Gather In Podcast. Stories of Conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Murray Ceff interviews Elisha Harris. Elisha will give you a lot to think about!Elisha Harris is a former professional basketball player and coach who now inspires over 150,000 followers across Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. Based in Salt Lake City, she shares raw, faith-driven content focused on healing, purpose, and spiritual growth, encouraging others to break limiting beliefs, overcome life’s challenges through Jesus Christ, and step into their highest potential.

Part One.Josephine Last Whalebone—known to us simply as Josie—was born on King Island in Bass Strait during the 1940s, a small and remote island located between mainland Australia and Tasmania. Growing up in a Catholic family, Josie spent her early years on King Island before her family later moved to Tasmania. As an adult, she eventually followed her sisters to the Australian mainland, where she built a life in Melbourne, working, raising a family, and creating many lasting memories.I first met Josie about 25 years ago when missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints knocked on her door and began teaching her about their faith. Interestingly, this experience reminded Josie of an earlier time when she and her late husband, Bill, had been taught by sister missionaries while living in the Croydon area of Melbourne many years before.There was also an unexpected connection between Josie and my family. My wife had grown up on King Island, and sharing that background quickly created a strong bond between them. With a population of only a few thousand people, meeting someone else from King Island on the mainland is quite rare.This interview captures Josie’s remarkable life story, including her memories of growing up on King Island, her family experiences, and her personal faith journey. Josie has an incredible ability to recall the small details and meaningful moments from throughout her life, making this a fascinating conversation about history, family, and faith.Because of the length of the interview, it is being published in two parts.I hope you enjoy spending time listening to Josie share her life story.

Here the latest news of my plans for 2026! Links to other platforms Instagram - search for "Gather In Podcast" YouTube - "Gather In Podcast" Facebook - search for "Gather In - Conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints There are almost daily posts on all these platforms

10 years before he was born, Troy's mother became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His father took the older kids to a protestant Church for a while, but eventually gave up on that idea. What's it really like growing up in The Church?? Are they weird at all? Is it a cult?

Lorraine is a wonderful 89 year old sister in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have been friends with her, and her late husband Ralph, and late son Steve, for many years. This is her story about their conversion to the Church. I hope you enjoy listening to her tell the story as much as I did!

Sean Rogers was raised in a big LDS family, but it's fair to say that life has not been a bed of roses for him. But Sean is one of those persistent characters who has been through more trials than most of us, and has come out smiling, with stronger faith than ever. I think you'll find my interview with him here inspiring!Sean is a faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He currently serves as his Ward Mission Leader, Elders Quorum Secretary and also as a Temple Worker in Atlanta, Georgia.

Christina's family are all members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After a difficult time at high school, being bullied by her peers, Christina reached a point in her life where she really needed to know if God was there and if he truly did love her. This is a story about overcoming trials through faith in the power of the Saviour.

Belle Boxshall was born in Northern England just before the outbreak of World War II. With her father serving in the military, her mother raised the family through those early years of hardship. As a young woman, Belle married John — a Catholic — while she was a devoted Methodist.In 1965, they made the life-changing decision to emigrate to Australia, seeking a better climate for health reasons and a brighter future for their children.Then, one day in rural South Australia, a simple knock at the door from two young missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would change the course of their lives forever. This is Belle’s incredible journey of love, sacrifice, resilience, and spiritual discovery.👉 Subscribe for more inspirational true stories.🙏 Like if you believe in second chances and divine timing.💬 Comment to share your own story of faith or migration!

Sister Marriam has served in the Australia Melbourne Mission for the last 18 months. She is a convert, having joined the Church in 1981. Her native language is Urdu. She didn't speak a word of English before she started her mission! She has been a wonderful missionary and we will miss her very much when she goes home tomorrow (Saturday 22 Feb 2025).

Stephanie has terminal cancer, but we've managed to do this interview before life gets too uncomfortable for her. She reminisces about growing up post WWII in rural Victoria, Australia, and studying to be a nurse in Melbourne, and there meeting missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Within weeks she would become a member of the Church and within months met her future husband Neville and go onto raise her family, mainly in the Western District of Victoria. She is now staring death in the face and looks forward to reuniting with Neville, who passed away, from cancer, during the Covid epidemic of 2020.

Simon tells his story of leaving the Anglican Church in his teenage years, joining the Open Brethren, and then, invited by a friend and experiencing "holy envy", becoming a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Simon, his wife Yvonne and some of their family live in Sydney, Australia. He has served 3 missions (one in a very surprising location), two with Yvonne.

Born in 1933 in rural Australia, Helena Mauldon (Helena Farr to many of you) has a remarkable ability to recall details from her childhood, like riding a horse four miles to school as a five year old, with her six year old brother. Her conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and attending the Footscray Ward in Melbourne happened in the mid 1950s. I'm sure you'll love Helena, like we all do.

Solange Edith Valdez Watts was born in Chile in 1964. By the time she was 8 years old, there was political turmoil in Chile and her family migrated to Australia. Her father had joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Chile, but on settling in to Melbourne, had drifted away from the Church and Solange was raised as a Catholic. Missionaries came to visit and reignited the desire to be with the Church, and at 18 years of age, Solange was baptized and confirmed. As a young lady, Solange was introduced to Richard Watts, a recently returned missionary. They married after a short courtship of about 8 months (well, that's sort of average for LDS). They had 4 children and a few grand-kids, when Solange was diagnosed with a terminal illness, while her youngest son Nathan, was serving as a missionary in London. Solange miraculously survived long enough to see Nathan come home, which was all she prayed for. In this episode I interview, her husband Richard and their children - Dionne, Chantelle, Michael and Nathan. This is a truly uplifting episode! We hope you enjoy it!

(Had some sound issues with the first version of this that I uploaded. Hopefully this one is better.) Bob Grant has an amazing story to tell. He's been a member of more churches than most people have had hot dinners. Anglican, pentecostal, SDA and JW almost, and even his Dad's own church! He was introduced to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by an old hunting friend, which was appropriate as Bob had been hunting around for the true Church of Jesus Christ for years. Bob's wife Wendy joins in the conversation briefly towards the end, and will soon be interviewed to tell her story of conversion from Catholicism to also become a Latter-day Saint.

When Craig Sandford was 11 years old, growing up in my home town of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, his family became members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was not all smooth sailing though, and his parents later left the Church and even had their names removed from the Church records. Craig was committed though, and had an unshakeable testimony and went on to serve as a missionary. Many years later, just before being called to serve as Bishop, Craig had the privilege of re-baptizing his Mum. This is a great story and I'm sure that you'll learn something from it.

It was such a pleasure to interview my old friend, H. J. Brian Horsman. At almost 93 years of age, Brian is not the oldest person that I've interviewed (that was Robert (Bob) Lyon) but this is certainly the longest interview I have done. Even if you think you know Brian very well, I think there will be a few surprises here for you. Brian is somewhat a legend of the Church here in the Geelong Ward anyway. I'm pretty sure he is our oldest attending member. He was a convert back in the 1950's, and later served as one of the early Bishops of the Ward. Brian's wife Mary passed away earlier this year, and as she was going downhill, he cared for her the entire time (with some family assistance) at home. He was determined to fulfil his duty to love and care for her to the end. That's just the type of man he is. I hope you enjoy, and learn, from this interview

Murray interviews John and Nicole Stinchcombe about life growing up in post-war France and England and how they came to be members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We count the Stinchombes among the early pioneers of the Church here in Australia. They are known and loved by many here in the Melbourne region.

Betty Frew grew up in a tenement building in Scotland in the 1950's and '60's before following some extended family members and migrating with her husband to Australia. She met her late husband, Ray, when he was 16 and she only 14, but managed to hide her relationship with him for a couple of years, as there was a catch. Not only was she too young to have a boyfriend, but Ray was a Mormon! Betty was raised in a traditional Presbyterian home and for her parents, it was quite a shock to have their daughter wanting to go to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is a story of patience and faith, determination and romance! We hope you enjoy this interview.

40 years ago (1984) the Harvey family became members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Here, Robert Harvey tells his story about growing up in small towns in Australia, and eventually meeting the missionaries and being taught the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, and how his family was blessed and expanded because they became members of the Church.

Today's interview is with my good friend, Gavin Williamson. One beautiful women brought him in to the Church, and another beautiful women brought him back after he drifted away for a few years. I think you'll enjoy hearing his story. I did!