In early 2023, Nick moved from Las Vegas to Tennessee to live with his grandparents. Shortly before his move, he had experienced a life threatening situation. It was here in Tennessee where he was first introduced to the missionaries.

Since that time he had met with missionaries on and off but didn’t express any interest in becoming a member. Over time, Nick would find himself having long discussions with his grandmother about gospel principles. The biggest and most influential thing he liked to discuss was family history and the purpose of temples.

After many of these discussions Nick felt a change in his life and the standards he wanted to follow. During another long late night conversation with his grandmother, the topic of temples and family temple work was brought up. Nick knew he wanted to search out his ancestors and complete the necessary temple work for them, but to do so he would need to be a member.

That’s when Nick made the decision to be baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was baptized and confirmed on July 20, 2024 and says he has felt the power of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit work in his life.

#TKMTenderMercies

The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square is coming to Ft. Lauderdale and Atlanta for concerts in early September called “Song of Hope”. While those concerts aren’t in Tennessee, all of the stakes here will be hosting “Watch Parties” on September 7th or September 11th where there will be a night of food and games followed by watching a live broadcast of the concert. This is a great opportunity for members of our church to invite friends to come join a fun event with our congregations.

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Since mid-July, missionaries have been handing out “Gift of Music” cards to invite everyone to join us at the Watch Parties. The missionaries use these cards to start conversations with people about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. These cards have been helpful as they have three things that different people appreciate.

First, it is a beautiful picture of the Savior. People love the Savior here in Tennessee. This is a very unique picture of the Christ. It was commissioned by the Tabernacle Choir and is only used for their events.

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Second, on the back of the card is a QR code where you can access a playlist of a free “Gift of Music” from the Tabernacle Choir. Many people appreciate this gift of music and we’ve learned that the Tabernacle Choir is very familiar to many people in Tennessee.

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Third, it is an invite to the Watch Party. Everyone loves a community party and concert!

We signed up to pass out 60,000 invites to the Watch Party. That worked out to 10 cards per companionship per day over two months. The Assistants created a graphic of Tennessee vs. Alabama that should show our progress vs. goal. We’ve now handed out over 40,000 cards and are making a late push to beat Alabama!

We even had the great opportunity to meet Derek Porter, who recently was announced as the new announcer for the weekly broadcast of “Music and the Spoken Word”. He joined one of our mission meetings and shared this message with the missionaries to encourage them in sharing these invitations:

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Throughout the week, missionaries in the TKM share videos of “Tender Mercies” that highlight how they’ve seen God’s help in their work. Here are a few of the Tender Mercy Videos that have been shared about the Tabernacle Choir cards (or TABCAT cards as they are affectionately known in the TKM – as in “TABernacle Choir at Temple Square”).

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We are excited about the Watch Parties happening this next week and hope many of our friends will join us there.

#WhatsUpInTKM

by Bethany Gosa

The day that Elder Dodge and Elder Staff came knocking on my door changed – even saved – my life.

I’ve always treasured my relationship with Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ and have never lost faith in their plan for humanity and their plan for me. I knew it would not fail, but had almost resigned myself to not finding the church home that nurtured those things.

The religion that I raised in wasn’t a home community or church family and when I needed them the most they shunned me. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provided those things for me and made me feel loved, appreciated, and even treasured from the beginning. Unfortunately I had to move from that location and the year following was one of the worst years of my life, but I still met with the missionaries in Knoxville and visited the ward in Fountain City a few times.

From there I had to take some serious steps to take care of myself, to heal addiction, and some broken bones. So I spent about a year in a couple of different recovery programs. Then in September of 2023, I was permanently back in Maryville and by the first of this year, 2024, I was back to meeting regularly with the missionaries, who were at that time Sister Fee and Sister Condie. Sister Wilson soon replaced Sister Condie and the time I spent with Sister Fee and Sister Wilson proved to be the true changing point for the better.

With their help and the Holy Spirit’s guidance, I was able to anchor my life in the positive ways. I was getting close to God and He strengthened me to be able to stand strong against the enemy and the heavy spiritual attacks that were thrown my way. The adversary tried hard to swing me in his way and even take my life, but I refused to abandon my relationship ship with God and this human life. I was also able to make lifestyle changes including leaving a living situation in a garage with a man I was not married to.

One of the happiest days of my life was when Sister Wilson told me I was ready to be baptized and that it would happen on July 27, 2024. That day came, and when I came up out of the water my body and soul felt lighter, and I had a strong sense of comfort that even though life may still be hard at times, it will always be rewarding and full of divine love and the Holy Spirit. I so much look forward to my life ahead as a member of Christ’s true church on the earth and being able to serve God and my fellow man in the highest capacity possible.

by Sister Hodges and Sister Bingham

It was a sunny Saturday, the roads a little less busy then normal. Sister Bingham and Sister Hodges were driving down the road and saw a man walking on the side. They pulled over and invited him to church! Despite the language barrier Richar understood what the two Sisters were saying and happily took the card.

That Sunday the Sisters were sitting in the Young Women’s room on the phone with a friend when a member came in and told them they had a visitor. Speed walking out of the room, there he was! Richar came to church!

That week, there wasn’t a single Spanish speaker at church so Sister Hodges quickly pulled out Google Translate and wrote as much as she could so Richar could understand what was happening. They later found out that Richar had walked over an hour to get to church that day.

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The sister missionaries really wanted to teach Richar right away, but none of the Spanish speakers in the ward were going to be available that week, so they sent him to the Spanish Elders, Elder Richins and Elder Nilsson. They were able to teach him about the sacrament and baptism and he wanted to learn more.

After that week, with the help of Spanish-speaking members in the ward, the Sisters began to teach him. He told them that he wanted to dedicate his life to God. In a little less than a month, on July 21, 2024 he was baptized!

Richar loves learning about the gospel and he is excited to go to the temple with the ward this next month.

As missionaries depart from the Tennessee Knoxville Mission, we invite them to share what they’ve learned about being a lifelong disciple of Jesus Christ.

#DiscipleOfChrist

As missionaries depart from the Tennessee Knoxville Mission, we invite them to share what they’ve learned about being a lifelong disciple of Jesus Christ.

#DiscipleOfChrist

By: Elder Bradshaw

On April 13, 2024, Stanly and his son Jared were taking out their trash to the dumpster in front of their apartment when two missionaries stopped them and asked to share a message about the Book of Mormon and the gospel of Jesus Christ. They agreed and said that we were able to come back.

At first Stanly wasn’t super interested. He avoided us  when we came by and wasn’t home when we scheduled appointments. We then decided to randomly stop by one night and he and his family let us in and we were able to share a little bit more about how the Book of Mormon could bless their life. The spirit touched Stanly that night and he decided to read it.

The next time we came over only Stanly was home. The rest of his family had left to visit nearby relatives but Stanly later told us that he had chosen to stay behind because he knew that we were coming over. We knew at that moment that he had in fact read the Book of Mormon and he committed to come to church the next day. He began to develop a change of heart and his soon-to-be wife noticed it as well. She later commented to us that right when we had started coming over and sharing our message he had stopped drinking.

As soon as Stanly accepted the Book of Mormon, everything else that we taught him fell into place. He kept every committment we gave him with unmatched zeal. Whenever we extended a commitment to him he would always reply, “Well, if the Lord commands it, I will do it.”

With the help of the amazing members in Cookeville, Stanly and his wife Nolvia were married on July 27, 2024. Right after the wedding, on that same day, Stanly was baptized and confirmed. The next day at church he was ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood.

Stanly later told us that he was so grateful to have the gospel in his life. He said that before we came, he was losing the trust of his family due to his past drinking habits. But thanks to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ he was able to strengthen his relationship with his family and now his whole family has the desire to be baptized because of the change they have seen in him. As we had promised him, this eternal truth blessed his life: every relationship centered on Jesus Christ grows stronger.

This is a testimony to me that the gospel of Jesus Christ really does bless individuals and families. 

#TKMTenderMercies

Tristan has been living with some members in our ward and has been taught by missionaries for many years. He has had friends help bring him to church every week. From there he started learning about the gospel of Jesus Christ and the importance of prayer. His older siblings were baptized recently and so Tristan became interested in working towards baptism as well.

Tristan’s life has been pretty difficult, as he’s had to move frequently from his parents in Florida to North Carolina. Through these trials he began to be reliant on God. At first Tristan was shy and hesitant to meet with the missionaries, but as time went on he started to trust them more and loved having them come by to share the gospel lessons. It was amazing to see how he and his brother Philly progressed. They grew spiritually as they read scriptures, prayed, and went to church. 

Tristan was only 9 years old at the time of his baptism but we were able to see how smart he was. As we taught the gospel of Jesus Christ, we used some hand signals to remember the 5 principles and many times he taught them back to us. As we studied the stories in the Book of Mormon he was always excited to learn more. As we taught about the Holy Ghost, Tristan began to be excited for the influence it could have in his life. With his unique situation he felt the need for the guidance and comfort it could give him. 

Within the stories in the scriptures and in their personal lives, Tristan and Philly especially saw the power of prayer. 

Throughout the time of meeting with the missionaries, Tristan’s grandma became very ill and had to go to the hospital. As they prayed for support from the Lord, she was able to recover from her illness and return home safely.

Tristan was hesitant at first to accept a baptismal date, but as we set a goal for him, he prayed and took a step of faith, deciding to be baptized. Every day before his baptism, he committed to praying and checking off his baptismal calendar.

Right before his baptism, Tristan said he felt nervous. But, as soon as he got in the water, the nervousness went away. After his baptism, Tristan was seen smiling for the rest of the day. He now has such a shining countenance and cheerful spirit. Tristan’s decision to be Baptized and to receive the Holy Ghost has blessed both his life and the life of his family. Tristan has set a strong example for his younger brother Philly, and we know they will grow to become even greater disciples of Jesus Christ together.

#TKMTenderMercies

Message from Sister Barlow

It was so fun gathering together with you at zone conferences this week! You were taught well by President Barlow and your zone leadership teams. The principles they discussed (acting in greater faith, having a proactive mindset, controlling the controllables, becoming a more consecrated missionary) are all things that will bless your mission and your life well after your mission. We loved the goals and accountability you set in zone councils and look forward to seeing what you can do together.

We are also excited to spend the next three weeks celebrating President Nelson’s 100th birthday!

The other day while on a run, I was listening to the Restoration Proclamation on repeat to help me memorize it and I had an impression of the Spirit. I felt that if our missionaries will really take the time to invest in studying and memorizing this sacred document, they will be be able to teach their future families these truths with greater clarity and power. These truths are the foundation of everything we do in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Please give your best effort to memorizing every last word. There is no downside!

Claim every promised blessing from our prophet when he says, “We live in this unique and exciting time when the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ continues to unfold. I would encourage each of you to study, ponder, and teach from the bicentennial proclamation of the Restoration, introduced at the April 2020 general conference. Teach it often to your missionaries. There is power in its declarations. It proclaims truths concerning the Godhead, the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the First Vision, the organization of the Lord’s Church, the restoration of priesthood authority, the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, and modern-day prophets. The more your missionaries understand about these fundamental gospel truths, the more their own testimonies will grow —which of course will help them teach and testify with greater power.”

Have a great week! We love you,
Sister Barlow

Message from President Barlow

212 Degrees

One of my favorite things to do as a dad was drop our kids off at school. The drive to school became an important time to connect, learn about things they were worried about, and talk about what was going on in their life.

As they would get out of the car and head into school, I would always leave them with a one-line thought from dad to encourage them that day. Things like, “Do what is right, let the consequence follow!” “Be the change you want to see in the world today!” “You are always prettier when you smile!”

My favorite one-liner was, “Have a 212 day!”

212 degrees Fahrenheit is the temperature where water turns from a liquid state to a gas state. At 211 degrees, it is really just hot water. But at 212 degrees, everything changes, the water begins to boil, and the water changes to steam. Steam is one of the most efficient and widely used energy sources for power. It can be used to power trains or to turn turbines that create electricity. Moving water just one degree – from 211 degrees to 212 degrees – unleashes a lot of power. That one extra degree makes all the difference.

In life and in missionary work, a little extra effort can make all the difference. But making extra effort requires a proactive mindset…using your agency in powerful, proactive ways. Having this mindset will help you to act in greater faith. One of the best areas to apply this extra effort is in your obedience to the commandments and the standards we’ve been given by prophets in Missionary Standards for Disciples of Jesus Christ.

I think it is important to note that there is an exactness to this principle. The change doesn’t happen at 210 degrees…not 211 degrees…it takes exactly 212 degrees for this change to happen. Similarly, your

effort to be exactly obedient can bring great changes to your mission and life. I love a principle taught in the story of the Army of Helaman. When Helaman described these 2,000 young men, he said, “Yea, and they did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto them” (Alma 57:21). Their efforts to be exactly obedient was a statement of their faith. And “according to their faith it was done unto them”, or they received the blessings they needed.

When our life lacks this exactness, and we treat things lightly (usually because of some form of unbelief), D&C 84:54 describes what can occur. “And your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received.” Treating things lightly can cause us to lose faith, and thus lose power.

President Nelson said it best: “Obedience brings success; exact obedience brings miracles.”

As you think about being a more consecrated missionary, remember the number 212. A little extra effort…a little more exactness…can bring about big changes in your mission. That extra effort can bring a lot of power. Making that commitment will be worth it. .

I share with you the same encouragement I’ve given my kids literally hundreds of times: “Have a 212 day!”

Sister Barlow and I love you! Let us know if there is anything you need.