There are people who have spent their entire lives studying things and even they don’t know it all.

It is mind blowing how much we don’t know.

I get that same feeling when I read through Moses chapter 1.

God talks about the numberless worlds He has created and inhabitants everywhere. 

Woah.

There is so much information Heavenly Father has not shared with us yet.

And I think Moses even felt slightly overwhelmed when he humbly asked the Lord why He’d created this whole plan. 

But do you know what I am grateful for?

God answers Moses’s question.

He gives Moses and us “the why.”

“For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” (Moses 1:39)

It’s for immortality and eternal life.

That’s why we are here.

That’s why we have a veil and can’t remember anything from before.

That’s why life is fantastic and also painful.

That’s why Jesus is so important.

We may not know everything, but it’s all for our immortality and eternal life.

And we can trust that He’s got a plan to help us get there.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Walking into a library first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

What is my “why”?

Why do I choose to do what I do each day?

Each and every thing.

Like emptying the dishwasher.

Reading a book to my kids.

Making time for date night.

Attending church on Sunday.

Studying the scriptures.

Why do I do it?

I’ve learned that I actually feel so much more empowered when I remember WHY I actually want to be doing each task.

I want to contribute to my home. I want to raise curious children. I want to strengthen my marriage. I want to worship God and take the sacrament. I want to invite the Spirit into my life even more.

Thinking of these “big” reasons makes the little mundane or habit-driven tasks so much more exciting and purposeful.

When Moroni went out to rally his troops, he also reminded his people of their “why.”

“He went forth among the people, waving the rent part of his garment in the air, that all might see the writing which he had written upon the rent part.” (Alma 46:19)

And when he reminded them of their “why”, everyone was inspired to act.

They weren’t forced, guilted, or just convinced.

They thought about their purpose, and then they knew they wanted to do something.

What are your big picture “why”s for everything that you do each day?

Reflecting on this purpose can give us enough motivation to “rally the troops” and infuse a spiritual adrenaline rush into our lives.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Rally the troops first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

At first, I seemed very popular as everyone got excited that they could play with a children’s toy during this lesson.

However, I quickly lost my popularity when I told them they had one minute to think up an analogy for how the toy they were playing with somehow represented Jesus Christ.

Despite their groans, the youth did a fantastic job!

They giggled about stretchy toys that reminded them to “spread the gospel”.

They shared drawing boards that allowed them to erase their mistakes.

They modeled how a play abacus reminded them to “count their blessings.”

We then talked about how Jesus is the root of everything.

Jesus is everywhere and everything.

We can make silly analogies about Him with toys…

But much more importantly, He is the reason for everything we have in this church.

“And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ. . . .” (2 Nephi 25:26)

Do we mistakenly attend the temple, go to sacrament meeting, or even perform missionary service while losing focus of the true goal of becoming like Jesus?

Jesus is the reason for everything we do.

Everything!

We worship our Savior in His holy house, we partake of His sacrament to renew covenants, and we bring other people to the remembrance of their loving Savior.

So let’s do better at talking of Christ.

Rejoicing in Christ.

Preaching of Christ.

The more we can do this, the more we can be reminded that Jesus is at the center of our lives!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Toys and Jesus first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I had been the long-term sub for 6 weeks, and all the other teachers were telling me admin would be silly to not just hire me, plus I was starting to click with my students. ⁣

The principal called me in for a meeting, where I was SURE that the full-time position would be offered to me, a new BYU grad. ⁣

Instead… she told me that someone else had been hired before I had started subbing, they just couldn’t start until January.

I had been the place-holder. ⁣And I didn’t even know it.

I was crushed.

Why?! This would have been PERFECT!⁣

And then I was frantic.

I applied for jobs like crazy because we needed the income.

Within a few days, I had been offered my first full-time teaching position at a school that would be my home for the next 4 years.

I would make lifelong friends and meet students who would change my life. ⁣

Luckily, my period of “not knowing” lasted only a few weeks – from finding out I didn’t have the first job to discovering I felt “at home” at the new one. ⁣

There are many other times when I’ve had to wait a lot longer in that “not knowing” phase.

A lot longer. ⁣

Nephi was an older man living in the promised land when he started to write a complete record of his people. ⁣

And then, he received direction from the Lord that he should write another account of the same exact time period, but instead focus on spiritual matters. ⁣

His response? ⁣

“Wherefore, the Lord hath commanded me to make these plates for a wise purpose in him, which purpose I know not.” (1 Nephi 9:5)

Have you ever considered that Nephi died without ever knowing why he was writing these second plates?⁣

That’s a long time to dwell in “not knowing” limbo. ⁣

It’s always inspirational to tell our stories where “not knowing” turned into “perfect timing” after some hindsight.⁣

But sometimes, we are asked to just stay in “not knowing”.

Maybe even for the rest of our lives.

But Nephi teaches us through his example that the way to survive our “not knowing” is trust with all our hearts that God has a wider purpose than we could ever imagine.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

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

And holding it separate from any other scriptures has made me realize just how MASSIVE it is.

So many people I have talked to have mentioned they feel excitement for a fresh start in the Old Testament, but they also feel that huge gap in knowledge as to what’s going on.

Have you felt that before?

Starting a new task, or a new book of scripture, or a new job, or a new parenting adventure, and you suddenly realize how LITTLE you know?!

I think Moses could relate as he talked to God on the mountain.

In Moses 1, God starts teaching Moses, humble sheep-herder, that there are “worlds without number”.

And the worlds are filled with numberless inhabitants.

In the grand scheme of things, there is so much that our Heavenly Father has not shared with us yet.

And I love Moses’ meek yet inquisitive response:

“Tell me, I pray thee, why these things are so…?” (Moses 1:30)

Why are there so many creations? Why so many worlds? So many people? Why are we here? What’s the purpose of it all?

You know, the BIG questions.

And what amazes me is that the Lord answers this question!

The Lord tells Moses what the big WHY really is for each creation, each trial, each life.

“For behold, this is my work and my glory–to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” (Moses 1:39)

It’s for immortality and it’s for eternal life. For us.

That’s why we are here.

That’s why we have a veil and can’t remember anything from before.

That’s why Jesus is so important.

It’s all for our immortality and eternal life, and He’s got a plan to help us get there.

As we move through the Old Testament this year, you’ll have plenty of moments where you’ll realize just how little you know about this ancient book of scripture, or the people or doctrines contained in it.

But that’s okay. We don’t have to know it all right now.

In the big picture, we know the almost incomprehensible concepts of immortality and eternal life will be ours if we focus on the simple ways that we put God first in our life each day.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post There is so much we DON’T know! first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

What would be gone if every child was raised with this knowledge?

Maybe hatred would disappear.

Maybe competition and jealousy.

Maybe self-loathing and criticism.

I know this won’t happen right now.

But I can control what my children learn.

How might they behave differently with this knowledge in their life?

Quin is a natural leader and quite brilliant.

I can see a future where she understands her divine destiny, as well as everyone else’s, and she teaches and leads with love and kindness.

Barrett loves to make people laugh and handles any vision impairment with naive bliss.

I can see a future where he understands who he really is, and uses humor to set a powerful example of being confident before others and the Lord.

Now who knows the path their life will really take, or the decisions that my kids will make, but I want to do my absolute best to ground them in this beautiful knowledge that I think can transform the world.

“Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny.” -The Family: A Proclamation to the World

Do we teach this clearly enough to every young person we come in contact with?

Do WE believe it?

When we know that we have Heavenly Parents who love us, when we REALLY know this, I think we can change the world one person at a time.

Feeling loved and feeling important can change anyone.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Beloved children of heavenly parents first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

It wasn’t impossibly far away, but it was just far away enough that we usually did two youth trips a year to go and do baptisms and confirmations.

We would make a whole day of it, and, of course, grab ice cream at Fenton’s afterwards. (If you know, you know.)

When I went off to BYU, I was suddenly in very close walking distance to a temple.

What a shift!

I upped my attendance from twice a year to once or twice a month, because that’s when roommates would go.

After my husband and I got married and moved to Arizona, we lived about 20 minutes from the Mesa temple.

And suddenly, we realized… we were on our own for temple attendance.

No more youth group trips. No more roommates going with us. If our ward had temple trips, they were often during times when one of us was working.

We had to grapple with the question:

Why do we really attend the temple?

I didn’t love my reasons at first.

But throughout the years, my answer has shifted.

When I read D&C 97:13-14, I was reminded of some of my favorite reasons.

The Lord was teaching these saints, pretty passionately, about why they NEEDED to get to work in building that temple.

Throughout these verses, He mentions 3 things:

1. For a place of thanksgiving for all saints
2. For a place of instruction
3. That they may be perfected

Thanksgiving, instruction, and perfection.

It’s hard not to be filled with gratitude while sitting in a beautiful building surrounded by beautiful reminders of all that God has done for us.

Instruction is given every single time we are in the temple, and the more that I’ve tried to pay attention and learn, the more my eyes have been opened to the wealth of knowledge that is available.

And as we learn more about the power of God and His priesthood, we become perfected. When we do work for our ancestors, we become perfected. When we sacrifice any item on our to-do list for time in the temple, we become perfected.

Isn’t that a beautiful trio of reasons why we need temples?!

Right now, what is your biggest “why” for wanting to be in the temple?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Temple habits first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

How could you make the biggest impact for good on others that you possibly can?

It’s gotta be something big right?!

A big event.

An elaborate service project

A huge social media account.

Greatest good = tons of people, right?

I want to flip the question a bit.

What things have made the biggest impact in YOUR life?

Who has inspired you to live the gospel with integrity, and how did they inspire you?

Who has taught you how to be kinder and more loving, and how did they teach it?

For me, the answers to those questions are not big.

At least, they don’t look big.

They look like a text message sent at exactly the right moment.

They look like a leader who always lived the gospel with integrity.

They look like someone teaching a lesson that they probably never got thanked for, but one phrase completely changed me.

Doing the greatest good seems to not look like large, grandiose gestures.

Doing the greatest good looks an awful lot like becoming a Christlike person who tries to do the little things that He would do.

So what’s the greatest good you could be doing right now?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The greatest good first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I’ve thought about this question a lot.

As a mom, as a wife, as a disciple, as a writer and speaker…

Why do I do what I do each day?

Being able to go on mental autopilot is fantastic for some of my daily tasks.

But, in general, autopilot is the enemy of my “why”.

• Why did I choose to be a mom and take care of my two kids?
• Why do I try to make my husband a priority?
• Why do I spend a large portion of my personal time devoted to becoming more Christlike?
• Why do I take time to write my thoughts down and share them with others?

When I honestly consider each of these questions, I’m infused with purpose and joy.

Captain Moroni wrote his “why” on part of his coat and rallied others who resonated with his “why”.

And I try to “rally” myself to the remembrance of my “why” each day, too.

I need to take that time to center myself and be reminded of all the reasons I’m living the life I am right now.

And that gives me a little surge of adrenaline to keep going.

So what’s your “why” for each of your roles right now?

I challenge you to step out of autopilot for a second, and “rally the troops” sometime today.

(By the way, personal prayers are a fantastic time and way to do this!)

What would you wave on a flag and proudly share that gives you motivation and pride?

What’s your “why”?

Artwork by Walter Rane

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post What’s your why? first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.