Art's Conversion

This is the account of the conversion of the father of the Heffelfinger family, Art, by Brother Rob Oliver. Brother Oliver is a member of the Townsend ward who was critically involved with the Heffelfingers during their conversion to the gospel.
---
Art Heffelfinger was baptized in the early 1960's but knew little about the Church. His reason for joining was that the woman to which he was then married was a member and he felt that joining the Church would bring harmony to the marriage. However, the marriage ended soon after that and so did his interest in the Church. Over the next 40 plus years, his contact with the Church was sparse, but he did have some contact through Priesthood Leaders and neighbors. However, in recent years he and his wife and daughters had begun an affiliation with another church which was very liberal and expected little from them.

In the spring of 2009 our Relief Society Presidency made a visit to the Heffelfinger home. (See Preparing the Heffelfingers.) It was the first contact that had been made with the family since they moved into the Townsend Ward. The Presidency met with Sister Heffelfinger and their youngest daughter Leah, and although the meeting was brief, there were good feelings and a report was made to that effect at the next Ward Council meeting. As the Ward Mission Leader at the time I listened carefully and then asked the full-time Sister Missionaries to make a visit to the Heffelfinger home, which they did. Their meeting was also warm, and they talked again with Sister Heffelfinger and Leah. However, owing to a busy schedule, summer vacation, and such, there was no follow-up meeting.

In the early fall the Sisters were transferred out of Townsend and there were no full-time missionaries for awhile. As the Ward Mission Leader, I tried repeatedly to make contact with the family, but to no avail. When Townsend did receive full-time missionaries again the Heffelfinger family was at the top of the list to visit. However, it was not until Elder Lanham and Elder Roerdanz came that contact was made.

It was a Saturday afternoon in January of 2009 and the Elders were just new to Townsend. They dropped by our house for a visit and to discuss potential investigators. As per my request they had contacted Sister Heffelfinger, finally tracking her down at her work place in Helena. (See The Reason I Came) However, they had been unable to make a concrete appointment with the family. I suggested to the Elders that we jump in my vehicle and that we make the twenty mile drive to see the Heffelfinger. When we arrived, the family were all home including Art and the eldest daughter, Erin. This was the first contact with them. We were treated very hospitably and left with an appointment, feeling very good about our initial meeting.

L/R: Me, Sister H., Leah, Erin, Art, Elder Davis

Art came across as a very articulate individual. Many of the questions that he asked were more about intellect than about faith. My initial impression was that he would be the most difficult of the family to teach due to his emphasis on intellect and his lack of familiarity with Church doctrine. However, the missionaries began to teach, it was an amazing thing to see Art actually become the leader in the conversion process. He responded very positively to the commitments given by the Elders, and he was soon reading the Book of Mormon and other material in a very aggressive fashion. He actually was able to help other family members understand doctrines which he grasped very quickly.

I remember one experience which we had early on which proved to be very pivotal for Art. As we met on a particular night the elders asked if there were any questions. Art began asking questions about some of the reading he had done in the Book of Mormon. It was obvious from his questions that his purpose in reading was more about disproving the Book of Mormon than accepting it. This had been a theme detected over the course of the previous meetings we had had with Art. After we answered his questions I extended to Art the invitation to let the Book speak to him rather than trying to critically prove of disprove the Book. From that point, he opened his mind to receive the divine doctrine contained in the Book. He quickly gained a testimony and it began a change that was tremendous to behold.

In our discussions with the family, Art would frequently refer to some poor decisions that he had made. However, we did not pursue a discussion of those things with him. We explained that it was not our place to discuss these matters with him and that he was welcome to explore them with the Bishop, which he did. However, many of these things became public when Art was arrested and placed in jail for some of these poor choices.

From the time that Art led his family to begin attending Church there had a been a tremendous outpouring of love shown to the entire family by the other members of the Church. This was something that affected the Heffelfingers very deeply. Despite Art very public arrest, incarceration and subsequent trials, this outpouring of love was never withdrawn. It was a great strength to Art and his family.

In retrospect, was it coincidence that the sequence of events unfolded as they did. Absolutely not! It is obvious that the Lord's design in bringing this lost sheep to the fold was to demonstrate His love and support. As Art testimony of that love, of the truthfulness of the Gospel and of the Plan of Salvation grew so did his strength and commitment to change the things in his life that he needed to. His desire to make restitution for his wrong choices increased, but so did his capacity to do that.

Art road has not been an easy one. He is presently incarcerated in the Montana State Prison serving a ten year sentence for his crimes. Yet his faith remains strong and his hope for the future remains bright because of his testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For some this may appear to be a sad account, but for those of us involved in Art conversion it has been a wonder to behold the hand of the Lord as He has reached down from the Heavens on High and shown his love for one of His sons. Art knows that he is a son of God. He knows that he has worth. Even when the world is telling him what a hopeless cause he is, the Lord has shown him just the opposite is the case.

Art continues to do those things that he knows are right. He reads and studies his scriptures daily, he prays, and he looks forward to better day because of the Atonement of Christ which he understands now because of the teachings received at the hands of inspired full-time missionaries and the love shown by the members of the Townsend Ward.

-Rob Oliver
---