And then some good news comes:

The people from Zarahemla have arrived to save you!

Can you imagine the joy?

Your “saviors” had come!

The miracle you had been praying for had arrived!

This is exactly what King Limhi’s people experienced.

But King Limhi wanted to correct his people.

He taught them that the people from Zarahelma, while helpful, were not their literal saviors.

He reminded them where their actual trust should be:

“Therefore, lift up your heads, and rejoice, and put your trust in God.” (Mosiah 7:19)

When we trust in earthly results, we will miss out on the true joy that comes from focusing on the Savior.

If we are just waiting to feel joy until a rescue party comes from Zarahemla

Or waiting for a difficult trial to end

Our waiting for our health to change

Or waiting for that event

Or waiting for our kid to master potty training…

Then we are putting our trust in the result a little bit higher than our trust in God.

The people from Zarahemla were not the ones who saved Limhi’s people—

God saved them.

We don’t have to wait for the solution before we display our ultimate trust in God, and realize that a higher happiness and peace can be experienced right now.

Our joy and happiness can be found now when we put our trust in God!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Jesus is the true Savior first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I can still distinctly remember her cries waking me up shortly after I had just fallen asleep.

My immediate instinct was to soothe her in any way possible in her bassinet.

I put my hand on her chest.

I fished around for her pacifier and tried to put that in her mouth.⁣

And then quite often, I’d realize she wasn’t going back to sleep, and was ready to eat.⁣

I’d pull my body up from the comfy sheets, prop up my pillows, pull her from her bassinet, and feed her for a half hour in the dark. ⁣

Motherhood is a sacrifice.

A sacrifice of my body. My comfort. My sleep. My time. My mental resources. ⁣

But this sacrifice has refined me into a more selfless, more kind, more fulfilled, and hopefully more Christlike person. ⁣

Could I ever ignore or forget my baby’s cries in the middle of the night?

It’s hard to even imagine. ⁣

And yet, our Savior will forget us even less than a mother and her newborn child.

“For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel.” (1 Nephi 21:15)

He has given us a greater sacrifice than even a mother who has birthed a child.

His body was broken for us. His emotional energy was depleted for us. His mortal life was ended for us. ⁣

He has sacrificed so much for us, that He could never forget us. ⁣

He has graven us upon the palms of His hands. ⁣

Do we remember that we can cry out to Him?

Do we trust that He really will respond every time in exactly the way that we need?

Do we know that His sacrifice for us forges a connection that can never be lost?⁣

The Lord will not forget us. He has never. And He will never. ⁣

He is aware of our every action and thought and move. He knows when we are in pain. He knows when we are confused. He knows when we just need a break. ⁣

All we need to do is trust that He really is there.

At 1:00 am, or whenever we need Him, He is there.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Sleepless nights  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

He was sitting on the couch, extremely grumpy and upset.

Someone was coming over soon, and so I wanted to clean up the counters and sweep the floors from our messy breakfast.

But I stopped and looked at my kid.

“Go and comfort him.”

The thought came to my mind.

I’ve been trying to do better at following every little thought that I think, so I set down the stuff I was carrying from the counter.

“I should bring him a snack.”

He loves cheese sticks, so I grabbed a cheese stick from the fridge and walked over.

“Can I cuddle with you for a bit?”

He looked at me pretty grumpily and said “No” right away…

But then he paused and said, “Actually yeah”.

I gave him the cheese stick, he ate it, and we just cuddled.

And honestly I didn’t care about the messy floor and cluttered counter when the visitor arrived shortly after.

My kid needed comfort, and I knew that a snack and some cuddles were all I could do at the moment.

John taught about how Jesus would treat those who come to Him:

“For the Lamb… shall feed them,… and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes”. (Revelation 7:17)

He will feed them.

And He will wipe away all tears.

I know, I know, the scripture is probably referring to spiritual nourishment.

But I can’t help but think about the loving, tender, caring act of literally feeding someone.

Preparing a meal you know they’ll love.

Grabbing their favorite treat.

Nursing an always-hungry infant. 

When we stop to feed (in all definitions of the word) and care for the people around us, we can serve as the Savior served, and as He will serve.

It takes some effort in a busy world where there’s always something on our list.

But I’ve never regretted time I’ve spent feeding and comforting.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post A cheese stick and some cuddles  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

We will be perplexed and confused as to why we have to experience what we experience. ⁣

We will be persecuted, sometimes by those who should love us most. ⁣

We will be cast down in society or our communities. ⁣

Life will be hard.

It is hard. ⁣

For some reason, I think we constantly need to remind ourselves of this.

It’s so easy to jump to:

“It’s not fair”

“What did I do to deserve this?”⁣

But we are guaranteed that these hard times will come to us. ⁣

It’s okay to feel troubled, perplexed, persecuted, and cast down. ⁣

But, thanks to our loving Savior:⁣

We do not need to feel distressed. ⁣

We need not despair. ⁣

We are not forsaken or forgotten. ⁣

We will not be destroyed. ⁣

Life is hard.

Really hard sometimes.

But we have our Good Shepherd with us. ⁣

He will not let the hard times destroy us if we turn to him.

We don’t have to be stressed out and in utter chaos.

We are not forgotten, ever! ⁣

Life is hard, but it doesn’t need to be miserable. ⁣

“We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9)

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Troubled but not destroyed first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

That hurt. A LOT.

One time, someone completely betrayed my trust.

That hurt.

One time, I realized that I had been hindering someone else and they called me out on what I needed to change.

That hurt.

I’ve been thinking about this phrase a lot: NO HURT.

Daniel in the lions’ den:

“So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and NO MANNER OF HURT was found upon him, because he believed in his God.” (Daniel 6:23)

The three friends cast into a fiery furnace:

“I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have NO HURT”. (Daniel 3:25)

Does the Lord really keep us from feeling hurt?

From my experience, I don’t think so.

Opposition in all things is necessary.

We’ve got to feel hurt and pain and embarrassment and anger in order to better recognize the opposite.

I’m so glad that Daniel and Shadrach and Meshach and Abednego were blessed with no physical harm in their dramatic stories of faith and trust in the Lord.

But here’s what I’ve been thinking about “no hurt”:

I think that when we face the trials in life with the Savior by our side, our testimonies and our faith won’t be hurt.

Our trust in the Lord won’t take a hit just because we are facing lions or a fiery furnace.

In fact, our testimony of Jesus Christ will probably be strengthened.

That brutal, heart-wrenching, annoying, frustrating trial won’t have the power to loosen our relationship with the Savior.

We will still feel hurt on this mortal journey.

But our spiritual progression doesn’t have to be hurt because of it.

No lion, no fire, no king can bring harm to my love for my Savior.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post No hurt  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Crazy winds and constant lightning. Sheets of rain pouring down.

I, of course, immediately started to pray.

“Please let this storm be short. Let it be over quickly.”

But the storm kept coming.

“Please keep the lightning away.”

The strikes seemed to come even closer.

“Please stop the roads from flooding.”

All the cars moved to the center lane as water pooled on the edges of the road.

“Should I just stop and pull over?”

Immediate doubts filled my mind. That wouldn’t be the right option for me right then.

I took a deep breath.

“Please be with me in the storm. Help me to make good decisions. Help the cars around me. Calm my heart and my mind.”

My mind was alert and racing as I drove the rest of the way home, but calm filled my heart.

The storm wasn’t going anywhere, but I was going to be okay. I would make it home.

“When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through fire, thou shalt not be burned”. (Isaiah 43:2)

The Lord doesn’t take away those disasters that are coming our way.

The floods still come.

The fire is still there!

But the Lord stays with us during the trial.

He makes the consequences sting just a little less.

He comforts us.

Isn’t that a great lesson to remember?

The Lord doesn’t always take away our hard times– He walks through them with us.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The floods and fire first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

It’s one of my favorite songs that I learned as a child.

My language?

My actions?

What would I do if the Savior was right next to me?

It helped guide me to more Christlike decisions as a little kid.

But now, years later, with three kids of my own, it brings a different meaning to me.

Fear. Weakness. Dismay.

I’ve felt it all.

“Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” (Joshua 1:9)

My understanding of the Savior has grown a lot since I was a kid.

He’s not just there, watching me, hoping I say and do nice things.

He is with me in my weakness. In my dismay. In my fears.

He’s with me when I feel exhausted after putting out my kids’ little fires all day.

He’s with me when I think that I’ve messed everything up.

He’s with me when I hear more bad news.

He’s with me when I remember everything that’s on my to-do list.

“He is always near me, though I do not see him there;

“And because he loves me dearly, I am in his watchful care.”

He’s there cheering me on. Guiding me. Comforting me. Loving me.

His Spirit can always be with me, whenever I have the desire.

And because He is with me wherever I go, I have no need to feel fear and dismay.

I can be strong and have courage to conquer whatever comes my way.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Be strong first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Joseph F. Smith actually saw this righteous assembly in a vision.

Who did he literally see there, being taught by the Savior?

President Smith mentions our Father Adam first. And then…

“Our glorious Mother Eve, with many of her faithful daughters who had lived through the ages and worshiped the true and living God.” D&C 138:39

Our Mother Eve and her faithful daughters from throughout the ages.

Mostly nameless.

Not recognizable to a current prophet looking in.

We don’t know most of their stories.

Not often recorded in the scriptures.

That’s the fate that women have faced for centuries.

But we can’t deny that faithful and righteous women are represented in heaven, right alongside Isaiah and Malachi and Noah.

“These the Lord taught, and gave them power to come forth, after his resurrection from the dead, to enter into his Father’s kingdom, there to be crowned with immortality and eternal life,

“And continue thenceforth their labor as had been promised by the Lord, and be partakers of all blessings which were held in reserve for them that love him.” D&C 138:51-52

Our names don’t have to be known in order to receive immortality and eternal life.

Our stories don’t have to be told in order to receive all the blessings held in store for those who love the Lord.

Life on earth is messy.

(Although I can’t deny how grateful I am to be a woman alive at a time when I feel blessed with so many more opportunities than previous generations.)

But heaven?

It’s filled with women and men assembled together, side by side, with their focuses on the Savior.

Artwork: “Faithful Women” by Amber Eldredge

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Women in heaven first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

This is a lesson I have inadvertently learned and internalized.

Anyone else feel this way sometimes?

This idea that if I can’t handle taking care of my two kids in our comfortable home filled with good food and lots of toys, then I’m clearly not mentally strong enough.

And yet… that’s not even close to the message that the Savior teaches me.

David Whitmer, one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon, was chastened by the Lord in D&C 30:1:

“You have feared man and have not relied on me for strength as you ought.”

The Lord WANTS me to rely on Him for everything that I do each day.

He doesn’t want me to feel like I have to do everything alone.

Because He knows that my life will improve as I turn to Him.

When I’m sitting in my comfortable air-conditioned house and I’m having to clean up the third spill in the last hour while another kid has a meltdown over I’m not even sure what…

He wants me to rely on Him.

To send up pleading prayers, asking for guidance and comfort and peace.

Am I living up to my privilege?

I feel like my life is already dripping with privilege, and yet I think I’m missing out on obtaining the full power of the most essential privilege of all.

The Savior is not disappointed when I have to ask for help.

He doesn’t think that I’m not strong enough.

Or that I’ve failed.

He is disappointed when I DON’T ask for help.

When I try to rely on my own strength.

So how can I make my Savior pleased with me?

I can ask for help. I can rely on Him for strength.

I can realize that I cannot do it alone, but that when I invite His divine assistance into my life, we are unstoppable.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post All on my own first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

It’s still weird to me that I gave birth this year.

Going into labor can be scary.

Having severe abdominal attacks a few months later can be scary.

Going in for emergency surgery without anyone allowed to be with you can be scary.

An unexpected 3-day hospital stay while your breastfed infant is at home can be scary.

Handing your little baby over to be put under anesthesia for an MRI can be scary.

Scheduling an appointment with a pediatric specialist can be scary.

Thinking of your baby’s different future can be scary.

And add that on top of what everyone else has also experienced, with general health scares, political unrest, and social issues…

When I write it all down, it seems bad. Truly frightening.

But can I be honest?

While the opportunities for fear have surrounded me, I feel like I’ve had a pretty peaceful year.

It’s been a year of stretching and growth. A year of new perspectives and refined priorities.

But not a year of fear.

To be clear, I don’t say that with a sense of pride or superiority.

In fact, I am well aware that this is a special spiritual gift that I have, and I have been specifically told that.

But those few moments when I have felt that fear start to creep up, in that moment where I sat in a waiting room by myself as they carried my baby away, I turned to my Father in Heaven.

In humility, in meekness. In love.

Loving my Heavenly Father is what cast out those little inklings of fear.

Loving my Savior is what transformed my fear to peace and confidence.

I’m not perfect at it, but when I have been in my most desperate times, I have had moments of pure and perfect love. Pure and perfect devotion to the Divine.

And I have found for myself that these moments of true, pure, perfect love for Heaven have cast out my fear.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Casting out fear first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.