Tag: gospel

Tender Mercies in the TKM: Rachel and Paul

~ barlowsintkm ~ Leave a comment

Rachel and Paul Lam didn’t decide to join the church until after they discovered how much the gospel could bless their growing family.

Rachel has lived in Tennessee her whole life. She was introduced to the gospel in high school by a friend who invited her to church. Paul was raised in California. His grandparents were members and he was around the church often.

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A few years ago, Paul decided to move to Tennessee and met Rachel. They discovered that they both had experience with the church and decided to reach out to the missionaries. This is what Rachel says about her experience:

“Growing up, I knew nothing about God or Jesus. My mother was a bitter alcoholic that didn’t have room for His love in her heart or home. I didn’t learn of His warmth or care until I was in High School.”

“My closest friend and her family were members of our local church. I spent a lot of my time with them, and it was in their home that I first felt safe and loved. It was with them I attended my first sacrament meeting. I remember feeling  peace and love during the service. That feeling followed me, even when I struck out on my own.”

“It wasn’t until I felt truly lost that I really felt the drive to embrace Him. When I was at my lowest point, two missionaries showed up at my door. They brought me back from the edge with their lessons. It all seemed to fall into place the more I learned.”

“My husband, in his own calling, came into my life and subsequently into my daughter’s life. I’ve learned so much from the church and feel so grateful for the gospel, and for Joseph Smith’s revelation. I know in my heart the church is true, and the day I was baptized marked the day my journey to a better life truly began. It feels like everything in my life has led me to the church.”  

Rachel and Paul were baptized on August 17, 2024.

#TKMTenderMercies

Tender Mercies in the TKM: Jason

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by Jason Tolley

“Back in 2020 I had my leg operated on and I had a really bad infection in my leg and was about to lose my leg. I hadn’t been to church in about 20 years. I was laying there in the emergency room and the ER doctor came in and told me I could possibly lose my leg. I closed my eyes and just prayed “I know I haven’t been the closest to you Lord, but if you’re with me please just don’t let me lose my leg.”

After that they took me in for emergency surgery for about 9 hours. When I woke up I saw my leg was still there and I told the nurse the Lord was with me because I didn’t lose my leg. I had two or three more surgeries after that first one and I kept my leg. I’m able to do most everyday normal things.

It seems like I forgot about Him but He didn’t forget about me, and He still didn’t turn His back on me after that situation. 

After all that, I was at home recooperating and I just talked to myself. “Maybe it’s time for me to make a change, get back into church, and try to live my life right.” I had my phone in my hand and I just prayed, “Lord, lead me the way to attend the right church that would be a close knit family.”

Within five minutes of saying that prayer, the website for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints website pulled up, and I said, “There’s my answer!” So I filled out the form online and in a few days the missionaries called and set up a meeting.

When they walked in I could just feel the warmth coming off of them. I knew they were the real deal. We started studying the Book of Mormon. The missionaries kept close contact and kept encouraging me to read the Book of Mormon every day. These ladies were sent from God.

I read the Book of Mormon for about a month and followed the calendar the missionaries had given me. On June 8, 2024 I got baptized. That was the best day of my life! When you get baptized, you don’t know how clean you’re going to feel. When I came out of the water, I felt so clean. I felt like a new person.

The people at church make you feel like family. You couldn’t ask for a better church then where I go to church at.

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by Sister Wall

I feel so incredibly blessed that I was able to witness Jason choose to follow Jesus Chirst. I remember when Sister Condie and I made a baptismal calendar with Jason, we set his date, and he left the library, and we looked at each other and said, “Why didn’t we plan for his baptism sooner?!” So we ran up the stairs chasing him, and when we finally caught up with him, we asked him if he would like to be baptized sooner. He said with confidence, “That’ll be fine.” 

Jason has been a great example of choosing Jesus Christ even when life gets hard and uncomfortable. Jason finds comfort in His Savior Jesus Christ.

by Sister Condie

The first time we read the Book of Mormon intro together, Jason told us he knew it was a good thing. He felt the spirit.  After a few lessons, he said he found himself choosing to be kind and acting more like Christ, and he knew those changes came from the Savior. 

When baptism day rolled around, the font filled up slower then we were expecting. So Sister Wall, the Elders, and I ran around with pitchers of water so we could get the font filled up in time. It was a little chaotic but when it came time for the actual baptism, the chaos didn’t matter. Jason was happy to be making a covenant with God.

Even when difficult roadblocks popped up, Jason pushed through and made it to baptism. I’m grateful for his testimony, desire to connect with the ward, and example of the light and lasting change that comes from the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

#TKMTenderMercies

Tender Mercies in the TKM: Gary

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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