What would their life experience be?

What would their family life or job or income or location be?

As Joseph, Oliver, and David were tasked with finding 12 men who could serve as official disciples of Jesus Christ in this new dispensation, the Lord gave them direction.

(Because WOW what an overwhelming task to be given… Where do you even start?!)

Here is the biggest qualification the Lord told them to look for when searching for an apostle:

“The Twelve are they who shall desire to take upon them my name with full purpose of heart”. – D&C 18:27

Full purpose of heart.

Totally willing.

Completely devoted to Jesus Christ with no other competing priorities.

That’s it.

When we look at our current members of the Quorum of the Twelve, we see lots of different job experiences, personalities, public speaking skills, family composition…

And honestly, the same with the original Twelve from Jesus’s time, too.

But despite all the differences, they are all perfectly willing to give it all to the Lord.

No “Ugh, I’m done with traveling. I just want to stay home and catch up on some shows I’m watching.”

No “I hate speaking, but I couldn’t avoid Pres. Nelson’s phone call asking me to preside here today.”

No “I worked really hard to get where I am in my career and I don’t want to give that up.”

No “I can’t wait until I’m released.”

Listen— I know these men aren’t perfect.

But I admire them SO MUCH for their willingness.

Their ability, not necessarily innate, but cultivated over a lifetime of choosing the Lord over selfish desires again and again, to show a soft, humble, and willing heart.

Their love for the Savior conquering all else.

What an example to me. To each of us.

To slowly, day by day, let my desire to take upon me the name of Jesus Christ fully consume all of my life choices and attitudes.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Lessons from the Twelve first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

“Wow, I can’t believe they would give you that calling right now!”

I’ve got 3 young kids right now, my Come Follow Me Study work takes up a lot of time, I have a lot of additional extracurricular commitments…

And my husband is serving as bishop.

I’ll admit that a similar thought crossed my mind when I was being extended the calling, as well.

Isn’t this asking a little bit too much?

But the Spirit had been subtly preparing me, and I jumped into the calling.

And now that our stake’s Girls Camp ended over a month ago, I can now say:

“Wow, I can’t believe that I got to witness so many miracles, get to know other amazing women, and feel God’s love for the young women and leaders in our stake.”

It doesn’t feel “fair” that I got to experience this tremendous blessing.

Truly.

Now this doesn’t negate all the late nights and endless meetings and difficult problems and so on and so forth that I had to deal with along the way.

It was a ton of work, literally and emotionally.

But when I’ve willingly submitted my heart to a calling I’ve been extended, I’ve always felt more love ALONGSIDE the sacrifice that often accompanies it.

Ammon so beautifully said:

“This is the blessing which hath been bestowed upon us, that we have been made instruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work.” (Alma 26:3)

That’s the BLESSING!

The blessing is being able to serve and love other people.

The blessing is being able to be God’s hands in both formal and informal ways.

It is a privilege to serve.

And it is a sacrifice. And it’s hard. And there’s nuances to different times of your life and various callings… I get it.

But maybe if we start looking at church callings as being given unique opportunities to experience more of God’s love, we might completely change how we talk and think about callings.

“Always hold a calling in the Church. Especially when life is busy, you need to feel the Lord’s love for those you serve and for you as you serve.” -David B. Haight

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Stake Camp Director first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.