“It’s always 1830 or 1840 somewhere in the Church.”

– Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

In May 1892, 29-year-old Robert Young had just buried his wife three months earlier in the frozen earth of Bear Lake, Idaho when he received a letter from President Wilford Woodruff calling him to serve as a missionary in the Southern States Mission. Robert joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints two years earlier and he was now a single parent caring for his newborn son. Yet, he was asked to serve in a mission that was well known for “anti-Mormon” mobs, even the murder of three missionaries. Robert gathered his faith to pick up a pen and wrote the following response to the prophet:

This event put into motion the beginning of the Restoration in Blount County, Tennessee. On August 30, 1892, Elder Young arrived by train in Maryville and wrote in his journal that night, “I was so tired, I thought I could not stand it.” He began making friends in the county and sharing the gospel to all who could hear. Nonetheless, it would be almost a year before he would begin baptizing the first converts. Opposition to the Church in Maryville was strong, especially in the local newspapers. This opposition led Elder Young to publish an article in the Maryville Times in which he shared his testimony of Jesus Christ, the prophet Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. Following his article, he received a new companion named William Ricks. Elder Ricks is the brother of Thomas Ricks who founded Ricks College, now known as BYU Idaho. Elder Ricks was also the neighbor of Martin Harris, one of the Three Witnesses and the man who financed the first publication of the Book of Mormon. Martin testified that the Book of Mormon has been “translated by the gift and power of God, for his voice hath declared it unto us.” The Three Witnesses further testified, “We declare with words of soberness, that an angel of God came down from heaven, and he brought and laid before our eyes, that we beheld and saw the plates, and the engravings theron; and we know that it is by the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, that we beheld and bear record that these things are true.” This is the testimony that Elder Young and Elder Ricks brought to Blount County, Tennessee.

It was now 1830 in 1893-Blount County. On August 5, 1893, two converts walked to Abrams Creek with Elder Robert Young and Elder Leo Shelley and entered the waters of baptism. Four more would do the same November 30 with Elder Young and his new companion, Elder William Ricks. Two of the first baptized would make covenants in the temple in Salt Lake City in 1909 – JC and Sarah Garland. They would assist in establishing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for decades in Blount County, becoming “dear friends” with even a future member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles who would later confirm JC Garland’s youngest son a member of the Church. This apostle is Elder Charles A. Callis who first served as president of the Southern States Mission and worked closely with JC Garland growing the Church for many years in Blount County. Decades earlier, when Charles A. Callis was a young boy living in Dublin, Ireland, the missionaries found him wandering barefoot on the cold city streets. Out of concern for the boy, they took him home and later baptized his family. The missionary who baptized him felt he never accomplished anything on his mission, having only baptized “a dirty little Irish kid,” as told by President James E. Faust in General Conference in 1991. Many years later, Elder Callis sought out this missionary at his home in Montana and introduced himself as the “dirty little Irish kid” and an apostle of the Lord. As the Restoration continued in Blount County, mission calls were sent to young men in Utah, Idaho and Arizona. These young men would continue to respond to the prophet with words similar to Nephi’s, “I will go and do” (1 Nephi 3:7).

Over the years, one by one, Blount County residents would join the Church. Each member baptized is a testament to the work of the Lord and His timeline. In missionary journals, it is evident some members accepted the gospel within months of learning of it and others many years later. The Lord spoke to the first members according to their language. Nephi expressed that his “soul delighteth in plainness; for after this manner doth the Lord God work among the children of men.” The Lord speaks to us individually in ways, or in a language, we can uniquely understand. “For the Lord God giveth light unto the understanding; for he speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding” (2 Nephi 31:3). Some members experienced dreams or visions that led them to accepting the gospel. One member, Elmyra Garland, was “bitter against our people,” according to Elder Abinadi Porter’s 1902 journal entry. Elmyra was nearly on her death bed when she had a vision of two men arriving in the mist of the Smoky Mountains reaching out to heal her. In her dream, she promised that she would join their Church. Not long after this dream, Elder Abinadi Porter and his companion arrived at her bedside and placed their hands on her head to give her a priesthood blessing. She was baptized a few years later.

In time, opposition to the Church would become less hostile but it did not end. Hearts were softened by the examples of members of the Church. As the Lord said to Alma and the sons of Mosiah, “Go forth…that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls” (Alma 17:11). In 1920, there was a drought in Cades Cove. As the children were discussing this in school, six-year-old Ether Harmon proposed they pray for rain. Mockingly, the children told Ether to go pray. He walked out of the school and into the woods where he kneeled down and spoke to Heavenly Father, asking for Him to send rain. By the end of the school day, the rain came down and did not stop for days. 73 years later, long-time resident of Cades Cove, Kermit Caughron, told this story of the young Latter-day Saint. He said that after this experience of Ether’s prayer, any time rain was needed, the school children would ask Ether to pray. Ether could not wait to officially become a member of the Church, so much so that he was baptized on his eighth birthday June 2, 1922. Elder Thomas Gibby baptized him, writing in his journal that day, “The few Saints bore their testimonies to the truthfulness of the gospel. The little boy, [Ether Harmon], also bore his testimony, which was sure fine for a boy so young.”

“Embrace your sacred memories. Believe them. Write them down. Share them with your family. Trust that they come to you from your Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son. Let them bring patience to your doubts and understanding to your difficulties.” 

– Elder Neil L. Anderson

The faith of these first members and missionaries have influenced and blessed many lives, and continue to do so. Marie Holder is Ether Harmon’s daughter. In 1963, Marie accepted an unsolicited mission call to New Zealand where she served with honor. Today, her face lights up when she is asked about her time as a missionary. She bears a powerful witness to missionary work and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Her grandfather, Samuel Harmon, is mentioned in at least ten extant mission journals and described as a humble, faithful man. He was the 13th member of the Church of Jesus Christ in Blount County by mid-1895, and the first of 26 Harmons by 1939. His wife, Polly, was baptized one month after him. They had eleven children together. In 1895, President Gordon B. Hinckley’s great uncle served in Blount County and met the Harmons at a baptism in Millers Cove. One hundred years later, President Hinckley said, “You want to be happy? Forget yourself and get lost in this great cause, and bend your efforts to helping people” (in Church News, Sept. 9, 1995, 4).

Since Marie Holder’s mission to New Zealand, dozens of missionaries have responded to modern-day prophets to leave Blount County to serve missions for the Lord. In 2025, the first missionaries were called to serve from the Smoky Mountain Ward. These missionaries follow in the footsteps of those who have gone before them, those whose stories are highlighted on this site who brought the Restoration to Blount County. Smoky Mountain missionaries will continue to be witnesses of the ongoing Restoration and all bless many lives as instruments in His hands. These posts contain the stories of the first members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Blount County and their missionaries who responded to the call of a prophet.

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