We were having a rough day. But we had about 10 minutes left in the night so we decided to tough it out and go to the Walmart parking to finish the day out strong. We were walking around talking to people and we saw this guy with a “Hot Cheeto” shirt on so we knew we had to talk with him.
We offered Brandon a picture of Jesus with the invite to the Tabernacle Choir Watch Party on the back. We testified of God’s love for him and got his number. We later came to know that his mother had just been diagnosed with cancer. He needed to hear that someone cared for him and loved him at that moment.
We stayed in contact with Brandon over the phone the next couple of days and we set up a church tour with him. Elder and Sister Bennett joined us for the church tour and it was incredible. When we showed up to the church, Brandon and the Bennetts were already talking outside the church. They had a friendship that connected instantly. On the tour, we taught Brandon about the sacrament and what to expect at church. We then made our way to the baptismal font and we taught the doctrine of baptism and the role of the Spirit and how it can comfort and guide in times of need. The Spirit was so strong and Brandon knew that was the next step he needed to take. So he chose a date of September 15th and he said, “That is my day!”
We gave Brandon a Book of Mormon and every single time we met with him he would always show us cool verses he found and he would share what he learned from them. He found so much comfort in the Book of Mormon and he would take it to work and to his mom’s doctor appointments for when he was feeling stressed. His favorite verse that really touched his heart was 2 Nephi 31:20.
Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life. – 2 Nephi 31:20
His first time at church was fast and testimony meeting and Brandon loved it. He admitted he felt the Spirit so strongly that it brought tears to his eyes, and he found it so cool that every member was able to share their feelings if they liked.
Members played a huge role with helping Brandon. The Bennetts had him over for dinner and invited him to come to President Nelson’s birthday party with them. Another member had a huge impact as well. We invited this member to join us for a lesson with Brandon and it turned out that the member had gone through chemo and cancer treatment and they were able to mourn with each other and share a strong testimony. That gave him what he needed to keep going.
Brandon was baptized on September 15, 2024. His baptism was a Spirit-filled experience and he loved it so much! At the end of his baptism, he shared his testimony on how Christ has helped him and how he knows that Christ restored His church through Joseph Smith. Brandon has been able to find the peace and joy that comes from this church because it truly is the church of joy!
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Barlows in TKM 