It’s a beautiful tree!

The fruit looks perfectly white.

Everyone who partakes of it says it is absolutely delicious and fills them with such joy!⁣

So why were large groups of people headed towards the tree, but then walking away?⁣

The mists of darkness.

The temptations of the devil. ⁣

“And the mists of darkness are the temptations of the devil, which blindeth the eyes, and hardeneth the hearts of the children of men, and leadeth them away into broad roads, that they perish and are lost.” (1 Nephi 12:17)

Isn’t this just PERFECT imagery for how Satan’s temptations distract us?⁣

These people were suddenly choosing not to walk towards the tree because they literally could not see it anymore! ⁣

They couldn’t see how beautiful the fruit was, or how happy the people were who were eating it. ⁣

All they could see was a mist of darkness.⁣

When I have mists of darkness in my life, where I know that I am specifically being tempted, I have a hard time believing that the precious fruit (God’s love) is really there for me.

Following the iron rod to the tree seems a little too good to be true.

“All I have to do is to read God’s word and follow it until I feel of His love? Yeah… I don’t have time to read my scriptures tonight. It’s not that important. I’m dealing with some other, bigger things right now.” ⁣

We really start to cloud our own judgment. ⁣

We aren’t thinking clearly because we honestly can not SEE the happiness at the end of the path. ⁣

So how do we escape our mists of darkness?

How do we shake off Satan’s temptations so that we can just SEE what our end goal is?⁣

We hold fast to the iron rod. We don’t let go of the word of God. ⁣

We don’t let go of the scriptures and church and Conference talks just because we don’t see the point or feel the love right now.⁣

The mists WILL clear.

We WILL get to the tree. ⁣

And it’s the faith to keep holding on, even when we don’t know where God’s love is, that will lead us to the light.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Why would you let go? first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Nephi asked the Spirit for an interpretation of his father’s dream.

And I can just imagine how he was expecting a clear verbal explanation for each element.

But instead…

Nephi was taught the most important lesson any of us can learn:

Jesus is always the answer!

The angel showed Nephi a vision of young Mary holding her child.

And immediately, Nephi knew that the tree of life represents the love of God!

The angel showed Jesus preaching. “Look! And I looked, and I beheld the Son of God going forth among the children of men; and I saw many fall down at his feet and worship him.” (1 Nephi 11:24)

And clearly, Nephi knew that the iron rod was the word of God!

The angel showed the 12 apostles going out to preach after Jesus’ crucifixion and being persecuted.

And immediately, Nephi knew that the great and spacious building was the pride of the world.

How cool is that?

Christ WAS the interpretation of the dream!

And Christ can be the interpretation of our lives, too.

When we stay close to the Savior and learn about His life and His teachings…

We can clearly see the phone call from our friend as the love of God.

We can see the three verses of scripture we tried to read during a busy day as the word of God.

We can see that witty Instagram page as a manifestation of the pride of the world.

Jesus is always the answer.

And focusing on Him helps us to see our journeys clearly!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

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

She sat her teenagers down and told them something new they would try:

She would be setting time limits on certain apps on their phones.

One child in particular expressed some unhappiness about this new limit.

So the mom said that she would set the same exact time limits on the same apps on HER phone that she was requiring for them.

They would all be in this new challenge together.

And she would take the lead. ⠀⁣⁣

She was then shocked the next day when her “time limit” alert came much sooner than she expected.

She didn’t realize how much she probably needed the time limits, too.⁣

What a beautiful example of a mother leading by example in her family.

She was then able to sympathize and work on her own habits, while setting an invaluable example for her teenagers. ⠀⁣⁣

Who partook of the fruit first in Lehi’s dream? ⁣

Lehi.⠀⁣⁣

This fruit “…was desirable above all other fruit.” (1 Nephi 8:12)

Lehi tasted of that happiness and joy first.

And THEN he desired that his family should partake of this same happiness.⁣

I think the order of this is so important.⁣

He tasted of this joyous fruit, STAYED by the tree, and beckoned his family members to come join him.

He didn’t tread through the mists of darkness, he didn’t search through the great and spacious building, he didn’t wade through the water.⁣

He didn’t look at the tree from afar, hoping everyone else could get there but not making his own journey his top priority.

He stayed by the tree as an example for his family members to follow.

And many of them did follow him!⁣

This is my passionate viewpoint for scripture study as well.⁣

Are WE studying and learning and growing from the scriptures, tasting of that fulfilling JOY that comes from the Book of Mormon, and then beckoning our family members to come join us?⁣

Or do we sometimes try to push our family members toward the scriptures and the tree while forgetting to stay by the sweet, pure, happy tree ourselves?⁣

“Let’s stay at the tree, partake of the love of God, and share it. By lifting the people around us, we ascend together.” – Sister Runia Oct 2023

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Phone Usage and Staying at the Tree  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

He was in a dark and dreary waste.

He had followed an angel in a white robe, but now he was in total darkness.

Wandering for hours.

Can you imagine?

Maybe you can.

You KNOW you are supposed to be here. Something good brought you here.

But now, darkness. The heavens have closed. There’s no happiness. No peace. Just dreariness.

For hours.

Why? What was the point of bringing me here to this wasteland of darkness and nothingness? I thought I was doing what I was supposed to do?

Lehi prayed. He prayed unto the Lord that he would have mercy on him. What a desperate but humble prayer.

He DIDN’T ask why. He DIDN’T complain. He DIDN’T accuse God of anything.

He just asked for mercy.

Asking for mercy shows the ultimate understanding of our true relationship with God.

The abandonment of all entitlement.

True humility.

And after this prayer of mercy? The field and the tree. A clear path to true happiness.

Happy Studying.

-Cali Black

The post Wandering in Darkness first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.