We have a great need for more senior missionaries in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission. We need both office missionaries and missionaries who work with the local wards and branches. If you’ve ever thought about serving, please message us so we can share more about the great impact you can make.

We love the senior missionaries in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission. It is incredible to see the tremendous difference they are making for the places where they serve and the members and missionaries they serve with. Their experience is extremely valuable and we’ve seen how the Lord magnifies their efforts. The impact they make and importance of their role can’t be overstated. They do incredible work.

When I was 19 serving as a young missionary, there were two couples who served in the office in Honolulu…the Riskas and the Knights. The love and support I felt from these two couples had a significant impact on me. And it was clear it wasn’t just me who felt that way. They touched every missionary in the mission.

In the next few weeks, three of our couples will finish their service and we will be down to four couples in the entire mission. Ideally, we could use another couple in our office and at least one couple in each of the six stakes in the mission. Some of the largest stakes geographically would greatly benefit from two.

Maybe the best way I can describe the impact of senior missionaries is to introduce you to the senior missionaries serving here in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission

Elder and Sister Larson

This is Elder and Sister Larson who just this week finished their six-month mission as Member and Leader Support missionaries. They are from San Bernardino, California and have been serving in the Chattanooga Branch. Their main focus has been to visit all of the members who haven’t been attending regularly and determine if they still live there, and invite them to return. This was a large list. They visited all of these members and ministered to each of them one-by-one, and helped facilitate many miracles along the way.

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Elder and Sister Henningson

This is Elder and Sister Henningson and they are about to finish their six-month mission. They are from Gilbert, Arizona and have been serving in the Hendersonville (NC) Branch with the Micronesian members there. They have done incredible work in facilitating the missionary prep class and helping young men and young women prepare to serve a mission, get their medical and dental check ups completed, and fill out their missionary applications. They have also been teaching the Temple Preparation Class for the branch. The photo below is a great example of their impact where they had four members of their temple preparation class go to the Columbia South Carolina temple, two that are also in their mission prep class. Soon they will have five others going to the temple and leaving on missions. It’s remarkable of what they’ve accomplished in six months.

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Elder and Sister Smith

This is Elder and Sister Smith. They are just about to finish their 23-month mission where they have been serving in the Powell Valley Ward and live in Pennington Gap, Virginia. They have contributed to many miracles in reaching out to members who have not been attending to feel loved, welcomed, and needed, and helped them to return to church. They work with new members to help them continue to progress and get connected to the “community of saints”. Our missionaries absolutely love the Smiths! They are in a far corner of our mission and as mission leaders we’ve relied on them to help missionaries with preparation day activities, doctor visits, or lunches to help encourage discouraged missionaries.

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Elder and Sister Boyer

This is Elder and Sister Boyer. They just started their mission this last month and will be with us for the next year. They are from Taylorsville, Utah and are serving in the Newport Ward and live in Morristown, Tennessee. The Boyers are from our same ward, the Westland 9th Ward, from back home. We feel incredibly grateful that they were willing to join us here and can already see the tremendous difference they are making. You might like this experience they shared recently:

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Elder and Sister Sawyer

This is Elder and Sister Sawyer. They are from Uintah, Utah and are serving a 18-month mission in the Mission Office. We would be lost without these two! Elder Sawyer wears multiple hats at the moment, but is primarily responsible for the 90 apartments across the mission. He works on all the logistics of leases, opening and closing apartments as needed, resolving concerns that inevitably come up with that many apartments, and ensuring that missionaries are taking care of these apartments as expected. Sister Sawyer is our financial secretary. She takes care of all of the financial reporting, paying the bills across the mission (think of all the utility bills for those 90 apartments), and ensuring we stay on budget. As if that isn’t enough, they also help out in the Maryville Ward where they live.

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Elder and Sister Jentzsch

This is Elder and Sister Jentzsch. They are from West Jordan, Utah and are serving a 18-month mission in the Mission Office. The Jentzschs are from our stake back home. Elder Jentzsch and I served closely together while he was the bishop of the Westland 2nd Ward. These two are lifesavers! Sister Jentzsch serves as the office secretary and coordinates all kinds of logistics with meetings, calendars, mission events, transfers, incoming missionaries, departing missionaries, letters to families…the list seems to go on and on. Elder Jentzsch is responsible for all of the mission vehicles. Think for a moment of 80 cars or trucks being driven by 20-year olds across East Tennessee. It’s a big job and he does it so well with heavy doses of love and kindness.

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Sister Young

This is Sister Young. She lives here in Farragut and is serving a full-time mission while living at home as one of our mission nurses. Everyone loves Sister Young! She counsels with missionaries as they have anything happening affecting their physical health. Plus, she helps out in the office and is willing to help these missionaries in any way needed. Sister Young is known as the grandmother of our mission. She has a listening ear and is always ready with kind words of support. One of her many strengths is ministering one by one and she is often found taking missionaries to lunch. She also makes an amazing southern banana pudding!

Sister Reynoldson

Sister Reynoldson is our other mission nurse. She is so good and so kind. Missionaries have called her just about every hour of the day with everything from upset stomachs to tick bites. Her soothing voice and southern accent have a way of bringing calm to any situation. She has a reputation for always answering the phone whether it’s 3:00 pm or 3:00 am. She does so much to care for the physical and emotional needs of our missionaries. Sister Reynoldson also works full-time as a school nurse and we feel so grateful that she continues to serve even with her busy schedule.

We recently had all of the senior missionaries come to the mission home to spend the afternoon together. It was great to catch up, get to know each other better, and share the great things that each are doing in their areas. We shared a nice meal together and hand a really competitive corn hole tournament. Unfortunately, we took the picture after Elder Jentzsch had left to take care of some things back at the office.

We love each of these senior missionaries and this mission wouldn’t run without them. They love the Lord, they love the people here in Tennessee, and they love every missionary in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission. If we were missing any one of them, it would create a big impact on our mission. They each are essential to the work being done here.

You are essential too. Your background, experience, talents, and skills are needed and wanted. You will make a tremendous difference as a senior missionary. There are a variety of needs all over the world where you can serve and we promise you will be incredibly grateful for the lessons you learn, the people you meet and serve, and the way this service will change your relationship with our Heavenly Father. If you have any questions, please message us so we can provide any info you need.

#WhatsUpInTKM

One thing we love about Tennessee is people here love Jesus Christ, and they aren’t hesitant to share that love. There are a lot of churches and the parking lots are full on Sunday. It’s not unusual to see people praying in a restaurant before they enjoy their meal. This makes is easy to start conversations about Jesus Christ, but at times, our missionaries can be be talking about Jesus Christ without teaching about the Doctrine of Christ, which is “Our Missionary Purpose” and the way the Savior taught that we come unto Him.

Nothing happens in missionary work until you find someone to teach. Finding people to teach is where missionaries spend most of their time, and it can easily become pretty discouraging.

We have to talk to a lot of people to find those who are interested in learning more, and in that process, our missionaries face quite a bit of rejection. Much more than they have ever experienced before in their life. Finding requires faith, commitment, diligence, and persistence, so as mission leaders, we spend a lot of time nurturing and developing our faith to find.

While it might be the hardest part of missionary work, it is also the place where missionaries see the hand of God in their life the most, and where they see miracles occur as they are led to those God has prepared to receive the message of the Doctrine of Christ.

As new mission leaders, we’ve felt that we should begin by strengthening our missionaries faith to find. Once we zero in on a theme like this, we work with our Mission Leadership Council to identify the best ways to teach our missionaries these principles.

This is our Mission Leadership Council. They are an incredible group of missionaries who have the opportunity and responsibility to lead other missionaries. We have seven zones in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission that range in size from 20-32 missionaries, and each zone has four leaders: two sister training leaders and two zone leaders. Their primary responsibilities are to build the faith and skills of the missionaries they lead.

The Mission Leadership Council meets monthly to discuss priorities and how to best meet the needs of our mission. We typically have this meeting at a church building, but Kimberly really wanted to have this group meet at the mission home. It was a tight squeeze, but we cleared out space in the basement and talked about the faith to find.

We met with this leadership team from 10am-3pm. They are very inspired and love the missionaries they serve. The discussion and counsel shared was incredible, and led to two key areas of focus: 1) planning to find, and 2) talking with everyone. Both are acts of faith for missionaries as they seek to find people to teach.

Planning to find is setting daily and hourly finding goals, and having a proactive mindset around finding during each hour of the day. Talking with everyone requires missionaries to overcome fear and hesitation, and to have this commitment to be proactive in talking with everyone who crosses their path each day.

We then take those themes to zone conference. Zone conference is where missionaries gather together once very transfer (every six weeks) to learn more and discuss these themes, and then practice the skills that will help us improve. In August, we did three zone conferences: 1) Cumberland and Knoxville Zones, 2) Chattanooga, Cleveland, and Cookeville Zones, and 3) Asheville and Kingsport Zones.

Zone Conference runs from 10am to 3pm. During that time, I taught the missionaries about the faith to find, that faith will always lead to action, and in finding that action is our willingness and commitment to talk with everyone. Kimberly taught about expressing our love for the Savior by keeping our missionary standards, loving the members through service, and loving their companion. With that, she announced the “TKM Companion Appreciation Day” on August 30th, which is also our anniversary.

Our sister training leaders, Sister Chan and Sister Cunningham, gave outstanding training on talking with everyone, and principles we can use from Preach My Gospel to find people to teach. Our assistants, Elder Spiers and Elder Criddle, were very inspiring as they taught about the principles of planning to find. We spent an hour doing role plays to help missionaries build the skills with the principles that were taught.

Our missionaries are amazing! Their willingness to try new things is really high, and it is remarkable to see them take the things we discuss at zone conference and begin to apply those principles as soon as they leave the meeting.

After spending three days on the road together and training all 170 of our missionaries, we celebrated with the assistants, sister training leaders, and Elder and Sister Jentzsch at White Duck Taco in Asheville, NC. We love these missionaries and feel to grateful for their leadership.

There are a few other things from the last two weeks that were great experiences for us.

We were invited to speak at a youth devotional with the Chattanooga Stake about the opportunity each of these youth have to serve a full-time mission.. Samantha was the star of the show as she spoke about the blessings that come as we make the sacrifice to serve and adopt Nephi’s mindset of “I will go and do the things which the Lord has commanded.” We then had a missionary panel where the youth asked questions of our missionaries, which included Elder and Sister Larson (senior couple in Chattanooga Branch), Elder Hagerman and Elder Bangerter (zone leaders in Chattanooga) and Sister Colson and Sister Maxwell (sister training leaders in Chattanooga).

We attended the first sacrament meeting for the new Spanish group in the Lakeway Ward in the Cumberland Stake. That felt like a historical moment as we hope this small group today will grow into a large gathering of saints. We love President Dahl, stake president of the Cumberland Stake, who spoke at the meeting.

We had a follow up meeting with all of our new missionaries and their trainers to discuss their training experience and reinforce principles that will help them be successful missionaries. This is an incredible bunch. Some of our best missionaries are training these new missionaries and are doing remarkable work for which we are very grateful.

And lastly, Samantha had her first day as a sophomore at Farragut High School. I continue to be amazed by Samantha. She has made the biggest sacrifice of all of us by leaving Taylorsville and coming to Knoxville where she is building a whole new circle of friends. It’s been hard, but the people here have been incredibly kind, and I admire Sami’s positive attitude and determination to be proactive in making new friends. We love Sam!

#WhatsUpInTKM

Transfer week is the week where departing missionaries go home, new missionaries arrive, and others get transferred to new locations (and new companions) across the mission. It was a lot of work, but it was also a really incredible, Spirit-led experience.

As mission leaders, we make the decisions of who to put the new missionaries with for their 12-week training period, which missionaries should be transferred, where they should go, and who their new companion will be.

We believe God is involved in those details and will put these missionaries where He needs them most. We expected to feel the Spirit guiding those decisions, but were surprised at how truly Spirit-led the entire process turned out to be. Heavenly Father really does know where He wants each of these missionaries. That is due to the people He needs them to serve, and other times it is about the missionaries He needs them to serve with. Most of the time, I’m sure it is a mixture of both and likely many other factors we wouldn’t know about.

The first experience of transfer week was taking the 22 missionaries who were heading home in July to the Nashville Tennessee Temple. It’s a little bit of a journey from Knoxville to Nashville, but these missionaries really look forward to the experience. A new temple has been announced for Knoxville and we hope work will begin on that temple soon.

On Thursday, we welcomed 18 new missionaries to the Tennessee Knoxville Mission. This was a really impressive bunch and we know the Lord has great things planned for each of them. Their day started at 3am at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah, so by the time we got them to the mission home to have dinner together, they were pretty exhausted. We kept things brief after dinner, and sent them home to bed as we had a busy day planned for them the next day.

Friday morning began at 8am where we put these new missionaries through orientation. That included interviews with me, interviews with Kimberly, a trip to Knoxville to do some street contacting and sharing the Book of Mormon, and discussions with the senior missionaries in the office to explain to them the expectations and support around finances, healthcare, mental health, apartments, and vehicles. I don’t know what we would do without our amazing office staff. They are really extraordinary!

Once we wrapped that up, the next thing that afternoon was introducing them to their trainers. Being a trainer, without a doubt, is the most important leadership role in the mission. They are the ones who transfer all of the knowledge and culture to these new missionaries. They are with them 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and watch over, care for, support, and train these new missionaries for their first 12 weeks. You can imagine the huge adjustment these new missionaries experience during that time as very few things are familiar from their life prior to the mission. There are some tough moments to navigate, and their trainer is the primary person who helps them get through it. We felt that we should only ask our very best missionaries to accept this assignment.

I’ll take a brief side track here. My trainer on my mission in the Hawaii Honolulu Mission was Elder Garland Parris. Today Elder Parris is a firefighter in Phoenix, Arizona. We traded notes right before Kimberly and I went to the MTC. Elder Parris was doing the things that trainers do…trying to pump me up and build my confidence. “You’re going to be great! This is going to be an amazing experience. These missionaries are so lucky…they are going to love you!” Things like that…building my confidence.

I said to him, “Elder Parris, I want you to know that very few people have had the impact on my life that you have had. My mission meant EVERYTHING to me. I look back and it was the most impactful experience of my life, and so many good things in my life can be traced back to that experience. And my mission was so good because my trainer was so good. You put in all the effort to make sure my mission started exactly the way it was supposed to begin. And that good start made all the difference. All the amazing experiences that came after were a result of that effort in how my mission began. Thank you!”

That’s the impact of a trainer, and that’s why we feel it is the most important leadership role in the mission.

So we had to choose 18 missionaries to be trainers to these brand new missionaries. The Spirit was so clear during that entire process. It was very evident who the 18 trainers should be. And then assigning them to the right companion was an even more powerful experience. As I was interviewing these new missionaries, I would check the list to see who their trainer would be and had the same impression every time: “That is going to be perfect!”

If we can get it right, the relationship they will have with their trainer will be one of the most powerful friendships they have on their mission. So the moment that a new missionary is introduced to their trainer is a really big deal. It would be hard for me to describe how strong the Spirit was as we announced these companionships. The trainers are all seated at the back of the chapel and don’t know who their companion is going to be. The new missionaries are seated in the first few rows and as you can imagine, are pretty nervous about what is about to take place.

We would call a new missionary by name and ask them to stand, and then we would tell them we would like to introduce them to their trainer, and call the trainer by name. The trainer would come up with a big smile on their face, and wrap that new missionary in a big hug. It was a really exciting moment.

Once we had made all of those assignments, we said a few brief words of instruction, and these new missionaries were off to their new areas with the new companions.

Transfers had also begun. We had announced transfers earlier in the week where many missionaries were informed they will be moving and will be working with a different companion. They all come to the stake center in Farragut where one missionary is dropped off (along with everything they own, which isn’t much), and a new missionary is picked up. In the meantime, it’s like a family reunion has broken out where missionaries take a few minutes to catch up with other missionaries they haven’t seen in awhile.

You ultimately end up having to break up the party and send everyone back to work. But the reason they linger is because they love each other so much. These will be some of the best friends they have in their life because this shared experience is so powerful.

Once transfers had cleared out, we took the departing missionaries back to the mission home where we did the first every “TKM Family Olympics”. Every Memorial Day we have the “Barlow Family Olympics” and this was a knock off of that. We divided into 10 teams that competed in five different events:

Corn Hole
Bocce
Kub (it’s a fun game…look it up)
Chalk Art, and
Checkers

We had a lot of fun spending the afternoon with this group of missionaries and reminiscing about the many great experiences they’ve had in Tennessee.

The competition was stiff! And it went down to the wire. But Elder Noble and Elder Nelson asked me to make sure everyone knew they were the gold medal winners.

This is a very special crew. They have given up 18 or 24 months of their life and literally set everything aside to come to the Tennessee Knoxville Mission to serve the Lord, to serve the people of Tennessee, and do everything they can to help others come unto Christ. In the process, they’ve been given life-changing experiences that will never be forgotten. They have built friendships that can never be broken. And they have learned important lessons that will bless them for the rest of their lives and help them to be life-long disciples of Jesus Christ. We love them, have great respect for them, and feel very proud of them.

Lastly, over the last two weeks we have traveled across the mission to attend as many baptisms as we could. These are really powerful meetings as we get to witness the joy people feel as they make changes in their life and make covenants with God, and also seeing the joy of these wonderful missionaries who have been working so closely with them. We feel very lucky!

#WhatsUpInTKM

Without a doubt, one the biggest highlights of this first month as serving as missionaries was this moment:

There is something really special about the opportunity to wear a missionary badge. It is hard to describe. but everyone who has worn one knows what I’m talking about.

We wear this missionary badge all day, every day. On this badge is everything we will represent while serving in Tennessee:

First, the badge first has my name.

It has the name of our family.

It has the name of the church.

And most importantly, it has the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ…right next to our own, and Kimberly and I feel a deep commitment to do all we can to strive to represent Him. 

On the fridge in the mission home here in Knoxville are the missionary tags worn my our family as we’ve served missions.

The top badge is the missionary tag I wore in the Hawaii Honolulu Mission 33 years ago. The second tag is Lincoln’s tag that he wore in the Singapore Mission. The third tag is Rachel’s from the Spain Barcelona Mission. The other two are placeholder for the missionary badges that Kimberly and I wear today.

I’ve kept my missionary badge for all this time because it is a treasured and powerful symbol that reminds me of the experiences I had as a missionary. It reminds me of the people I met and taught and worked with, the missionaries I served side-by-side with, of the crazy experiences that happened, all the funny experiences, the miracles that I witnessed, and most importantly, how all of these things changed my life. That’s a lot wrapped up into this small name tag.

For years I kept my missionary badge on my mirror in my room where I would see it every day. But one day, I noticed it was gone, and I found out my 16-year old son had stolen it and put it up on his mirror. I can’t tell you how happy that made me because to me it meant he was looking forward to the day when he would serve a mission and would get the opportunity to wear his own missionary badge.

The Book of Mormon teaches us that one thing we commit to when we are baptized is “to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God” (Mosiah 18:9). There is a connection between standing as a witness of God at all times, and in all things, and in all places and wearing this missionary badge. It’s a power symbol to me and to everyone I meet each day. I’d forgotten what it’s like to notice people to sneaking glances at my missionary badge trying to understand what it stands for and symbolizes. As a missionary, I get to wear this tangible reminder of who I represent, and it helps shape the way I act.

We wear it all the time…literally everywhere we go. I find it to be a powerful reminder that we are here to represent Him. At times, that can feel daunting, but I’m very grateful for the expectation and standard it sets for who I’m trying to be.

#WhatsUpInTKM

Everything on a mission is driven by the “transfer schedule”. Every six weeks, new missionaries arrive to begin their missionary service, and missionaries who have served their 18 or 24 months return home, referred to as transfers. Six weeks later, the same thing repeats again. The transfer schedule is everything that happens in the six weeks between transfers.

One of the best things during this six-week window is interviews. Each transfer, we will have the opportunity to sit down one-on-one with every missionary to discuss how they are doing. This is really important time as it is a primary way we build our relationship with them. We learn about their background, talk about what they are learning, how they are feeling, teach each other, counsel together, and feel the Spirit together.

It is no small task. The Tennessee Knoxville Mission is organized into seven zones, which are geographical areas that organize the missionaries into groups or teams. Each zone has leaders, both “Zone Leaders:” that are Elders and “Sister Training Leaders” that are Sisters, and range in size from 24 to 32 missionaries.

In addition to my interviews, we decided that it would be important for the missionaries to meet with Kimberly 1:1. With Samantha at home, that required us to come back to the mission home each night. Samantha actually joined us for a few of the days and that was great as it gave her the chance to get to know the missionaries better. Our format was each missionary would meet with Kimberly for 15 minutes and then meet with me for 15 minutes.

With 170 missionaries spread all across East Tennessee, that would require around 22 hours of driving and 90 hours of interview time. Whew!

Our first interviews began on Tuesday, July 4th. We started that day with the missionaries in the Cumberland Zone (28 missionaries and a 3 hour round trip), the Kingsport Zone on Wednesday (24 missionaries and a 4 hour round trip), the Cleveland Zone on Thursday (22 missionaries and a 3 hour round trip), and the Knoxville Zone on Friday (24 missionaries and a 30 minute drive).

Last week we saw the Cookeville Zone on Wednesday (25 missionaries and a 3-hour round trip), and the Asheville Zone on Thursday (24 missionaries and a 4-hour round trip). Today we finished interviews with the Chattanooga Zone (20 missionaries and a 3-hour round trip).

My very first interview was with Elder Lewis from Riverton, Utah, serving in Cumberland Gap. He is a fantastic missionary who has been serving for 22 months. He radiates joy, faith, and love, and He was just the beginning of this incredible opportunity to be introduced to some of the most dedicated, hope-filled people I have ever met.

The missionaries loved their time with Kimberly as she was the star of our tag team approach. It was amazing the things she learned about each one of them meeting with them 1:1. Here are a few examples:

• Many of these missionaries are converts to our Church and have incredible conversion stories. It was amazing to learn how they joined the Church, and once members, then had the courage and determination to sacrifice 18 or 24 months to serving a mission.
• Others were on a completely different path before their mission and seemed to literally have Heavenly Father reach down and redirect their life to bring them here with us.
• One Sister shared that both her grandpas served their missions in England and they were companions there. Amazing that their families are now eternally connected in that way.
• Two elders who are companions have made a goal to catch every species of fish that Tennessee has to offer. So far they’re 3/62. They only have one day off a week to do these kind of activities, so it may take a while.
• One Elder has a talent for carving beautiful, hand-made pens.
• Another Elder who has been serving 21 months said his first companion told him, “Let me teach you a secret that will help you get along with every companion you are assigned with over the next two years. Look for and write down the things you love about them, and that will help you get along with everybody.” This Elder has kept notes in his phone of all the things he has loved about each one of his companions, and he taught us a powerful lesson about the impact of looking for and finding the good in others. 
• One Elder noted he is the only current missionary in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission who has served in all 5 states in the TKM (Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia).
• A Sister was the captain of her high school wrestling team.
• An Elder who has been serving for 21 months has kept a journal every day of his mission where he has noted how he saw the hand of God in his life that day. Think of how powerful and valuable that journal will prove to be.
• One of our Elders is a dual-citizen of the United States and Australia. Another has three adopted brothers from Liberia. One of our Sisters has 8 sisters and no brothers. Another has three sets of twins in her immediate family.
• We have at least four sets of twins in our mission, three whose twin is serving a mission now as well. One has an identical twin sister in the mission right next to ours, the Arkansas Little Rock Mission.
• One Elder has a titanium knee cap and a pretty crazy story to go with it.
• One of our Elder’s parents met on the sky ride at Lagoon (an amusement park in Utah)!
• A sister is a competitive mountain bike racer. She’s been in many wrecks doing that and all of her front teeth have crowns. She had her final one put in the day before she went to the MTC.
• An Elder walked from Guatemala to the United States when he was 13 years old and didn’t speak English or Spanish. It’s amazing what he has accomplished in his life and to consider what lies ahead for him.

While in requires a lot of effort, we can already tell that interviews will be some of the most valuable time and experiences we have as mission leaders. Where we could, after the interviews we went out working with the missionaries in those areas and continue to learn so much from their examples of faith, courage, and desire to share these great messages about the doctrine of Christ and the Restoration.

One other important thing that happened this last week was our Area Seventy, Elder Nathan Craig, set up a dinner with the six stake presidents and their wives that are in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission. Thank you to President and Sister Sexton for hosting us and to these couples who drove long distances to welcome us to the mission at that dinner. We were very humbled and grateful. These leaders are our most important partners in this work, and we look forward to getting to know them better and hope to build life-long relationships with them.

Thank you for all of the questions about how Samantha is doing. She came to Tennessee the week before us and attended the For Strength of Youth Camp with the Knoxville Stake, and then Girls Camp the following week. That has helped her meet people and make a lot of new friends. She’s loved the lightning bugs and exploring the lakes nearby. She misses Utah and her friends there. Everyone here has been so kind and thoughtful about her…many, many acts of kindness…and we are grateful that she is adapting to our new home.

#WhatsUpInTKM

Well, we made it! Week 1 in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission was absolutely incredible. We feel so inspired and strengthened by these amazing missionaries who have left their homes and families and put their lives on hold for 18 or 24 months to serve others and help them come unto Christ. They really are extraordinary.

Our flight to Atlanta was cancelled due to storms so it ended up taking all day to get to Knoxville. We expected to arrive at 3pm and didn’t get in until 11:30pm, so we were very excited when we finally landed.

That meant a really compressed amount of time with President and Sister Graham, which was disappointing. We feel like we are standing on the shoulders of giants! They have done an incredible job over the last three years and we are so grateful for the time they’ve spent with us over the last few months as we’ve been preparing. We were really looking forward to spending time with them and their family, but we ended up with only a little more than an hour to tour the mission office and the mission home, and hand off the keys with a folder of info.

Our first meeting was a zoom call with all of the missionaries. It’s hard to explain the feelings we had as we were able to be with them virtually for the first time. They were all so welcoming and energetic and we can’t wait for all of the amazing things we are about to experience with them.

On Tuesday we spent all day with the senior missionaries working in the office, the assistants, and the lead sister training leaders. The assistants and sister training leaders are incredible and we don’t know what we would do without our office missionaries, the Sawyers and the Jentzschs. That night I went out teaching with the assistants and Kimberly went with the sister training leaders. These missionaries love the Lord and love the people here in Tennessee.

Wednesday was focused on the Missionary Leadership Council. These are missionaries who play a key leadership role throughout the mission. They welcomed us with so much love. Their faith and dedication to serve was evident throughout they day as they taught us all about the mission and the wonderful culture they’ve worked so hard to establish in the TKM.

That night, Kimberly and Rachel worked to get moved into the mission home while I went out with two of our zone leaders, Elder Smith and Elder Hillstead. When we got home, we found the missionaries had “Heart Attacked” our door to welcome us to Knoxville.

Thursday and Friday were dedicated to touring the mission to see all of our missionaries face-to-face, which was the biggest highlight of the week. If we were emotional seeing them all on Zoom, you can imagine how we felt when we could finally hug them, greet them, and express our love for them in person. It’s amazing how we are just meeting these men and women yet we already feel such a deep love for them.

Thursday morning, we went to Oakridge, TN to meet with the Cumberland and Knoxville Zones, and then to Sparta, TN that afternoon with the Cleveland, Chattanooga, and Cookeville Zones.

Friday morning we attended a four stake Youth Conference at Maryville College where we met with ~400 young men and young women to discuss how they can prepare to serve missions. That afternoon we drove to Greeneville, TN to meet with the Asheville and Kingsport Zones. In these meetings, Kimberly introduced our family, the missionaries taught us more about the culture of the mission, and we discussed our vision for the mission which is focused on living and teaching the Doctrine of Christ.

On the way home, Elder Cobos, Elder Spiers, Sister Strong, and Sister Chan said we had to stop at Buc-ee’s in Sevierville. I didn’t understand what Buc-ee’s was all about until we walked in. I’ve never seen anything like it! If you’re not familiar with Buc-ee’s, Google it!

Saturday was 100% focused on getting things unpacked in the mission home. On Sunday, we attended three different congregations and had great experiences at each, and then closed Sunday night with our first “Knit Together Sunday” as a mission with the missionaries and their families.

Even with so many remarkable experiences this first week, the “Knit Together Sunday” was the highlight for us, especially where we had four missionaries who are close to the end of their mission share their feelings about Jesus Christ and the impact their mission has had on them. It was straight fire! I was so proud of these young men and women and feel bad that we won’t have more time with them to get to know them better.

It was an incredible first week! We went full tilt all week long, and frankly, we are exhausted. But we couldn’t be more excited to work with these faith-filled missionaries who have so much love for the Lord, the people of Tennessee, each other, and now us. This shared experience will connect us for the rest of our lives.

Special thanks to Elder Cobos, Elder Spiers, Sister Strong, and Sister Chan for hanging in there with us all week long. They’re essentially our trainers, and we couldn’t be more grateful for their willingness to help us over these first weeks in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission.

Lastly, we couldn’t have done this week without our daughter Rachel. We were so lucky to have her here with us during our Week 1. She did a lot of heavy lifting in helping us move into the mission home and preparing for each of these meetings. I hope all of our missionaries will remember her invitation to talk to the first person you see when you walk out the door of your apartment each morning. She’s the best. Thanks Rachie! We wish we could have had Lincoln and Connor here to share in this first week.

We took pics with every missionary this week. I’ll put those pics here in case parents want to grab them.

#WhatsUpInTKM

Have you ever wondered what training new mission leaders receive?  Well…it’s a lot…and it’s incredible. 

Actually, our training first began with our interviews back in October and November. Both Elder Rasband and President Eyring took time to encourage us, give us advice, and teach us about leading missionaries. 

Formal training began with a list of materials we received from the missionary department immediately after our call. That included Handbooks to read, podcasts to listen to, videos to watch, webinars to join, and of course Preach My Gospel.

But by far the most meaningful training we received was this last week where we attending a 4-day Mission Leader Seminar at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. All new mission leaders gathered at this seminar to receive training from the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. This was an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experience for me and Kimberly. 

We had watched and listened to Mission Leader Seminars from prior years, so we felt we had a good ideas of what to expect. It actually created a high bar because they were so good. But the experience this last week far exceeded any expectations that we started with. It was amazing. 

After His resurrection, the Savior gave His Twelve Apostles the charge to “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19). Thus, the Twelve Apostles have the primary responsibility for missionary work throughout the world, which is why they personally do the training for new mission leaders. 

The 2023 Mission Leader Seminar was especially historic because the church released a new edition of Preach My Gospel titled Preach My Gospel: A Guide to Sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As this is the primary source we use for training missionaries, this was a very exciting moment to be a part of, and all of the training was based on each of the chapters in this new edition of Preach My Gospel.

There were three especially meaningful moments to us at the seminar:

1. Hearing from President and Sister Nelson. It was a special experience to be with them.
2. Elder Holland invited missionaries from the time when Elder Andersen, Elder Stevenson, Elder Soares, and Elder Rasband served as mission presidents. The look of surprise when those former missionaries walked in was priceless. Each of them shed tears because of the love they felt for these missionaries. 
3. On Sunday, we had a sacrament meeting with President Oaks, President Eyring, and all members of the Quorum of the Twelve where missionaries currently attending the Missionary Training Center blessed and passed the sacrament. 

Each of the speakers spoke for 30 minutes, so it would be impossible to summarize their talks here, but you can read a summary of each of the talks in The Church News. Here are a few highlights:

President M. Russell Ballard – The Restoration: Missionaries should protect, support, teach, and love each other like Joseph and Hyrum Smith.

Elder Quentin L. Cook – Fulfill Your Missionary Purpose: A missionary’s purpose impacts everything they do…If you really believe that everyone needs the Doctrine of Christ, you will feel the need to talk to everyone.

Elder Gary E. Stevenson – Accomplish the Work Through Goals and Plans: If you get the missionary purpose right in your mission, everything changes.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland – Your Influence on the Lives of Your Missionaries: You are always teaching…and sometimes you use words.

Sister Amy A. Wright – Seek Christ-like Attributes: In order to become like Jesus, it is essential that we know His true character and attributes. Becoming more like Jesus Christ requires change.

Elder Gerritt W. Gong – Help People Prepare for Baptism and Confirmation: As you ask in faith, the Holy Ghost will guide you and your missionaries in challenging and unexpected situations.

President Dallin H. Oaks – The Plan of Salvation: The Plan of Salvation is like a map that shows us how to chart our journey through life to the destination our Heavenly Father desires for us. The Book of Mormon has over 30 references to this plan making it a handbook on understanding the Plan of Salvation.

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf – Unite with Leaders and Members: Missionaries are disciples of Christ and the extended arm of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles…If we try to build relationships to help accomplish our own goals, those relationships will be shallow and temporary.

Elder David A. Bednar – Teach to Build Faith in Jesus Christ: True faith is always focused on the Savior, His mission, and His Atonement. Rarely should a missionary speak with one of their friends without inviting them to do something to strengthen their faith in Jesus Christ.

Elder Ronald A. Rasband – Find People to Teach: Help missionaries connect their purpose to everything they do. Mission leaders who model effective finding and show by example how to find will be a powerful source of inspiration for your missionaries. 

Elder D. Todd Christofferson – Use the Power of the Book of Mormon: Use the Book of Mormon to help people have spiritual experiences. Encouraging people to get their own witness of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon should be central to your teaching.

President Henry B. Eyring – The Gospel of Jesus Christ: The process of conversion begins as missionaries increase in their love of Jesus Christ, and their willingness to make sacrifices for Him…The Holy Ghost is the best guarantor of personal peace than any other source. 

Elder Marcus B. Nash – Search the Scriptures and Put on the Armor of God: Preach My Gospel is designed to help each missionary become both strong and skilled. Strong = missionaries who are strong in the Spirit because they know and love the scriptures, the Lord Himself and the doctrine of His gospel. Skilled = missionaries who are learning how to plan, set goals, find, teach, inviting, follow-up and work in unity with members.

Sister Bonnie H. Cordon – Lifelong Disciples of Jesus Christ: Living the doctrine of Christ can produce the most powerful virtuous cycle, creating spiritual momentum in our lives.

Elder Neil L. Andersen – Help People Make and Keep Commitments: Inviting someone to make a commitment is often an invitation to repent. As commitments are made honestly with agency, the making and keeping of commitments brings spiritual power. 

President Russell M. Nelson and Sister Wendy Nelson: You can count on divine laws working 100% of the time, so seek to identify and understand these laws. It is simple. Focus on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will know how to resolve every challenge you have. When you teach, teach the doctrine of Christ.

Elder Dale G. Renlund – Seek and Rely on the Spirt: Consistent and diligent work is required to receive the promptings of the Spirit. Rarely do impressions come with reasons why you should act.

Elder Ulisses Soares – Learn Your Mission Language: Help missionaries learn their mission language by helping them know they have been called to do so by a prophet of God. Help them to purify their motives by focusing on loving God and loving His children and desiring to bless them.

Elder Paul V. Johnson – Leading and Serving as Disciples of Christ: Whatever spirit or motivation drives our thoughts and actions determines what grows out of that motivation. Use D&C 121:34-46 as your personal model for effective leadership.

President Dallin H. Oaks: Everything in the gospel begins and ends with our understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and our love and commitment to serve Him.

The other highlight of the seminar was the chance to meet new mission leaders from literally all over the world. We met mission leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Zimbabwe, Ghana, DR Congo, South Africa, Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, New Zealand, the Philippines, and all across the United States. Our partners for all of our role plays during the week were President and Sister Fernandez from Manila and going to the Philippines Cebu Mission. They were incredible, and we feel a great love for them. Every couple we met throughout the week were remarkable in their background and faith in Christ. Kimberly and I continue to wonder how we ended up as peers with such amazing people. 

Some interesting facts about this group of mission leaders:

• 138 couples were trained as new mission leaders
• 25 countries represented
• 41 languages spoken
• 81 children are accompanying their parents as mission leaders
• 4 couples had already started serving
• 5 couples were serving as senior missionaries when called
• Date of first call: August 31, 2022
• Date of last call: May 24, 2023 (Wow! I can’t imagine having only a month to prepare.)

Here are some of the people we spent time with this week:

Lastly, this was one of my favorite pictures from the entire week. This is the group we will be spending the next three years with serving together in the North America Southeast Area:

It was hard to leave when the seminar ended on Sunday, and we found ourselves wanting to linger, but then we got this notification: 

It’s time to go! 

#WhatsUpInTKM

Early this morning, Sami left for Tennessee. This week, she is attending FSY with our new stake in Knoxville. For Strength of Youth Camp, or FSY, is a summer camp run by our church where large groups of youth gather together for a week to attend classes, devotionals, games, dances, a talent show, and other fun activities. The people in Knoxville, who we haven’t even met yet, have been so kind to include Sami and invite her to participate. So Sami flew out today, arriving in Tennessee a week before us so she can attend this camp that starts tomorrow. We admire her courage and are so grateful for her willingness to go.

In the beginning pages of the Book of Mormon, we are introduced to a prophet named Nephi, Nephi is asked by God to do some really hard things…things that took him way out of his comfort zone. But his response was powerful when he said:

I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them (1 Nephi 3:7).

Nephi’s belief was that whenever God asks us to do something, He will always prepare a way for us to accomplish what He asks if we are willing and act in faith. Our willingness is an expression of our faith. Willingness becomes especially powerful when it results in us sacrificing things we want for what the Lord wants.

Sami is sacrificing a lot, but our prayer is that her willingness will lead to great blessings that come to her in return.

Last week, Samantha spoke in our worship services about her feelings of going to Tennessee. While all three of us spoke, Samantha was the MVP. The things she shared were powerful. We asked her if we could share her talk here and she has included it below.

Thank you Samantha for your example of willingness. We love you!

Talk given by Samantha in Westland 9th Ward Sacrament Meeting on Sunday, June 11, 2023.

My name is Samantha Barlow and my mom and dad are Sister and President Barlow. I’m 15 and I’m moving to Tennessee with my parents for three years while they serve as mission leaders.

When my parents first told me and my siblings the news that they were being called to serve everyone in my family seemed like it wasn’t a big surprise. They all had felt a feeling or an impression in the months before that something like that was coming.

But for me it was a huge shock.

I was just getting used to high school life. I had made so many new friends and was having and amazing year already. I was a little upset when they told me in a few months we would be moving to a different state or even a different country country.

For the next couple of weeks I struggled to figure out why my parents had to be called now. Couldn’t the mission wait for me to at least graduate and finish school with my friends? Why was it important for me to go to Tennessee too?

I really thought about this for a long time and it made me feel sad to think that I would have to start all over again and meet new people. I constantly stressed that I might not be able to make new friends or I won’t fit in.

But one day I remembered one of my favorite primary songs. The song is called “Nephi’s Courage” and its lyrics describe the trials Nephi (a prophet in the Book of Mormon) went through such as getting the plates or building a boat. But even though the Lord is asking Nephi to do these hard things, Nephi always replies with, “I will go and do the thing the Lord commands” (see 1 Nephi 3:7).

The third verse of the song goes like this:

The Lord gives us commandments and asks us to obey.
Sometimes I am tempted to choose another way.
When I’m discouraged, and think I cannot try,
I will be courageous, and I will reply:

“I will go; I will do the thing the Lord commands.
I know the Lord provides a way; he wants me to obey.
I will go; I will do the thing the Lord commands.
I know the Lord provides a way; he wants me to obey.”

I believe the Lord has given my parents a commandment to head to Tennessee to share His word and bring back His lost sheep. I’m not sure why yet, but He has a reason for me to go with them. The best I’ve decided to do is to say I will go and do what the Lord commands because I know He has a plan for me, and even though I don’t understand His plan now, I’m sure I’ll understand at the end of these next three years.

Last night I was reading a talk by Elder Carl B. Cook titled “Just Keep Going with Faith”. In this talk he says:

Elder George A. Smith, an Apostle, received counsel from the Prophet Joseph Smith at a time of great difficulty: “He told me I should never get discouraged, whatever difficulties might surround me. If I was sunk in the lowest pit of Nova Scotia and all the Rocky Mountains piled on top of me, I ought not to be discouraged but hang on, exercise faith, and keep up good courage and I should come out on the top of the heap at last.”

Tennessee is definitely not the lowest pit of Nova Scotia but it is still, even now, something that I’m nervous about. But I believe in Elder Smith’s words that as long as I exercise faith and keep on the covenant path, the Lord will guide me and bless me for my sacrifice.

Later on in this talk, Elder Cook describes an experience where he is repeatedly called on to speak at the same stake conference with nothing prepared in advance. He was repeatedly called up to speak straight from the impressions from his heart and the Spirt. After he had talked several times throughout the meeting, he was relieved it was over. But even then, he still said:

Do you know what I am grateful for? That I didn’t give up — or resist. If I had given in to my desperate desire to escape from those meetings, I would have missed an opportunity to increase my faith and receive a rich outpouring of love and support from my Heavenly Father. I learned of His mercy, the miraculous enabling power of Jesus Christ and His Atonement, and the powerful influence of the Holy Ghost. In spite of my weakness, I learned that I can serve; I can contribute when the Lord is by my side if I just keep going—with faith.

Regardless of the size, scope, and seriousness of the challenges we face in life, we all have times when we feel like stopping, leaving, escaping, or possibly giving up. But exercising faith in our Savior, Jesus Christ, helps us overcome discouragement no matter what obstacles we encounter.

Sometimes I wish I had a way to escape my parents new calling, but then in a way I feel like this also is my own calling and I can also be a missionary while I’m there. I realize that this experience will bring my faith to a greater strength than it has ever been, but it will also test it and it may be hard in the beginning.

I know the lord loves me and that he has a plan for me. I think that something is waiting for my family in Tennessee and even though we are leaving so much behind we will be blessed with even more.

I love this ward so much and I’m not sure I would be able to go if it wasn’t for so many of you amazing people. Thank you to all my leaders in primary, young women, activity days, …. , and many more for teaching me about the miracle of our gospel and helping me strengthen my testimony enough to be willing to leave my home with faith that everything is going to be ok, if not better than it was before. I will miss so many of you and I love you all. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 

#WhatsUpInTKM

I’ve been thinking this week about the impact of my mission leaders. As I served my mission, I was blessed with some of the best.

For the first year of my mission, I served with President and Sister Kikuchi, and the second year was with President and Sister Perkins.

President Yoshihiko Kikuchi was a very successful businessman in Japan when he was called at the age of 36 (in 1977) to serve as a General Authority Seventy, which required him to leave his home and his employment and move his young family to Salt Lake City, Utah for this full-time church service. From 1987 to 1989, President Kikuchi served as president of the Hawaii Honolulu Mission.

I joined him there in 1988 as a 19-year old missionary.

Serving with President Kikuchi blessed my life in remarkable ways. I still remember lessons he taught me about centering my life on Jesus Christ and always putting Him first, how to improve my prayers, how to act with greater faith, and how to recognize and act on the promptings of the Spirit. I learned leadership lessons from him that are still helping me in my life today and have made me a more effective leader at both Fidelity Investments and my callings at church.. He would always share a powerful testimony of the Savior, the prophet Joseph Smith, and the Book of Mormon. I knew he loved me and trusted me.

At each of our zone conferences (which is a meeting led by the mission president with all missionaries every six weeks), the closing song to the meeting would always be “Love One Another”. President Kikuchi would stand in front of us and he first would sing the song once by himself, and then we would sing it a second time all together.

I remember one of these meetings in the Honolulu Tabernacle where he sang those words:

As I have loved you,
Love one another.
This new commandment:
Love one another.
By this shall men know,
Ye are my disciples,
If ye have love
One to another.

As he sang, tears beginning to roll down my cheeks because in that that moment I could feel this great love for him, but even more powerfully his love for me and all of us missionaries.

Speaking to mission leaders, President Henry B. Eyring has taught, “[The Father and the Son] love your missionaries perfectly, so you can be sure those elders and sisters will not come to you by chance. Our Father and His Beloved Son know in advance what help your missionaries will need to rise to their full potential in their service. And so They called them to you. Your missionaries may think, when they open that letter from the living prophet, that they were called to a nation or a mission or to teach in a language. They were. But more important to their lives will be the assignment to serve with you. You will likely have the greater effect on their mission and on their lives.”

I know this is definitely true for me.

I’ve come to recognize the main reason I was called to serve in Hawaii is because that is where the Kikuchis (and the Perkins) were, and God wanted me to serve with them to observe them, learn from them, and be mentored by them. It wasn’t just about our time in Hawaii together. These would be powerful, life-long relationships.

After my mission, when Kimberly and I were getting married, we went to visit President and Sister Kikuchi. We asked him if he would perform our marriage in the Salt Lake Temple, which he did.

Years later when our twins were born, I called President Kikuchi to see if they could come when we blessed the twins at our church. As a member of the Quorum of the Seventy, he often was out of town on the weekends visiting congregations all over the world, but he just happened to be in Salt Lake City that weekend, so they came and helped us as we blessed the twins.

A few years later, when I was called to be a bishop, I called him again to see if they could come the Sunday I was going to be set apart (which in our church is a blessing members receive when they get a calling or an assignment). Once again, lucky for me he was in town, and he was there that day.

When I received this call to be a mission leader, I called him and shared the news. Weeks later, in going through medical exams in preparation to serve as a mission leader, I was diagnosed with a health challenge that was pretty concerning. After we left the doctor’s office, Kimberly said to me, “You need to call President Kikuchi.”

So once again, I called my mission president. He invited us with our son Lincoln to come to his home so he could give me a blessing of health. It was a powerful experience that I will always remember. The fears I carried with me as I entered his home left as we visited with him, heard his counsel and advice, and he gave me that blessing. I knew everything was going to be okay.

I share this to highlight that at every key moment of my life for the last 30 years, my mission president has been there. I’ve always known that if there was ever anything I needed, I could call him and he would do anything possible to help. He has been one of the most important figures in my life, and has been a life-long mentor and friend.

This last week, I called President Kikuchi again to see if they could come to our worship services where Samantha, Kimberly, and I would be speaking before leaving on our mission. As I walked into our chapel, there were President and Sister Kikuchi. It’s hard to describe the emotions I felt in seeing them there, once again, at this very important “moment that matters” in my life. It was a full circle moment where I am now leaving to do what they did 30 years ago in the Hawaii Honolulu Mission.

I’m hoping to do for others exactly what they’ve done for me. They’ve set a pretty high standard for Kimberly and I to reach.

I regret that I didn’t get a picture with President and Sister Kikuchi on Sunday to remember that moment, but here are two from 2021 where I took our family up to visit them at their home.

As I think about these wonderful missionaries in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission, I hope that Kimberly and I will be able to do for them what the Kikuchis have done for us.

I hope to help them learn lessons that are not just about being a successful missionary, but being successful in life.

I hope to build their faith and point them to Christ and help them center everything on Him, along with so many other spiritual lessons that will help them now and long into the future.

I want to sing “Love One Another” to them.

I want them to feel loved and completely trusted.

And I hope that over the next 30 years they will be calling President and Sister Barlow to have us join in celebrating with them their big moments that matter, or when they need advice, or when they are scared or struggling and need a blessing, or when they just want to talk. These are all the things the Kikuchis have done for me and I will forever feel grateful and indebted to them.

#WhatsUpInTKM

Many friends who are not members of our church have asked how we were asked to serve as mission leaders, and who decided that we should serve in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission. This requires a little explanation of how our church is organized.

One of the ways God shows His love for His children is by calling prophets, who are given His priesthood authority, or power to act in the name of God. Throughout history, this is the way that Jesus Christ has organized and led His church…through prophets. He speaks to prophets and gives them direction, and they in turn teach and give that direction to us.

During the Savior’s ministry, when He organized His church, He called twelve men to be His Apostles and gave them this priesthood authority. After the Savior’s death, these Twelve Apostles continued to lead His church. Our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, is led and organized in this same way through prophets and apostles.

Our current prophet is Russell M. Nelson. He is the President of the Church, and two Apostles are called to be his counselors. This group is known as the First Presidency. They are assisted by twelve apostles who have the same responsibilities as Peter, James, and John and the other early Apostles, and work together as a group in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. One of the primary responsibilities they have is to testify of Jesus Christ and share His gospel with others.

Being a mission leader is not something you volunteer for or express interest in doing, so it was surprise when we received a phone call in mid-October asking us to come meet with Elder Ronald A. Rasband, who is one of the Twelve Apostles. He explained that he had been assigned by the First Presidency to meet with us and asked a number of questions about our ability and willingness to serve. He asked about each of our children individually but especially focused on Samantha, our parents and their health, and ultimately if we would be willing to leave our home, our family, and our work, and go serve somewhere in the world as assigned by the First Presidency.

That was followed by a meeting in mid-November where we met with President Henry B. Eyring, who is the second counselor in the First Presidency. In that meeting, President Eyring extended the call for us to serve as mission leaders and shared his counsel and advice with us. At that time, we didn’t know where we would be serving, only that we would serve as mission leaders somewhere in the world for the next three years.

Our assignment of where we would serve was made by the First Presidency, and communicated in a letter President Nelson that we received in mid-December. That is when we found out we would be serving in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission.

We then met with Elder Quentin L. Cook and Elder Paul V. Johnson in early June where they set us apart as mission leaders assigned to the Tennessee Knoxville Mission. In our church, being “set apart” is a blessing through the priesthood where a person is formally blessed to carry out a specific calling or responsibility in the church. This was a very special experience for our family to receive this blessing from an Apostle.

One really unique thing about being called as mission leaders has been to have the opportunity to meet with these apostles and prophets in the process of being called to serve. It has been a great blessing for us to meet with Elder Rasband, President Eyring, Elder Cook, and Elder Johnson, to learn from them and feel their love, ask questions, and get their guidance and direction.

#WhatsUpInTKM