Sometimes here at Women Seeking Christ, we share stories about men seeking Christ, too. This story is also about a woman sharing about her faith in way that changed someone’s life. [It ended up changing hers, too, but that isn’t the story today.)

My daughter shared this video with me and I thought it was worth passing along. It is an interesting interview with Andy Rosenberg, a 17-time Emmy award winning NBC sports director, who talks about his journey from being Jewish to atheist to eventually learning about and joining The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But he talks about a lot more as well. If you like sports, you will likely enjoy his lens on sports as an expert in bringing sports moments to life for viewers. The video includes many images from sports moments in the Olympics and in other sports realms. [For some reason, sports is a theme as of late, but what drew me to his story was his religious journey. I had no idea I was going to learn so much about sports broadcasting as well! My daughter is a sports fan, so I’m sure she also loved that part of the interview as well.]

https://www.facebook.com/FindHisLightFlorida/videos/899388221003150

If you don’t have a Facebook account (and I wouldn’t blame you if you don’t), you can read a little about his story here. https://www.thechurchnews.com/archives/2001-09-08/olympic-visitors-are-in-for-a-treat-112613

Rosenberg was first introduced to the Restored Church of Jesus Christ at the Seoul, Korea Olympic games. He was introduced to a colleague working on graphic design at the Games, and she was introduced as a “Mormon.” His first instinct was to think she was probably a “religious freak” and he didn’t think much of it, until he saw that she was just another person doing her job. He started to ask her questions. He quietly observed. He read and learned from people like Jan Shipps outside the faith to ensure it wasn’t a cult. He opened up to the missionaries. His friend invited someone who had been Jewish before joining the Church so he could connect with someone about what it meant to him to come to believe in Jesus Christ. He read the Book of Mormon, committing to read the whole book before he would consider joining the Church. He could see that this book would be the lynchpin. The Book of Mormon talks directly about Jews, and at first that threw him off. But he tried again and “the book was just covered with blue ink” as he marked things that stood out to him. He could feel the voice of God in the text.

The turning point came when he came to Alma 32 about planting, and growing, and nurturing a seed of faith. He kept “testing and reading” and finished the book and knew then that he was ready to be baptized. But even with those feelings, he was concerned because he was more liberal and more accustomed to a more liberal sociocultural environment. He was worried he wouldn’t feel like he belonged. But of his choice to join the Church and of Shari’s willingness to share it with him, he says, “she got me into something terrific.” [He ended up marrying Shari Conover, the design expert who was in Seoul at the same time he was, also working as a freelance graphics operator for the Olympics.)

Hear his story and also many of his experiences working with NBC for 30 years, trying to give the viewer an experience with sports that is “better than a front row seat.”

He shares lessons he has learned from a some world-class athletes like Roger Federer (he summarizes the character of “truly great” athletes who are great because they are “great as a human being” — the who they are transcends what they do. He uses a quote on the outside of the Wimbledon clubhouse where a line from Rudyard Kipling’s “If” stands to illustrate what he means:

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
    And treat those two impostors just the same…

Rosenberg talks about memorable sports moments with people like Michael Johnson in Atlanta in 1996, or Usain Bolt having fun with the camera right before a competition, or one of Michael Jordan’s last games, or Magic Johnson wanting to “win for the team” (Rosenberg connects this idea to the gospel of Jesus Christ — that it’s for everyone).

I was especially moved as he talked about his experience going to church with Via Sikahema (former National Football League (NFL, American football) during the Athens Olympics. Meetings were held in a 7th-story building that the Church was renting. Rosenberg says,

“Needless to say…[channeling an idiom] it was all Greek to me! But in and amongst that [which was foreign to me] were lots of visitors who were there for the Olympics as well as lots of Olympians from [many] different countries…dotting the globe who had taken time from their day, from their practice, to come to church, to show reverence to God, to commune with God….And then when it came time for the hymns, the bulk of the congregation sang…in Greek. We [who were visitors] each sang it in the language we knew. The spirit that I felt, irrespective of the language was enormous…to know that’s what it’ll be like when we get to the other side, beyond this life, to teh other side of the veil when we’re all together. We’ll all be together as one, we will have come from all these totally different backgrounds, totally different languages, but we’ll be all there with our Heavenly [Parents]. Is there anything more glorious than that?”

In a world where we often define and divide ourselves, I thought his reflections from that church experience in Greece were valuable to remember. We are all children of God, each having our own experiences on this earth. Even if we share faith (or even if we don’t) our lives are unique and the language God uses to speak to us can be unique and our journey to find our way and to find truth and to find God is unique. Someday we will all see beyond what we can see and will be able to see and understand more about what we were blind to here. But this interview reminds me that I want to do what I can to try to see beyond the dividing lines while on this side of the veil, too. Thanks for the reminder, Brother Rosenberg.

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~by Beth

When my husband and I were first married, we lived in the northwest part of the United States, where he played on the ward softball team. In one of those games, his wedding ring spun off his hand into the dirt, and he couldn’t find it again. I had bought the ring for him, and I got mad at him about that mishap, even though it was only an accident. I was the one working at the time, while he was a student and “I” bought him another ring, with money “I” earned, then I kept feeling snippy.  Every now and then I would remind him about it in not-especially-kind ways.  

Fast forward a few years, and we were traveling from our home to Northern California, with a baby on board. Our son filled his (cloth) diaper just before we pulled into a wayside gas station. I took my rings off to rinse out the diaper, and then I forgot them, leaving them on the back of a toilet tank is some obscure Oregon town.  

I didn’t realize I had lost the rings until later that night.  I had a very humbling moment when I realized it, and told him. What he did was one of the many shining moments of our marriage. He managed to keep his face completely neutral, and then he helped me do what we could to get the rings back. They were long gone. And he didn’t say anything about the fact that my rings were more expensive, because they had a diamond. He bought me a modest band sometime soon, which was exactly fit with our financial circumstances at the time.  

Fast forward again. A few years later, he had a career and we were living in comfortable financial circumstances. One quiet Sunday afternoon, when all our kids were napping, he asked me if I wanted a diamond ring. He didn’t even say “another” diamond ring. He asked it like it was a spontaneous idea with no history, and a cheerful gift thought. I decided I didn’t really want another one, because I imagined — when I looked at my left hand with NO diamond — I thought of the value of having a husband who forgives me. 

And when he forgave me again for something else (an ongoing story, after 44 years), I imagined the immaterial gem of forgiveness growing in weight.  It now outstrips the Hope Diamond.  

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~by Beth

Editor’s note: I heard Beth [not her real name] share this story years ago in a Relief Society lesson. (Relief Society is the women’s organization in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.) It has always stuck with me. She shared it in a way that had us all laughing, because we could all see ourselves in her story (and she is a wonderful storyteller). I recently asked if she would be willing to write up this memory so others could reflect on her experience.

“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” Matthew 7:1-2

Once upon a time, I had a neighbor I had conflicted feelings about. I admired lots of things about her. She helped our ward choir sound several levels of professionalism beyond a bunch of volunteers. She taught a lot of piano lessons to kids who made wonderful progress in musicality. She taught “cultural refinement” lessons that were mind-expanding and worthy of college courses. 

But I also found myself also making negative judgments I didn’t enjoy in myself. One day I sat myself down to figure out what, exactly, I felt annoyed about. I narrowed it down to these things. It seemed like her house was always messy. (I feel sheepish writing this, because I realize now that none of those things are my business.) It seemed like the whole family yelled a lot. And it seemed like their front door slammed all day long.  

Fast forward to our next army assignment, in a country in Europe. We lived in a row house where, typical for living spaces in this area, our front door was only about 50 feet from the back door of my neighbor’s house. She and her husband were empty nesters, and she was a stay-at-home housekeeper.  Every Friday (unless it was snowing), she moved all the living room furniture onto the patio, then she scrubbed and polished the floor, a two- or three-hour process every week. And she aired all the comforters out the bedroom windows nearly every morning. 

After I’d been her neighbor for a few months, I realized, Wow. Compared to hers, my house is really pretty messy. About the same time, I realized that people in this particular country, who generally live closer to each other than Americans do, have a lower volume of conversational speech. It dawned on me, Wow. Compared to my neighbors, it must seem like my family yells at each other all the time. A crowning moment came a few weeks later when our front door lock broke, and the ONLY WAY we could shut the door (till we got it fixed) was by slamming it. 

This experience has been a lasting lesson to be cautious in making any judgments about other people. [See video below.]

___________

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This is a vulnerable post for me, so please be nice.

I am grateful for second chances. That you can change what you want to be when you grow up.

I started drinking alcohol when I was 12. I overdosed from alcohol at 14 and almost died. I started smoking marijuana at 15. At 20, I started cocaine and meth (we called it crank), along with a variety of different drugs with different nicknames. Once, I was sitting around with a bunch of “bikers” and one of them said “We are free! We don’t follow laws! We live by our own rules!” I never felt so trapped and lost. I did meth every single day for six months, which almost destroyed my marriage. I quit cold turkey and never looked back.

So, if you ever wonder why I jumped at becoming a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, please reread the above paragraph. I feel like God personally plucked me out of a bad situation, and I thank Him every single day.

I am thankful for peace and comfort and the knowledge that our Savior understands us personally and never holds a grudge. It’s been about 7 years now that my dad said to me, “You must not be real smart and must be uneducated to be a member of the ‘Mormon’ church.” I respectfully said to him, “Would you rather have me doing drugs, drinking until I pass out, and having little to no morals?”

I ended with, “Thanks, but I am good staying just where I am.”

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One summer, I decided to learn about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Actually, this is not as strange as it seems. As a college professor, I was off for the summer and had a lot of time to myself. I also happened to live a few blocks from ‘Mormon Trek Boulevard’ and near the Mormon Handcart Park in Iowa. New to the area, I often wondered, what was the ‘Mormon Trek’? And why is there a park for handcarts? So, I went to the university library and borrowed a handful of books about the history and culture of the Church, topped it off with a Book of Mormon, and began reading.

I learned about the Church’s teachings, such as Family Home Evening, the Word of Wisdom, and its support of family life. It all appealed to me as a good way to live. At the time, my grown son shared my home. I’d read, get excited, and go talk to him about it. It got to the point where he’d hear me coming and call out, “Are you going to talk about ‘Mormons’ again?”

I also watched any Church-related YouTube videos I could find, especially opening mission calls, which I found intriguing. While some were serious, others were full of good-natured fun, with families pinning their guesses on a map – and everyone seemed so happy. Why? I’d seen missionaries in the cold and rain. I learned that they didn’t get paid and couldn’t watch TV. I wasn’t sure what there was to be happy about. And yet, there must be something about this Church that made people ecstatic about giving up part of their lives when others enjoyed a carefree college experience or starting a career. Around this time, I also felt prompted to do something a little weird. One day, I drove up to the church and took a look. I don’t know what I expected the building to tell me, but I went and sat in the parking lot anyway.

As I worked through my readings, I learned about General Conference, the semi-annual meeting during which Church leaders give talks on “how to find peace, hope, and joy in Jesus Christ; how to strengthen families by following Jesus’s teachings; and how to receive personal guidance and inspiration from God”¹ and decided to watch. I figured they were probably going to scream and tell me I was going to hell, but misgivings aside, I tuned in. Maybe I’d find out why those missionaries were so happy.

It turned out that Conference was nothing like I expected. I often describe it as ‘homey’ – so warm and comfortable.  Instead of being told I was an irredeemable sinner, I heard caring people speak on a variety of topics. Most meaningful to me were Elder Claudio R.M. Costa’s² talk on obeying the prophets (the concept of a living prophet was new to me) and how Elder Jeffrey R. Holland³ showed that ‘regular’ people could serve the Lord as they served His children. I didn’t need to be perfect. Again, I rushed to share my feelings with my son (“You aren’t going to talk about ‘Mormons’ again, are you, Mom?)

A week or so later, I was preparing for class one evening when there was a knock at the door. I peeked out to see two missionaries standing in the chilly October night. What luck! Finally, I could talk to someone about the Church. I asked them to wait while I got myself together. When I opened the door again, I had my stack of books and blurted out excitedly, “Did you see the Conference?” Eyes like saucers does not begin to describe the look on their faces! We spent an hour on my front porch talking about Conference and what I’d read. One of them looked at my books, noting I already had a Book of Mormon. “Oh no, this belongs to the library. It isn’t mine,” I responded. Again, his eyes got big and he gave me my own copy. Months later I learned that they had gone to all the other houses on my street. I was the last one and the only person who opened the door! I was meant to have that book.

Even though I tried to convince myself that I was only curious and not looking for a new religion, I invited the missionaries back. I went to a few services. I also went to activities at church and found a wonderful community in the Relief Society, the Church’s organization for women. At times, I thought I could never be one of them – they were so nice, they had such close-knit families, and they could quote scripture, which I still can’t do.

After a few months of investigating and with my son suggesting, “Why don’t you just get baptized already?” I started to give it some serious thought, but hesitated. Being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was more than just going to services on Sunday and doing what I wanted the rest of the week. It was deciding to make Christ an integral part of my everyday life and to join a community of people who had committed to the same. While I struggled with the decision, I was reminded of a scene in ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.’ Indy stands at the brink of a chasm separating him from the Holy Grail, which he needs to save his father’s life. Like me, he also struggles with the decision to move ahead, but finally he steps out into the void, taking a leap of faith, and a bridge appears. I knew that’s what I had to do. I didn’t have all the answers. I wasn’t sure what being a member would mean, but I knew I needed to take that leap to have the life I wanted. So, I got baptized. A year later, three of my original missionaries were still in the field and were able to join me at the Nauvoo Temple as I received my endowment. What a happy day it was for all of us!

Now, with almost 10 years in the Church, I have been blessed by the knowledge that whatever happens, God is there, and I cannot fail. When I faced a life-changing trial, people asked how I remained calm, even happy. Before baptism, I might have given in to despair, but as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ, I felt secure in the Lord’s saving grace and that there was a heavenly plan for me. I knew I would be all right – and I was.  

I have been blessed by following the Prophets’ guidance. As of this writing, the COVID-19 pandemic still affects daily life in my town. By following the Prophets advice, I had enough food storage during the height of the pandemic and did not struggle to fulfill my needs.  Importantly, since I didn’t need to go to the store, whatever I would have purchased was available for another.

Finally, I mentioned I live near Mormon Handcart Park. Saints immigrating from Europe left from here to go to West. Those who could not afford wagons, built handcarts and walked across the prairie to Utah. When I learned that, I was awestruck. What do you mean men, women, and children walked over a thousand miles to Utah? How was it possible? It was possible because they had faith in the prophet and believed the Book of Mormon was true. Because of faith, not only could they walk across the prairie, but they could endure the many trials along the way – and keep walking. In my home office, I have a print of a young girl pulling her handcart in the snow. She reminds me that although I didn’t walk to Utah like this pioneer, whatever difficulties occur, I will have faith because I know I am in God’s hands. I know I can keep walking on my Mormon trek.

1. What is General Conference? https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/share/what-is-general-conference?lang=eng

• Costa, C. (2010). Obedience to the Prophet.  https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2010/10/obedience-to-the-prophets?lang=eng

• Holland, J. (2010). Because of Your Faith. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2010/10/obedience-to-the-prophets?lang=eng

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Today is my seven-month anniversary of living in shelter-in-place mode. A lot has happened in these seven months, both personally and collectively, and I’ve felt the widest range of emotions through this time, as I’m sure most if not all of us have.

One of the key ways I’m navigating COVID-19 is by trying to remember and watch for the tender mercies that have come not only in spite of this pandemic, but even because of it.

It’s been quite a ride, but mostly a good ride. We’ve learned and grown a lot, and we have had some precious moments and memories as a result of this choice to shelter in place (I have health issues that necessitate this choice).

I feel like I’m learning to be more resilient and adaptive (or at least I hope that is what is happening inside me). I’m trying to use this time to build my faith in God and in His Son, Jesus Christ. My children have had unique opportunities to connect with each other that they wouldn’t have had otherwise, and I’ve been able to stay connected with them (they are all away at college) more than I think I would have otherwise. We are finding deliberate ways through technology to build our relationships and help each other stay strong in faith even while there is so much that is unpredictable.

In truth, life is always unpredictable, and it’s the time in the history of the world (the latter days, the last days) where that will probably be more true, not less. God can and does consecrate all things for good (see Romans 8 and 2 Nephi 2), and in my experience with this pandemic, I have felt Him consecrate this time.

So today, I celebrate the goodness of God and invite you to look in your own life for the good that is there, even though times are hard, too. Both can be — and are — true. But we are never alone. God is aware of us. His Son has experienced all that we are going through. He is there to help lift our burdens and help us grow in His grace.

#GodisAlwaysGood #buckleyourseatbeltoffaith #2020vision #Godisinthedetails #SeekGrace #SeekJesus

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