Sonia Shearer-hiett
I was born in Missoula, Montana January of 1964 to amazing, God fearing parents. My parents wanted 12 children as they each only had 1 sibling. My mother had 12 pregnancies, lost 3, but became foster parents to help children from homes that were not as fortunate as the one I grew up in. We adopted my youngest brother after getting him from Social Services at the age of 10 months. My parents taught us the value of hard work and having a quality work ethic. We ate a homemade breakfast each weekday at 6:00 a.m. with scripture study, lunch at noon and dinner at 5:30. My parents ran a very tight ship! All of our names start with “S”. My Mother would say, “You’ll know I’m done when the last child’s name is Stop!” I teased her about that in her later years that there was not a child named Stop and she said it wasn’t funny anymore! My Mother was an election judge and my parents always voted. We didn’t really talk politics, but I know my parents were Republicans.
In High School, I was involved in Student Government. Freshman Class President, Sophomore Class Secretary, my Junior year (as a sophomore) was elected the first Montana State Student Council President as well as the first female while in my Junior year, and Student Body Treasurer my Senior year. I left politics behind after graduating from High School.
I moved to Newport, Rhode Island to be a Nanny after graduating High School. I came home and moved to Salt Lake City where I raised my 4 children. I owned a very successful national candle company and when my husband and I divorced and he wanted to keep the business (which he bankrupted in a year and the debt came to me), I started my Personal Training career, which launched me into my very successful Boot Camp and TRX business. I raced road bikes competitively, spending 25 hours a week on the bike training. I was working about 25 hours a week and making over $100,000.00 a year and raising my children with no child support. I was loving life with my “rose colored” glasses on.
I moved to Texas for a short stint and went back to SLC. My Mother had passed away in 2011, so I came back to Missoula to help my Father through the summer of 2016. I was hit on my road bike in 2015 in Salt Lake and needed to return to have some surgeries to correct the damage to my CMC arthritis surgeries on both of my thumbs in 2012 as well as breaking the plastic part of my knee replacements, also from 2012. I recovered in SLC over the winter to return to Missoula in April of 2017 to be with my Father and help him. I ran into my husband in May of 2017 whom I had gone all 12 years with and known since I was 5. The rest is history!
Joe, my husband, was a “Trumper”. I didn’t like Trump, but I disliked Hillary more. Then I saw what Trump was doing for America and I liked it alot! I started moving toward Trump and his policies for America. On January 6, 2021, my husband was having his shoulder operated on at Bone and Joint in Missoula. As I watched CNN talk about the “Insurrection” I knew I needed to take my “rose colored” glasses off and figure out how to be educated in this political space. I delved in deep. I listened to so many podcasts and figured out who I really wanted to follow in that realm. It changed my reality. It changed my political mind. It started changing my religious view.
I was raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I was very religious growing up and my faith in Christ never waivered after leaving the LDS faith at about 41 years of age. My husband and I bought our ranch in September of 2019. We would pass Crosspoint Church every single day. Joe suggested we start attending Crosspoint. I kept telling him I had spent too many hours in church growing up and didn’t really want to go back to church. I could still pray and worship my Savior doing what I was currently doing. Things started changing in 2022. My oldest daughter returned from a year long cross country adventure with my granddaughter and her partner. My daughter was very sick and was in and out of the hospital for 7 months. It was a terrifying time as I didn’t think she was going to live. The medical team was finally able to get her stable enough to get her to SLC and get her on the liver transplant list early December of 2022. During that summer I was running for House 98 in Missoula. I was not able to campaign like I would have liked to having to be there for my granddaughter. When it was getting closer to election day, my husband said he wasn’t sure how we would be able to keep up the ranch and have me in Helena as he was currently working full time in Missoula. I prayed that if my Savior wanted me in Helena, He would help me win. I lost…thankfully! Our Savior knows what the future holds. My husband’s only son had returned from a 9 month deployment with the Marines in the fall of 2022. He moved to Virginia to be with his new girlfriend 2 days before Christmas. At 1:00 a.m. on January 10th, two sheriffs were standing at the door to deliver Joe the news that Joey had committed suicide at 10:00 p.m. on January 9th. The heartbreak was devastating. Then to find out that his girlfriend of only 2 months, because he was mad at his father at the time of signing up for the Marines. Had I won my race I would have had to vacate my seat to help Joe through the next weeks and months with this devastating time with his only daughter. My Savior knew what was going to happen in our lives.
After a few months, I told Joe it was time to go to church as I needed to be in His word with other followers of Christ and to heal from the loss of Joey. We were warmly greeted by the congregation that day. Which also happened to be baptism Sunday. I was deeply moved by how many were being baptized in the Chapel that day. Our Pastor, Bruce Speer, did a series on Job which was such a needed series at this time. Joe and I left church so many times in tears because of the words that Pastor Bruce spoke. It was as if he were speaking directly to us. We were baptized in August in the river with a total of 50 people committing to our Savior that day. We were deeply touched and moved by this wonderful day of fellowship followed by a bar-b-que with family and church friends at the river.
Joe and I have got skin in the game being Precinct Captains for Hellgate 97 and voted in as our Congressional Committeeman and Committeewoman for Missoula County. Being a Precinct Captain gives you the voting power within your precinct and costs you nothing to be involved. To find out more about what a Precinct Captain is visit https://www.precinctstrategy.com.
Pastor Bruce is so wonderful to give the political side a voice within our church, so he frequently gives me a platform to “put the lipstick on the pig” of politics. I have recruited several from our church to join our Missoula County Republican Central Committee after going through the Turning Point USA and Patriot Academy’s Biblical Citizenship class. We are growing in membership with so many great Christian Patriots.
Pastor Bruce gave me a copy of “A Canary In A Coal Mine”. I would read my daily scripture study and then, with the word of God in my mind, would start reading the book. I was marking it up like it was a Bible! It was so wonderful to get a biblical history and then where we are in this world. It is such an important book that needs to be heard in the next 6 months. Pastors who will not speak about this book should be called out. We are on a trajectory of losing America and the world if we do not win this next election. We all must be engaged as Christian Patriots. If we do not stand and speak out, watch out, be a Precinct Captain (male and female in each precinct), be Election Judges, Poll Watchers, etc., and vote we will be as responsible as those committing treason in America. I don’t want that to be on my head. Holding up the Kingdom of God by holding up the Kingdom of Men honors our Savior and His word.
I am grateful to have had the awesome privilege of speaking with Charles and his son to help participate in this journey to get “A Canary In A Coal Mine” in front of as many as we can before the election in November.
Thank you, Charles, for your courage to write this book with Dr. John Powers. I am grateful for all that you are doing to save America.
Sonia Shearer-Hiett
Precinct Captain Hellgate 97
Missoula County Congressional Committeewoman
Missoula, Montana
