1. From 1892 to 1927, JC Garland of Millers Cove is the most-mentioned member of the Church in the journals of missionaries who served in Blount County – over 300 times in more than a dozen journals. He is last mentioned by name giving a quarter to Doris Russell at her baptism in 1927, which she believed was the most money she had ever seen in her life at that time. In August of 1896, JC Garland is photographed with 27 missionaries of the East Tennessee Conference and the president of the Southern States Mission, Elias S. Kimball. JC Garland is the only member in this photo who is not an ordained missionary. What can be inferred of JC Garland’s role in the Church from this photo and the volume of mentions in missionary journals over the years?
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JC Garland is the tall man standing behind the back row.
2. Charles Russell passed away at his home in Maryville on Christmas Day 1919. According to his daughter, Doris Russell, what did Charles Russell ask his wife, Martha, to always remember to do? Did she remember to do this, even 16 years later? The journal of Elder Leroy Armstrong provides an answer to the last question.
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“He told Mother to never turn the elders away – to always feed them and give them lodging.” [Doris Russell writing about her mother, Martha Russell]
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See April 2, 1935
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[Tuesday] – 2 April [1935] I arose at 5:30 this morning. There was no one else around at that time in the morning. I made myself ready for breakfast, also ready to travel. The lady at the mission home put me up a nice lunch. As soon as breakfast was over it became time to go so I, with the company of Elders [Kenneth Heber] Edwards, [Arthur Vernon] Bulkley and [Winston Merriam] Crawford, set out. They saw me off to Knoxville, Tennessee where I am now and will probably be here for a while. I am staying with Sister [Martha Elizabeth] Russell who is a member of the Church.
3. Elder David Black baptized two members in Cades Cove in 1922. Before being transferred to Blount County, he baptized a person in Alabama. What is this person’s name? Why is this person so special to David Black?
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Look at the name of the person tagged in photo above.
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4. In 1937, Elder Mitchell Lillywhite participated in the baptisms of Nole Harmon and Alberta Harmon. 42 years later, in 1979, he wrote something profound about what his mission meant to him. What did his mission do for him and what did he learn while serving the Lord?
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“I enjoyed my mission very much. It was the most enjoyable time of my life. My life was completely changed. I knew I could accomplish any assignment with God’s help.”
Source: FamilySearch Memory
5. In 1912, Elder George Sampson participated in four baptisms in Blount County. In his mission acceptance letter to Joseph F. Smith, what did he humbly say about serving a mission and what scripture does it remind you of?
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Lyman, Wayne Co[unty]
May th[e] 23, 1912
Mr. Joseph F. Smith
Dear Brother,
I received your letter of the 17th, stating that I have been cho[s]en as a missionary to the Southern States. As far as I know now I will be ready to go. I fill (sic) my inability by I am willing to go and do the best I can in helping to spread the gospel. Asking the Lord to bless you. I [illegible] yours. Brother in the gospel.
George [Alma] Sampson
Do his words remind you of this scripture?
And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them. (1 Nephi 3:7)
6. Long before there was a Maryville Branch, Maryville Ward and Smoky Mountain Ward in Blount County, the missionaries worked to organize Sunday Schools. When and where was the first “Sunday School” of the Church of Jesus Christ established in Blount County?
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7. Cora Woody (Gardner) is mentioned in mission journals and was a faithful member of the Church, having been baptized in 1894. She died in 1908, at age 31. Missionaries noted her illness in mission journals. Elder Neil A. Anderson said, “The gift of faith is a priceless spiritual endowment.” Cora Woody was gifted with this faith. What did the Church’s official publication, which was known as the Elders’ Journal, say about her faith and what her life-ending illness was?
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8. Elder Loren Blain died three months after he returned home from his mission in Tennessee, in 1919. He participated in eight baptisms in Blount County. What was his cause of death?
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Cause of death is on the right side of death certificate.
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More context: Thanks to Elder Thomas Sutton, who took a camera with him on his mission and labeled his mission photo album, there are a number of photos of Elder Blain available. His photos can be found on his Family Search Memories.
9. Regarding 19th-century race relations, missionaries from the West were no more or no less enlightened than their contemporaries around the country. Most missionaries met African Americans for the first time when they arrived in Tennessee and noted these experiences in their journals. For example, Elder Robert Young documented his time with a black man discussing the gospel. He then received a gift from this man and noted it in his journal. It was the first and only time he received this gift on his mission. What was it?
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See November 7-8, 1893
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Tuesday – 7 [November 1893] Knob Road. Went over [the] Little River and started to canvass on the Sevierville Road. Had dinner with J. A. Keeble. He invited us back. We stayed overnight with Clifford Sloan. Talked on the gospel with a colored man until quite late. 6 h[ouses], 7 tracts, 6 [miles]
Wednesday – 8 [November 1893] Ella Joy. The colored man offered me a few coppers this morning, the first that has (sic) been offered. Started to canvassing as before. The people are very careless about the gospel. Had dinner with [the] widow [of] Harvey Latham. Went to the Sevier [County] line, then turned back on the Ella Joy road. Stayed with R. A. Garner. Had a very nice time… We were kindly invited back. 28 h[ouses], 13 t[racts], 6 [miles]
10. Elder Howard Randall participated in four baptisms in Blount County. He was called to be stake president of the Morgan Utah Stake after his mission. How many years did he serve as stake president?
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Smoky Mountain Ward 