Author: barlowsintkm

Zone Conference: Increasing Our Faith

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On November 5th, 6th, and 7th, we held zone conferences across the Tennessee Knoxville Mission. This was one of our best zone conferences yet and was a powerful experience for all missionaries in the TKM.

Sister Barlow taught us how to seek and expect miracles as missionaries. She began by talking about our missionary purpose and the authority of our callings as missionaries. She taught that our authority comes with the right, privilege and responsibility to represent the Savior and teach His gospel. Our power as missionaries increases as we repent, stay away from anything crude or vulgar, keep the Missionary Standards for Disciples of Jesus Christ, and focus on our missionary purpose. When we combine God’s authority with our personal spiritual power, we can seek and expect miracles to happen in this work. She gave all of us a clip to wear to remind us of our missionary purpose. When we see the clip, we should ask ourselves, “Is what I’m doing right now fulfilling my missionary purpose?”

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President Barlow then shared that he and Sister Barlow attended the Mission Leader Seminar in October for all mission leaders in the North America Southeast Area. Mission leaders attend these seminars twice a year. They are a great time of reflection and looking back on how things are going in the mission, but also looking ahead to what we need to do next. President and Sister Barlow went to the seminar seeking revelation on what we needed to do next in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission, and returned with strong impressions.

There has never been a better time to serve in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission. A temple is being built in Knoxville, and we are serving at a time when we are helping to prepare a place and the people here for a temple of God. At the October 2024 General Conference, President Russell M. Nelson taught:

“My dear brothers and sisters, do you see what is happening right before our eyes? I pray that we will not miss the majesty of this moment! The Lord is indeed hastening His work. Why are we building temples at such an unprecedented pace? Why? Because the Lord has instructed us to do so. The blessings of the temple help to gather Israel on both sides of the veil. These blessings also help to prepare a people who will help prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Lord!

“The Lord Jesus Christ Will Come Again”, October 2024 General Conference

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As President Nelson said, the Lord is hastening His work. We should not let the probabilities limit the possibilities! Now is the time for us as a mission to increase our faith, and learn to act in greater faith. In preparation for the zone conference, the mission studied President Nelson’s talks “The Power of Spiritual Momentum” and “Christ is Risen; Faith in Him Will Move Mountains“. We discussed the ways that we can increase our faith and act in greater faith as missionaries. We then shared with the mission that we felt the Lord wanted us to work towards a goal that would require more faith, and we felt that goal should be 100 friends making the covenant of baptism and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost by the end of the year. This is far greater than what we have seen previously, but do not let the probabilities limit the possibilities!

In addition to the goal, we also shared that we had received impressions on steps to follow, and that if we would follow these steps as a mission, we would experience the miracles we seek. Those steps fell into two categories:

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  1. Apply the doctrine of Christ more fully in our own lives. As we do that, we will have more power to…
  2. Invite others to come unto Christ by applying the doctrine of Christ in their lives.

The main focus is increasing our own faith, repentance, keeping covenants, following the Holy Ghost, and enduring as missionaries. We then walked through the commitments we would need to make in applying the Doctrine of Christ to build our faith and seek these miracles.

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As a mission, we are focused on five things to help us achieve our goal:

It has been incredible to see the faith of these missionaries over the last two weeks. They are increasing in faith and acting in greater faith, and in the process Heavenly Father is teaching them the great things He can do for them now and in the future as lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ. We are excited to see what we can accomplish in the coming months with greater faith.

We ended Zone Conference with “Preach My Gospel Jeopardy” where the districts in each zone competed in our Jeopardy game based on their knowledge of the first six chapters of Preach My Gospel. A champion was crowned in each of the 7 zones and they will compete in a final round of Jeopardy later this month.

Preach My Gospel Jeopardy Champions

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The “Army of Light” of the Tennessee Knoxville Mission

Asheville and Kingsport Zones

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Cumberland and Knoxville Zones

Chattanooga, Cleveland, and Cookeville Zones

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Tender Mercies in the TKM: Melissa

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On a February stormy night, Elder Clark and Elder Packard went to visit members in Cleveland, “the Godoys”, and Melissa and Denny were there. They were a little hesitant at first, but the missionaries always kept visiting them with the member’s and they came to really love the missionaries. Over time, they came to love the Gospel and the message that the missionaries shared and were willing to take any steps to come closer to Christ. 

A year later after being found, they took the first big step of getting married in December 2023. Denny had a powerful, spiritual experience watching a virtual tour of the Rome, Italy Temple. While watching that video, he felt the Spirit tell him to be baptized soon after their wedding. Denny was baptized a Member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints early in January. However, Melissa felt she still needed to wait for her own confirmation to be baptized.

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A few months passed, and her confirmation finally came. 

One night, while Denny and Melissa were sleeping, Melissa was awoken to a vision. In this vision, outside of her bedroom window, she saw a personage standing in the air in a bright light. She was unsure of what exactly was happening and what she was feeling. Making sure she wasn’t imagining anything, she woke up Denny to ask him if he saw what she was seeing. Still half asleep, Denny affirmed that he did see what Melissa was seeing. Melissa asked Denny to describe what he was seeing. Still half asleep, but confidently, he responded that he saw Jesus Christ.

Denny quickly went back to sleep, but Melissa could not sleep. Overwhelmed with peace, she now knew that she needed to be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She had received her confirmation and she couldn’t deny it.

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Melissa was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on May 11, 2024. Shortly after, the Romero family was able to attend the temple and be baptized for many of their ancestors. Denny and Melissa look forward to the day when can once again go to the temple and be sealed together to their family for time and all of eternity.

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Tender Mercies in the TKM: Jayme and Michael

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On the afternoon of August 10th, Sister Biasi and Sister Hodges were walking out of the library when someone shouted, “Hey Sisters!” Quickly turning to see who called to them, they were met with Riley Cowin, who turned out to be a recent convert from the Crossville Ward. Riley had just moved into the area and had not yet met the missionaries. He went on to introduce himself and explained that he and his girlfriend would be attending church the next day. His girlfriend, Jayme, seemed very excited to come and the Sisters set up a lesson with them right after church.

Jayme loved Relief Society and was very interested in learning more. The missionaries set up another appointment with her for later in the week and she was excited to start reading the Book of Mormon. 

On the next Sunday, Jayme was unable to make it due to her work schedule, so Riley invited another one of his friends, Michael Martin, to church. Michael loved it as well and he was very open to learning more. 

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The Sisters began to meet with Jayme, Michael and Riley quite frequently and in a short amount of time, both Jayme and Michael accepted their baptismal date.

As September 8th came around, Michael and Jayme’s testimonies grew as did their love for their Savior. Jayme loved coming to church and Michael was had already read 100 pages of the Book of Mormon by the third time they met with him.

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September 8, 2024 was a happy day! One of Michael’s good friends in the church baptized them both, and all of Jaymes’ family were able to attend the baptism. Since the day of their baptism, they have been coming to institute on Thursdays, attending church each Sunday, and going out on lessons with the missionaries. 

The missionaries were able to go with Michael to the temple on September 18th. He loved it and said he was able to feel peace and love there and he can’t wait to go back with Jayme on October 10th! These two new members were so ready for the gospel, they just needed someone to guide them to it and thanks to their friend, they were led right to the doors. 

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Tender Mercies in the TKM: Celia

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Celia is the most willing and humble disciple of Jesus Christ. She was found by the missionaries knocking on her door! She immediately pulled out chairs for the missionaires to sit down and teach her. Celia was eager to learn more and it has been so clear to see how the Lord has been preparing Celia for a long time to receive this message of the restored gospel.

Ever since that moment she has been consistently meeting with missionaries. She has been through many hardships but has unfailing trust in our Savior. 

When the missionaries extended the invitation for her to be baptized she quickly accepted. Many miracles occured in order to make her baptism happen. The first being that she always had work on Sundays, but the second she made the commitment to be baptized, her boss agreed to give her Sundays off.

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Another miracle is that she speaks a Mexican dialect called Mixteco that is not widely spoken. Spanish is her second language and it’s sometimes hard for her to understand Spanish. However, two recent converts of just a few months also happen to speak this rare dialect. They played a crucial role in her progress towards baptism and her understanding of the gospel. One of them was also able to baptize her.

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Celia was baptized and confirmed on September 8th 2024. She was feeling sick the week leading up to her baptism, but she said that the second she received the Gift of the Holy Ghost she felt completely better. She has continually expressed that since receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost she has felt God at her side. 

Celia is continuing to learn and grow and is also helping her family learn more about the gospel as well. We are so excited to see what the Lord has in store for Celia in the future!

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Tender Mercies in the TKM: Brandon

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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.

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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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Tender Mercies in the TKM: Josh

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by Josh Wilburn

My name is Josh Wilburn. Let me begin with the fact that I’m not an accomplished literateur, but I’ll write as best I can.

I grew up in a nice family. My grandfather was the pastor of a Pentecostal church. I grew up believing in God, but I wasn’t sure if I believed in Him as the rest of my family, plus I was always an inquisitive child, so I went searching for God. I’ve studied various religions and religious groups/denominations. The ones I really felt drawn to were Buddhism, Shinto, and one or two branches of Christianity. But no matter which one I was focusing on, I always believed in Jesus, that never changed, whether or not I even knew myself how I believed in him or who I thought he was, to be honest.

But one day, a video just randomly showed up on myYouTube dashboard called Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration. I didn’t really think too much of it (I never really looked at Mormonism for some reason), but I decided to watch it and see what it was about.

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When I was watching it, seeing how Joseph Smith was looking for God, didn’t know where to go, and he just got to his knees and prayed with all honesty and humility to God as to how he could worship Him, which church was right, and where he should go. I felt something as I was watching it- I don’t know how to explain it, but I guess it’s like a peace, an awakening inside me. I even started crying tears of joy during it.

After watching it, I started my research. I watched as many videos as I could, read as much as I could, and, most importantly, I started praying more. I was asking God if this was the right way, and so help me to understand it and help to guide me as well. As I was studying, it all was making sense – the Plan of Salvation, the Atonement of Christ, the Godhead, what happens after death (and before mortal life), all of it just felt right.

I know that Heavenly Father was guiding me down the correct path. Yes, there were things that sounded right, but I didn’t completely understand immediately, so I prayed for clarity and understanding, and God listened and answered my prayers.

I attended church for the first time about a week or two after that, and I’m so glad I did. I’m so glad I decided to go, because I felt like I was home when I am there. The people there were some of the nicest people I ever met, and on that first day there I met the missionaries who were to help me learn and grow in the Church. Their names were Sister Leathers and Sister Wilson. I am so grateful to them, for all their work, study, patience, and understanding throughout my conversion.

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I kept meeting with the missionaries after church on Sundays, as well as during the week as well. They taught me so much, and deepened my understanding of what little I had already known. And about two to three months after I first stepped inside of the church I was asked if I felt I was ready to be baptized. My answer was a resounding “Yes!”

I was baptized on September 7, 2024 in the Maryville Ward, and the missionaries who helped me to get to that point were my witnesses. The one who baptized me was one of the first people I met on my first day there, Brother Reher. I was confirmed the next day during church service.

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I’m so grateful to Heavenly Father, my church family, the sister missionaries, and all who have been a part of my journey home to God’s restored church on earth. I admit, I have made mistakes since then, but I know that I have Heavenly Parents who love me and wish the best for me, not a vindictive God who will send me to hell for a mistake. I can trust in Christ’s Atonement, God’s mercy, and the fellowship and support of the church throughout my life, and I can’t express how happy I am for all of this. I found my way home, and I thank Heavenly Father for all He has done for me.

God bless you!

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Welcome to the TKM!

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On October 30th, we welcomed 20 (yes, 20!) new missionaries to the Tennessee Knoxville Mission. We are so excited about this group of missionaries and know they will make a big impact in the TKM!

Elder Dave Wilkins
Sister Grace Zogg
Sister Ruth Tuala
Elder Alec Nielsen
Sister Alayna Thatcher
Sister Megan Mathias
Sister Megan Kingston
Sister Taylie Christenson
Sister Madison Mair
Sister M’li Brock
Sister Rebecca Lee
Elder Thomas Bartholomew
Elder Aaron Caldwell
Elder Matthew Jaggi
Sister Hailie Fraser
Elder Isaac Eggleston
Elder Chase Newman
Sister Tai Aston
Elder Gianfranco Revilla
Elder Brian Allen

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We had a wonderful “Day 1” with them doing training, interviews, and then finding people to teach at the University of Tennessee and at Market Square in downtown Knoxville.

That afternoon, they were assigned their first areas and trainers.

New MissionaryTrainerArea
Sister MairSister Fee/WallDalton
Sister ChristensonSister ArnoldRocky Face 2
Sister AstonSister GabbitasCrossville 1st
Sister LeeSister BrownLebanon 2nd
Sister BrockSister MasseyGreeneville
Sister ZoggSister Brown/FearBearden/YSA
Sister KingstonSister BinghamMaryville
Sister MathiasSister IhrigSevierville
Sister TualaSister TerryHardin Valley
Sister FraserSister BirdChatt Valley
Sister ThatcherSister CovingtonSignal Mountain
Elder BartholomewElder Huff/BowenHendersonville 1st
Elder EgglestonElder HirstOoltewah
Elder NewmanElder WyethHixson
Elder WilkinsElder Robinson/AndrusKingsport
Elder NielsenElder ClawsonMarion Branch
Elder AllenElder MorganRotherwood
Elder JaggiElder McDonaldPowell Valley
Elder CaldwellElder Driggs/HarmonWest Hills
Elder Revilla RojasElder CollingWest Hills SP

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Welcome to the TKM!

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