Tender Mercies in the TKM: Vincent

June 15, 2025 ~ barlowsintkm ~ Leave a comment

Vincent was first introduced to the gospel while in jail. One of his cellmates was friends with Miss Gloria, a member in the Hardin Valley Ward. Through the cellmate, Miss Gloria and Vincent were able to create a great friendship, and Miss Gloria was able to help out Vincent a lot while he was in jail. It was here where Gloria introduced Vincent to the restored gospel, and afterwards sent his information to the missionaries so that they could get him a copy of the Book of Mormon.

After receiving the referral from the Hardin Valley Sisters, Elder Graham and Elder Griffith were able to drop off a copy of the Book of Mormon. They set up a time to come back and talk about his experience reading. Over the next few weeks they kept stopping by and reading the Book of Mormon with him to help him understand the Book of Mormon better.

While the missionaries were reading with Vincent, they got to 2 Nephi 31, which brought up the topic of baptism. Vincent expressed that he had never been baptized and that he had a desire to be baptized. So they invited him to be baptized . As Elder Miller entered the area, him and Elder Griffith were able to really help him prepare for baptism.

As the missionaries met with Vincent, he always described that he felt good, he began to truly see the blessings of the gospel in his life. The joy and peace that entered his life was evident. His desire to be baptized came from his desire to be on the right path with God. The missionaries explained this is the covenant path. Vincent had to overcome some struggles with the Word of Wisdom, but with the support of the missionaries and members of the Rockwood Ward, he was successful. As he came to church he was truly able to become a part of the Rockwood family, and was very excited to become an official part of that ward family when he was baptized.

Vincent was baptized on February 22, 2025. He has since been able to attend the temple and is sharing the gospel in normal and natural ways with everyone he can.

Tender Mercies in the TKM: James

June 7, 2025June 7, 2025 ~ barlowsintkm ~ Leave a comment

James saw some information on Instagram about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and made a request to meet with the missionaries. That’s when he was first taught by Elder Andreasen and Elder Cox. James shared he wanted to surround himself with the right kind of people and had this strong feeling he should start going to church again.

Preach My Gospel teaches us, “Heavenly Father may have blessed the people you find with valuable spiritual preparation. The steps they have already taken may have prepared them to make covenants with God through baptism in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” This was definitely the case with James. Heavenly Father had been giving him important spiritual impressions that had prepared his heart to “receive the word” (Alma 16:16-17).

16 And there was no inequality among them; the Lord did pour out his Spirit on all the face of the land to prepare the minds of the children of men, or to prepare their hearts to receive the word which should be taught among them at the time of his coming—

17 That they might not be hardened against the word, that they might not be unbelieving, and go on to destruction, but that they might receive the word with joy, and as a branch be grafted into the true vine, that they might enter into the rest of the Lord their God.

Alma 16:16-17

James loved the principles he was taught by Elder Cox and Elder Andreasen. While he was being taught, Elder Johnson was transferred into the Gray Ward. James came to church and felt the love that the members of the Gray Ward had for him. Soon he was invited to be baptized, which he accepted and continued to work towards this goal..

James watching General Conference with the missionaries.

James continued to progress and even watched a session of General Conference with the missionaries. While he knew that baptism was the right thing to do, he wanted to be sure it was a choice he was making for himself. He didn’t want to blindly follow and he wanted to know for himself that the things he was being taught were true. He prayed about it and felt good about it, especially the Book of Mormon, and knew this was the right thing for him to do.

James was then baptized October 12, 2024 and confirmed the next day in Sacrament meeting. James has been able to see the joys of the gospel enter his life as he continues to study and come to church and feel the blessings and power that come from making sacred covenants with God.

#TKMTenderMercies

Tender Mercies in the TKM: Juan

June 6, 2025 ~ barlowsintkm ~ Leave a comment

Sister Massey and Sister Williams decided to invite everyone who had attended sacrament meeting in the last year to join us for a special Christmas sacrament meeting in December 2024 to celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. Juan had been taught by other missionaries earlier that year, but had lost interest and the missionaries were no longer meeting with him.

When Juan received the invitation, he thanked the missionaries but didn’t say whether he’d come. At the end of the meeting, Sister Massey noticed Juan sitting near the doors and they went to catch him before he left.

This created the opportunity to start teaching Juan again. As the missionaries started teaching him, he shared many spiritual experiences he’d already had, and often bore his own testimony at the end of lessons. He gave heartfelt prayers and showed a strong desire to grow closer to God.

Juan was baptized and confirmed on the February 2, 2025 as a member of the Greeneville Ward..

#TKMTenderMercies

At His own baptism, Juan was able to offer the opening prayer, and bore his testimony at the end of the service. He continues to attend church services, has received the Aaronic priesthood, and attended the temple to do baptisms for members of his family.

Tender Mercies in the TKM: Johnsen

June 3, 2025 ~ barlowsintkm ~ Leave a comment

Yongxin (Johnsen) was found by Elders Cloward and O’Brien when he newly arrived to the United States from China. Johnsen had gotten a job with a research team at the University of Tennessee. The missionaries met Johnsen as he was taking out the trash at his apartment. He did not have a knowledge of Jesus Christ, or even God. At first, he even thought missionaries were policemen or spies.

However, after noticing the Spirit that came with the kind gestures of introducing the Savior into his life, Johnsen started to read the Book of Mormon and feel the Spirit. As he read the Book of Mormon, his faith in Jesus Christ began to grow. Each time he met with the missionaries, he would keep the commitments they invited him to do, and with each step his faith grew more and more.

Johnsen learned how to pray and even taught his family how to pray. He would call his family in China and share the things he was learning with them.

His faith grew until he felt ready to receive the ordinance of baptism. Johnsen was baptized on January 29, 2025.

Johnsen’s faith continues to grow stronger. Through the power of prayer, he experienced miracles to get a job where he can permanently reside in the United States. He continues to bless the lives of others in the church today.

#TKMTenderMercies

Disciple of Christ – Sister Talbot

May 25, 2025 ~ barlowsintkm ~ Leave a comment

As missionaries finish their service in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission, we invite them to share what they’ve learned that will help them be a lifelong disciple of Jesus Christ.

#DiscipleOfChrist

Disciple of Christ – Sister Foster

May 25, 2025 ~ barlowsintkm ~ Leave a comment

As missionaries finish their service in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission, we invite them to share what they’ve learned that will help them be a lifelong disciple of Jesus Christ.

#DiscipleOfChrist

Disciple of Christ – Sister Wall

May 20, 2025 ~ barlowsintkm ~ Leave a comment

As missionaries finish their service in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission, we invite them to share what they’ve learned that will help them be a lifelong disciple of Jesus Christ.

#DiscipleOfChrist

Welcome to the TKM!

May 19, 2025 ~ barlowsintkm ~ Leave a comment

On April 9th, we welcomed eight new missionaries to the Tennessee Knoxville Mission. This is a great group of missionaries and we look forward to serving with them for the next 18 or 24 months!

Complete with our welcome posters, we had a great welcoming committee at the airport to welcome them to Tennessee!

After a short meeting and dinner on Wednesday night when they arrived, we met Wednesday morning to start their Day 1 in the TKM. We began with a discussion about their missionary purpose, and how helping people to make covenants with God, and receive the blessings of those covenants, is central to that purpose.

Our purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ, by helping them receive the restored gospel, through faith in Jesus Christ and Hist Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.

Everyone then headed off to the University of Tennessee campus with fresh copies of the Book of Mormon in hand to find people to teach.

One of the best things we get to do as mission leaders is assign trainers to these new missionaries. After they finish back on campus, we come back to the Farragut building and announce their trainer and first area of their mission. It feels like we are announcing the NBA Draft! Lots of anticipation…and super exciting!

New Missionary	Trainer	Area
Elder Barnett	Elder Porter	Dayton
Elder Canals	Elder Carroll	House Mountain
Elder Nelson	Elder Collins	Jamestown
Elder Rodabough	Elder Kerksiek	Spring Creek SP
Sister Dahl	Sister Ericksen	Maryville
Sister Flynn	Sister Rush	Sevierville
Sister Pulver	Sister Thatcher	Crossville 1st
Sister Roberts	Sister Zogg	Cleveland SP

This is a great group of trainers, so we are confident each of these missionaries will get off to a great start. Welcome to the TKM!

#WhatsUpInTKM

Disciple of Christ – Sister Bunderson

May 19, 2025 ~ barlowsintkm ~ Leave a comment

As missionaries finish their service in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission, we invite them to share what they’ve learned that will help them to be a lifelong disciple of Jesus Christ.

#DiscipleOfChrist

16th TKM Family Olympics

May 15, 2025 ~ barlowsintkm ~ Leave a comment

On Wednesday, April 9, 2025, 7 outstanding missionaries completed their service in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission. We are starting to see missionaries we’ve served with the entire time finish their missions, and it seems like it gets harder and harder to see them leave us to return home. As they have centered their life on Jesus Christ and focused on their missionary purpose, they have changed in powerful ways. We love them, are very proud of them, and know great things lie ahead for each of them.

Before leaving on Wednesday, we celebrated with them on Tuesday. We began with lunch where they shared important lessons they’ve learned from this experience. Most of the discussion focused on how they can apply these lessons as they move forward as lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ, especially the power of reading the Book of Mormon every day, partaking of the sacrament every week, attending the temple regularly, and keeping every covenant they’ve made. We also met with each of them 1:1 and had the opportunity to give them a blessing.

For the 16th TKM Family Olympics, we had three events: Corn Hole, Kub, and the marquee event…Welcome Posters!

We had a great time, but in the end, we have one team that wins the gold medals.

Congratulations to the gold medal winners of the 16th TKM Family Olympics! Sister Harrop and Elder Vallejo!

These missionaries have so much to look forward and we know they each will do incredible things. Most importantly, they’ve become lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ. They’ve come to know Him in a way that really can’t be duplicated through other experiences. They leave changed for the better, and the lessons learned will bless them for the rest of their lives.

#WhatsUpInTKM