“Faith at Work” is a feature from Pacific Mormon Newsroom focusing on members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who are applying the teachings of Jesus Christ in their daily lives.
Mormons and the Pursuit of Excellence
Many Mormons take the pursuit of excellence seriously. Whether it be as a father, mother, student, in the workplace or on a sports field, Latter-day Saints around the world have a reputation for seeking to do the best they can.
This excerpt from the Church’s website, ‘Pursuit of Excellence,’ provides a glimpse into what motivates this approach to talent improvement: “Setting goals and working toward those goals can strengthen your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ by helping you develop patterns and qualities of discipleship in your life. Pursuit of Excellence can help you to follow the Savior's example of “a more excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31).
Nine-year-old Nadi boy, Hefu Erasito, is one who has taken this to heart. Some time ago he was watching television when he saw someone swimming in a pool. He thought to himself, I can do that.
Many hours of lessons and practices at his school pool later, he is now a champion swimmer.
At the Fiji national swimming championships on 31 May, Hefu stunned his parents, coach, teachers and fellow swimmers when he won eight gold medals. He also won two silver medals in relay events, and holds three records in his age group.
“I started swimming because I once watched a swimming ad. It interested me and from there, my desire to learn how to swim grew,” he says.
School swimming coach Elenoa Osborne said: “Our swimmers faced many challenges in the build-up to the competition, but they made it through.”
Hefu is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who, his parents say, always strives to do his best.