Tender Mercies in the TKM: Cesar

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Cesar was found when Elder Poll and Elder Colling tried knocking on a referral, but instead, they met Cesar! We then started teaching him. From the beginning, we knew Cesar had a very special spirit. He was also curious about the Book of Mormon, so he started reading it and pondering its message. This was a key part of his conversion.

Another important part of Cesar’s story is when he accepted a baptismal invitation. At first, he was nervous, but he also knew he could do it. He decided to meet with us more often, which was crucial to his overall baptismal preparation. During this time, he learned about some of the commandments he would need to keep to be baptized, and fortunately, he was already living by all of them. The Lord had been preparing him for this moment.

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Members made a huge impact on Cesar. Hermana Williams was there for Cesar every step of the way. She taught him many things and helped him understand the gospel principles through our church lessons.

One of our favorite experiences with Cesar was on Christmas Day. He was going through a tough time, and we offered to give him a blessing. This was a huge turning point for him. The blessing brought him peace, which he really needed at that moment.

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Cesar was baptized on January 24, 2025 as a member of the West Hills Ward. At Cesar’s baptism, it was clear how much the gospel had changed his life. He came out of the water with a sense of peace and strength we had never seen in him before. We are grateful for Cesar and for the decision he has made to become a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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Tender Mercies in the TKM: Michel

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Michel was born in Nicaragua and grew up constantly facing dangerous situations. One night, two men kidnapped and tried to kill her. She said a prayer and miraculously was able to fend off her attackers and escape. She immediately learned trust in God and to do everything He asked. She learned He would deliver her and not lead her astray. She knew she could trust Him and made the hardest decision of her life, deciding to leave everything behind and move to the United States for a safer future for her and her family.

Elder Barrow and Elder Johns first knocked on Michel’s door in December of 2023, but unfortunately they weren’t able to contact her after their first visit. Shortly after meeting the missionaries, Michel moved to Dallas, Texas. The missionaries in Dallas met Michel on a bus. She loved their message and later attended one of their services. The missionaries continued teaching her until she decided to move back to Knoxville, Tennessee.

Elder Rodriguez and Elder Colling then got a phone call from the Dallas, Texas missionaries about Michel and were able to meet with her immediately. Michel was very grateful to see the missionaries and progressed quickly. 

In the very first lesson Michel accepted the invitation to be baptized. During this lesson they talked about how we can become closer to God, and prepare ourselves for baptism. She readily agreed and started finding joy in daily prayer and studying in the Book Of Mormon. She knew she was being led down the right path.

An important moment in Michel’s conversion is when she made the decision to come to church. Sunday service was very special for her and her kids. They learned so much about Jesus Christ and her daughter loved Primary.

We also could not have done this without the Gilday family who has supported Michel in so many ways! The Gildays have helped her understand the true concept of charity! They have also been a friend to Michel in some of her hardest times and done so much for Michel.

Michel was baptized on January 4, 2025 as a member of the West Hills Ward. One of the most powerful moments at Michel’s baptism is when she bore her testimony about her love of Jesus Christ. You could feel the spirit that entered the room when she bore testimony about the Savior. You could tell that she knew what it meant to come unto Christ! We are so grateful for this decision that Michel has made to be baptized and know she will be a great disciple of Christ.

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Tender Mercies in the TKM: Charlie

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Charlie first met the missionaries after entering a request to meet with them through a media referral in April, 2023. He met with missionaries on and off until the summer of 2024. His faith in Jesus Christ continued to grow, and in August 2024, Elder Brandon Haderlie and Elder Carson Harmon committed him to being baptized.

The week of his baptism, however, Charlie was met with extreme opposition from his fiancé’s family. Because of that opposition, he returned his Book of Mormon to the missionaries and stopped meeting with them. But he began to have experiences with the Spirit that he followed, and a short while later, he reached back out to the Elders. They began to meet with Charlie once again over the phone.

Charlie has a learning disability which makes it difficult for him to focus and process the things he reads. Amazingly, though, as he read the Book of Mormon and learned about the Restoration of the Gospel, Charlie was able to learn well and understand what he was reading, especially as he read the Book of Mormon.

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Charlie agreed to be baptized on December 21, 2024. He was so excited to be baptized, he asked to move his baptism to a week sooner, on December 14, 2024. He was baptized and confirmed into the Hixson ward on that day, surrounded by friends and missionaries!

Charlie feels the spirit very strongly through music and loves the hymns! One of the first things Charles will ask you is, “Can I sing you Amazing Grace?”. He says, “Amazing Grace helps me remember Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for me.” Charles is a testament that the Lord speaks to everyone individually in ways they will be able to understand.

The Holy Ghost has worked wonders in Charlie’s life as he continues to strengthen his testimony of Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, as well as other gospel truths everyday!

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Tender Mercies in the TKM: Ian

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The missionaries first met Ian in the parking lot at TJ Maxx where they were handing out cards to invite people to the Tabernacle Choir Watch Party.

Ian described his experience in his own words:

“When I first met the missionaries I was dealing with a lot of darkness and I didn’t know how to get out of it. The missionaries found me when I was leaving a store walking back to my car and they asked me if I would like a picture of Jesus Christ and I said, “Sure!” Then they asked me if I had a church that I attended. Being new to the area and unsure of my faith, I had no church to go to. They offered me to come and tour their church and join them in worshipping Jesus Christ on Sunday.”

“Looking back, I was unsure of what my brain was telling me in that moment. I again said, “Sure.” I didn’t know it at the time, but that was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made and a moment I will remember forever.”

“I took a chance with the missionaries when at the time I wasn’t sure how I felt about God. I was lost and confused. I went that Saturday to tour their church and from the moment I walked in I could feel the spirit of God there. It was a feeling I had not felt in years since I went through a dark path and had lost my faith in God.”

“As I continued to meet with the missionaries, they taught me how to come closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Everything they invited me to do helped to build my faith. I knew it was the missing piece I needed to step out of the darkness and fulfill my life with Christ once again.”

“Elder Wagon and Elder Gardner had put their trust into me that I would be ready for baptism. Since that first lesson I made sure to read a scripture every night and pray to God, which was something I hadn’t done in years. When I did that, it was the best feeling.”

“As the time of my baptism was approaching, I was having my doubts and was scared I wasn’t ready to receive the Holy Ghost. I reached out to Sister Bosh, Sister Rush and Sister Low and they talked me through everything and reassured me I was ready. As I spoke t them, it felt like I was speaking to God and I could feel Him there telling me I was more than ready.”

“That following Sunday, December 22, 2024, Elder Gardner baptized me and Elder Potter helped me receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Since then I feel like a whole new person. While still not perfect, I’m working every day to become the best version of myself. I love helping others with the missionaries to receive the word and love of Jesus Christ. I never would have thought I’d have come this far so quickly, but I couldn’t have done so without the help and love of Elder Gardner, Elder Potter, Elder Wagnon, Sister Rush, Sister Bosh, Sister Low, Brandon, Elder and Sister Bennett, and the rest of the amazing people I’m proud to call my family at the Asheville Central Branch and the Asheville Ward.”

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Tender Mercies in the TKM: Jayden

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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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Tender Mercies in the TKM: Logan

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One day the missionaries were public contacting at Walmart. They saw an old man getting out of his car, and decided to go help him. His name was Ronny. He said they could stop by and share a message. Later that week they went to visit Ronny. When they stopped by his house he was not there. So, they decided to use that time to knock on some of his neighbors’ doors. Logan was Ronny’s next door neighbor!

November 5th was the first day that the missionaries met Logan. When they knocked on Logan’s door he expressed that he wanted to get closer to God, but did not have a church to attend. He came out to his porch to talk with the missionaries because his dog was all riled up. They had a pleasant conversation and set up a church tour with him just a few days later.

The spirit was so strong during that church tour. They entered the room with the baptismal font and decided to teach the doctrine of baptism. They had not known Logan for long, but the spirit was strong, and so they invited Logan to be baptized later that month.

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The missionaries continued to meet with Logan multiple times a week. He attended church and became fast friends with the members of the Signal Mountain Ward. He was able to keep all his commitments and make changes in his life to prepare for baptism.

We know that God had been preparing Logan. Just a few months prior to meeting the missionaries, Logan was living a completely different lifestyle. He had some friends who were not the best influence. He had an accident that left him with a severely broken leg that required major surgery. This was a turning point for him. He knew he needed to change. He knew that he was not living the kind of life that he wanted to live and he started to make those changes in his life. That’s when he met the missionaries. All of the changes he had already started to make aligned perfectly with the doctrine of the restored gospel.

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Logan was baptized on November 30, 2024. He was baptized by a recent convert Juan. He entered the font willing and ready to deepen his relationship with his Father in Heaven. He had the support of many amazing ward members. One week later he was able to attend the temple and do proxy baptisms. He is now an amazing member of the Signal Mountain Ward. Logan even sang in the choir and volunteered in the live Nativity!

The restored gospel has changed Logan’s life and has changed him. He is living the life he wants to live. He is becoming the person that he wants to become. He is a lifelong disciple of Jesus Christ.

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