favorite part is how Joseph responds!⁣

He knows how the Lord teaches and reveals. ⁣

And so Joseph knew better than to think that the Lord just told him the Second Coming would happen when he was 85 years old. ⁣

I mean, it COULD mean that. ⁣

Or it could be referring to another appearance of Jesus Christ, since the “Second Coming” wasn’t specified. ⁣

Or it could mean that he is going to die before he reaches 85, so he’ll see the face of Jesus in the next life. ⁣

The Lord doesn’t give us the answers in specifics and literal details. ⁣

I can see that while reading the scriptures.

And I’ve seen it in my life in much smaller ways when I get a strong prompting to “apply for that job because it will change your life.”⁣

Only to not get the job… and then be led in a completely different, better direction. ⁣

When I’ve felt, “yes, this is the time to serve a mission, so start preparing”.⁣

Only to have my life go in a different direction, one where I am blessed by my preparation to serve a mission every day. ⁣

The Lord isn’t always literal and obvious…⁣

And I love that. ⁣

It’s like this giant, exciting, God-led mystery that’s about to unfold and I get to see how all the clues fit together as I act in faith and move forward.

How has acting in faith led you to beautiful, unexpected blessings?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Not so literal first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Joseph is reading newspaper reports every day about South Carolina’s new drama. ⁣

The federal government had established new tariffs (taxes), and South Carolina nullified them (AKA refused to pay them).

United States Pres Andrew Jackson threatened South Carolina. They better pay the tariffs, or they would go to war.⁣

It was in this mindset that Joseph prayed and received the revelation known as D&C 87. ⁣

This was a uniquely specific prophecy that actually mentioned specific locations and events:⁣

It mentioned the rebellion of South Carolina, a war between the Southern and Northern states, the Southern states calling on Great Britain for help, and slaves rising up against their masters. ⁣

So… I’m sure you know what happened next, right?!⁣

… the federal government and South Carolina made a pretty quick and easy compromise where the government lowered the tariffs and the state agreed to pay them. ⁣

That was it. ⁣

All that political tension and turmoil, and then add on a very specific prophecy from a prophet about war. ⁣

And then, an anticlimactic resolution. ⁣

Was the prophet wrong?⁣

Well, if you are familiar with U.S. history, you know the power of hindsight. ⁣

30 years later, South Carolina did lead a rebellion that brought unprecedented war between the north and the south, the south called on Great Britain for help, and slaves rose against their masters. ⁣

Long after Joseph had died, and long after the saints had already moved west to Utah.⁣

God’s timing is so dramatically different than our timing. ⁣

The early saints believed Christ’s return was imminent… and here we are 200 years later. ⁣

And this war prophecy did not come true even when current events seemed to point toward it happening right away. ⁣

Feeling a sense of “urgency” has always been something that the Lord has tried to evoke. ⁣

Change now. Keep the commandments immediately. Follow the prophet. ⁣

But we don’t do these things because we know we’ve got a deadline approaching. ⁣

We do these things because He knows we will feel so much more peace in our lives as soon as we decide to turn to Him. ⁣

God’s timing is His own.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The war prophecy  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Oh yeah, yeah. The light of Christ. Everyone receives it.

But I’ve usually heard it in CONTRAST with the GIFT of the Holy Ghost.

Every individual born on earth is given the light of Christ, but those who make baptismal covenants with God have access to His constant presence.

But I don’t want to contrast it today.

EVERYONE is given the light of Christ.

AMAZING!

Everyone is given that innate desire to become better.

That guiding light that pulls them toward goodness and truth.

Members of the restored church of Jesus Christ don’t even come close to having a monopoly on goodness in the world.

And prophets have confirmed that this is in fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy!

“I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions”. (Joel 2:28)

President Joseph Fielding Smith said of Joel’s words:

“I am not going to confine this prophecy to the members of the Church. The Lord said he would pour out his Spirit upon all flesh. … [This means that] the Lord would pour out his blessings and his Spirit upon all people and use them to accomplish his purposes”.

The Lord is using EVERYONE to accomplish His purposes in these final days.

And President Gordon B. Hinckley said:

“From the day that He and His Beloved Son manifested themselves to the boy Joseph, there has been a tremendous cascade of enlightenment poured out upon the world. … The vision of Joel has been fulfilled”.

Invention and advancement and ingenuity.

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE being part of God’s covenant people and having access to an even greater portion of His spirit, priesthood power, and ordinances.

But everyone else in the entire world has opportunities to move His work forward, too.

They’ve got His spirit. They’ve got blessings from Him.

No one is lost to Him.

God is pouring out His spirit upon ALL flesh.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The light of Christ first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.