by Sister Barrett
Josh was contacted by Sister Parry and Sister Barrett on a street near his home as he was on a walk with his niece. The only reason these sisters were in this neighborhood was because someone played a prank on a young girl by submitting a referral for her. After knocking on her door and finding out she wasn’t interested, the sisters were about to leave when Sister Parry saw a young guy walking a stroller down the sidewalk and decided that she should go talk to him. Josh accepted the Book of Mormon on the spot, pointed to his house, and invited the sisters to go talk to his family as well.
Josh had many experiences that prepared him for his path to cross with the missionaries. As he met with them, he knew he wanted to be baptized and began to make significant changes in his life. He gave up many things that were holding him back from baptism with little hesitation. Josh immediately showed his faith in the Word of Wisdom by giving up those worldly desires. Josh also took steps to resolve some legal issues that he had been avoiding in his life. His life has changed through his faith in Christ and his growing self-belief. His family says he acts like a different person now than he was before meeting the missionaries.
As the missionaries taught Josh the Plan of Salvation, he had a great desire to help his sister, Katy, who passed away two years ago. Two weeks after his baptism, Josh took her name and had her baptized in the Atlanta Georgia Temple. The temple trip was very special and the Spirit was very strong as Josh took these steps with his sister.
Josh has fully embraced the gospel of Jesus Christ and loves sharing it with his friends. He has invited many friends to come into his home to study with the missionaries and he continues to watch out for any new friend who might be new to our church.
Barlows in TKM 