Sheri's Conversion

Please see The Reason I Came.

I will never forget the day when I stepped into the office of Sheri Heffelfinger. I still remember perfectly how she looked up from her desk and smiled. The Spirit flooded the room, and we felt such an excitement. It's a good feeling, when, as a missionary, I meet someone for the first time, and the Spirit is that strong. It means something amazing is about to happen.

And something amazing did happen.
In the last few articles, I've written briefly about the conversion process of the two Heffelfinger Daughters.
This is my perspective of the conversion of their mother.

I had been prepared to meet Sheri long before our meeting.
The first area in which I served in Montana was Livingston. Just south of Livingston, in beautiful Paradise Valley, live a group of people referred to as members of C.U.T., or Church Universal and Triumphant.

Preparing the Heffelfingers

The three visiting teachers who found the Heffelfingers

See The Reason I Came.
Here is a firsthand account by a member of the Townsend Ward Relief Society, on finding the Heffelfinger family and preparing them to receive the missionaries. The Relief society is the womens organization in the Church whose purpose is to help others. They often meet with members of the church, who, for whatever reason, have stopped coming to church. Here is the account:

American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us

See original page here.
A new and important study of religion in America has, among other things, a good deal to say about members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Recently published under the title American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us, the sociological study was conducted by scholars Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell and yields valuable insight to the nature and social effects of American religion. Drawing from in-depth new surveys, the study’s authors affirm that in many respects, religion in America exerts a healthy influence upon American society — one that typically promotes generosity, trust, neighborliness, and civic engagement. And while Mormons are a relatively small component of American society, the study data reveals that they play a conspicuous part in American religious life.
Among the study’s findings related to Latter-day Saints are the following:

A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief

This simple video speaks volumes.
Christ had no motive to save us other than love.
He owed us nothing.
We certainly deserve nothing.
But He has given us everything.
We ought to emulate him, and give as well to those around us the gift of our love;
For when we serve others, we are really serving Him.
Here is one of my favorite hymns that describes this principle:

A poor, wayfaring Man of grief
Hath often crossed me on my way,
Who sued so humbly for relief
That I could never answer nay.
I had not pow’r to ask his name,
Whereto he went, or whence he came;
Yet there was something in his eye
That won my love; I knew not why.

Erin's Conversion

See Leah's Conversion and The Reason I Came.
As we began to teach the Heffelfinger family, we were excited at the progress that Leah and her parents were making. We began to teach in their home twice per week; once for Leah, with her parents present; and once for the parents. Each member of the family was at a different point spiritually, and all had different questions. We were amazed (I'm still amazed) at how they were able to drink in the gospel so fully and deeply. As the weeks went by, they ceased to be the family I first knew. They had significantly changed.

We were very concerned, however because up to this point, only three of the four family members were attending lessons.

Erin, the seventeen-year-old daughter, was still on the outside of this miraculous conversion. We really had no connections to her. There was nothing for us to go on, and no common ground for us to use to invite her in to the lessons. She politely declined her parents' invitations. We met her at the door a few times, and she would say hello, smile, and then excuse herself to her room to do homework.
I remember praying that we would find some way to get through to her. I wanted so badly to have the entire family investigate, embrace, and live the gospel.
We continued teaching the rest of the family, amazed at the Lord's hand in their conversions.

Erin began to listen.

Remember Not the Things of Old

The new year has started, and it is time to move higher and upward, forward and  onward. We can't allow the mistakes of the past to bind us down any longer.

This is a new video from www.lds.org. It can also be found at:

http://www.youtube.com/user/mormonmessages?blend=1&ob=4#p/c/4E784EC0770935C0

Isaiah 43:18-19
Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.
Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.