On March 10-13, we were very excited to welcome Elder David L. Buckner and his wife Jennifer for a mission tour of the Tennessee Knoxville Mission. This was our third mission tour since we’ve arrived in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission. Shortly after we arrived, we welcomed Elder and Sister Bowen and Elder and Sister Corbitt. Last year we were blessed to have Elder and Sister Nattress tour the mission.
Prior to the mission tour, we participated in a historic event in the mission. Because of the growth happening in East Tennessee, on Sunday, March 9th, the Kingsport Stake was divided to create the Kingsport and Johnson City Stakes. It is very exciting to see a new stake created because the church growing and thriving in wonderful ways. The Lord is truly hastening His work!
The units in the Kingsport Stake now include the Greeneville Ward, Kingsport Ward, Powell Valley Ward, Rogersville Branch, Rotherwood Ward, and joining from the Cumberland Stake are the Lakeway Ward and Newport Branch.
The units in the new Johnson City Stake include the Abingdon Ward, Bristol Ward, Gray Ward, Johnson City Ward, Marion Branch, Watauga Ward, and Kingsport YSA Branch.
Our mission tour started on Monday. We first met with Elder and Sister Buckner, and then were off to meet with MLC for most of the day. In MLC, we discussed what is going well and what needs improvement. Sister Buckner noted that the Book of Mormon is bookend by tender mercies in 1 Nephi 1 and Moroni 10. We should look for these tender mercies every day. As we do so, the hand of God will be very evident in our lives. Elder Buckner shared that wherever there is a gap, the adversary will insert fear or darkness. We cannot convert people. It’s the Spirit’s role to convert people. Our focus should be to bless, bear witness, and invite people to act in ways that will build their faith in Jesus Christ. This is the one time in your life that you will get to do this in this unique way as a missionary, so remove any obstacles that are getting in the way and focus on this moment. There are angels around you, some who you know. They aren’t just hear cheering you on. They are here to lift you and help you.
We had zone conferences on both Tuesday and Wednesday. While both had things that were unique, there were many repeated themes.
Sister Buckner shared that her and Elder Buckner set a goal to listen to every talk from General Conference every month for the six months between conferences. So they’ve reviewed every talk at least six times. She noted that 25 of the 34 talks use the word “power”, and that “power” was referenced 103 times. This shows that receiving God’s power in our lives is a prophetic priority. She shared seven ways to access God’s power:
- Be willing to go and do. Have a heart that says, “I will go, send me.”
- Through covenants and ordinances. Look up Faith in the Topical Guide. the first things it says is “See baptism.”
- Wear the garment.
- Focus on the message of the restored gospel. This will bring power. Smile as you share it.
- Read the Book of Mormon every day. This is the most powerful tool for conversion.
- Be obedient to missionary standards. As you use your agency to choose to be obedient, you are promised power.
- Power in your purpose. When you live the doctrine of Christ yourself, you will have greater power to invite others.
Elder Buckner talked about finishing his mission, getting on the plane to go home, slipping his shoes off, leaning back in his chair, and as the plane took off he said, “No regrets.” He invited all of us to serve in a way where we would have no regrets. He noted that doesn’t mean “no mistakes.” It doesn’t mean being perfect. It means doing all you can to fulfill your purpose while you are here and have the chance to do so. He used an analogy of a puzzle to help us think about gospel questions we will have in life. As we put together a puzzle, we begin with the edges, because they are easy. These represent primary principles of the gospel. We then start organizing groups of colors. What do you do when a piece doesn’t fit? Do you throw it away? Or course not. Why? Because you know it fits somewhere, you just don’t know where right now. So you keep it, set it aside for later, when you know you will see where it fits. We can look at our questions in similar ways. He then taught us about the doctrine of Christ. We have faith that leads us to repentance. There is power of turning and returning brought about by repentance. We take the sacrament to repair us each week. You can’t repair yourself from sin, you need the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We then take upon us the name of Jesus Christ through covenants, and receive revelation through the Spirit. We endure to the end by lookin forward with faith and continuing to change. He noted the Savior waited until the last minute to say, “It is finished.” We should not declare that we are finished prematurely. Keep enduring and He will help us to improve.
The afternoon of each zone conference was spent counseling together about steps we can take to improve on our three key priorities.
- Helping more people attend church.
- Helping more friends who are on date get baptized.
- Finding through members.
Asheville, Cumberland, Kingsport, and Johnson City Zones
On Tuesday, March 11th, we met at the building in Greeneville, Tennessee with the Asheville, Cumberland, Kingsport, and Johnson City Zones.
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Chattanooga, Cleveland, Cookeville, and Knoxville Zones
On Wednesday, March 11th, we met at the Farragut building with the Chattanooga, Cleveland, Cookeville, and Knoxville Zones.
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After MLC on Monday, we had a devotional with all of the senior missionaries in the mission. We love these missionaries. They each are making a tremendous difference for both the missionaries they work with and the members they serve.
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We also stopped by the Knoxville Tennessee Temple site to visit with Elder and Sister Markli. It’s exciting to see the progress at the temple each time we stop by.
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Lastly, we were grateful to have Samantha join us for MLC, where Elder Buckner put her right to work. We can’t express how grateful we are for Samantha. She LOVES Tennessee and is having a wonderful experience here. She’s a big multiplier when it comes to our service as mission leaders.
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Barlows in TKM 