I had work to do like crazy, my house was a mess, and my kids needed a whole lot of attention. ⁣

Add to that the fact that between long work hours and church service, time with my husband was getting sparse, too. ⁣

I just felt a lot of concern. ⁣

And then I opened my Doctrine and Covenants to start studying section 100 in preparation for writing some posts and podcast episodes. ⁣

The very first verse pierced my heart. ⁣

“Your families are well; they are in mine hands”. (D&C 100:1⁣)

That line was meant for me, right there, right then. ⁣

Tears filled my eyes and I prayed for a little more understanding. ⁣

I felt peace. ⁣

I felt comfort. ⁣

I felt reassurance that we were doing good things and that this busy season would pass soon. ⁣

And then I sat in amazement. ⁣

For some reason, I was waiting for a prompting of something to change to make the situation better. ⁣

But instead, I just felt like I was being cheered on and comforted. ⁣

It was almost like a little tight squeeze. A little “it’s all going to be okay”.⁣

It wasn’t a solution to all my “problems”. Instead it was a comfort and a love that elevated me to handle the load a little bit better. ⁣

This verse might be totally insignificant to you right now, and that’s fine. ⁣

I’m sure I’ve read it before and never thought twice about it. ⁣

And that’s what I will forever love about the scriptures. ⁣

He speaks. The Spirit inspires. My God comforts. ⁣

In exactly the way I needed it on that day.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The verse I needed  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Because when I first searched for “Come, Follow Me” resources in January of 2019…

I only found ways to teach your kids about the scriptures.

Basically, family scripture study support.

And I so selfishly thought (with a 1 year old who I wasn’t really concerned about teaching yet)…

What about me?!

Where is my help and support?!

(Which led to the prompting for me to start this account, but the full saga is a story for another day.)

I have gained SUCH a strong testimony that we have to learn for ourselves first. ⁣

We have to put the oxygen mask on ourselves first.

In fact, I think that’s the best way to teach our families!

Now that I have older kids where I DO want to teach the gospel more…

I find that most of my teaching comes from my heart.

It’s from my real life experiences.

From real struggles and testimonies and tests. ⁣

It’s from what I have already studied.

(This is not a knock at lesson-helps by the way – I actually have tried and currently use many that I love. I am so grateful for those who use their talents in that area.)

And now with my Youth Sunday School calling, I try to make my top priority each week studying the material on my own and learning what the Spirit needs to teach me.

Before it even crosses my mind what to teach, I fill my own mind with learning and inspiration for my own life.

Are we sometimes TOO concerned about how to teach a topic to our kids?

How to give a good talk?

How to keep our class engaged?⁣

Or is our focus on how WE can gain a better understanding of a concept?

“Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men.” (D&C 11:21)

“In order to successfully teach the gospel, you must have both the word and the power of the gospel in your life.” – David M. McConkie

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Why I started this account  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I’ve been part of large events that get cancelled or dramatically changed just days beforehand.

I’ve forgotten a really important grocery item at the store.

I’ve asked someone else to do something and they’ve done it completely differently than what I was intending.

I’ve had someone get sick and not be able to do something we had been looking forward to for a long time.

Mortal life is filled with all sorts of things that “go wrong”, from small but still obnoxious errors, to big dramatic changes that are stressful and sometimes even heartbreaking.

Things weren’t supposed to happen like this!

When Jeremiah was a prophet, he was asked by the Lord to have his scribe record some important prophecies.

But then the king took the scroll with Jeremiah’s revelations and burned it, piece by piece!

What?!

The Lord ASKED for these to be written down, and now they were quite literally gone in flames.

But God knew what was going to happen.

“Take thee again another roll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first roll”. (Jeremiah 36:28)

And then the Lord gave Jeremiah even MORE new revelation to include!

Isn’t it comforting to know that nothing comes as a surprise to God?

He knew what the king would do, and He had a plan in place to keep these important prophecies preserved.

People still have their agency.

I’m sure the Lord hoped the king wouldn’t burn Jeremiah’s writings.

And maybe He hoped that the people around you would have made better choices, too.

But He still isn’t even surprised.

In fact, it seems to be these kind of moments when God works His greatest miracles. He rains down blessings even more. He softens our hearts at just the right moment.

Nothing is a surprise for the Lord.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

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