Tag: jesus-christ

Tender Mercies in the TKM: Susie

~ barlowsintkm ~ Leave a comment

Susie is originally from Maryland and moved to Cookeville out of the blue on Thursday May 16, 2024. She was leaving a rough situation and was looking for a new start.

On June 11, 2024, Sister Biasi and Sister Hunt got a referral for a woman named Monica who was looking for a church to attend. We called her and taught her about the sacrament and asked if she would come to our church for a chapel tour. When she agreed, we asked Monica if there was anyone else who would like to join for the tour. She started yelling for a girl named Susie.

Susie took the phone and we began teaching her about the sacrament and we ended the phone call with a church tour set up for Saturday with Monica, Susie, and 4 other girls!

On Saturday we showed up for the tour and only Susie ended up coming. As we were giving her the tour, we stopped at the baptismal font. As we opened the doors, we looked over at Susie and she was in tears. She then asked, “What do I have to do to be baptized?” We had an amazing member there who is a recent convert who quickly replied, “Stop swearing and stop smoking!!”  We taught Susie about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and ended the tour by inviting her to be baptized on July 6, 2024.

.

We began teaching Susie every other day in preparation for her baptism. We invited many members of our church to join us for those lessons, and they were a huge part in helping Susie prepare and overcome many challenges that would have held her back from being baptized. With their support and the help and strength from Jesus Christ and His Atonement, Susie was able to overcome all of her challenges.

As she started moving closer and closer to her date you could see this light growing brighter and brighter in Susie. She told us multiple times that for the first time in her life, she didn’t feel like she was going in circles any more. She felt a sense of purpose and was finally moving forward.

On July 27, 2024 Susie was baptized and on July 28th she was confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Susie is now working to go to the temple. She is looking forward to doing the work for Her grandma and sister.

.

Susie has since shared many experiences with us that led up to her meeting us. One of those was she was told by a friend that Utah would mean alot to her in the next month. Two weeks later she met two girls from Utah ready to help her receive Jesus Christ’s gospel. We know she was being prepared for a while and was finally in a place where she was able to do all she could to grow closer to Jesus Christ.

.

Susie is already such a GOLD STAR of a member. She has such sweet testimony of the gospel. We are so grateful for Susie and her example to us. As Susie would say, “The best is yet to come!” And we can’t wait!

#TKMTenderMercies

Book of Mormon in 65 Days!

~ 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