When faced with a tragedy, most people say that the traditional offering of “thoughts and prayers” doesn’t do anything.

People say that only actions will change things or offer any real help.

I always think:

Why not both?

Thoughts and prayers AND action!

We should always accompany our prayers with sincere effort.

Effort matters!

Whether that’s taking steps to support family members who need help.

Or actually reaching out to the ward members who aren’t at church.

Or becoming involved in advocacy for national or international causes that you care about.

But what do we do when “action” isn’t an option?

What do we do in those impossibly difficult moments when someone is enduring a trial that we wish we could take away but can’t?

What do we do when someone’s heart is too hardened to notice our efforts?

What do we do when we can’t control the outcome?

I have learned that prayer works.

Prayer really works.

God is powerful.

There are some blessings that God wants to give to us, but He needs us to ask Him in prayer.

The Bible Dictionary entry for “Prayer” says:

“The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant but that are made conditional on our asking for them.

“Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them.

“Prayer is a form of work and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings.”

That’s the only condition for many blessings!

We have to ask.

We have to intentionally ask.

“We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers.” (1 Thessalonians 1:2)

We can plead for those around us in our prayers.

We should absolutely accompany our sincere prayers with actions and service if possible. ⁣

But our Heavenly Father recognizes the form of “work” that offering a prayer is and is willing to give us and others blessings from that action.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Thoughts and prayers! first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Do you ever have that moment where you realize just how much you don’t know?

I once had someone start talking to me and they said, “I just heard of a school that is trying out not assigning homework. I’m interested to see what happens, cuz I’ve always thought homework is a waste of time!”

This person didn’t realize that as an educator, I had read countless studies and attended trainings about the complex topic of the pros and cons of homework.

Plus, various schools have already been trying it out for years.

But this topic was completely new for this one person.

We don’t know what we don’t know.

And I’ve felt exactly the same way when I’ve listened to a speaker, brought up a problem to someone who already has the solution, or wondered about a topic only to find out people have already come to great conclusions.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.” (Isaiah 55:8)

Can you imagine how much more the Lord knows than we do?!

We’re like, “Hey, I think I’ve figured out how mercy works!” Or “Wow, I think I got a glimpse of true charity!” Or “Oh, THAT’s how you make fasting meaningful!”

And His way of thinking and understanding is so much infinitely more than what we can even realize.

But He’ll help us out and give us glimpses of His ways.

Personal revelation is huge for this.

But so are other opportunities where people have been given priesthood authority to receive revelation that will also enrich, enlighten, and educate us.

And that’s what general conference is.

A chance to hear from men and women who are speaking with priesthood authority.

People who are assigned by the prophet of God to put in the work to receive revelation for the general population of the church.

We’ve got a chance to learn what other people have learned about God’s ways.

We’ve got a chance to learn what He has already taught them about where we might be lacking in God’s ways.

It’s a time to gather, reflect, and receive directions that we may not even know we need yet.

General conference helps us learn the Lord’s ways just a little bit better.

Who is ready to go?!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post General conference and learning His ways first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts”.

Of course, the Almighty God doesn’t need an invitation to know our hearts and our thoughts.

But still, isn’t that such a bold and confident invitation that David makes?

It can be uncomfortable when I realize that the Lord knows I’m making up excuses to not say my prayers again, or when I’m annoyed at someone I’m supposed to be serving, or when I’m just going through good motions without any good intent behind them.

But today, I want to do something a little different.

I invite you to reflect on the good things that the Lord would find if you invited Him to know your heart and to know your thoughts.

What good intentions would He find?

What love would He experience?

What hope and faith would He discover?

The Lord knows all the good things going on in your heart and in your mind.

I bet He is proud and happy and pleased with so much.

Knowing our hearts and our thoughts actually doesn’t seem so uncomfortable anymore.

It seems… merciful.

There is so much good within you.

Even when it seems like your good intentions aren’t visible to anyone, they are visible to Him.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Search my heart first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Recently, I’ve been praying for better opportunities to serve other people.

And I got a super clear impression of what to do.

But things kept coming up and getting in the way.

And then I got sick and needed to stay away from other people.

And it just kept snowballing into roadblock after roadblock!

Finally I thought to myself: Am I really being delayed, or am I just using this as an excuse not to follow my prompting?

Pretty clearly, I felt the Spirit’s warmth.

“I know your intentions. You want to serve. Life is just messy right now.”

I felt this peace that God knew completely that my heart was in the right place, and He also knew all the honest obstacles I kept facing.

The people around at Noah’s time were not good.

And it wasn’t just because of their actions.

We learn that “every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5)

So they did bad things, but they also had evil intentions!

And God knew what the thoughts of their heart were.

Now sometimes, this is so comforting, like my current debacle with trying to fulfill a social service-related prompting that keeps hitting roadblocks.

I get credit for having good intentions!

But on the opposite end, God also knows when I do things with bad intentions.

He knows if that rude comment was said ignorantly or purposefully.

He knows if I decided to skip something important because it was too much for me mentally, or if I just wanted to get out of it.

Of course, our actions matter!

But only God knows the intentions behind our actions.

For better, and for worse.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The thoughts of my heart  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Your life on earth has ended.

You get to meet God the Father, face to face.

You are waiting right outside the door. (Or gate? Or garden?)

What is your mind doing?

Really think about that for a second.

What are you thinking about?

Maybe your mind is going to some of your shortcomings on earth. The times you forgot about Him.

Maybe you have some stories you want to tell Him that would make Him smile.

Maybe you have questions you want to ask.

Maybe you don’t know if you’ll say anything at all.

Maybe you are excited out of your mind. Maybe you are nervous.

I’ve thought about this reunion a lot, and how it will go changes pretty dramatically in my mind all the time.

But I’ve always been fascinated by this promise of what we can feel in God’s presence:

CONFIDENCE

Not pride or superiority. But a righteous and humble confidence.

And where does this confidence come from?

“Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God”. D&C 121:45

The confidence comes from our thoughts. Virtuous, loving, God-focused thoughts.

But it’s actually not so much about that future, glorious moment, as it is about right now.

We can be in God’s presence here, even though we may not see Him.

So what are our thoughts like on a daily basis? What are our thoughts like in the temple? What are our thoughts like at home?

Because we can’t fake those. Our thoughts often reveal our heart.

And the great news about thoughts? If our thoughts aren’t always where we want them to be right now, if they aren’t always virtuous and loving, we can change them.

And when we slowly change our thoughts to reflect the most important things on our heart, we gain confidence before the Divine.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Let virtue garnish your thoughts first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Not being moved.

Elder Holland so eloquently taught:

“It is inevitable that after heavenly moments in our lives, we, of necessity, return to earth, so to speak, where sometimes less-than-ideal circumstances again face us.”

Holy moments are precious.

Sometimes they are big and notable.

But more and more often lately, they’ve been really small and mighty.

A quick prayer offered in a time of need met with immediate assistance.

Glancing at my kids’ faces during a particularly difficult moment and seeing their divine potential.

Pondering that leads to life-changing realizations.

Writing my gratitudes down and seeing how obvious the Hand of God is in my life.

I do all that I can to stand in holy places throughout the day. To create holy moments.

And then… a kid starts crying.

And I get a headache.

And someone asks me if I’ve finished that project yet.

And the dishes need to be done for the millionth time.

And I have an awkward moment with someone I meet.

And all of a sudden, I’m down, off the mount.

Back to real life and all the weird, lame, uncomfortable, frustrating moments.

To stay in a holy place all the time seems impossible.

But I at least have the desire to experience holy moments all of the time.

And… God actually tells us that He will bless us for our desires, as we strive to do so.

So even when the world is in chaos around me after I come down off the mount of my holy moment, my desire to keep holiness with me can be strong enough to carry that feeling in my heart.

Because even though I am moving from the holy place…

My desires are not moving.

My intentions are not moving.

My Savior is not moving.

That is what can stay constant. My desire to be good. Even if I’m on a roller coaster of what my actions look like, my desires of my heart keep me tethered to Christ.

I can stand in holy places as often as I can, and my thoughts and righteous desires can never be moved.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Standing and then moving first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.