I met my wife in the fall of 2016. As we were dating, I quickly learned that she was from Utah and that she was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She was not active in the church at that time.
In the February of 2017, we were married. Last spring I ended up falling and fracturing my ankle in two different places. My wife at that time was working two full time jobs, 90 miles from home, and was finding it difficult to come home, take me to appointments, and find time to rest.
Her mother and father recognized the difficulty and texted the bishop in our area to see if they could help us. Alisa, my wife, got a call from Sister Smith, who currently was serving a full-time mission with her husband Elder Smith in our area. They came to visit us with Bishop Ison to see what they could do to help us. Ward members brought us food and Elder Smith took me to my appointments.
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Alisa felt so grateful and had wanted to come back to church for some time but hadn’t quite worked up the courage to do so. Because of the kindness of the ward members and missionaries, she began to go to church every Sunday. I went with her to give her moral support. The Smiths mission ended, and they returned home.
The Nevilles came in their place and started coming once a week to visit with us and teach us a lesson. They gave me a Book of Mormon and asked me to read it. They also asked me to pray and ask God if it was true.
It took a while, but I continued to pray and read. One Sunday at the beginning of January 2024 (actually, Dec. 24, 2023) the young elders (Elder Staker and Elder Beckstead) wanted to meet with us after church. They asked me if I had been reading the Book of Mormon and praying. They also challenged me to work towards getting baptized. We set a date for January 27th 2024, a month away.
I continued to pray, and read, and to meet with the Nevilles and the younger elders each week, but I had not yet received an answer to my prayers. One day as Alisa and I were driving home from shopping and as I was gazing out the window, I suddenly had this good feeling wash over me. I understood this might be my answer to prayers but wasn’t sure quite yet.
I decided not to tell Alisa yet and waited until she left for the week before I asked again. Again, I felt this good feeling wash over me and I knew then that I had received an answer to my prayers.
I knew that the Book of Mormon is true, and I decided that I would get baptized. I didn’t tell my wife until she came home for the weekend. I casually told her that I had something to tell her and then told her I got my answer. Her reaction was heartfelt and full of gratitude and wonder.
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Some of Alisa’s family flew out and participated in the baptism. Her father was able to baptize me despite having had a stroke the week before he had flown out.
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The water was very cold, and my father-in-law used all his strength to pull me under, perhaps so I wouldn’t have to repeat the process.
When we left the font and entered the dressing room, I again felt this feeling wash over me and this time it warmed me all over to the point that I did not feel the cold. I felt very blessed and grateful for our family’s sacrifice to come out and felt very grateful for how many ward members stayed (there had been two funerals before my baptism, and everyone must have been tired).
I also felt so grateful to the missionaries especially our friends the Nevilles for teaching me.
On Sunday, January 7, 2024, my dad passed away unexpectedly. He had been struggling with a few health problems and had been in and out of the hospital a few times, but we didn’t expect that they would take his life. It was hard to be separated from him and our family over the last few weeks of his life.
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In April 1999, we moved into our new home in Taylorsville and a few weeks later my mom and dad moved into their home right next door. At that time, our twins Lincoln and Rachel had just turned one. So for their entire lives, all of our kids have had the great blessing of having grandma and grandpa right next door. They could run out our back door and disappear through their back door anytime they wanted.
Four generations of Lincolns!
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As we prepared for the funeral, I asked each of them what is something they’ve learned from grandpa. Here is what they shared:
Be on time!
For my dad, that meant if a meeting started at 9am…like church…he was going to be there at 8:30. He was NEVER late for ANYTHING. If he wasn’t there 15 minutes early, he was late. Kimberly would rush the kids to get ready for church with the urgency, “We have to beat grandpa to church!” And while that proved to be impossible, Kimberly now has that same urgency that if we aren’t 15 minutes early, we’re late. He always stayed late too. He set the expectation for our family that you should plan to stay after and help clean up.
When you make a commitment to do something…you always show up and follow through. Grandpa was 0% flakey. It was not in his character.
My dad was 100% dependable. When he committed to do something, you could absolutely rest assured it would happen. He had your back on anything you needed. Everyone in our family knew you could count on him.
He had a gift for humor that allowed others to feel welcome and special. He was a light to others and often that light was shared through a joke or two. He had a special gift for bringing people together that not many people possess.
I knew this throughout my life, but I especially saw this as we’ve lived next door to each other for the last 25 years. He would reach out to others with humor, often in a way that might initially feel he is making fun of you, until you start to realize how much he loves you. His love would shine through by using that humor.
There is nothing more important than family!
My dad would say this often. He was always focused on his family. He gathered all of his family together on the first Sunday of each month to be together, share a meal, laugh, sing, and have a spiritual thought. He would come to all of our games and activities, and had a voice that you could hear above everyone else cheering you on.
His missionary service inspired me to serve a mission, which was one of the greatest decisions of my life.
I have to share some additional detail on this one. My dad once told me that his goal was to serve 1/10th of his life as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Think about that for a minute. Remarkably, he did that.
The day my dad retired, he and my mom submitted their application to serve as missionaries. My dad served as a missionary in France as a young man (for three years he often reminded us). Since he spoke French, he and my mom had visions of going back to France, or maybe to Fiji or Tahiti. I’ll never forget their shock when they opened their call and they had been assigned to the Democratic Republic of the Congo Kinshasa Mission as Humanitarian Missionaries. They even seemed a little scared.
I told him, “Dad, when you say you will go anywhere, they take you at your word.” We had discussed when they submitted their application that they could express priorities where they would like to serve. But my dad didn’t want to do that. He wanted to express a willingness to serve anywhere needed, and that says everything you need to know about him.
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He and my mom served four missions in Africa totaling five years. They served in Democratic Republic of the Congo Kinshasa Mission as Humanitarian Missionaries. Then in the Uganda Kampala Mission as Humanitarian Missionaries. After returning home they were asked to serve as Water Project Consultants for Kenya, Burundi, and Democratic Republic of the Congo. And then they returned to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but this time in the Lubumbashi Mission as Member Leadership Support missionaries.
My dad was very missionary minded, which he got from my grandma and grandpa growing up in southern Georgia. When I was called to be the bishop of our ward, it was a new ward so we had to fill all of the leadership positions. I knew immediately that we should call my dad to be the Ward Mission Leader. He did incredible work there with a new ward and a new neighborhood working with some really great ward missionaries.
When they returned from one of their missions from Africa, I was serving in the stake presidency and we needed a couple to serve a live-at-home mission as Member and Leader Support Missionaries in the West Jordan Utah Westland Stake. I remember their surprise as I extended that call to them after they had only been home from Africa a few days. It was exciting to watch the impact they had on our stake in strengthening so many people’s faith and inviting them to take steps to come closer to Him.
My dad had a great love for family history work. He loved to find names and organize all of the cards for the temple ordinances that needed to be completed. He and my mom loved serving as service missionaries a the Family Search Library in Riverton where they served as Family History Consultants.They also served in the Jordan River Temple for many years.
For their humanitarian missions in Kinshasa and Kampala, they did many different projects like clean water projects (where they invested most of their time), wheelchair projects, neonatal resuscitation, and vision care. There are great descriptions of each of these projects on this site.
One of their favorite and most meaningful projects was in Luputa, where over 100,000 people is this town had no running water. People would walk long distances to find water. You can read about their experiences on their mission blog here and here. President Nelson talked about this project in the October 2019 General Conference.
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They also loved doing wheel chair projects. They would hire contractors to build wheelchairs that could navigate the uneven roads in Africa. Here is a video of them distributing those wheel chairs.
I share all of this to say that my dad was the best example I have in my life of striving to follow the example of Jesus Christ in serving others. One of the attributes of Christ found in Preach My Gospel is “diligence”. Here is what is says about diligence:
Diligence is consistent, earnest effort. In missionary work, diligence is an expression of your love for the Lord. When you are diligent, you find joy and satisfaction in the Lord’s work (see Alma 26:16).
Diligence includes doing many good things of your own free will instead of waiting for leaders to tell you what to do (see Doctrine and Covenants 58:27–29).
Preach My Gospel
My dad was definitely diligent in his efforts to follow the example of the Savior. I will always be grateful for, and will always remember, his example.
My dad was the last person we saw before leaving for Tennessee. As I gave him a hug, he said, “I wish I was coming with you.” And he meant it.
When we talked to him shortly before he died, he told me, “Please don’t come home. Just stay there and stay focused on the work you’ve been asked to do.” We felt conflicted, but ultimately decided to stay in Tennessee. It was wonderful to see how my brothers and sisters united together in his final days, and then during the days leading up to the funeral, and it was hard to miss out on all of that. We watched the funeral from home, and I spoke via Zoom.
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As my dad’s condition continued to decline, we asked the missionaries here in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission to pray for him. I’m so grateful for their powerful faith. We felt a lot of comfort from that, and I’m sure my mom and dad did as well.
I feel so much gratitude for my mom and dad. How do you ever repay all that your parents have done for you? I’m lucky to have always had their love and support in my life. I’m grateful for their examples.
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One of our missionaries, Elder Shelley, has some incredible musical gifts. He was so kind to send me this great arrangement of “God Be with You Till We Meet Again”:
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God be with you till we meet again! I love you dad!
Samantha’s story begins with me and my companion, Elder Zabriskie, attended a baptism in the Bearden Ward. It was such a meaningful experience we both were inspired to go and find those that God has prepared.
We felt prompted to go to a place far north in our area in West Hills where we felt people would be more receptive to our message. We knocked doors for quite a bit with no success until we decided to try somewhere else. We looked at our Area Book to try and find somewhere to go and Elder Zabriskie suggested that we should go to a media referral on the other side of our area. That really didn’t make much sense because it was far away and we didn’t have much time left in the night, but we decided to go.
We found the media referral and talked to him, but he wasn’t very interested. With just a little time left in our day and a determination to find those God has prepared, we decided to knock doors in the complex where this media referral lived. This was a complex that we had never been to before to find. After a few unsuccessful contacts we went up to the second floor and we were going to continue to knock the rest of the second floor. It was then that I saw a door on the first floor and felt impressed to go and knock on that door. So we went back down the stairs to go knock on the door, and that’s when we met Samantha.
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We were definitely led by the Spirit that day. Samantha said she had been recently looking for a church and also been wanting to get closer to God. She was currently attending another church which invited her to be baptized but she didn’t feel right about it.
We proceeded to teach her the Restoration. The Spirit there that night was very strong, so we invited her to be baptized in this first lesson. She said yes…that she and she felt right about it.
Samantha wasn’t ready by the date we originally set for her baptism, but her commitment continued to grow as we taught her and as we resolved her concerns. We had a member come to each lesson and the Lopez family helped a lot in making Samantha feel comfortable in church . They also played a big role in helping her understand the doctrine and how it would bless her life.
Samantha had a lot opposition from friends and family about her decision to be baptized. As she continued to study in the scriptures and especially the Book of Mormon, her testimony grew. Over time, she realized the importance of making covenants from reading in the scriptures, listening to conference talks, and hearing the testimonies of members of our ward.
Samantha decided that baptism is something she wanted to do, and after much preparation and consistent study she made the decision to be baptized on January 6, 2024.
This decision made a lasting effect on Samantha. She especially loves that she now has the Spirit with her always.
Steven is a miracle! He was truly prepared by God!
He has grown up around religion, but didn’t fully participate in it all his life. When he moved to Chattanooga, which was a prompting from the Spirit, he was working with a member of the Church. She introduced him to the church and told him some of the things that we believe. She offered to have missionaries meet with him, but he responded that he wasn’t ready yet.
Later, he had a strong feeling that he needed to move to Knoxville! He’s been here for 7 months studying law at the University of Tennessee. He had had feelings that he needed something more, that there was something missing from his life. He wanted to grow closer to God, and he wanted to start attending a church again. He remembered his friend from Chattanooga that had invited him to “come and see”.
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We found Steven the day after Christmas. It was really rainy and really cold. We were trying to visit a new member, and she wasn’t home. We didn’t have miles on our car to spare, so we were walking everywhere. We were on our way to visit a member that lived in the same area, and we saw Steven outside with his dog, Athena.
Athena started jumping and trying to run over to us. We talked to Steven for a minute and shared Mosiah 2:17 from the Book of Mormon.
And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.
Mosiah 2:17
Sister Foster bore powerful testimony of the power of service in God’s name. We got a return appointment with him, but didn’t think much of it. Steven later told us that he didn’t want to go outside because it was cold and rainy, but he needed to let Athena out. If he hadn’t taken Athena out, we would not have met him.
We called him that Saturday and invited him to come to church. He said yes.
The next morning, his car broke down and he almost didn’t make it to church. One of our new members helped give him a ride from the auto shop to church. This was the best Sunday ever!
He actually attended a different ward in our building because that was the only time he could attend. He walked in, was sitting with us and our member, and shortly after sacrament meeting, one of his law school classmates walked up and said hello.This was amazing! So now he had many friends in the church, some he didn’t even realize were members!
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After Sunday School, Steven was talking with his friend from law school. At this point, we hadn’t even given him a Book of Mormon or taught him about the restoration yet. We had only talked to him about the sacrament. He had a Come Follow Me manual, and he was asked, “Can I have a Book of Mormon?” We gave him one and then we asked him how he liked church. He said something that made our hearts rejoice! “I usually go with my gut when making decisions, and my gut is telling me to stay!”
We had many lessons with him and we met with him often. Steven made a habit of reading the Book of Mormon every day, and he started attending YSA activities during the week.
Steven was baptized on January 27, 2024. He’s already grown so much in the past month. His testimony is incredibly strong. He knows that this is the true church and he is so excited to be a member. He has already helped us in giving a chapel tour to one of our friends, and he is constantly asking us about the people we’re teaching, giving us advice on how to help them. We absolutely love Steven!
On January 27th, we were grateful to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the Knoxville Tennessee Temple. We were really looking forward to participating in this event, but we were surprised by the overwhelming feeling of gratitude we felt as we entered the chapel and joined together with these amazing members of the church in East Tennessee who have looked forward to this day for so long.
Temples are central to our worship in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These sacred buildings are different than the church meetinghouses where we gather each Sunday for worship services and everyone is welcome to join us there. Temples are different in that they are set apart for sacred ceremonies. In fact, they are only places where some of our most important priesthood ordinances are performed. Everything in the temple points us to Jesus Christ and helps us to strengthen our relationship with Him.
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If you haven’t been to a temple before, you might enjoy this video tour of the Washington D.C. Temple:
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I have sent mine everlasting covenant into the world, to be a light to the world, and to be a standard for my people.
Doctrine and Covenants 45:9
As construction on a new temple begins, we have a groundbreaking ceremony. This ceremony formally marks the commencement of the construction of the temple. A limited number of people were invited to attend the ceremony in person, and the meeting was live-streamed to anyone who wanted to attend virtually. In this meeting, a person assigned by our prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, dedicates the ground where the temple will be built. Elder Shayne M. Bowen, a General Authority Seventy and first counselor in the North America Southeast Area presidency presided at the meeting and gave the dedicatory prayer.
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The Church Newsroom released a video of the groundbreaking ceremony that you can watch here.
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President Nelson announced a temple for Knoxville on April 3, 2022. It will take 2-3 years for the temple construction to be completed. Once completed, there will be a Temple Open House, where anyone can tour the temple before it is dedicated. After the open house, the temple will be dedicated. Once it has been dedicated, only members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are allowed to enter the temple.
All of us missionaries here in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission feel lucky to be here at this time and to have a role in helping to prepare a place for a temple of God. It’s a wonderful time in the TKM!
On February 27th, 28th, and 29th we had another great round of zone conferences. We have two important areas of focus this transfer:
Put the Savior and our Missionary Purpose at the center of everything we do.
Get all lines in the water.
Our Missionary Purpose is:
“Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.”
Preach My Gospel
Preach My Gospel teaches us:
“The gospel of Jesus Christ defines both your message and your purpose. It provides both the “what” and the “why” of your missionary service…
The gospel message is that we can access the saving, redeeming power of Jesus Christ by exercising faith in Him, repenting, being baptized, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end (see 3 Nephi 27:13–22). This is also known as the doctrine of Christ…
Your purpose is to help people come unto Christ by helping them live His doctrine.”
Preach My Gospel
As we focus on our missionary purpose, or the doctrine of Christ, it puts the Savior at the center of everything that we do. President Russell M. Nelson has taught:
“The more we know about the Savior’s ministry and mission—the more we understand His doctrine and what He did for us—the more we know that He can provide the power that we need for our lives.”
“There is nothing easy or automatic about becoming such powerful disciples. Our focus must be riveted on the Savior and His gospel. It is mentally rigorous to strive to look unto Him in every thought. But when we do, our doubts and fears flee.”
Our goal this transfer, especially as we prepare to celebrate Easter, is to be more focused on Jesus Christ and our Missionary Purpose. As we do, we can realize this great promise from President Nelson:
“In a coming day, you will present yourself before the Savior. You will be overwhelmed to the point of tears to be in His holy presence. You will struggle to find words to thank Him for paying for your sins, for forgiving you of any unkindness toward others, for healing you from the injuries and injustices of this life.
You will thank Him for strengthening you to do the impossible, for turning your weaknesses into strengths, and for making it possible for you to live with Him and your family forever. His identity, His Atonement, and His attributes will become personal and real to you.
But you don’t have to wait until then. Choose to be one of His true disciples now. Be one who truly loves Him, who truly wants to serve and lead as He did.
Our desire as a mission is to be one of His true disciples today.
Sister Barlow invited us to watch her favorite video on Jesus Christ. This video is full of one-liners. Watch it and consider what statements stand out to you.
What can you do to put the Savior more at the center of your life?
At this zone conference, we also had workshops on Facebook finding, “Teach When You Find” (teach people right now anytime you can), and “Find When You Teach” (develop the habit of always asking for referrals).
Chattanooga, Cleveland, and Cookeville Zones
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Cumberland and Knoxville Zones
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Asheville and Kingsport Zones
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The Living Christ
Lastly, we spent time filming all missionaries reciting “The Living Christ“, which we’ve been working to memorize over the last few months. In each meeting, we begin first by stating our Missionary Purpose, and then ask someone to share a line from The Living Christ that has been powerful for them. It’s been remarkable to hear the insights our missionaries have shared as they have been memorizing this document.
We’ll look forward to sharing that video on a future post. In the meantime, below you can find the cards we’ve used to create a flip book to help all of us memorize this great statement about the Savior. Feel free to create your own and join us in memorizing The Living Christ.
We’ll look forward to sharing our video on The Living Christ in a future post.
I hope that my words can express what I want to share about. This story is pretty personal to me. I want to share with all of you my conversion story.
I hope that as you read it that the Spirit will communicate with you. This will be long. I hope it’ll be worth the read.
This week several milestones happened for me in my missionary service and personal life. Tomorrow I will hit one year as a missionary. I cannot believe that it has gone this fast. I can say without a doubt that being a missionary has been the second best decision I have ever made in my life.
I want to say that serving my Savior, Jesus Christ has brought more joy into my life than anything I’ve ever done. I have made so many life long friends. Had so many life long memories. Seen so many miracles that I still am having a hard time wrapping my head around.
I want to make the most of my missionary experiance. I’m so glad that I have another year to be a representative of Jesus Christ.
The other milestone is that I hit 3 years sober on Feburary 23rd!
I hope that what I have to say next will inspire others to change through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
When I turned 18 years old, I decided to leave The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I decided by my own free will and choice to follow the ways of the world rather than the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The reason that I state that it was my own free will and choice is because, it was. Something that I have seen on my mission while talking to less active members is that they almost always put blame on other people for why they left the church.
Countless times I’ve heard it was because someone did something to them that they didn’t like. That the “rules” were to strict. That they don’t have time for it. The excuses are endless. The reason I make a point of this is because when I turned 18, as right as I thought I was for leaving, and as much as I thought my life would get better I was simply just wrong.
One of my favorite quotes of all time comes from Elder Lawrence Corbridge, he explains a truth that I wish everyone in the world could hear. He says:
People say ‘You should be true to your beliefs.’ While that is true, you cannot be better than what you know. Most of us act based on our beliefs, especially what we believe to be in our self-interest. The problem is, we are sometimes wrong.
Someone may believe in God and that pornography is wrong and yet still click on a site wrongly believing that he will be happier if he does or he can’t help but not click or it isn’t hurting anyone else and it is not that bad. He is just wrong.
Someone may believe it is wrong to lie and yet lie on occasion, wrongly believing he will be better off if the truth is not known. He is just wrong.
Someone may believe and even know that Jesus is the Christ and still deny Him not once but three times because of the mistaken belief that he would be better off appeasing the crowd. Peter wasn’t evil. I am not even sure he was weak. He was just wrong.
When you act badly, you may think you are bad, when in truth you are usually mistaken. You are just wrong. The challenge is not so much closing the gap between our actions and our beliefs; rather, the challenge is closing the gap between our beliefs and the truth. That is the challenge.
Elder LawrenceE. Corbridge, “Stand Forever“, BYU Devotional, January 22, 2019
I will attempt to explain how I closed that gap through my testimony.
I can say without a doubt, when I decided to leave the church my life became nothing but a challenge. It was a constant flurry of indecicive behavior. I was CONSTANTLY changing my standards to what I felt right about. The problem with that is what Elder Corbridge is pointing out…what I felt to be right was simply just wrong.
I can testify to everyone who’s reading this that the objective truth about how we should live our lives is found within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
For me however, from the span of 18-22 I was so bitter and hard-hearted toward the Church, and I would never allow the Spirit to tell me otherwise. I was so terrified to be wrong because I had so much pride. If I was wrong, then in my mind it meant that I had to live a way that I didn’t want to live.
So I chose to continue to live my life in sin and to choose to do things that I felt was right as far as the worlds standards. I was trying to find out what was right from wrong through trial and error. I can promise that that is ALWAYS a bad idea.
These actions led me to a very dark place. I won’t share all the details because I don’t want to disrupt the Spirit. But I will explain the situaiton I found myself in.
At this time in the story I was 22 years old. Since I had been abusing my body through the use of substances, I was not very healthy at the time. At my lowest I was 135 pounds. As of right now I’m 180. I had the long hair and the skin and bone. If I would have had on raggy clothes I would have looked homeless.
I took a trip down to Utah to hang out with some friends. I planned on only being there for a few days, but that turned into about a week. While I was there, I was not making good decisions. I was partaking in things that I shouldn’t have been.
On the 7th or 8th day of this, my body had enough. I was mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally maxed out. I hit the lowest point in my life. I wasn’t able to sleep because of the intense anxiety attack that I had because of the crud I was doing to myself. My body was in full on panic mode. I couldn’t hold down food. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t function normally. It felt like my brain was in a blender. There was no rational thinking that I could perform. I have never felt the darkness that deeply in my life.
The best way I can really explain what I was feeling is to quote Alma 36:12-16:
“12 But I was racked with eternal torment, for my soul was harrowed up to the greatest degree and racked with all my sins.
13 Yea, I did remember all my sins and iniquities, for which I was tormented with the pains of hell; yea, I saw that I had rebelled against my God, and that I had not kept his holy commandments.
14 … and in fine so great had been my iniquities, that the very thought of coming into the presence of my God did rack my soul with inexpressible horror.
15 Oh, thought I, that I could be banished and become extinct both soul and body, that I might not be brought to stand in the presence of my God, to be judged of my deeds.
16 And now, for [24 hours] I racked, even with the pains of a damned soul.”
I truly can understand how Alma felt as he was in His state of agony. The only way I can explain what happened next is to quote the rest of the scripture:
17 And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.
18 Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death.
19 And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.
20 And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!
I can testify that the “marvelous light” that Alma beheld, I have beheld as well. I tesify that the light shines brightest when we are encompassed by the darkness.
I wish I could put into words how it felt to truly see the illuminating light of Jesus Christ light up my soul and my heart. In that moment, I made the conscious decision to come unto Christ. I chose as deliberatly as I did when I left Christ to come back to Christ.
What I am so grateful for is that Christ took me back. The instant that I knew I needed my Savior, He succored me. He helped me and I have truly felt His atoning grace. I felt Him both physically and spiritually change not only my mind, but also my heart. I wanted nothing else but to keep His commandments because I finally closed the gap that Elder Corbridge mentioned.
I finally understood that what I believed was simply put, wrong. What I was chosing to do was wrong. What I was chosing to believe was wrong.
In the midst of all of this I understood an eternal truth that came from the prophet Joseph Smith. His revelation of the Word of Wisdom was correct. It had to be.
If it wasn’t, then how could what I believed to be true end up putting me in a place that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy? The place that I put myself in was no where else but the “gall of bitterness” Alma mentions (Alma 36:18). I was in the chains of hell.
There is no way that eternal truth would EVER put me into that position. Because Jesus Christ is the embodiment of truth, all good things come from Christ. I can promise every single one of you that the place I was in was anything but good.
Through the grace of Jesus Christ I took up my bed that I was in and got the heck out of that house (John 5:8).
Thankfully I have an uncle named Jack who was living in that area. I am still indebted to him for rescuing me out of that horrible place. He let me stay at his house and lent me his comfy bed to rest in until my body and brain went back to normal. To my uncle Jack, I love you. Thank you so much for helping me three years ago. I don’t know what I would have done without you.
I want to testify and make it absolutley clear to everyone I that is reading this. That I know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is real. It is as real and the ground you are standing on. I testify that without His Atonement I would not be here to write this email. I wouldn’t be the man I am today.
I am so grateful for Him. I can testify that no matter what your life is like, you can change it through His Atonement. He is waiting for you to simply ask to have His Atonement work in your life. He works according to our own understanding. He will help.
These things I testify, in his sacred and perfect name. Even Jesus Christ, Amen.
On February 22nd, we were grateful to welcome 18 new missionaries to the Tennessee Knoxville Mission. It is incredible to think about the amount of good they will do over the next 18-24 months.
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In an amazing Tender Mercy, as our departing missionaries were heading home, they ran into a group of our arriving sisters in the Atlanta airport. Incredible that the Lord would have them cross paths.
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We spent the morning in interviews, reviewing expectations with finances, apartments, medical, and vehicles, and heading out to the University of Tennessee campus to do some street contacting.
When David put in a request online to meet with missionaries, Elder Taylor and Elder Thompson responded. They shared the Book of Mormon and invited David to church.
Most churches overlooked David because of his wheelchair, but the missionaries offered to get him transportation to church, which meant a lot to him. After a few visits, Elder Rumsey got transferred into the Athens area, and he really connected with David. His testimony and personality was vital in helping David to change and continue growing his faith in Jesus Christ.
David was worried about his tattoos and appearance while coming to church, but the missionaries and members helped him feel comfortable and loved. He states that a lot of the trials he has had in his life was God preparing him to live a clean life. Even though he no longer has his lower left leg, he is grateful that God used that trial as a way to help him to become drug free.
David was interested in the Book of Mormon when the missionaries first started meeting with him. He would have spiritual experiences while reading it, but would also experience periods of doubt.
As his journey progressed, Elder Driggs arrived in Athens and they were able to connect really well. David was steadily progressing when he had obligations to attend to back in his hometown of Alabama. After coming back from a trip to Alabama, David sat down with the missionaries and said he didn’t believe in any of it. This was a pivotal day for David’s testimony. Elder Driggs and Elder Rumsey shared some personal experiences and testified strongly of the restored gospel, and the spirit flooded the room. The missionaries and David were crying tears of joy when a pure miracle of the Lord happened. Mid-conversation the spirit told David: “Get up!”
The missionaries watched in shock as David stood up, walked seven steps, and proclaimed he knew what we taught was true.
One thing David said about missionaries coming by was “When y’all walk in, I feel the spirit walk in with you. When you walk out, it leaves too”.
David still had struggles with his testimony and weaknesses he had to overcome, but he knew that God was working in his life. His life was changing for the better and he was continuing to see it. The Elders invited David to continue to pray to know truth, and to act on the truth he received.
David said that after two days of asking God “not to know if the Book of Mormon was true, but just to know the truth, whatever it may be I would accept”, he had a very spiritual experience watching “Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration”. He said that reading the Book of Mormon after that was a different experience. “I was no longer looking for ways to disprove it. God had opened my eyes to the truth.”
David was ready, but had to say goodbye to Elder Rumsey. Elder Driggs and Elder Huff helped him prepare for baptism. He had daily phone calls or in-person lessons with the missionaries to help support him spiritually while facing major temptation from the adversary. After months of hard work, David was ready.
His baptism was a very spiritual experience for all those involved. After coming out of the water, David was overwhelmed with the Spirit. He knew it meant that he had fully repented of a lifetime of walking without the Lord. David described his baptism in these words: “I felt like I was going to float away. When I came up out of that water I felt like I was going to keep on going. I honestly felt like I was going to keep floating. I felt like a feather. I cried a little bit but it was happy tears. I’ve never felt that good, never felt that amazing.”
David’s life was literally saved by God. He was willing to make sacrifices and his life and our Heavenly Father blessed his and continues to bless him graciously.
Angel was a referral. She was really pushed into sending the referral by her really close friends and family.
Here is Angel’s story in her own words…
I have always sought out religion. None seemed to “click”.
I have a close friend who is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I’ve known him almost 40 years and had no idea that he was a member.
My friend started sharing with me the story about Joseph Smith, how he was called to restore the church of Jesus Christ back to the earth, and the translation of the Book of Mormon.
He shared remarkable beliefs with me that I began to understand and feel were true:
That Adam and Eve fell so that man could be
He taught me about the three degrees of heaven
He invited me to live the Word of Wisdom
The belief of the Godhead that God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are separate and individual Beings
How we have been created in God’s own image
This friend is incarcerated in prison. He has 16 more years to serve. We read the Book of Mormon and study together daily with his phone calls.
I am so happy to have found the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I used to not be a believer in God. For me It was scientifically impossible. But I NOW believe!
Barlows in TKM 