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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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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