“Now, after the people had all offered up thanks after this manner, they returned to their homes, never speaking of their God again until they had assembled themselves together again to the holy stand, to offer up thanks after their manner.” (Alma 31:23)

They may have thought:

A religion that takes over your whole life?!

Let’s just worry about it one day a week and forget about it for the rest. ⁣

Prayer that requires thought, mental devotion, and faith?!

Let’s just write a script so it’s easier.

⁣Worship that means becoming introspective, emotionally mature, and honest with ourselves?!

Let’s make that look a little cooler with a fun tower so everyone can see when we are being righteous!

But even today, where pretty much everything is more convenient than it was 2,000 years ago, we know that religion, at its core, is not meant to be convenient.

⁣Loving people is hard work. ⁣

Serving people is hard work. ⁣

Forgiving people is hard work. ⁣

There are no shortcuts. ⁣

And that’s the point.⁣

We are supposed to serve when it’s inconvenient, love when it’s difficult, and forgive when it stretches our souls.

That what our Savior has modeled for us, and that’s where change happens.

And as much as I like being comfortable, I want to be able to change over and over again.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post That looks like hard work  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

He teaches the Zoramites to cry unto God wherever they may be – refuting their claims that they couldn’t worship due to being cast out of the synagogues.

Pray anywhere and pray everywhere.

Have your heart drawn out in prayer continually to Him.

But then he goes into the most important part of his sermon:

“Do no suppose this is all;

“For after ye have done all these things (praying everywhere), if ye turn away the needy, and the naked, and visit not the sick and afflicted, and impart of your substance… to those in need…

“YOUR PRAYER IS IN VAIN.” (Alma 34:28)

What a humbling lesson.

We can’t pray for more income, and then not improve our skill set or apply to new jobs.

We can’t pray for peace, and then share divisive articles that demonize “the other side”.

We can’t pray for a child to regulate their emotions, and then refuse to regulate our own.

It’s a tough pill to swallow, but I think sometimes we have to own up to the fact that we’ve prayed for a result, and then done nothing to achieve that result, or even worked against it.

That’s what Amulek calls being a hypocrite.

Yikes.

So, as with all things, the best way to repent for past hypocritical actions is to change moving forward.

What’s a prayer in your heart right now?

Maybe it’s for yourself, or for your family, or for your community, or for the world.

If you’ve got the first half of the equation down, and you are realllly good at praying fervently about it, that is beautiful!

And now might be a great time to think about how you can act to make it happen.

What’s something you can do TODAY in order to move that desire forward?

Here’s mine for right now:

I’ve been praying to manage my time more wisely for quite a while, but I’m realizing I haven’t actually changed what I’m doing. So I’m setting time boundaries for accomplishing certain tasks, and I’ve been reading up on some new strategies (like the Pomodoro 25-minute method) that I’m going to start. Changing my “wishful prayers” into real effort! And then I have faith that my productivity will increase, or I’ll be led to discover the right routines that will work for me!

If you feel comfortable sharing, I’d love to hear what your ACTION goal is in the comments!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Pray and then ACT first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

A religion that takes over your whole life? Let’s just worry about it one day a week and forget about it for the rest.

Prayer that requires thought, mental devotion, and faith? Let’s just write a script so it’s easier.

Worship that means becoming introspective, emotionally mature, and honest with ourselves? Let’s make that look a little cooler with a fun tower so everyone can see when we are being righteous.

But even today, where pretty much everything is more convenient than it was 2,000 years ago, we know that religion, at its core, is not meant to be convenient.

Although modern technology and abundance can help us learn about new service activities, bring temples closer to our house, make video-chatting with people a breeze, allow us to stock up on extra food…

It doesn’t make the actual heart of true religion easy.

Loving people is hard work.

Serving people is hard work.

Forgiving people is hard work.

There are no shortcuts.

And that’s the point, right?

As Neill F. Marriott eloquently said, NOW is the time to do all of these things. In our messy, inconvenient mortal life filled with obligations and pain and exhaustion.

We are supposed to serve when it’s inconvenient, love when it’s difficult, and forgive when it stretches our souls.

Because that’s what our Savior did.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post An inconvenient religion first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.