In late April, Luis saw an invitation online to meet with missionaries and filled out a request. When Hermana Brunner and Hermana Briggs reached out, he expressed that he hadn’t gone to church in a while, but was looking to get closer to Jesus Christ. Luis has lived in the United States for 5 years taking care of his dad. He is only 19 years old, yet still he had felt something pulling him to the Savior.
His first week while being in contact with the missionaries, he came to church and enjoyed the peace and refuge he felt there. His second week at church, the sisters showed him the baptismal font and taught him the doctrine of baptism. Later that week they invited him to be baptized, but Luis declined the invitation. Hermana Briggs and Brunner invited him to pray about it and study the scriptures.
After a week and a half with little to no contact, Hermana Brunner and Hernandez were able to reach Luis. He said he had received an answer to his questions and wanted to attend church more. He then attended the Chattanooga Stake Conference and was able to meet the two General Authorities who were presiding and President and Sister Barlow. Later that week, Hermana Brunner and Hernandez once again extended the invitation to be baptized, to which he said “Yes! I meant to tell you before, I really want to get baptized now!”
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Luis was baptized on June 29, 2025 by a recent concert, Ricardo Quintanilla, into the Spring Creek branch. When asked about his experience he explained that as he was receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost he “felt a spark within [his] heart.” He said the experience was indescribable. After his baptism, a member asked him what made him decide to get baptized. He shared, “One night I prayed about my fears and doubts about being baptized, and that night I had a dream, filled with peace and power. When I woke up I knew I needed to be baptized.”
Since being baptized, Luis has received the Aaronic priesthood and has expressed interest in serving a mission of his own! He is excited to help in missionary work and helping others to receive these great blessings from God.
Behold, I will hasten my work in its time. (D&C 88:73)
The Lord is hastening his work across the Tennessee Knoxville Mission! His hand is very evident all across the mission.
In the last six months we have seen this in:
The creation of the Johnson City Stake from the Cumberland and Kingsport Stakes.
The creation of the Cleveland Stake from the Chattanooga Stake.
Our mission complement has increased from 170 missionaries to 190 missionaries.
Elder Quentin L. Cook announced at the June 2025 Mission Leader Seminar that the 12 month period ending in May 2025 was the highest convert baptisms in the history of the church.
The Church News announced that the 12 month period ending in June 2025 set a new record.
June 2025 was the highest baptizing month in the history of the Tennessee Knoxville Mission (in the last 10 years we can see).
July 2025 was a new record in baptism for a four week month.
As we met for our July 2025 zone conference, it gave us an opportunity to reflect on how the Lord is hastening his work and to focus on areas where we can continue to help more people receive the blessings of baptism and confirmation.
We’ve been working on teaching the doctrine of baptism simply and frequently. We want everyone to know how Heavenly Father wants to bless them through making covenants with Him. To do this, we’ve focused on pages 28-29 of Preach My Gospel. Sister Barlow has role played teaching the doctrine of baptism and confirmation with every missionary in the mission. We are focused on sharing this doctrine every time we meet with friends.
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We’ve studied the importance of increasing our faith and acting in great faith. We want to make sure everything we do connects back to our missionary purpose and we see everything through a lens of faith.
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Central to much of the success we are seeing in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission is focusing on inviting everyone to worship the Savior with us and feel His Spirit. Preach My Gospel teaches us, “One of the most valuable experiences you can help people have is attending a Church service. Invite them and explain what it will be like. Tell them how attending a sacrament meeting will bless their lives.” Elder Quentin L. Cook teaches us:
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We have been working to connect these principles in powerful ways. We have faith that if we can stack these habits and keep stacking days, we will have friends at church and friends who desire to be baptized.
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Faith is a principle of action and power. Acting in faith is what brings power to our efforts. It all begins with being willing to invite EVERYONE to church. To help us do this, missionaries are focused on inviting 100 people to church every day. This requires a lot of faith and effort. To accomplish this, missionaries have to overcome every fear of talking to people. We know that if we do this consistently throughout the week we will have friends at church on Sunday. Our missionaries track these invitations every day, then each night they send a picture into their zone chat of how many people they invited to church that day.
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As soon as we find someone who says yes to coming to church, we immediately work to connect them with members. We ask every day, “What can we do today that will help this friend come to church on Sunday?” Meeting members and feeling a connection to them makes a huge difference. We now call Saturday “Sacrament Saturday”. On Saturday, we schedule time to go out with members to visit all these friends in person and commit them to attend with us on Sunday. The members offer to give them rides, meet them at the door, sit by them, answer their questions, and introduce them to other members. We’ve found that this is also a great time to teach our friends the doctrine of baptism. They’ve just participated in an ordnance for the first time in their life with the sacrament, we are in a dedicated building, and we have members with us. This is a great time to show them the baptismal font, teach them the doctrine of baptism and how Heavenly Father wants to bless them, and invite them to act.
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It has been amazing to see these missionaries act in such great faith. Their courage to invite EVERYONE is inspiring. They are making extraordinary efforts to help friends come to church. The members are making an incredible difference with by helping the people we’re teaching feel they have a friend that will support them as they connect to a new church family.
At our July Zone Conference, we continued to work on these principles, including:
“Rewind Time” and how we can find great success in following up with friends who have been taught in the past but stopped progressing.
Creating Lesson Plans before each lesson to be prepared to teach with power.
“The Power Flow” which is a set of Preach My Gospel principles we teach missionaries to use as they invite friends to church. This gives them a process to practice and role play which builds their confidence to talk with EVERYONE.
A highlight of the zone conference was Sister Barlow sharing “Three Promised Blessings That Will Change Your Mission”. 1) Focus on your missionary purpose to successfully find, teach, and baptize. 2) “Your success will be multiplied exponentially as you harness the power of members with whom you serve.” – President Nelson 3) Power comes as you daily immerse yourself in the Book of Mormon. Help your friends to do the same.
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Sister Barlow also prepared a powerful video of missionaries sharing their experience and best practices with four areas we’ve been focused on these last few months.
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It is such a privilege to work with these missionaries. Their faith and willingness is remarkable. We are seeing miracles happen across the mission every day. Most importantly, through these efforts and acting in such great faith, they are becoming lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ.
Chattanooga, Cleveland, Cookeville Zones
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Cumberland, Knoxville, Smoky Mountain Zones
Asheville, Johnson City, Kingsport Zones
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The timing of zone conference created the unusual experience of having MLC on Friday right after zone conferences ended. Our monthly MLC meeting is one of our favorite meetings on the month. We sit in the back of the room as these leaders counsel together about what’s working and what we need to change to help more people receive the blessings of baptism and confirmation. This is the group that sets the goals for the mission each month. They come to the meeting with bottoms-up goals from their zone, and then set goals for the mission. For the month of August, they set a goal of achieving 100. baptisms in the mission. This will require great faith and a lot of work, but everyone across the mission is engaged and working incredibly hard. Please join your faith with ours in praying that we can reach this goal..
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Lastly, it’s exciting to see the progress of the Knoxville Tennessee Temple happening right down the street. As a mission, we feel we are helping to prepare a place and a people for this new temple of God.
George has searched for truth his whole life and he can see how God placed the right people in his path. He began by having a childhood connection with Brother Arnold Jones, one of the happiest, most diligent members of the La Follette Branch. Then, about 3 years ago, George met Brother Gene Muggridge at Walmart, an incredible member missionary who often invites people to learn more about the church. They became great friends and. George agreed to meet with the missionaries then. However, while he progressed for some time, he decided to stop meeting with the missionaries.
George was brought back to the Church because of the passing of his childhood friend, Brother Jones. After Brothr Jones’ funeral, George attended church with Brother Muggridge the next two Sundays. Brother Muggridge gave him a Book of Mormon and the missionaries started meeting with him again.
When the missionaries met with him the next day, George told them, “Yesterday, I asked Brother Muggridge what my next step was, and he told me that I needed to pray about Joseph Smith and ask if he was a prophet. Well, I did, and God witnessed to me that Joseph Smith is God’s chosen prophet in these last days. I believe that this is the true church and I would like to become a part of it.”
The missionaries taught the doctrine of baptism, gave George a baptismal calendar, and invited him to be baptized on April 13th. George said 13 was his lucky number and agreed to be baptized that day.
With every principle we taught, George would think about it, pray, and express how he believed it to be true. He felt another confirmation of the truthfulness of the Church when we taught him about the First Vision, which reminded him of his own “Sacred Grove” experience. He shared a time where he felt the love of God so powerfully in the woods that he couldn’t deny God’s power in his life. The moment he saw a picture of the Sacred Grove he expressed how it looked exactly like where he had had his own experience in Speedwell TN. He had another confirmation as he was taught about the Plan of Salvation and our premortal life, a teaching he said he had been searching for his whole life. He George really enjoyed meeting members of the branch and having members in every lesson made a big difference for him.
#TKMTenderMercies
The day of the George’s baptism was amazing! Over 40 members from the La Follette Branch came to support him. He was baptized by one of his new friends, Brother Bob Bilyeu, and confirmed by Brother Muggridge. George was baptized on April 13, 2025 as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the La Follette Branch.
Two weeks later, George had an incredible experience at the Nashville temple. George was very excited to enter a House of the Lord and he felt very blessed to meet President Cruz, the Temple President. He said he felt so happy and could feel the presence of the Spirit in the temple. George had brought the names of his daughter and mother to be baptized that day and it was a powerful experience
George said he has never been happier. One of his greatest strengths is serving others, something he tries to always do. He hopes that he can continue to become more like our Savior, Jesus Christ, and help others to feel His love.
Sister Critchfield and Sister Bundy were walking into the mission office one day to do some planning. On their way in, they saw an Amazon worker getting back into his Amazon delivery truck after dropping off a package. They invited him to church and he said he was interested! They shared a quick message about how God has a plan for him and how coming to church can help him understand that plan, then let him head out to his next stop of the day. That invitation to church and to grow closer to God was exactly what Sean needed that day.
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Shortly after that first interaction with Sean, the Sisters found out that his Father had passed away just three weeks prior to meeting him that day in the parking lot. Sean was lost, he was mourning, and was seeking peace, direction and purpose again. He was able to find more peace and guidance in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints.
A pivotal moment for Sean was learning how to pray. Once he started praying, he was able to start feeling more of God’s love in his life. Sean’s Father loved church and worship and was baptized prior to passing away. The example of his dad gave Sean a desire to come closer to Christ, and as he learned about the gospel of Jesus Christ he felt connected to his dad once again.
#TKMTenderMercies
The missionaries were able to connect Sean to the YSA congregation here in Knoxville. His very first time coming to church he brought a friend who has attended church with him ever since! Just three weeks after meeting the missionaries, Sean was baptized on July 20, 2025 as a member of the Knoxville YSA Branch.
Sean has been a great example of strength and hope, and is helping others come closer to Jesus Christ as well!
We found Shyra through contacting people on Facebook. Sister Avei added her as a friend and cold called her one afternoon and she picked up. We talked to her about what her biggest challenge in life was right then. She said that she was grieving the loss of one of her friends. We invited her to church and taught her about the Sacrament and how it could help her feel peace. She said she would love to come. She sent us her address and so we set up a time to visit with her the Saturday before church.
Sister Dever and Sister Avei went over that Saturday and we reiterated our purpose as missionaries. She said that she had never been baptized before and that it was something she would like to do. We taught her the Doctrine of Baptism and before we could extend a date she said, “I think I can be baptized in two weeks.” We gave her a baptismal calendar and she used it every single day leading up to her baptism.
Shyra diligently read the Book of Mormon and prayed every single day. She worked so hard to be ready for her baptism. On April 26th 2025 she was baptized and became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Knoxville YSA Branch.
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We asked Shyra her experience with being on the other end of the cold call. She said when she talked to us, it made her excited. She had been feeling impressions to get back in church but didn’t know where to go. She wanted to meet new people and start doing better things with her life. She loves the YSA church family and especially loves all the activities.
She said that reading the Book of Mormon and praying always makes her day better. It has brought her a lot of peace. Shyra got a little scared to step into the font and follow through with her decision, but once she did and after she was baptized everything was great. Since being baptized and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost she has been less angry and has been able to deal with life’s problems better. She said it is very calming and helps her feel at peace and has changed her completely. Ultimately, Shyra shared that since getting back on this path it has blessed her life and has helped her to reconnect with her sister again.
Shyra has already started to see the blessings of the gospel in her life and has been sharing her testimony with our friends, her friends and her family. She loves being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
On April 3rd, 2025, Deaveo saw an invitation on Facebook to learn more about baptism. He had been feeling a strong desire to be baptized, so he felt the timing this invitation was message from God.
When Sister Diede and Sister Brizzee met with him, he expressed his desire to be baptized. Deaveo had never been baptized before and he decided he wanted to take that next step to bind himself with his Heavenly Father. They invited him to church and he contacted his boss to get work off so he could partake of the sacrament.
Deaveo quickly fell in love with reading the Book of Mormon. He reads it every day, marking anything that sticks out to him. Deaveo had no concerns with the Word of Wisdom because he had always felt that doing those things were not good for him. Preach My Gospel says, “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 true with Deaveo. He had been prepared to be baptized beforehand and was ready to take his first covenant step.
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Just a couple weeks later, Deaveo was baptized on April 27, 2025 in the Chattanooga Ward. There has been a visible difference in Deaveo since his baptism. When Sister Diede and Sister Brizzee would ask him how he was doing before his baptism, he always said, “Okay.” But since his baptism, whenever they ask how he’s doing, he enthusiastically says, “I’m great!” Deaveo has expressed that he just feels so much lighter since he came out of the waters of baptism.
Deaveo is a very sweet and shy person. He was always nervous to say a prayer out loud. After his baptism, however, he said his first aloud prayer. Deaveo recently made the comment, “I know this is the right church for me.” He is very excited to attend the temple and continue progressing along the covenant path.
One Sunday, as the missionaries were sitting in ward council, the ward council was talking about a returning member and his two boys. They said these two boys hadn’t been baptized yet. Learning this, Elder Harmon and Elder Johnson jumped into the conversation asking all about the family and the boys. They found out that Seth had recently started coming back to church and that his son Brayden really loved the gospel and already knew all about the church.
The missionaries asked the bishop to introduce them to Seth and Brayden after the sacrament meeting. After the meeting, they talked with Seth and Brayden and set up time to visit them in their home. Brayden has just returned from a Primary activity and they taught him about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Brayden is very bright and explained everything they taught back to the Elders. Impressed, the Elders testified that the Lord had prepared him to be baptized. As they asked him, “Will you get baptized?”, Brayden gave a resounding, “Yes!” He then explained how badly he wanted to be baptized. The missionaries then invited Seth to share his testimony on baptism and it was very powerful!
The missionaries met with Brayden over the next three weeks to prepare him for his baptism. His knowledge and desire to learn more and read the Book of Mormon was inspiring. He even told the missionaries he keeps his Book of Mormon on his desk at school. He attended the baptism of one of the youth who had recently turned 8 and he loved it.
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As they planned his baptism, Brayden told the missionaries about his desire to be baptized in the river just like his dad. On the day of the baptism, the forecast was for bad weather, but Brayden said nothing was going to stop him from being baptized!
The members of the Cherokee ward could not have been more supportive for Brayden. More than half the ward showed up for him and it was amazing! Brayden was baptized on March 30, 2025. While being confirmed, he was told he would be like Nephi of old and be a missionary to his family.
“Well, my story started out with me seeing an invitation on Facebook and asking the missionaries to come meet with me. I was reaching out to find a church home and community. I wanted to find a church I could consider family that wasn’t my family, and it felt like this was the right one.”
“I started meeting with the missionaries every day. In one lesson, the Sisters told me the goal was to get baptized. I accepted and was baptized on April 12, 2025 in the Loudon Ward.”
“After I was baptized I felt more happy and not so worried. I felt more relief about the things I can’t control and more confident in the things I can. Since living the Word of Wisdom I’ve felt better and more energy without those things in my life. Probably God’s energy.”
“Going to the temple was a good important thing. Being able to be baptized for others and helping people who have passed away. It felt totally awesome and more joyful and after I wanted to do even more things. Everyone was so nice, I considered them all family. Ever since going to the temple I’ve felt the Holy Ghost telling me that the people I have baptized are now home! And I also feel like I’m at home going to church and by being baptized and going to the temple.”
“To anyone who is looking for a church home I want to encourage them and tell them what the missionaries really do. I would want to teach them not to worry about the things you can’t control and focus on Him and He will focus on you! He’s helped me to be more forgiving and more patient, more patient than I’ve ever been. I would also tell them to follow your heart and do what the Holy Ghost is telling you to do. I first reached out to the missionaries in 2022 or 2023. The Holy Ghost was telling me to reach out again and now I have a church that I consider family.”
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Sister Peterson and Sister Wall shared their experience in teaching Matt. ““We received Matt’s referral and reached out to him immediately and let him know we were going to call him in 5 minutes. About 10 minutes had passed, we had gotten caught up talking with a member and Matt texted us asking if we were still going to call him. We called him and set up a church tour for that evening. Matt absolutely loved it! He came to church on Sunday and within a few weeks was put on date for baptism!”
“Matt’s testimony and knowledge of the gospel has grown so much, he will repeatedly tell us he has never felt so close to God in his life. Since Matt’s baptism he isn’t afraid to share his love of the gospel. He loves having a church family and he has a happier countenance! His desire to be involved has grown so much too! He even offered to help clean the church!”
“Matt is now a proud holder of the Aaronic priesthood and has grown a desire to share the gospel! We recently took him to the Atlanta temple and he bought just about every single picture of Jesus that the distribution store had and even got a Book of Mormon picture book he could share with his friend!”
This is the sweetest family! They have so much faith in their Savior Jesus Christ, faith that is transformative!
On March 17th we felt inspired to visit a part member family in our ward. When we found them, it was like their mom, Lindsey, was waiting for us. As soon as we parked the car, she was sitting on the porch. We talked for a long time about God’s love, His Character, and that He has a plan for us.
Lindsey invited her kids – Sebastian, Kali, Khloe, and Olivia – to come down stairs. They were so kind and so excited that the missionaries were back. We talked to them about baptism. They immediately explained how badly they’ve been wanting to be baptized and go to the temple!
As we taught them and helped prepare for baptism, the Spirit brought so much light and miracles into their life. They were immediately willing to change anything for their Savior. Every time we said the word “baptism” they would get big smiles on their faces.
Sebastian was Baptized when he was younger and he was always encouraging his sisters to take this next step. They began to read the Book of Mormon every day as a family, and they went to every youth night leading up to their baptism.
Their baptism was so special because it was full of laughter and joy. Baptism truly is a joyful and hopeful ordinance, and it was for these sisters.. Kali, Khloe, and Olivia were baptized on April 6, 2025 as members of the Dalton Ward.
The light they had after receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost was so beautiful. Miracles occurred in their family right after they were baptized, answering so many prayers. There were so many seeds planted for this family! It is humbling to see firsthand that God is in relentless pursuit of all of His children.
Corbyn was walking on the Chattanooga Bridge where Elder Ulm and Elder Collins stopped her and invited her to church. They passed her information to Sister Bingham and Sister Adams in Hixson. She was taught by these two sisters and later Sister Gabbitas.
Corbyn shared the following about her experience:
“I have always known of God. I was raised with Baptist and Evangelic principles. I was a Christian. But when I got old enough to question my religion, I was pushed out. When I was ostracized because of my questions, it led to a complete lack of faith even though I still thought of Jesus Christ as an active role model in my life.”
“I eventually went out into the world exploring the Abrahamic religions, Eastern religions, philosophy, and spirituality. I found that what was most important in my journey is recognizing the good in what God has done. In my heart, I desired to be closer to him and find peace. Spirituality was the last step in my journey. Spirituality taught me how to be still and practice gratitude. I’m grateful for the path God put me on because without it I wouldn’t have known how to call out to Him with reverence.”
Corbyn speaking at the Chattanooga Stake Conference one month after her baptism.
“Just before joining The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I was at a point in my life where my soul was unhappy. I was reaching my material goals, I had more things than ever before, but I felt lost and empty. I was fortunate enough to meet someone who pushed me to grow closer to God. They encouraged the habit of practicing gratitude. My heart started desiring a life away from sin. I slowly started pulling away from my old habits. During this time, it felt like everything was rapidly changing. I then prayed deeply to God, inviting Him into my life and asking Him to show me the way–to reveal Himself to me. I truly opened my heart not only to find Him, but to also in repenting. I was so sure He would be there for me. I didn’t know when, but I was certain. I sat in silence, taking in the energy of the prayer and acknowledging all that He had done.”
“I didn’t receive an answer until a week later when I met the missionaries on the bridge. I ended up going to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints as soon as I could to find out more information. I learned so much from the sister missionaries. I felt that this was exactly where I needed to be. God also answered a prayer I held very close to my heart, which was to have meaningful fellowship. The beginning of my conversion was difficult because I struggled with giving up old habits, but I was reassured at every step that God forgives, and I don’t need to be perfect. I am loved by the Creator as we all are. I don’t need to feel weighed down by my sins because all sins are measured the same and I can be redeemed through Christ. I am eternally grateful.”
“I was baptized on April 26, 2025. I am so glad I have come to know and be in a place that has the fullness of the gospel. I know that Jesus Christ lives.”
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When Corbyn was baptized, she couldn’t stop crying and was so grateful to have been able to make this covenant with her Savior.
Two days after she was baptized she took work off and went to the Atlanta Temple to do the baptism on behalf of her Mom who had passed away in 2020. Her Mom is the person who first taught her the importance of following Jesus Christ and she described the experience as “the most peaceful relaxing loving, just indescribable feeling.” Corbyn loves helping the missionaries in lessons and attending institute each week. She is SO excited to recieve a calling and continue her journey of conversion.
Barlows in TKM 