President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, second counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), threw out the first pitch at a recent Los Angeles Dodgers baseball game.
In what has become an annual tradition, more than 8,000 Latter-day Saints enjoyed a nice evening at California’s Dodger Stadium for Mormon Night with the Dodgers. The more than 25-year tradition was continued Friday, 29 June 2012.
The highlight of the evening came when President Uchtdorf threw out the ceremonial first pitch. The crowd greeted him with a loud cheer as his name was announced. The pitch was caught by Elder William Reynolds, a Seventy in the Church. Honorary umpire Kevin Hamilton, director of the Southern California Public Affairs Council, called the pitch a strike.
- President Uchtdorf
- President-Uchtdorf
- President Uchtdorf
- President Uchtdorf
- President Uchtdorf
- Alex Boye
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Members attended the festivities with high expectations and were not disappointed. Even though the Dodgers lost to the New York Mets (9-0), people enjoyed the evening as they mixed and mingled. They were also treated to a great fireworks show after the game.
Church Public Affairs spokesman in California Gary Condie said, “Mormon Night at Dodger Stadium is the longest-running and biggest community event held by the Dodger organization. The Dodgers expressed appreciation for this long-standing relationship.”
The Dodgers also recognized several Latter-day Saints from the various Southern California congregations. In particular, they recognized Ronald Nelsen, a member of the Church from Sherman Oaks, who has worked for the Dodgers as a food vendor for the 54 years the team has been in California.