My favorite leaders haven’t always been the most organized. ⁣

My favorite leaders haven’t necessarily made the best executive decisions. ⁣

My favorite leaders haven’t always been the smartest. ⁣

My favorite leaders HAVE strengthened me. ⁣

They’ve known me. ⁣

They’ve cared about me and reached out to me. ⁣

They’ve taught or presented or trained on things that I really need to learn in order to become a better person. ⁣

The focus isn’t on them. ⁣

The conversation is always on others. ⁣

I’ve had bishops, Relief Society presidents, and Young Women leaders who have strengthened me. ⁣

I’ve had bosses, principals, and team leads who have strengthened me. ⁣

“Therefore, strengthen your brethren in all your conversation, in all your prayers, in all your exhortations, and in all your doings.” – (D&C 108:7)

I don’t know that everyone agrees that this is what makes a good leader. ⁣

But to me, it makes sense. ⁣

The ultimate, real, true purpose of us being here on earth isn’t to learn how to become the most efficient person we can possibly be. ⁣

It’s not to become that leader with all the charisma and fame. ⁣

It’s not to lead the biggest empire. ⁣

It’s to love God and then to love others. ⁣

It’s to take the strength we get from knowing our standing with God and to turn that around and spread it to others. ⁣

It’s to teach and build and share. ⁣

It’s real servant-leadership. ⁣

It’s the type of leadership Jesus Christ showed while He walked the earth. ⁣

Real leaders strengthen others. ⁣

Who has been a leader who has strengthened you? 

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post My favorite leaders  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

She would drive by our home every week and drop off a scripture activity.

She would say “hi” to my daughter at church.

She remembered every detail of their conversations.

She was the BEST.

And my daughter loved her!

Later, I learned that this teacher had served in many notable leadership callings in the church throughout her life.

Now, with her calling as a teacher to a group of three-year-old kids…

She planted herself.

She blessed the lives of so many people, including my own and my daughter’s.

I’ve been planted in a lot of places in my life.

I’ve been in different locations, wards, callings, jobs, friend groups, and schools.

Sometimes, it’s hard to be planted or “all-in” when I’m in a circumstance I don’t really enjoy.

I just think about what I’m missing, or how I know things could be better.

But I love that when the Lord told a few different families to move from Ohio to Missouri permanently, He said:

“And thus let those of whom I have spoken be planted in the land of Zion.” (D&C 57:14)  

He didn’t want them looking backward, wondering when this would end.

He didn’t want them being envious of those who got to stay behind.

He just wanted them to be planted where they were.

When I put my roots down in whatever situation I may be in and decide to truly “plant” myself, I feel so much more peace, calm, and happiness.

But looking at my daughter’s Primary teacher has given me a new perspective on this, too:

When we plant ourselves well and embrace our current environment, we can better serve and love the people around us.

We plant our roots “all-in” where we are, bloom where we are planted, and help the other flowers grow, too.

“Whatever your calling, I urge you to see it as an opportunity not only to strengthen and bless others but also to become what Heavenly Father wants you to become.” – Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Plant yourself first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Have you experienced one of these dog-piles of chaos and trials before?!

Health trials, emotional trials, physical trials, anxiety-inducing trials…

I was just a mess.

I knew I was in survival mode.

But I later realized that I was also in “spiritual survival mode”.

This was NOT the time of my life for lengthy scripture study sessions, devotional podcasts, and abundantly reaching out to serve others.

I was overdrawing from my personal spiritual bank account.

I was taking out a whole lot more emotional strength than I was putting in at the time.

And I think this is how it should be when these crazy moments hit.

I needed to draw on every ounce of spiritual testimony and peace that I had already found in order to keep my head above water.

A few months later, after my life calmed down a bit, I realized I needed to kick my spiritual preparation into gear again.

Captain Moroni teaches us something interesting about strengthening weak places in times of peace:

“In their weakest fortifications he did place the greater number of men; and thus he did fortify and strengthen the land which was possessed by the Nephites.” (Alma 48:9)

There wasn’t any contention going on at the time.

But Captain Moroni was spending time, energy, and resources to prepare for a future battle that he knew would happen.

You can’t really fortify during an attack.

It’s all about the preparation beforehand.

And if you are in a time of (relative) spiritual peace, then we know some sort of battle will come our way at some point.

It’s all about loading as many spiritual experiences, scriptural inspiration, and powerful prayer into our spiritual bank account so that when the chaotic parts of life come, there’s a fortress ready to handle the wear and tear.

It is essential to strengthen ourselves in times of peace.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Strengthen during times of peace  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

One particular time, I was flying with my daughter, who wasn’t even two years old yet.

It was a late-night flight.

That then got delayed a few times.

The flight experience was… brutal. To say the least.

She freaked out during the safety demonstration and wouldn’t calm down.

She kept kicking the seat in front of us.

She got bored with every distraction I had packed in our bag.

I kept praying that she would calm down.

Or that she would just fall asleep.

But she did neither of those things.

I felt very alone.

As the flight ended, the person sitting directly in front of us (whose seat I kept trying to protect from my daughter’s crazy kicking) turned around and said:

“She did so well for such a little person! And you did an amazing job with her.”

I almost burst into tears.

And the Spirit poured comfort into my heart.

My mind suddenly completely changed perspectives.

I had wanted the hard time on the plane to stop.

That’s what I prayed for.

And yet, as trivial of a situation as this may have been, Christ was there.

He had been strengthening me to endure and learn from the experience.

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:13)

I just couldn’t see this until a stranger pointed it out to me, and the Spirit quietly confirmed it.

Christ often doesn’t take away the tough time, no matter how big or small it is.

Probably because He’s really good at strengthening us to endure, learn, and find moments of peace in the meantime.

But it’s often our perspectives that need to change in order to see this truth.

If you are doing your reasonable best to live your covenants…

Then Christ is likely strengthening you right now to endure.

Christ strengthens me.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Jesus strengthens me to endure first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Christ gently reminded Peter before he had actually denied Him:

“When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” (Luke 22:32)

WHEN thou art converted.

To me, that crucial word “when” means that Peter’s conversion hadn’t quite happened yet. ⁣

Of course, Peter KNEW that Jesus was the Christ.

But when he was suddenly thrown into a stressful situation where people were accusing him, his basic instincts kicked in.

⁣And Peter’s basic instincts put self-survival above love for the Savior. ⁣

I think that’s a big test of conversion!

We can “know” things and testify about them.

But when it comes down to it

When life really gets hard

When we are put in awkward situations with friends

When we risk offending people…

What do we revert to?⁣

Do we still find ourselves rooted in Christ?

That shows the difference between simply believing and being truly converted to the Lord. ⁣

But don’t despair if your love for your Savior hasn’t quite sunk into your soul yet.

Because the cool part is that as we keep reading the New Testament, we will learn that Peter DOES become wholly converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

He puts his love for the Savior above his personal safety.

He puts his love for the Savior above his own life.

So if we aren’t truly converted yet, if we panic when we have to say what we believe, if we worry more about what other people think than what God thinks…

We’ve always got time to learn about and love Jesus even more!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Why did Peter deny? first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

My favorite leaders haven’t always been the most organized.

My favorite leaders haven’t necessarily made the best executive decisions.

My favorite leaders haven’t always been the smartest.

My favorite leaders HAVE strengthened me.

They’ve known me.

They’ve cared about me and reached out to me.

They’ve taught or presented or trained on things that I really need to learn in order to become a better person.

The focus isn’t on them.

The conversation is always on others.

I’ve had bishops, relief society presidents, and young women leaders who have strengthened me.

I’ve had bosses, principals, and team leads who have strengthened me.

I don’t know that everyone agrees that this is what makes a good leader.

But to me, it makes sense.

The ultimate, real, true purpose of us being here on earth isn’t to learn how to become the most efficient person we can possibly be.

It’s not to become that leader with all the charisma and fame.

It’s not to lead the biggest empire.

It’s to love God and then to love others.

It’s to take the strength we get from knowing our standing with God and to turn that around and spread it to others.

It’s to teach and build and share.

It’s real servant-leadership. 

It’s the type of leadership Jesus Christ showed while He walked the earth. 

Real leaders strengthen others.

Who has been a leader who has strengthened you? I want to hear about them, or pass this message onto them to let them know the impact they’ve had. 

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Real leaders strengthen first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

And I realized how grateful I am that I haven’t had to deal with that.

With a two-year-old and a baby, I haven’t needed to explain to them how the world is different right now.

I haven’t needed to explain why things are cancelled or changed.

I haven’t had to deal with any fear or anxiety on their parts.

But, I know that as they grow up, there are going to plenty of tumultuous and horrifying events that will rock their worlds.

And I’ll have to address all of these conversations I’m being spared right now.

As the Jaredites crossed the ocean, they were buried in the depths of the water.

“When they were buried in the deep there was no water that could hurt them, their vessels being tight like unto a dish”. (Ether 6:7)

They couldn’t be harmed by the water, because their vessel was tight.

Imagine that sense of security – knowing that the thing you are in is so impenetrable that it doesn’t matter if you encounter a giant whale, a huge wave, or anything else.

You know you’ll be safe because nothing can get in.

And so I’ve been thinking a lot recently about how I want my family environment to be tight like a dish.

To immerse our family in so much prayer, scripture study, service, family fun, temple work, church activities…

That there is no room for the adversary’s storms to enter.

I want to show my kids that while we absolutely cannot control what goes on around us, there is no reason to feel fear.

Of course, we are mortal, and valid anxiety and emotions will seep through from the heavy weight of the water.

But we can continue making our vessel as tight as possible.

We can create and feel security that will carry us emotionally through the tumultuous waves outside.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Tight like unto a dish first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Alma tried preaching here, but left because no one was listening.

Amulek joined him and they were able to convert a few people.

But then the head of the government in that city rounded up all the believers.

The men were cast out and stoned.

And the women and children were burned.

Pure evil.

Alma prophesied of the city’s impending destruction, and pretty soon, Lamanite armies launched a surprise attack.

They completely decimated the city. All the inhabitants were killed. There were too many bodies to bury, so the city just stank.

No one wanted to go near it.

Eventually, people started inhabiting that land again, but it was a weak city. It had been gutted, and it wasn’t easy to rebuild.

So when the Lamanites wanted to attack again, they knew exactly which city would give them the easy win and build momentum.

Ammonihah.

But when they got there, they were astonished.

This city had been rebuilt and fortified in a manner in which no city had ever been fortified before.

An easy win turned into a powerhouse stronghold, and the Lamanites turned away without even trying.

I have many weak places.

I have sins. I have weaknesses. I am a fallen woman.

But what does Christ do?

He makes weak things become strong.

He takes my sins, any hint of evil desire, and He cuts it down. He destroys it.

But then He builds.

He restores.

He strengthens.

The sin from my past now becomes my strength. I am able to connect and empathize with those who struggle with the same things. I am able to see evil for what it is. I am able to warn and teach.

I have been rebuilt, and now I will not fall.

How?

Because of my Savior.

Because I talk about Him, and read about Him. I think about Him, and serve Him.

He allowed His mortal body to be totally destroyed.

So that I can be rebuilt, stronger than before.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Rebuilt by Christ first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I gave birth to my little boy in January, and adding a new human to the mix always makes things a little more chaotic, with a lot less sleep.

And then, in early March, I started having random, intense abdominal attacks and my doctor had no clue what was going on.

And then, I had the realization that my sweet baby boy had a vision impairment.

And then… the world shut down, bringing insecurities of every kind, but especially social isolation.

And so our family navigated multiple doctor’s appointments, meetings with specialists via Zoom, an ultrasound, scan, emergency hospital stay, unexpected surgery, MRI under anesthesia, diagnosis…

All during a pandemic.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was in “survival mode”, as I know many others have been.

I was overdrawing from my spiritual bank – taking out a whole lot more emotional strength than I was putting in at the time.

As it should be in times like that.

But a few weeks ago, I realized that the biggest storms had passed, and yet I was mentally still in a war zone.

My family is doing great now. Barrett has his diagnosis and resources to help him move forward. I’ve got one less organ in my body and I’m not in constant fear of another painful attack.

This is my time of peace. We are good.

But I haven’t been ramping up my spiritual protection as much as I should be.

Captain Moroni used his times of peace to fortify cities against future attacks.

You can’t really fortify during an attack – it’s all about the preparation.

And so now that my mental and physical “attacks” have subsided, I’m choosing to switch back into preparation mode.

I’m now hoarding all the spiritual experiences, the immersion in the scriptures, the special moments praying.

I’m putting it all into my spiritual bank.

I’m building up that fortress.

So that the next time I have to go to battle (because I know that difficult times are still ahead for me), I’ll have a wealth of knowledge and strength to draw on.

Because I have strengthened in my times of peace.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Strengthen in times of peace first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.