"Find the Book of Mormon": Shari Conover Rosenberg's Conversion

Shari Conover Rosenberg — later a BYU ballroom dancer and Emmy Award winner — grew up in a family that was not Latter-day Saint; her father was something of an agnostic, though both parents supported her interest in Christ. Her journey began at age 10, sitting in the middle of her cul-de-sac with the neighborhood kids. A 25-year-old visitor, in an attempt to be negative, warned them all: "Make sure you stay away from the Book of Mormon." She had never heard of the Book of Mormon — but the spirit touched her and said, "Sherry, when you grow up, you need to find the Book of Mormon and you need to read it." Years later, when she finally found it, she read it and the Spirit witnessed its truthfulness to her — the very opposite of what the visitor had intended.

As a girl she loved church so much that when her friend moved away, she had her parents drop her off at church every single week by herself, ages 11 to 13, wearing the same blue dress with white flowers. But she was never baptized into that church.

The decisive experience came when she moved into her college dorm in September. Deciding "this is the first day of the rest of my life" and wanting church in her life, she pulled out a map and the yellow pages and looked for every church within walking distance — there was no Sunday public transportation. The only church within walking distance was the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. On a Wednesday at 1:00 in the afternoon she walked to that empty meetinghouse to scout the route. "You know what churches look like at 1:00 in the afternoon on a Wednesday? It is blank. There's nothing going on. And yet, when I crossed the street and walked onto the curb of the church, the spirit just — and I started crying and I didn't know what that was… and yet I knew this was where I needed to be." At that point she knew no doctrine and had never heard the name Joseph Smith.

A stake president with twelve children had her to dinner every week, and the missionaries taught her — but she refused baptism: "I just didn't want to be stuck with these Mormons forever." On their suggestion she applied to BYU around Thanksgiving, was accepted within six weeks, and arrived in January. On her very first Tuesday, the prophet came to speak at the Marriott Center. Still unbaptized, she walked over and sat down among the students. "All of a sudden a hush came over the whole Marriott Center, and then everybody stood up at once, and then they start singing, 'We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet,' and again the tears just came, and I knew I was in the right place." She was baptized a few weeks later, that February.

Her first religion class at BYU was taught by Reed Benson, President Ezra Taft Benson's son, whose teaching opened her eyes to the peoples and doctrines of the Book of Mormon and how the Spirit can testify of its truthfulness. Her family never joined the Church, but remained supportive of her throughout her life.