Joseph is reading newspaper reports every day about South Carolina’s new drama. ⁣

The federal government had established new tariffs (taxes), and South Carolina nullified them (AKA refused to pay them).

United States Pres Andrew Jackson threatened South Carolina. They better pay the tariffs, or they would go to war.⁣

It was in this mindset that Joseph prayed and received the revelation known as D&C 87. ⁣

This was a uniquely specific prophecy that actually mentioned specific locations and events:⁣

It mentioned the rebellion of South Carolina, a war between the Southern and Northern states, the Southern states calling on Great Britain for help, and slaves rising up against their masters. ⁣

So… I’m sure you know what happened next, right?!⁣

… the federal government and South Carolina made a pretty quick and easy compromise where the government lowered the tariffs and the state agreed to pay them. ⁣

That was it. ⁣

All that political tension and turmoil, and then add on a very specific prophecy from a prophet about war. ⁣

And then, an anticlimactic resolution. ⁣

Was the prophet wrong?⁣

Well, if you are familiar with U.S. history, you know the power of hindsight. ⁣

30 years later, South Carolina did lead a rebellion that brought unprecedented war between the north and the south, the south called on Great Britain for help, and slaves rose against their masters. ⁣

Long after Joseph had died, and long after the saints had already moved west to Utah.⁣

God’s timing is so dramatically different than our timing. ⁣

The early saints believed Christ’s return was imminent… and here we are 200 years later. ⁣

And this war prophecy did not come true even when current events seemed to point toward it happening right away. ⁣

Feeling a sense of “urgency” has always been something that the Lord has tried to evoke. ⁣

Change now. Keep the commandments immediately. Follow the prophet. ⁣

But we don’t do these things because we know we’ve got a deadline approaching. ⁣

We do these things because He knows we will feel so much more peace in our lives as soon as we decide to turn to Him. ⁣

God’s timing is His own.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The war prophecy  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Not out of hatred, or disgust, or annoyance.

But out of love.

“I… had loved them, according to the love of God which was in me, with all my heart;

“And my soul had been poured out in prayer unto my God all the day long for them.” (Mormon 3:12)

Mormon literally gives us a little masterclass in setting healthy boundaries.

He loved his people so much. And he loved God so much. And he probably loved himself and his family, too.

And with that love in his heart, he had to say no.

Saying “no” isn’t bad. It isn’t a sin. (Sometimes we need that reminder, right?!)

Saying “no” because you want to hurt someone, or you don’t care about their situation… that’s probably not great.

Saying “no” because you love someone, and need to protect your own inner peace (or maybe even your life) is amazing and necessary.

BUT THEN skip ahead to Mormon chapter 5. Verse 1.

13 or so years later, Mormon says that he will lead them again.

He changes his promise (or “repents of the oath”) and returns to his position as military commander.

What was his mindset like now?

“I was without hope, for I knew the judgments of the Lord which should come upon them”. (Mormon 5:2)

While this sounds a little despondent, I actually see a leader who has now set realistic expectations for how he will interact with his troops, who are probably many of his dear friends.

He knows that destruction is imminent.

And yet, his love has now brought him to want to lead again, to at least give them a fighting chance, and to fulfill his duty. Maybe he even felt “called” to do this now.

Such a cool pattern, right?!

He felt so much love that he had to say “no” for a while.

And then he felt so much love, adjusted his expectations, and decided he was ready to say, “yes”!

Life coaching straight from the scriptures, everyone.

We can set boundaries in love, and we can change boundaries later, still out of love.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Setting boundaries with Mormon first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot.

Someone posted a picture recently that said, “I miss the toilet paper memes/stimulus check part of quarantine. Things are just getting dark now.”

I laughed, and then I got a little sad.

Everyone’s been navigating the past few months seemingly blindfolded – and then thrown a bunch of heavy social, political, and moral conundrums on top of that.

So what are we letting everything do to our souls?

At the end of the long, drawn-out, devastating war between the Nephites and the Lamanites, Mormon noticed two groups of people who emerged:

• Many people became hardened.
• Many people humbled themselves before God.

Same war. Different personal outcomes.

I’m sure each Nephite had different individual experiences with the war. Some had family members in battle, some lost loved ones, some were displaced, some dealt with political turmoil and rebellion, some had to change jobs. Some barely had anything change.

But at the end of the day, some people chose to harden their hearts because of the war.

And others chose to humble themselves.

Have you felt your heart get a little harder or a little softer these past few months? Have you made more enemies or more friends? Have you empathized more or judged more? Have you been a creator of joy and peace or of confusion and anger?

I think it’s perfect, not-so-coincidental timing that we are studying the end of the great Nephite-Lamanite war right now.

How will we reflect on our 2020 when it’s all over?

Which group will we be in?

The good news is that we’ve still got plenty of time left.

If we’ve felt hardened, if we’ve felt less love for others, if we’ve felt distant from God, we can practice humility.

And boy, does it take practice.

Praying to remove any pride. Feeling true empathy. Turning to our Savior.

And when presented with the ever-growing variables for the future, we can face them with love and faith. We can reach out in love and kindness to our neighbors. We can serve with love to our God.

The outside circumstances? Really, “it mattereth not.”

What matters is how our heart responds.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post What is the year doing to our soul? first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.