“Then he got choked up and couldn't speak. “He said, 'Madison, one thing I cannot buy for you is the gift of the Holy Ghost,'” Judy recalled. According to the Church News, Gaines spoke at her baptism about the gift of the Holy Ghost. His daughter was the first to be baptized in 1998. At a time when priesthood leaders were not allowed to preach in Yugoslavia, 23-year-old Ćosić became the presiding priesthood holder in his country and helped lay the foundation for the gospel. During his final Olympic appearance, in the Moscow 1980 Games, his team at last brought home a gold medal.ĭespite the fame and glory brought on by his meteoric career, Ćosić still remained faithful to the beliefs he learned at BYU. In the Montreal 1976 Games, he helped his team bring home a silver medal. Because of his height, he used a specially-sewn, extra-long baptismal outfit, and because of his high public profile and unusual political situation, Ćosić was baptized in the basement of the tabernacle on Temple Square.Īfter his conversion, Ćosić went on to play in the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. Krešimir Ćosić was baptized by Nibley in November 1971. “There are a hundred reasons why I should not join the Church,” Ćosić told Nibley, “and only one reason why I should-because it is true.” Though separated by age, nationality, and 16 inches (Nibley was only 5 feet 7 inches), the two quickly found a strong brotherhood in their faith and desire for gospel learning. That desire led Ćosić to the office of professor Hugh Nibley. ► You'll also like: Convert & Track Star Beats Olympians, Sets Records 6 Months After Mission Later, when his friends explained that dreams can have profound spiritual meaning, Ćosić wanted to know more. Having seen those exact mountains in his dreams years earlier, Ćosić felt he was meant to come to Provo. When he first arrived on BYU’s campus, rimmed with the jagged, imperial Wasatch Mountains, Ćosić experienced a strange case of déjà vu. He also competed in four Games, earning three Olympic medals.Īfter helping Yugoslavia secure a silver medal during his first Olympic appearance in 1968, Ćosić was persuaded, with the help of BYU’s head basketball coach, Stan Watts, to attend Brigham Young University. Born in Zadar, Yugoslavia (now Croatia), on November 26, 1948, Ćosić began playing on his national team at 16 and won two world championships and three European championships during his lifetime. Standing at an incredible 6 feet 11 inches, Krešimir Ćosić was made for basketball. I dress modestly, I'm careful about the way I represent myself - especially in front of children … I always rely a lot on prayer, and I'm not praying to win, I'm praying for safety." Images of Nicole Johnson by Tkarlnidraj from Wikimedia Commons "I make sure I live the same standards on Sunday as I do the other days of the week. "I try and be family-oriented," Johnson told the Deseret News. Whether it’s rock-crawling or monster trucks, Johnson makes sure to remain consistent with her faith. Another car enthusiast, Johnson’s husband helped fuel her passion as the two would go camping and four wheeling, eventually getting into rock-crawling competitions-something that landed them on History Channel’s Modern Marvels and drew the attention of media outlets around the world. Johnson learned about the Church from a friend in California and became the only person to convert to the Church from her family before she attended college at Brigham Young University and married a returned missionary at age 19. Johnson’s passion for cars came at an early age, when she would spend her weekends and summers with her dad under the hood of a car in Hawaii. Over home-cooked, Southern-style meals that Bailey made for the missionaries himself, they shared great conversations and “ate very well.”īailey was baptized a member of the Church on December 31, 1995, just in time for the new year. "I was a captive audience, and my Father in Heaven knew it."īut it was those difficult moments that prompted Bailey to reach out to the missionaries in Italy. When Bailey decided to play for the Italian Basketball League (LBA) in 1995, he suddenly found himself in a whole new country and culture. "People were very nice to me, not just because I played for the Jazz, but because they're truly genuine, kind, service-oriented people." "It was a totally different culture," he says in his interview with the MormonChannel. Though he respected her beliefs, Bailey did not join the Church until nearly a decade later.īut, as an athlete in Utah, Bailey got regular exposure to Latter-day Saint culture and beliefs during those years, receiving “around 70 copies of the Book of Mormon” from well-meaning fans. During his time playing with the Utah Jazz, Bailey married Sindi Southwick, a Latter-day Saint collegiate basketball player.