He shared his message while standing on a wall. After he finished, some people got really angry and starting throwing rocks and shooting arrows at him. He knew he was being protected by the power of God, but he also knew his mission was complete. When the Nephites started moving forward to capture him, he jumped down from the wall and decided to just preach to his fellow Lamanites.

What actually happened:

There were MANY people who heard Samuel’s words and believed instantly. They knew exactly what they needed to do next: find the high priest Nephi. They found Nephi and confessed their sins to him. He baptized many of them and continued to teach them as they developed their testimonies. Nephi was able to show them signs and great wonders as the time of Christ’s birth approached.

Nephi got to see most of the fruits of Samuel’s labors.

We don’t know exactly how much Samuel knew about the positive results of his mission, but I’m going to guess that he wasn’t on that wall for very long before people wanted to silence him.

This seems to be a pretty common pattern.

Some people do a lot of preparing and teaching… and don’t see many results.

And other people see miraculous results… from people who had already been prepared.

I think of worn-down parents who feel like they aren’t getting through to their kid – and the youth leader who compliments them on their vast gospel knowledge.

I think of neighbors who share kindness and little gospel messages for years before moving – and the missionaries who get to teach and baptize later on.

We’ve got different roles to play at different times.

Samuel spent the rest of his life teaching his own people, and probably witnessing first hand the success and impact he was having.

He may have looked back on his unique wall-preaching experience as faith-building, but not a success.

And Nephi himself had experienced plenty of times where the people wouldn’t listen to him.

And yet when Samuel came, Nephi was able to organize a large group of saints and see the beautiful fruits of his work.

Times and seasons.

If you are being a Samuel right now, don’t give up. The fruits will come.

And if you are being a Nephi, give praise and rejoice in the goodness of God and others who cleared the way.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post No fruits to be seen first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

She told us we would have to report to her at the end of each of the three weeks of conditioning on whether or not we hit that goal.

The first week, I ran a mile on five different days and recorded my times.

I was happy to report to my coach that I had met the goal – but she never asked.

That second week, I missed a day, so I only ran 4 days, but I still recorded my times.

I had my excuse ready to go, but again, my coach never asked.

The third and final week, I figured she didn’t really care about us running on our own, and so I only ran one day.

She never asked, and that was it.

Looking back, I realized my only motivation for running was the fact that my coach had asked and wanted me to report.

But I also noticed something else.

I recorded my mile times in a little notebook that stayed on my bedside table for years as I added other random notes.

And when I looked back at the times?

I had improved every single time. I had gotten faster and stronger. I had gotten more healthy.

And I hadn’t even noticed or cared.

So while I thought I was “getting away” with not running the mile, I really was just harming my own strength and endurance journey.

I can’t help but draw the connection to scripture study.

Sometimes, we feel like we can “get away” with not reading every day. If your family isn’t encouraging you, if your spouse doesn’t find out, if your friend doesn’t check on you… then no one is the wiser!

Or, other times, we feel like “the big Coach” is watching over us and just getting really disappointed that we aren’t fulfilling that commitment every day.

But the reality is:

Scripture study blesses your life. It strengthens your ability to receive personal revelation. It increases your endurance for the trials of life.

And so when you stop reading,

You are only harming yourself.

So when talking about external and internal pressures, it’s good to stop and consider:

Where does my motivation lie?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Running the mile first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Because of the internet. Because of social media.

We can choose to produce goodness, to share goodness, and to consume goodness.

When our house is completely dark at night and I need to take care of a crying baby, all it takes is one little light to allow me to see.

By being just a small light, we can make a bigger difference than we could ever imagine.

I’ve got a testimony of that, for sure.

Samuel told the people living in Zarahemla that the Lord needed to destroy the entire city because of their wickedness.

“But behold, it is for the righteous’ sake that it is spared.” (Hel. 13:14)

One righteous person can keep an entire city from being destroyed.

And one righteous person can shine a light and share goodness on social media.

We can choose to post wisely.

We can choose to avoid division.

We can check facts.

We can resist cheap digs.

We can create beautiful and powerful content.

And whenever we choose to share our opinions, we try to always be led by the Spirit.

And that’s how we transcend the darkness and bitterness around us.

We stand out in different and distinct ways from the rest of the world and our difference can be tenfold (or more) what it could have been 20 years ago.

Just one person. One post. One comment. One moment of restraint.

Can make all the difference between darkness and life-changing light.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Making a viral difference first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I was in high school. It was October.

Over the course of a week, four of my close friends each had very serious and very sad life events occur.

Everyone was really down.

And I had a little prompting jump into my head, “If YOU are doing alright, you should make all your friends some treats to cheer them up.”

To say this was outside my comfort zone is an understatement.

I did NOT bake.

But I felt strongly that I should do it out of my place of emotional privilege, and so I made a scared-but-eager trip to the grocery store for ingredients for Pumpkin Bars.

I felt this nervous excitement as I made them. I was following through on a scary prompting, and I could just picture how this would brighten up my friends’ weeks!

When the timer went off and I pulled the tray out of the oven, I looked down at a dark brown thin substance.

And then I touched it. And it jiggled.

After my confused mom tried to talk me through what I had done while making them, we realized that I had forgotten the flour!

I’m extremely good at laughing at myself, but I felt really frustrated in the moment.

I knew I was following a prompting, and yet it hadn’t turned out. I just wanted to help my friends. I gave up.

But as I sat there looking at our messy kitchen, that same thought came back: “Cali, you can help your friends. Bring them the treat.”

So yes, I sliced up, plated, and Saran wrapped servings of this dark brown gelatinous substance and brought it to my friends the next day.

Like I said, I’ve got a good sense of humor, but this seemed just a little TOO weird.

But I did it. One by one, I approached my friends, told them of my baking debacle, and gave them the plate.

One friend did actually take a bite, and thus the term “Pumpkin Barf” was born.

This has always served as a silly but beautiful lesson for me. Cuz guess who totally cheered up her friends, created an infamously hilarious story, and lightened the whole mood with a weird but sincere gesture?

Initial promptings are tough to follow. And they get even more tough when they don’t turn out the first time we try. And even the second time we try, the results don’t look like anything close to how we thought they would.

But if we follow the first prompting, over and over, God will turn our messy kitchen concoctions into the beautiful little miracles He wants for His sons and daughters.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Prompting and baking mistakes first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.