Mine recently has been this theme of LACK vs ABUNDANCE.

On a personal level, when I think that I don’t have enough time to get something done, I act panicky.

Or when I think I’m running out of time to help my children grow into good people, I am not happy.

Or even simple things, like trying to ration bananas because I think we are going to run out… but then they all grow brown before we eat them all.

But on a spiritual level, LACK shows up everywhere, too.

Feeling like I don’t have enough energy to get the things done that I need to in order to feed my spiritual connection with God.

Feeling like I don’t have enough time to fulfill my calling.

Feeling like I can’t ever find time to go to the temple.

And this week is the perfect week to explore that LACK vs ABUNDANCE tension because so many of these Old Testament prophets used these same exact concepts to show the contrast between people who made and kept covenants with pure intent with God, and those who forgot everything spiritual.

In fact, Ezekiel had a famous vision that dove into this idea more.

Dry bones are one of the best representations of LACK that I can think of.

No water. No life. No beauty. No joy.

And what did the Lord ask Ezekiel to say to these dry bones?

“O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.” (Ezekiel 37:4)

That is where we find abundance.

In the word of the Lord.

The law of the Lord.

The commandments.

The scriptures.

The covenants we make in the temple.

Slowly but surely, as we stick to the word of the Lord, He turns our lack into abundance.

Service becomes a joy that we certainly have time for.

There will always be more great opportunities to teach your children.

Attending the temple becomes a top priority.

The scriptures become your lifeline to heaven.

You feel generous with sharing everything that you have, no matter how small it may seem to the world.

So rise up, dry bones!

It’s time to take life, drink some everlasting water, and hear the word of the Lord to live in true abundance!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Dry Bones first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

But I ended up just thinking a lot about Jesus.

Joseph and Sidney saw this vision, this glorious vision about… like, everything. Where did we come from. Why are we here. Where are we going. All the “big questions”.

And yet, the very first thing they did while writing down the vision was to testify that they saw Jesus.

They saw Him in vision.

That’s what they shared first.

They beheld His glory.

They saw the angels worshipping Him.

And then, Joseph and Sidney took time to officially bear their testimony of the Savior.

They bore a personal testimony that Jesus Christ, who was killed, lives today.

He is sitting right next to our Heavenly Father.

He created this world that we live on now, and He has created other worlds.

And after listing all these magnificent and powerful qualities of the Savior of the world?

A sweet reminder that we are Children of God, too.

Joseph and Sidney then continued to record the rest of their vision that brought so much new understanding to the Plan of Happiness.

(Which also totally revolves around Jesus, see my post from Monday, cuz this really has been on my mind all week!)

But they felt compelled to accentuate their narration of the vision with their own personal feelings and knowledge about the Savior.

He is real.

He lives and has created so much.

And He also loves us personally.

And if it’s tough to really believe this still, then we can borrow from Joseph and Sidney’s powerful joint testimony.

I know that my redeemer lives.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post He lives! first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.