Tender Mercies in the TKM – Sara

June 24, 2025 ~ barlowsintkm ~ Leave a comment

Sara had been living in Tennessee for a few years with a few of her children, but she felt alone and empty. She was looking for something to fill her life. She didn’t feel satisfied from work or from anything else in her life. Sara grew up going to church, but eventually walked away from it for several reasons. She continued in faith, and saw the hand of God in her life as she faced trials. She grew in determination and faith as she was refined by everything she faced. One day, she saw an invite on Facebook to meet with the missionaries. Sara decided to put in a request to have the missionaries visit her. Just a few minutes after putting in the request, she received a call from Sister Christenson and Sister Lewis.

In the first contact with Sara, the sisters taught her about the sacrament from 3 Nephi 20. A phrase that stood out to Sara was when Jesus says, “He that drinketh of this wine drinketh of my blood to his soul; and his soul shall never hunger nor thirst, but shall be filled” (3 Nephi 20:8). She wanted to be filled, and that’s what she told the missionaries. They decided to meet in the church two days later, on a Saturday, for a church tour. At that church tour, Sara felt the Spirit and the love of God and accepted the invitation to come to church the next day.

Unfortunately, a family emergency came up and she was unable to come. The missionaries also tried to set up a return appointment during that week, but were unsuccessful until Saturday, when Sara finally answered and confirmed that she would be at church the next day.

Sara came and loved her church experience! The members of the Lakeway Ward were so kind to her. After church, the missionaries along with Sara and Sister Puentes sat in front of the font and talked about baptism. Sara was excited and said she wanted to get baptized. She started sharing stories from her life with them and expressed how blessed she felt from being at church. While at the font, the missionaries didn’t invite her to be baptized. As soon as Sara left, they felt like they should have, so they went to Sara’s house later that evening and invited her to be baptized two weeks from that day. She started crying and happily agreed to the date, especially because she would be leaving for Pennsylvania not too long after that.

It took a lot of planning and focus, but with the help of God and Sara’s faith she was able to learn quickly. She was talking with her oldest son and learned that he had been taught by missionaries and baptized into the Church. When the missionaries taught about temples, she was so excited that she asked if they could go the next day! They had to say that they couldn’t go the next day but they did set a date to be able to go after she was baptized. She had more light and peace with her as she studied and prayed. Sara expressed more than once her love and gratitude to God for bringing the missionaries into her life. As she prepared for her baptism, Sara grew in understanding and felt the mercy of God as well as the miracle of repentance and the blessing of forgiveness. She felt burdens lifted off her shoulders that she had carried for years.

The day of her baptism came and she was so excited to finally be able to start a new life and to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. She asked for the same missionaries who had previously given her a blessing to help with her baptism. She asked for Elder Pack to perform the baptism and Elder Weaver to perform the confirmation. Sara was baptized on May 18, 2025.

After her baptism, she bore a sweet testimony of the love of God and her gratitude for the gospel. Just three days later she was able to go to the Columbia, South Carolina temple and be baptized for her mother. Elder Puentes, one of the senior missionaries serving in Lakeway, was able to be baptized for her father. It was a special day and she loved the peace and joy that came from going to the temple.

Just a few weeks later, Sara moved to Pennsylvania. She has had a challenging life, but is full of faith and has learned to rely on God. She continues to face trials but does so now with the gift of the Holy Ghost and a firm commitment to follow Him the rest of her life. She continues to grow in determination and her love for God and the scriptures. Sara truly is a disciple of Jesus Christ and an example of His love.

Tender Mercies in the TKM: Hayden and Jessica

June 17, 2025 ~ barlowsintkm ~ Leave a comment

One Saturday afternoon, Hayden heard a knock on his door. He opened it up and saw two missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Elder Driggs and Elder Bartholomew. They introduced themselves and invited Hayden to church. Hayden wasn’t sure at first, but he felt something inside nudge him to go for it. That night the spirit continued to work on Hayden, and he made up his mind:

“I’m tired of this old life, I am ready to make a change. I want to be brand new.”

The very next day, Hayden had an incredible experience coming to church for the first time. Everyone in the Forest City Ward was very welcoming, and treated him like a long lost friend. He said he saw light around everyone, and that this church was different from ones he went to in the past. He felt the spirit at church, and it nudged him again. He felt the impression that he needed to throw away some bad habits.

The next day, the missionaries explained that making covenants with God at baptism would help him overcome his challenges and become “a new creature” (2 Cor. 5:17) in Jesus Christ. They extended a date for baptism to work towards as a goal, and Hayden accepted. This would be the beginning of a brand new life for him.

The missionaries introduced Hayden to the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, and he began reading it every day. It became something he could turn to instead of his bad habits, and it would bring him much needed personal peace. Ever since picking up the Book of Mormon, Hayden would never again return to his old bad habits.

About the Book of Mormon Hayden said, “That book is special. Every time I struggle with anger or temptation, it just fades. I know it’s true.”

Hayden was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints March 9th, 2025.

Since joining, Hayden was able to witness and testify to His wife Jessica who would also join the church three weeks later on March 30, 2025.

Attending church has brought them closer together and helped them become better people as they follow the example of Jesus Christ. Hayden testifies that his life has more meaning and direction now than ever, and that he is able to experience true joy. He no longer struggles with anger in the same way he did before his baptism.

Tender Mercies in the TKM: Vincent

June 15, 2025 ~ barlowsintkm ~ Leave a comment

Vincent was first introduced to the gospel while in jail. One of his cellmates was friends with Miss Gloria, a member in the Hardin Valley Ward. Through the cellmate, Miss Gloria and Vincent were able to create a great friendship, and Miss Gloria was able to help out Vincent a lot while he was in jail. It was here where Gloria introduced Vincent to the restored gospel, and afterwards sent his information to the missionaries so that they could get him a copy of the Book of Mormon.

After receiving the referral from the Hardin Valley Sisters, Elder Graham and Elder Griffith were able to drop off a copy of the Book of Mormon. They set up a time to come back and talk about his experience reading. Over the next few weeks they kept stopping by and reading the Book of Mormon with him to help him understand the Book of Mormon better.

While the missionaries were reading with Vincent, they got to 2 Nephi 31, which brought up the topic of baptism. Vincent expressed that he had never been baptized and that he had a desire to be baptized. So they invited him to be baptized . As Elder Miller entered the area, him and Elder Griffith were able to really help him prepare for baptism.

As the missionaries met with Vincent, he always described that he felt good, he began to truly see the blessings of the gospel in his life. The joy and peace that entered his life was evident. His desire to be baptized came from his desire to be on the right path with God. The missionaries explained this is the covenant path. Vincent had to overcome some struggles with the Word of Wisdom, but with the support of the missionaries and members of the Rockwood Ward, he was successful. As he came to church he was truly able to become a part of the Rockwood family, and was very excited to become an official part of that ward family when he was baptized.

Vincent was baptized on February 22, 2025. He has since been able to attend the temple and is sharing the gospel in normal and natural ways with everyone he can.

Tender Mercies in the TKM: James

June 7, 2025June 7, 2025 ~ barlowsintkm ~ Leave a comment

James saw some information on Instagram about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and made a request to meet with the missionaries. That’s when he was first taught by Elder Andreasen and Elder Cox. James shared he wanted to surround himself with the right kind of people and had this strong feeling he should start going to church again.

Preach My Gospel teaches us, “Heavenly Father may have blessed the people you find with valuable spiritual preparation. The steps they have already taken may have prepared them to make covenants with God through baptism in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” This was definitely the case with James. Heavenly Father had been giving him important spiritual impressions that had prepared his heart to “receive the word” (Alma 16:16-17).

16 And there was no inequality among them; the Lord did pour out his Spirit on all the face of the land to prepare the minds of the children of men, or to prepare their hearts to receive the word which should be taught among them at the time of his coming—

17 That they might not be hardened against the word, that they might not be unbelieving, and go on to destruction, but that they might receive the word with joy, and as a branch be grafted into the true vine, that they might enter into the rest of the Lord their God.

Alma 16:16-17

James loved the principles he was taught by Elder Cox and Elder Andreasen. While he was being taught, Elder Johnson was transferred into the Gray Ward. James came to church and felt the love that the members of the Gray Ward had for him. Soon he was invited to be baptized, which he accepted and continued to work towards this goal..

James watching General Conference with the missionaries.

James continued to progress and even watched a session of General Conference with the missionaries. While he knew that baptism was the right thing to do, he wanted to be sure it was a choice he was making for himself. He didn’t want to blindly follow and he wanted to know for himself that the things he was being taught were true. He prayed about it and felt good about it, especially the Book of Mormon, and knew this was the right thing for him to do.

James was then baptized October 12, 2024 and confirmed the next day in Sacrament meeting. James has been able to see the joys of the gospel enter his life as he continues to study and come to church and feel the blessings and power that come from making sacred covenants with God.

#TKMTenderMercies

16th TKM Family Olympics

May 15, 2025 ~ barlowsintkm ~ Leave a comment

On Wednesday, April 9, 2025, 7 outstanding missionaries completed their service in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission. We are starting to see missionaries we’ve served with the entire time finish their missions, and it seems like it gets harder and harder to see them leave us to return home. As they have centered their life on Jesus Christ and focused on their missionary purpose, they have changed in powerful ways. We love them, are very proud of them, and know great things lie ahead for each of them.

Before leaving on Wednesday, we celebrated with them on Tuesday. We began with lunch where they shared important lessons they’ve learned from this experience. Most of the discussion focused on how they can apply these lessons as they move forward as lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ, especially the power of reading the Book of Mormon every day, partaking of the sacrament every week, attending the temple regularly, and keeping every covenant they’ve made. We also met with each of them 1:1 and had the opportunity to give them a blessing.

For the 16th TKM Family Olympics, we had three events: Corn Hole, Kub, and the marquee event…Welcome Posters!

We had a great time, but in the end, we have one team that wins the gold medals.

Congratulations to the gold medal winners of the 16th TKM Family Olympics! Sister Harrop and Elder Vallejo!

These missionaries have so much to look forward and we know they each will do incredible things. Most importantly, they’ve become lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ. They’ve come to know Him in a way that really can’t be duplicated through other experiences. They leave changed for the better, and the lessons learned will bless them for the rest of their lives.

#WhatsUpInTKM

Tender Mercies in the TKM: Rachael

May 7, 2025 ~ barlowsintkm ~ 1 Comment

In their morning prayer, Elder Ulm, Elder Brown, and Elder Nielsen prayed that they would be able to find someone new to teach through media referrals. That same day, while they were knocking on doors, they received a media referral. They called the number immediately and Rachael answered the phone. She told them she wanted to meet with them. When they asked when she would be available, she surprised them by asking if they could meet today. They said yes and asked what time would work for her, and she said, “I can meet now!” They agreed to meet her at the church, and rushed over to meet her there.

Rachael explained that her family members all go to different churches, so she had always bounced around from church to church, never really feeling at home in any of them. She wanted to learn about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to see if it could be the place where she belonged.

As the missionaries began teaching her, they quickly recognized she already knew a lot about the church because, for the past two weeks, she had been researching the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on her own. Preach My Gospel teaches us that, “Heavenly Father may have blessed the people you find with valuable spiritual preparation. The steps they have already taken may have prepared them to make covenants with God through baptism in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” This was very true of Rachael. Heavenly Father had been preparing her to make and receive the blessings of covenants before she ever met the missionaries.

As she continued to meet with the missionaries, she learned even more—not just from the missionaries, but also from ward members. Rachael even received a lot of support from a really nice new member of the church she had found on TikTok. With their support and her growing testimony, she made the decision to be baptized.

On February 2, 2025, she was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Even though she was nervous, she loved the experience and felt so much peace and joy.

#TKMTenderMercies

Tender Mercies in the TKM: Ricky

April 30, 2025 ~ barlowsintkm ~ Leave a comment

Ricky has always been religious and had wonderful influences in his life, his grandparents and his mom. He had been a big part of his church in El Salvador.

Ricky arrived in Chattanooga in August to start going to school. One day, he was sitting home and felt inspired to go outside. There he met the Elders who were teaching his friend Shawn. Ricky couldn’t understand English, but just decided to sit down and join the lesson. He was asked if he wanted to share how he felt about God and was super excited.

Shawn was two weeks away from his baptismal date and had already been taught a significant amount, so Ricky didn’t fully understand a lot of the principles as he joined Shawn’s lessons. The missionaries asked him if they could start teaching him from the beginning. As he was taught, Ricky started taking it more seriously and committed to come to church.

Ricky is super humble and was willing to keep every commitment. Two weeks after he started being taught, he came to the baptism of a family the missionaries had been teaching. After the baptism, Ricky approached the Elders and expressed that he wanted to become a missionary like them to help bring more souls to the fold. The missionaries asked him to share his feelings about baptism and he said he wanted to be baptized..

In the next lesson, Ricky shared he felt conflicted. Before coming to the United States, as he was trying to come closer to God, he had and made a promise to God to stay faithful in his church. He knew attending The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints made him feel different but he didn’t want to break his promise with God. The missionaries reviewed the principle of the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the Prophet Joseph Smith. Ricky said he knew it all made so much sense, so they invited him to do the same as Joseph Smith and ask God. The missionaries promised that Heavenly Father would give him his own answer.

That Saturday night, the missionaries followed up with Ricky. He said he had prayed and he felt good about his decision to be baptized, but he wasn’t sure about the date and how soon this would occur. The missionaries taught him about the Sacrament and how one of the promised blessings of the sacrament is that we are able to receive revelation from God. So on January 5th, showing his faith and dedication, Ricky fasted with the members and prayed during sacrament. After the meeting, he told the missionaries, “God told me the date you gave me of January 18th is correct for me!”

Ricky was baptized on January 18, 2025. He has learned that through the Gift of the Holy Ghost, studying truth helps him to receive personal revelation. Ricky is looking forward to progressing in the gospel and is preparing to serve his own mission after high school.

#TKMTenderMercies

Tender Mercies in the TKM: Kevin

April 22, 2025 ~ barlowsintkm ~ Leave a comment

Kevin had many experiences with God before ever meeting with missionaries. He grew up going to church with his dad, who taught him to follow the Lord. Like many of us, Kevin would have to learn for himself if these things were true.

Kevin would continue to have faith and do what was right, but had difficult experiences in church. He felt others in church would say one thing, and do the opposite. Kevin still continued to have faith in the Lord, and later in life, he met his wife, Heidi.

Heidi is a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After getting married, Heidi’s father would come to know and love Kevin. They would have many conversations about Jesus Christ, church,… and baptism. Although his father-in-law was a kind and faithful man who set a good example, Kevin was weary of church because some of his past experiences.

Over the years, many missionaries would come to visit Kevin and Heidi. Every time missionaries visited, Kevin would get in his truck and leave and let them visit his wife. In his own words Kevin said:

“I ran away from missionaries for about 20 years. I knew I wanted to get back into church, but I just never connected with anyone there before. That was, until God sent me two of the right missionaries at the right time.”

Elder Trey Driggs and Elder Asher Lewis met Kevin and Heidi and on that first visit they simply listened to Kevin’s concerns and experiences. For the first time in a long while, Kevin could feel the love of Christ from a member of a church and invited the missionaries back into his home. After sharing more of their personal stories, Kevin and Heidi had a personal testimony that missionaries were the Lord’s representatives on Earth, and were especially sent by Him to share the gospel. Both of them had a very spiritual experience when Elder Driggs shared his old ID photo, which resembled their son who had passed away. They had a witness that their son had sent the right missionaries at the right time to bring Kevin the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

Kevin would make a lot of changes in his life the next few months, but was concerned about losing a missionary after transfers. Elder Kaden Wilson would come into Kevin’s life and they really connected. Kevin realized that he could trust more and more people from church and began to open up even more.

Kevin was baptized July 19th, 2023 by his father-in-law, the day of his son’s birthday.

Kevin and his wife Heidi continue to walk in faith and prepare themselves to be sealed in the temple as husband and wife, for time and all eternity. Families can together forever!

Tender Mercies in the TKM: Joey

March 29, 2025 ~ barlowsintkm ~ Leave a comment

Joey’s journey began one day when he was watching a YouTube video. An ad came on as he was watching his video, and he felt strangely drawn to it. He clicked on it, and was soon in contact with the missionaries. When Sister Tuala and Sister Terry called him, he felt deeply impressed by the spirit he felt, which reminded him of the feelings he had felt in his grandma’s church.

As he learned and grew, he diligently studied the Book of Mormon every night. When things were hard, he held strong and steadfast, just the way his grandma taught him. He has lived a life built on the strength and good morals of his grandma who was a very strong spiritual woman.

One month after he clicked on the ad on YouTube, he was baptized on January 18, 2025 as a member of the Hardin Valley Ward. About his baptism, he said, “It felt like I was back in biblical times.” He felt very connected to the story where John baptized Jesus Christ. He felt forgiven of all sins, and when he was confirmed, he felt the presence of the Savior.

Since his baptism, Joey has had many spiritual experiences where he has been able to feel close to his Savior, and been able to grow closer to his fiancé and received guidance and direction to help him in many areas of his life. He has been able to receive the Aaronic Priesthood, and is excited to receive opportunities to bless others through the priesthood in the future, especially as he has been learning about his family history and is preparing to attend the temple for the first time.

Joe wanted his conversion story to close with his testimony. He said, “If you believe in Him, you will overcome your challenges no matter how many trials you face!”

Tender Mercies in the TKM: Jerimiah

March 21, 2025March 21, 2025 ~ barlowsintkm ~ Leave a comment

Sister Gabbitas and Sister Holladay had started visiting an inactive member, Brother Jim Janelle. They briefly met Jerimiah, Brother Janelle’s unbaptized son who didn’t seem interested. However, while on exchanges in Rogersville, Sister Gabbitas and Sister Wall went and visited them. In previous visits, other missionaries said that Jerimiah would hide from the missionaries. All he knew about the missionaries was that they were from church and he previously had some negative experiences there. This time was different, though.

The missionaries talked about how caterpillars change into butterflies. That helped Jerimiah see how past experiences do not have to limit him and that he can change. While they were talking with him, they invited and committed him to come to church.

Jerimiah was nervous on the first day that he came to church, so Sister Wall and Sister Condie FaceTimed him on the way there and on the way back. He began to be more comfortable meeting with the missionaries and attending church. He began to learn and grow more than some people thought he would.

It was challenging for him when his dad moved to Greeneville, about 45 minutes away, but he kept learning and growing. He was invited to be baptized and accepted a date of August 30th. He was super excited to keep learning more. He had started praying and reading the Book of Mormon daily.

Transfers happened and Sister Lewis came into Rogersville. Sister Gabbitas and Sister Lewis kept helping him prepare for baptism. Jerimiah was excited and when the sisters asked if he wanted his dad to baptize him, he said yes. He also wanted his mom to be there.

His dad was honored to perform the baptism. His mom is a trucker, so Jerimiah and the sisters realized that they would have to move his date to when his mom could be there, a month away, to September 29th. Jerimiah decided that he wanted to wait for his family to all be there. Even though he was ready to be baptized, and had even been interviewed, he decided to wait.

The sisters kept teaching him and helping him prepare. Sister Wall visited him when exchanges happened again, and helped him see how he had grown so much.

He came to love seeing the sisters and going to church. He found a friend in Anthony, a recent convert when they went to the Tabernacle Choir performance together. Transfers happened again and Sister Petersen came into Rogersville. For a moment he struggled with tithing but in the end he chose to trust God. The sisters explained the power of tithing and the importance of showing gratitude to God through living this principle.

The day of his baptism was special. Jerimiah was baptized on September 29, 2024. His whole family was there and he felt the Spirit so strongly. His dad baptized him and that was such a special experience for both of them. He loved his baptism and was most excited about receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. He truly came to see how God wants us to grow and become better than before.

#TKMTenderMercies