Book of Mormon in 65 Days!

July 13, 2024July 14, 2024 ~ barlowsintkm ~ 2 Comments

Back in April, Sister Barlow invited all missionaries in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission to increase in power by reading the Book of Mormon in 65 days. This was the number of days it took Joseph Smith to translate the Book of Mormon by the power of God. Our goal was to read it at the same pace.

Over the next 9 weeks, everyone worked really hard in keeping up with the schedule. Most missionaries also highlighted this new copy of the Book of Mormon with something they were looking for…things like the Doctrine of Christ, covenants, prophets, or willingness were a few examples.

It is difficult to put into words the powerful experience we had together as a mission. It was really meaningful to do it together, and anytime you read the Book of Mormon at a faster pace like this, it leads to observations and connections you wouldn’t make otherwise. We began each meeting during this period with two missionaries sharing thoughts about what they were learning from their recent Book of Mormon reading. We discussed their progress and learnings in interviews.

In the introduction of the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith is quoted as saying, ““I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.”

President Ezra Taft Benson once said, “There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path.”

Our current prophet, President Russell M. Nelson taught, “When I think of the Book of Mormon, I think of the word power. The truths of the Book of Mormon have the power to heal, comfort, restore, succor, strengthen, console, and cheer our souls.”

We learned in the TKM the power that these prophets are talking about and invite everyone to tap into that power themselves by reading the Book of Mormon.

June 18th was the day on our schedule that we would finish the Book of Mormon. We gathered as a mission on zoom and read together the final chapter of the Book of Mormon, Moroni chapter 10. Anytime you finish the Book of Mormon, it is a meaningful experience. But finishing it together with this amazing group of representatives of Jesus Christ is an experience we will never forget.

Sister Barlow had promised that we would do something special to celebrate finishing the Book of Mormon together as a mission. And as promised, Sister Barlow “makes no small plans”!

“Make no small plans. They have no magic to stir men’s souls. – Spencer W. Kimball

Sister Barlow then announced that to celebrate finishing the Book of Mormon in 65 Days, we had arranged for all missionaries to be able to attend the temple. As there are no temples in our mission boundaries, this was a REALLY big deal. Many of these missionaries had not been to the temple for over a year, so some of their reactions to this announcement was priceless.

We are grateful for the power of the Book of Mormon. We testify that it can help everyone come closer to Jesus Christ. And we are grateful for these wonderful missionaries. We love them and feel so grateful to see them act in faith and receive the blessings that come with doing so.

#WhatsUpInTKM

Tender Mercies in the TKM: Travis

July 12, 2024 ~ barlowsintkm ~ Leave a comment

by Sister Nielson and Sister Moore

Travis was baptized into the Baptist faith when he was 12 years old. At 17 years old, when he started falling away from God, he was kicked out of church instead of welcoming him in further to give him the support he needed to make his way back. He still believed in God but that experience hardened his heart towards church. It made it difficult for him to want to return to any church, and that seemed to get more difficult as time went on.

Lisa (his wife) and Travis met right before Covid. Lisa was praying before they met and she said, “If the next person isn’t the right person, then I’m done dating all together.” That’s exactly when God put Travis in her path.

Lisa is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but hadn’t gone to church in a long time. Travis knew she was a member but they didn’t talk much about her religion because Lisa didn’t want to push a church onto Travis.

In 2023, Lisa and Travis started talking about church and wanting Jesus Christ back in their life. Lisa left the decision of which church to attend up to Travis. Nothing really came of it because it wasn’t at the top of his priority list at the time, but God didn’t give up and continued to work on his heart.

In the span of one week, Travis had many random people on the street come up to him talking to him about church, asking to pray for him or asking him to pray for them.

That same week, Travis got in a car accident. The driver in the other vehicle was a super nice guy. He got out and asked Travis if he had a church to go to. He said no and the stranger said he didn’t either so he asked if they could pray for each other to find a church. So they prayed. The next morning, Travis woke up and said “Ok Lisa let’s go to the Mormon church.”

Through those interactions with strangers on the street, his heart began to be softened. Their first Sunday in church, he met the missionaries. “My heart felt happy, I felt the spirit and that made me really want it more.”

The missionaries invited him to pray about getting baptized, so he did. His answer came in a way God knew he needed, a way that was unique to him. His grandpa had passed away in 2005, but growing up, he and his grandpa were really close. He would spend hours helping him on his farm, having heartfelt conversations while they were eating peaches in his truck. His grandpa means the world to him and God knew that.

The night he prayed about baptism he had a very powerful dream. In his dream, Travis’ grandpa was there and only said two words to him. “Move forward.” That was the answer Travis was looking for.

The missionaries explained faith to be an action word. Hearing that clicked for Travis and increased his desire to take action so he could further show his faith to God. He knew he needed to be baptized.

Being baptized was a big decision he was making, so leading up to it, he prayed that he would be able to walk into his baptism on his own two feet and he’d be out of his cast. In his previous appointment, the doctor said he’d have a cast on for three more months so the chances were looking low, but his faith was high. His follow up appointment was two days before his baptism. They were shocked by the amount of progress his leg had made and said that he could have the cast off for his baptism. It was a huge miracle how fast his leg had healed, especially since they hadn’t seen much improvement since December. After he began to pray and turn back towards God, that’s where it all turned around. God answered his prayers and he was able to walk into the waters of baptism on his own two feet.

Throughout this whole process, Lisa had been praying for guidance on what to do and how to get Travis to church. The inspiration she received was to be quiet, which was out of her nature but she trusted God. Travis also expressed if he crossed paths with the missionaries any sooner, he would have turned them away. God’s timing is beautiful and He knew exactly what Travis needed. His heart needed time and it all fell into place right when he was ready.

Travis was baptized on June 22, 2024. He now has a drive to be surrounded with people and places where the spirit is present. He is so full of light and has a deep desire to help other people. A few things he’s looking forward to is getting a calling in the church and having the priesthood.

Lisa has seen such a noticeable and happy change as he’s been filled immensely with the spirit. In turn, they have grown closer to each other and to God within their marriage.

There was another beautiful tender mercy. As Travis has been preparing to do baptisms in the temple, he discovered that someone had already done all of the temple work for his grandpa. The same grandpa that had been in his dream, encouraging him to “Move forward!”

#TKMTenderMercies

Tender Mercies in the TKM: Gary

July 10, 2024 ~ barlowsintkm ~ Leave a comment

Gary put in a media referral to get to know more of Christ’s love for him! When he met with Sister Holladay and Sister Bunderson, he told them that he had met some missionaries before and that he wanted to come closer to Jesus Christ! The sisters shared the Book of Mormon with him, and invited him to read the Book of Mormon to draw closer to Christ.

He was so excited to have the missionaries back over to learn more about the church! They continued to teach him. Each time they would come over he always felt something different when they were around.

Gary wanted to come to church so badly but he had a few health problems that prevented him from coming. He also had a lot of fears and anxiety about church. He finally agreed to come to a church tour. When the church tour happened, he loved coming in and seeing a large picture of Christ hanging up on the wall right outside of the chapel. When the sacrament was explained the spirit was so strong.

A few days later we extended a baptism date for him, but he was still very anxious about it. A week later, we got a call from him saying that he had a big health scare. He told us that he prayed for it to go away and it went away. As he prayed, he said he knew that this was Christ’s church and that he wanted to be baptized. So we put him on date for baptism!

*Sister Palmer, Gary, and Sister Foster*

Gary came to church and loved the people and how welcomed he felt. He was also very nervous for his baptism so we invited him to come see one of our other friends’ baptism. He told us that he felt the spirit very strong there and that all of his anxiety went away. Gary was baptized on May 25, 2024.

Since his baptism, he hasn’t missed a single day off church because it is so special to him. Gary also had the opportunity to go to the temple for the first time! He loved sitting inside and told us that he felt like God was giving him strength while he was inside. He also told us that he looks foreword to going again.

#TKMTenderMercies

Tender Mercies in the TKM: Ora and Desiree

July 8, 2024July 8, 2024 ~ barlowsintkm ~ Leave a comment

by Ora Harris and Desiree Hoover

Ora Harris

One day I clicked on y’all’s church ad about a Bible verse and i said “Amen” to it! That small thing changed my life. Next thing you know, missionaries showed up at my door. They came in and talked to me about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and invited me to Church.

I came to church and liked it, especially the sacrament. I’ve never been to a church that has sacrament every week!

I continued to meet with the missionaries and learned how to make covenants with God. I changed my life by overcoming some addictions and bad habbits. I feel a lot stronger and not as weak as i use to be in my faith. The missionaries asked me to be baptized and I said yes. I had to wait for my leg to heal a little before I got baptized.

*Elder Akers, Elder Bonham, Sister Stephens, Ora Harris, and Sister Harrison*

I was so excited when my baptism was coming up! I got baptized and confirmed on March 24, 2024, Palm Sunday, it was very special. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints made it very special for me.

*Sister Stephens, Ora Harris, and Sister Harrison*

Then I told my friend Miss Pat about sacrament and invited her to my baptism and she came to church for her first time on my baptism day! She loved it! She was crying! She’s never celebrated a baptism the way we do it. Then I invited my daughter Desiree to church with me and she loved it. I am staying down the path of Jesus and preparing to go to the temple, the House of The Lord.

Desiree Hoover

My name is Desiree Hoover. I was angry at God because I thought He took my baby girl Scarlett from me. The missionaries was meetin with momma. And I was closed off and disconnected from God. So I wasn’t interested in meetin with them.

Then one day they asked to say a prayer with me. And I did. Then they were very persistent. And I eventually started to sit in on momma’s lessons. Then I started takin momma to church. And started goin to church for myself. And continued lessons with the missionaries.

Then i decided I wanted to get baptized! But I had to wait for momma to get out of the hospital because she had a fall. I wanted her there and Miss Pat. I got baptized and confirmed with the Holy Ghost on June 15, 2024. Momma and Miss Pat both got to come to my baptism!! It was very special!

*Sister Condie and Sister Wall helping Desiree in the font.*

I love sunflowers and Sister Condie & Sister Wall bought me sunflowers and paydays. Because when I was pregnant with Scarlett I loved paydays! They made it very special and I will never forget it. I am now preparing to go to the temple with my momma.

#TKMTenderMercies