At our Christmas Zone Conference, we gave the missionaries a gift of a picture flip book of “The Living Christ“. With this gift, we invited the missionaries to memorize this great statement from modern prophets about the role of our Savior Jesus Christ, His example, and the power that comes from His Atonement.
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Speaking of “The Living Christ”, President Russell M. Nelson said:
The more we know about the Savior’s ministry and mission—the more we understand His doctrine and what He did for us—the more we know that He can provide the power that we need for our lives…
As you seek to learn more about Jesus Christ, I urge you to study “The Living Christ.” As we invest time in learning about the Savior and His atoning sacrifice, we are drawn to participate in another key element to accessing His power: we choose to have faith in Him and follow Him.”
Memorizing the Living Christ has taken a lot of work. It truly has strengthened our faith in Him. At the beginning of each meeting, we’ve had missionaries share their favorite lines from “The Living Christ”.We’ve loved to hear what they are learning as we have memorized this together.
At our last zone conference, we filmed the missionaries reciting “The Living Christ” and have created a video of our missionaries sharing these truths about our Savior Jesus Christ. It is very powerful to watch these missionaries sharing this important statement about our Savior Jesus Christ.
Tonight, on Easter Sunday, we shared this video with our missionaries and their families, and we are grateful to share it here with you too. We testify and Jesus lives, and that because of His resurrection, we each one day will also live again. Because of Him, death is not the end. And because of His resurrection, the choices we make matter, the changes we make matter, and the covenants we make matter and have power.
We are inspired by these missionaries and the incredible efforts they make to testify of Him each day. They are powerful representatives of Jesus Christ. Here is the Tennessee Knoxville Mission reciting “The Living Christ”:
Elder Jenkins, and Elder Nash were street contacting in public when they stopped Carlos. He said he had been taught by missionaries in the past. They would then refer Carlos to Elder Pollister and Elder Zabriskie as they were the missionaries that covered his area.
Carlos started taking the lessons with us right away. The first time we called him we found out he had learned a lot from past missionaries and had a testimony of the Book of Mormon. On that first phone call, we set a date with him to be baptized and a time we could meet him in person. In our first meeting, we found out he was going through a few unfortunate circumstances that would prevent him from being baptized on his date but we promised him that God would prepare a way for him to be baptized if he made it a priority and followed the invitations we gave him. We promised if he would keep his commitments, it would happen.
Over time we would have numerous members join us in the lessons. Having these members joining lessons really helped in fellowshipping Carlos into the ward. We would have phone call lessons almost every day and Carlos always showed his willingness to apply the things we taught him.
Carlos’ testimony and understanding of the gospel continued to grow as he consistently read in the scriptures, prayed and came to church. Carlos would catch the bus to get to church each Sunday, which showed his growing commitment and desire to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Carlow was baptized on February 3, 2024 surrounded by his new church family.
I decided to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after talking to my mother in law who is LDS. She contacted the missionaries and set everything up because I felt so nervous!
The second sister Smith and sister Condie showed up, I swear the Spirit was in the room. By the end of that first meeting, I knew I wanted to be LDS and within a week I knew I felt ready to be baptized.
I’ve never felt closer to Christ than I have since opening the Book of Mormon and delving deeper into the scriptures every chance I get. I no longer feel alone in my struggles, the spirit is with me always and I can FEEL it.
Sister Smith
Jessii and Mychal moved in with their three little kids Skyler, Finley, and Rosemary. They moved in with Mychal’s parents Michael and Deborah Christian.
Sister Deborah Christian approached us one Sunday and told us her daughter-in-law was interested in learning more about the church. She had been reading the Book of Mormon and had many questions about the restored gospel.
The next week Jessii came to church and Mychal came with her after being inactive for about 9-10 years. Later that week we had dinner with Jessii’s in-laws, the Coughlins, and they told us the same thing about Jessii. Sister Condie and I jumped on the opportunity quickly!
A few days later, on a Friday, we were sitting in the Christian’s living room answering Jessii’s questions about the Plan of Salvation. She was hooked! She asked, “Can I get baptized tomorrow?” Sister Condie and I felt like we were in a dream! No way this was real!
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We taught Jessi and Mychal the lessons and Mychal was able to become worthy to hold the priesthood so that he could baptize Jessii. On February 3, 2024 Mychal and Jessii entered the waters of baptism together and Jessii was finally baptized! They continue to be supported by their family members in the Maryville ward and they are continuing to grow their testimonies.
This family will always have a special place in my heart. They showed me that the gospel truly brings pure joy and peace into our lives. I will forever be grateful for this family!
Sister Condie
Jessii and Mychal are powerful examples of how much Christ will impact your life the moment you choose to let Him in.
Jessii was so excited to be baptized the first time we met her! She and Mychal started to pray, prioritize scripture study, and come to church. I noticed their strong desire to know the truth and make changes, and watched the light in their life increase so quickly in just a few weeks. They shared with us that the Gospel was what they knew they needed in their lives.
We went through all the lessons and learned a lot together, then Mychal was able to baptize Jessii, and she was confirmed not long after. Since then, they’ve both shared sincere testimonies in church of the Gospel and how valuable it is to their lives. They showed me that God has a plan for each of his children and Christ’s Atonement truly heals.
Back in January, the Kingsport Stake invited us to join them at a youth activity they had at Bristol Motor Speedway.
We’ve never been to a NASCAR race track, and just rolling up to the race track was impressing. This place is huge! It seats 146,000 people for NASCAR races. In the middle of the track is a massive 30 foot X 63 foot Jumbotron that hangs over the middle of the track.
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Brother Ford does with security for the Speedway so he was able to take us down to drive on the track which was a fun experience.
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A main focus of the youth activity was a service project of tying blankets for a local hospital. We had all 28 missionaries from the Kingsport Zone there and they did a great job of spreading out and interacting with the youth while we worked on these blankets. We then closed out the activity with talking about ways the youth could share the gospel with their friends and steps they could take to prepare to serve a mission.
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While we there, we ran into one of our best friends from Fidelity Investments, Chris Millburn. Chris and I worked together in SLC for many, many years on multiple different teams. He moved out to Johnson City a few years ago to lead the Fidelity Investor Center there and has loved Tennessee. It wasn’t surprising that he now has a role at our church in leading and mentoring the youth in this area.
Cinthya and the family she married into are from Nicaragua. They came to the United States as refugees. At the time of their arrival in the United States, she was the only non-member in the household. She lived in the Athens ward for a time, and then an opportunity for a more stable living situation came up and they moved into the Cleveland ward.
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As missionaries, we were able to help them move in and the ward provided a ton of help to get them settled. Cinthya had taken the discussions in the past, but we were able to begin teaching her again. Her husband was a member and really wanted to become more active in the church and united with his family.
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As Cinthya attended church, studied the scriptures, and prayed she gained a desire to be baptized. Her and her husband were legally married and she was baptized on January 27, 2024. They are now working towards being sealed for time and eternity in the temple.
We first met Jeremy from a recent convert in our ward. He had a lot going on in his life and this member knew that the gospel would provide Jeremy with the peace and rest he was looking for, so we went and visited him.
We first taught him about the Book of Mormon and invited him to read on his own. We promised that as he did so with real intent, the spirit would testify to him of its truthfulness. He began to read and over the next several weeks, he studied the Book of Mormon very seriously and internalized everything he read.
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The Book of Mormon began to have a powerful effect on him. He slowly started to feel more joy in his life, his countenance shone brighter, and he started feeling more peace and comfort even amongst the trials he was experiencing.
Jeremy also came to know of the power of the priesthood in his life as we gave him a blessing of comfort and he felt the Spirit fill his soul with peace throughout the next several days.
A month and a half after we first met him, Jeremy was baptized on January 6, 2024. He hasn’t missed a sacrament meeting since the first time he came.
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Jeremy also had a powerful spiritual experience as he attended the temple and was baptized for loved ones who had passed away in his life. When we first taught him about temples, he looked at us after and said, “This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard.” He knew from that moment that the work that went on inside those holy temples was true.
Jeremy has been a great example to the world of the power and change that can take place within us as we embrace the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. He also is a witness of the promise from Moroni in the last chapter of the Book of Mormon, that those who read and pray with a sincere heart and real intent, will come to know of its truthfulness.
Sister Nielson and I met Issac one night after a long day of rejection. It was around 7:30 in the evening and we were getting burned out for the day (it was a long day). We decided to go knock on a few more doors even though it was dark and chilly. We knocked on about four or five doors. Rejection after rejection. We decided to try once more though.
The Spirit was the ultimate guide in finding Issac. It just felt right to go up the stairs, it just felt right to knock on the last door on the left, and it just felt right to knock three times after no answer after the first and second knocks.
After a long while of waiting for the door to open, we started to turn around to leave when the door finally opened. We were definitely caught off guard! Issac answered the door and we asked if he had heard of the Book of Mormon and if he wanted to learn more. “Yeah” he said, which also caught us off guard because we had been rejected all day!
The rest is history. Issac progressed very quickly and he was fellowshipped so well by the Bastian family. Sister Condie came into the picture by the time we were consistently teaching him. The Bastians had us and Issac over for dinner multiple times and we taught some powerful lessons. He was very excited to be baptized and expressed to us that he had been thinking about it for quite a while. Isaac was baptized on January 6, 2024.
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We were later able to go to the temple and perform baptisms for the dead with Issac at the Atlanta Georgia Temple. Issac was able to be baptized on behalf of his brother who had passed away and other ancestors as well.
I have a testimony that God is so involved in missionary work. It is by His design and powerful guidance that we knocked on Issac’s door that night.
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Sister Condie
I met Issac my first week in TN, when I joined for his second lesson with the missionaries. As we taught him, I saw the effort he was putting in to learn more, make changes, and really understand what we were teaching. I loved seeing the ward reach out. I loved discussing his questions. I loved watching him make the effort to read, pray, and attend church. And I loved watching the power come into his life as he was baptized and confirmed.
Attending the temple with Issac was powerful! As I watched him be baptized for his brother, I felt the Spirit testify to me about just how impactful one baptism can be. When someone is baptized, it opens the door for all of the people in their family tree to also make those covenants: those who came before, and those who haven’t yet been born. Thats amazing! I’m grateful to have a front row seat in this eternal work.
Issac Spears:
I met the missionaries when they knocked on my door. I almost didn’t open the door. I usually don’t open it for someone I don’t know, but I had a feeling like I should. I had been baptized before when I was younger – probably about 8 or 9 – but that thought about being baptized again had been on my mind for the last year..
The missionaries invited me to church, so I started going to church with them. I hadn’t talked to anyone about my thoughts on being baptized again, and I thought maybe it wasn’t the right time for me. But then the missionaries asked me if I would be baptized. I knew I wanted to and I knew it was time.
I decided to join the church because I believe the Book of Mormon is true, even though I haven’t fully read the entire book yet. Also, I decided to join because when I first attended church, I had a different feeling than when I would go to my previous church. I’m not sure how to describe the feeling I had. The people at my previous church asked me the same question about what made me decide to start going and I told them the same thing that I felt differently when I attended my new church.
Denny immigrated from Perú to the United States in 2022. During his travel to the United States he witnessed many miracles and saw the hand of God in his life. He came to know there was a God, and wanted to know more. Previously in his life, he did not believe in God and would even make fun of others for believing.
After arriving to the United States with his family, they temporarily moved in with their cousins, the Godoy family, who are members of the church.
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The Godoy’s shared many principles of the gospel with Denny and his family, and invited the missionaries over to teach them about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. They decided to get baptized, but first they were married.
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Denny was baptized January 7, 2024 by his cousin Walter Godoy and has goals to be sealed to his family for time and eternity in the temple.
I met my wife in the fall of 2016. As we were dating, I quickly learned that she was from Utah and that she was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She was not active in the church at that time.
In the February of 2017, we were married. Last spring I ended up falling and fracturing my ankle in two different places. My wife at that time was working two full time jobs, 90 miles from home, and was finding it difficult to come home, take me to appointments, and find time to rest.
Her mother and father recognized the difficulty and texted the bishop in our area to see if they could help us. Alisa, my wife, got a call from Sister Smith, who currently was serving a full-time mission with her husband Elder Smith in our area. They came to visit us with Bishop Ison to see what they could do to help us. Ward members brought us food and Elder Smith took me to my appointments.
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Alisa felt so grateful and had wanted to come back to church for some time but hadn’t quite worked up the courage to do so. Because of the kindness of the ward members and missionaries, she began to go to church every Sunday. I went with her to give her moral support. The Smiths mission ended, and they returned home.
The Nevilles came in their place and started coming once a week to visit with us and teach us a lesson. They gave me a Book of Mormon and asked me to read it. They also asked me to pray and ask God if it was true.
It took a while, but I continued to pray and read. One Sunday at the beginning of January 2024 (actually, Dec. 24, 2023) the young elders (Elder Staker and Elder Beckstead) wanted to meet with us after church. They asked me if I had been reading the Book of Mormon and praying. They also challenged me to work towards getting baptized. We set a date for January 27th 2024, a month away.
I continued to pray, and read, and to meet with the Nevilles and the younger elders each week, but I had not yet received an answer to my prayers. One day as Alisa and I were driving home from shopping and as I was gazing out the window, I suddenly had this good feeling wash over me. I understood this might be my answer to prayers but wasn’t sure quite yet.
I decided not to tell Alisa yet and waited until she left for the week before I asked again. Again, I felt this good feeling wash over me and I knew then that I had received an answer to my prayers.
I knew that the Book of Mormon is true, and I decided that I would get baptized. I didn’t tell my wife until she came home for the weekend. I casually told her that I had something to tell her and then told her I got my answer. Her reaction was heartfelt and full of gratitude and wonder.
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Some of Alisa’s family flew out and participated in the baptism. Her father was able to baptize me despite having had a stroke the week before he had flown out.
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The water was very cold, and my father-in-law used all his strength to pull me under, perhaps so I wouldn’t have to repeat the process.
When we left the font and entered the dressing room, I again felt this feeling wash over me and this time it warmed me all over to the point that I did not feel the cold. I felt very blessed and grateful for our family’s sacrifice to come out and felt very grateful for how many ward members stayed (there had been two funerals before my baptism, and everyone must have been tired).
I also felt so grateful to the missionaries especially our friends the Nevilles for teaching me.
On Sunday, January 7, 2024, my dad passed away unexpectedly. He had been struggling with a few health problems and had been in and out of the hospital a few times, but we didn’t expect that they would take his life. It was hard to be separated from him and our family over the last few weeks of his life.
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In April 1999, we moved into our new home in Taylorsville and a few weeks later my mom and dad moved into their home right next door. At that time, our twins Lincoln and Rachel had just turned one. So for their entire lives, all of our kids have had the great blessing of having grandma and grandpa right next door. They could run out our back door and disappear through their back door anytime they wanted.
Four generations of Lincolns!
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As we prepared for the funeral, I asked each of them what is something they’ve learned from grandpa. Here is what they shared:
Be on time!
For my dad, that meant if a meeting started at 9am…like church…he was going to be there at 8:30. He was NEVER late for ANYTHING. If he wasn’t there 15 minutes early, he was late. Kimberly would rush the kids to get ready for church with the urgency, “We have to beat grandpa to church!” And while that proved to be impossible, Kimberly now has that same urgency that if we aren’t 15 minutes early, we’re late. He always stayed late too. He set the expectation for our family that you should plan to stay after and help clean up.
When you make a commitment to do something…you always show up and follow through. Grandpa was 0% flakey. It was not in his character.
My dad was 100% dependable. When he committed to do something, you could absolutely rest assured it would happen. He had your back on anything you needed. Everyone in our family knew you could count on him.
He had a gift for humor that allowed others to feel welcome and special. He was a light to others and often that light was shared through a joke or two. He had a special gift for bringing people together that not many people possess.
I knew this throughout my life, but I especially saw this as we’ve lived next door to each other for the last 25 years. He would reach out to others with humor, often in a way that might initially feel he is making fun of you, until you start to realize how much he loves you. His love would shine through by using that humor.
There is nothing more important than family!
My dad would say this often. He was always focused on his family. He gathered all of his family together on the first Sunday of each month to be together, share a meal, laugh, sing, and have a spiritual thought. He would come to all of our games and activities, and had a voice that you could hear above everyone else cheering you on.
His missionary service inspired me to serve a mission, which was one of the greatest decisions of my life.
I have to share some additional detail on this one. My dad once told me that his goal was to serve 1/10th of his life as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Think about that for a minute. Remarkably, he did that.
The day my dad retired, he and my mom submitted their application to serve as missionaries. My dad served as a missionary in France as a young man (for three years he often reminded us). Since he spoke French, he and my mom had visions of going back to France, or maybe to Fiji or Tahiti. I’ll never forget their shock when they opened their call and they had been assigned to the Democratic Republic of the Congo Kinshasa Mission as Humanitarian Missionaries. They even seemed a little scared.
I told him, “Dad, when you say you will go anywhere, they take you at your word.” We had discussed when they submitted their application that they could express priorities where they would like to serve. But my dad didn’t want to do that. He wanted to express a willingness to serve anywhere needed, and that says everything you need to know about him.
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He and my mom served four missions in Africa totaling five years. They served in Democratic Republic of the Congo Kinshasa Mission as Humanitarian Missionaries. Then in the Uganda Kampala Mission as Humanitarian Missionaries. After returning home they were asked to serve as Water Project Consultants for Kenya, Burundi, and Democratic Republic of the Congo. And then they returned to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but this time in the Lubumbashi Mission as Member Leadership Support missionaries.
My dad was very missionary minded, which he got from my grandma and grandpa growing up in southern Georgia. When I was called to be the bishop of our ward, it was a new ward so we had to fill all of the leadership positions. I knew immediately that we should call my dad to be the Ward Mission Leader. He did incredible work there with a new ward and a new neighborhood working with some really great ward missionaries.
When they returned from one of their missions from Africa, I was serving in the stake presidency and we needed a couple to serve a live-at-home mission as Member and Leader Support Missionaries in the West Jordan Utah Westland Stake. I remember their surprise as I extended that call to them after they had only been home from Africa a few days. It was exciting to watch the impact they had on our stake in strengthening so many people’s faith and inviting them to take steps to come closer to Him.
My dad had a great love for family history work. He loved to find names and organize all of the cards for the temple ordinances that needed to be completed. He and my mom loved serving as service missionaries a the Family Search Library in Riverton where they served as Family History Consultants.They also served in the Jordan River Temple for many years.
For their humanitarian missions in Kinshasa and Kampala, they did many different projects like clean water projects (where they invested most of their time), wheelchair projects, neonatal resuscitation, and vision care. There are great descriptions of each of these projects on this site.
One of their favorite and most meaningful projects was in Luputa, where over 100,000 people is this town had no running water. People would walk long distances to find water. You can read about their experiences on their mission blog here and here. President Nelson talked about this project in the October 2019 General Conference.
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They also loved doing wheel chair projects. They would hire contractors to build wheelchairs that could navigate the uneven roads in Africa. Here is a video of them distributing those wheel chairs.
I share all of this to say that my dad was the best example I have in my life of striving to follow the example of Jesus Christ in serving others. One of the attributes of Christ found in Preach My Gospel is “diligence”. Here is what is says about diligence:
Diligence is consistent, earnest effort. In missionary work, diligence is an expression of your love for the Lord. When you are diligent, you find joy and satisfaction in the Lord’s work (see Alma 26:16).
Diligence includes doing many good things of your own free will instead of waiting for leaders to tell you what to do (see Doctrine and Covenants 58:27–29).
Preach My Gospel
My dad was definitely diligent in his efforts to follow the example of the Savior. I will always be grateful for, and will always remember, his example.
My dad was the last person we saw before leaving for Tennessee. As I gave him a hug, he said, “I wish I was coming with you.” And he meant it.
When we talked to him shortly before he died, he told me, “Please don’t come home. Just stay there and stay focused on the work you’ve been asked to do.” We felt conflicted, but ultimately decided to stay in Tennessee. It was wonderful to see how my brothers and sisters united together in his final days, and then during the days leading up to the funeral, and it was hard to miss out on all of that. We watched the funeral from home, and I spoke via Zoom.
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As my dad’s condition continued to decline, we asked the missionaries here in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission to pray for him. I’m so grateful for their powerful faith. We felt a lot of comfort from that, and I’m sure my mom and dad did as well.
I feel so much gratitude for my mom and dad. How do you ever repay all that your parents have done for you? I’m lucky to have always had their love and support in my life. I’m grateful for their examples.
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One of our missionaries, Elder Shelley, has some incredible musical gifts. He was so kind to send me this great arrangement of “God Be with You Till We Meet Again”:
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God be with you till we meet again! I love you dad!
Barlows in TKM 