Help me find Shawn Bradley!~

[ItsRoger]

I'm a 21 year old convert who was inspired to read the Book of Mormon after watching a Shawn Bradley clip and listening to him talk about his faith. Since then, I've found so much in the truth (being from an anti-LDS family) and am now preparing to go on a mission. I have written a letter of thanks for Mr. Bradley and it would mean the world to me if he received it before I left. 

 

The reason I'm asking here is because I know there are many Utah posters here, and Shawn has given multiple firesides in that area. The chances of a member on here knowing him is slim to none, but it's worth a shot.

 

Thanks all, and God bless!

 

Roger S.

[pam]

You can find him on facebook.  I'm friends with him there.  I have sent him a message.

[PolarVortex]

How lovely, I'm sure he would be overjoyed to hear your story.  Do you have a link to the clip you mentioned?  I'd enjoy seeing it.  Have a great mission.

[Guest MormonGator]

Funny story-He was my first "introduction" to Mormonism. I remember watching him get drafted in the 90's and someone said "Hey, he's Mormon." I was like, "Hmm....I think I'll check that out. Don't know much about them." 

[ItsRoger]

Funny story-He was my first "introduction" to Mormonism. I remember watching him get drafted in the 90's and someone said "Hey, he's Mormon." I was like, "Hmm....I think I'll check that out. Don't know much about them." 

Awesome! Perhaps Jabari Parker will have that modern day Shawn Bradley mission power on young NBA fans.  :)

[ItsRoger]

How lovely, I'm sure he would be overjoyed to hear your story.  Do you have a link to the clip you mentioned?  I'd enjoy seeing it.  Have a great mission.

It was his "Legends" special on BYUtv. I was channel surfing believe it or not.

 

And thank you so much Pam! God bless.

Edited December 3, 2014 by ItsRoger

[Palerider]

You can find him on facebook.  I'm friends with him there.  I have sent him a message.

How much did you pay him ??    LOL!!!!!

[Guest MormonGator]

Awesome! Perhaps Jabari Parker will have that modern day Shawn Bradley mission power on young NBA fans.  :)

I hope so! 

 

Shh...don't tell anyone but I like the Gators (obviously) and North Carolina. Not Duke 

[Vort]

Apropos of nothing:

 

Shawn Bradley actually had a very successful NBA career -- not All-Star, but one to be proud of. He was a starting center (and legitimately so) for much of his career. Expectations for him were so ridiculously high going in that he didn't meet them, and considering his build probably couldn't have met them. He should not have been the #2 pick -- first round, maybe, but not #2. That was his fault? I don't think so. He took an enormous amount of hatred and ridicule, which was unfair. But being a professional athlete isn't about being fair; if it were, they would have to knock two zeros off the end of their paychecks.

 

In the end, he seems to have done okay for himself, so I'm happy for him.

[EarlJibbs]

Space Jam!!

[Guest MormonGator]

Apropos of nothing:

 

Shawn Bradley actually had a very successful NBA career -- not All-Star, but one to be proud of. He was a starting center (and legitimately so) for much of his career. Expectations for him were so ridiculously high going in that he didn't meet them, and considering his build probably couldn't have met them. He should not have been the #2 pick -- first round, maybe, but not #2. That was his fault? I don't think so. He took an enormous amount of hatred and ridicule, which was unfair. But being a professional athlete isn't about being fair; if it were, they would have to knock two zeros off the end of their paychecks.

 

In the end, he seems to have done okay for himself, so I'm happy for him.

Exactly. I hate to break it to the Bradley bashers out there, but the NBA is TOUGH. It's a huge, huge honor to make your living in professional sports and Bradley can hold his head high for what he has done.  Was he an all star? Of course not, but guess what-what he did wasn't too bad either. 

Edited December 4, 2014 by MormonGator

[pam]

He read my message but he hasn't responded.  

[ItsRoger]

Thank you so much Pam, and to everybody else who responded. If for some reason Mr. Bradley doesn't respond to your message, at least he has seen the difference he has made in my life indirectly. I'll post the letter here for everyone to read and maybe he can view the thread without posting and see. I have grown a strong testimony recently, and I love sharing it with those who helped me gain one!

 

You guys rule,

 

Roger.

[ItsRoger]

It's a long and boring read maybe, but I'm not a writer! This was my attempt at bearing my testimony via keyboard.

 

 

I now carry a Shawn Bradley rookie card in my wallet everywhere I go. Even though Bradley was one of the greatest BYU basketball players in the history of the game, I don't carry the trading card around because I'm a sports collector. I carry the card around because I am a proud member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

 

As a recent convert of the Church, I never expected to be baptized and confirmed as a member. In fact, prior to watching a short Shawn Bradley interview in which he talked about his faith, I never dreamed of joining a church that I once thought was an oddity. After hearing Bradley talk about "putting his religion and his family" as a priority over basketball, I was inclined to request a free Book of Mormon from our local missionaries to see what all of the hoopla was about. I assumed I would read it, smirk, and add the book to my ongoing collection of religious literature. After a few weeks of reading it (3/4ths of that time was getting through 1st Nephi I think), there was no smirking. Only tears. Tears of joy and happiness. Tears of confirmation, and of authenticity. For the first time in my life, I knew truth. I knew that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that Jesus Christ was our Lord and Savior. Fast forward a few months later, I am now preparing for a mission after receiving the Melchizdek Priesthood. While my family is mostly anti-LDS (they are devout Baptists), they have seen my testimony and know that I need to go on a mission.

 

I have a lot of people to thank. I have my Church family to thank for being the most loving group a person could ever know. I have Heavenly Father, Christ, and the Holy Spirit to thank, for reasons too many to name in this short letter. I have Joseph Smith to thank for restoring the Gospel and being a Prophet of this great Church. And finally, I have Shawn Bradley to thank. An ordinary basketball player with an extraordinary testimony. A testimony that seems pretty contagious.

 

In another interview Bradley had, he cited his favorite verse as 2nd Nephi chapter 2 verse 11:

　

11 For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my firstborn in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.

 

 

This verse rings true in my life in every sense imaginable. It is this opposition that strengthens my faith, and encourages me to seek righteousness. When I'm on my mission, I fully anticipate on taking that Shawn Bradley card with me as I share my testimony with others and give them the Book of Mormon. Perhaps I can act as a Shawn Bradley to somebody else.