The missionaries met Jayden as a referral from his girlfriend, Maikya. Jayden was naturally fellowshipped by members and this created the desire to learn more about the things his member friends believed in, especially his girlfriend, Makiya.. Makiya is currently serving a mission in Argentina, and invited Jayden to reach out to missionaries near him.
Here are his words about how that went:
“So to begin with, what got me into the church was my girlfriend Makiya who’s a missionary herself. Before she left for her mission she suggested I come to church with her and I did and I didn’t think much of it. But once she left for her mission she asked me to go to church or at least try and learn something so I texted the missionaries, and soon enough they answered me and within a day I was meeting with them.”
During Jayden’s first lesson, he expressed an interest in being baptized, desiring to change his life forever. We quickly put him on date, and per his request, taught him almost every day leading up to his baptism.
“Let me say after the first lesson I was hooked. My life has changed so much in so many ways from the start I have seen my relationship grow and so many opportunities have opened up. I’m so blessed to call the church my home.”
Since Jayden was so eager to be taught every day, we were able to fellowship him with almost the entire branch before his baptism. The members excitedly answered his questions and encouraged Jayden to study and pray every day, and to understand the importance of partaking of the sacrament each Sunday. Brad and Lynette Jones and Mike and Dawn Baker were especially involved in welcoming Jayden into the church.
A powerful moment in Jayden’s conversion was his first time partaking of the sacrament: “I definitely felt the Spirit move in me the first time I took the sacrament and my whole body felt free and just happy.”
Jayden was baptized and confirmed on November 24th, 2024 as a member of the Brevard branch and has since been able to receive the Aaronic priesthood and perform baptisms for the dead in the Atlanta temple. He has a very bright future and is already a powerful missionary in the Lord’s hands with how willing he is to help within the branch and to share his own testimony with others.
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