Former Utah athlete happy with decision to join Mormon church

The relationship ended long ago. But for Hilary Taylor, it served its purpose.

Because she had an irritating boyfriend who asked relentless questions about her religious beliefs, Taylor finally decided to take the missionary discussions and put this Mormon puzzle together once and for all. Spiritually, she was ready, thanks to a seed planted by a childhood friend.

Months later, she was baptized, drawing a mixed reaction from family, friends and teammates. The former Utah volleyball player has been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than three years now.

A seed planted

The LDS Church was nothing new to Taylor. She had been around members her whole life. She had even been to girls camp.

An only child, Taylor was raised in the Salt Lake Valley by her mother. The family attended a local Baptist congregation.

Taylor was introduced to the church at a young age by a friend. Teri Matsumura invited Taylor to church and other activities like Young Women, family home evening, scripture study and nightly prayer. They also played sports together.

Taylor said some things were strange, but she enjoyed Matsumura's friendship.

"Some things were hard to get used to," Taylor said. "I remember she couldn't play on Sunday. 'Why not? Why does it matter?' I didn't understand why girls shouldn't wear a tank top."

Matsumura says there was no preconceived plan to convert Taylor. She simply enjoyed her company.

"It's funny. I invited her to church activities because she was my friend," Matsumura said. "It was just fun to have her around."

When the girls were playing basketball for Cottonwood High School, Matsumura decided to give Taylor a Book of Mormon with her testimony written inside for Christmas.

She felt awkward about it, so she slipped the book in Taylor's gym bag after a game.

"I never thought she would be interested, but she told me thank you," Matsumura said. "I was surprised (years later) before leaving on my mission when she called and said she was meeting with the missionaries.

"I was just so happy and amazed with the way things turned out. Later, she wrote me a letter telling me she was reading in Alma about planting a seed. She felt like I had helped her do that. I had forgotten all we had done and had never thought about it that way."

Volleyball and the boyfriend

Taylor started out with a dream of playing in the WNBA but found more success in volleyball. She also had aspirations of wearing University of Utah crimson.

The 5-foot-9 outside hitter was named all-region and all-state as a senior at Cottonwood but didn't get the big offer she was hoping for.

Eventually, she agreed to play at Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs. Her main reason in going was to play with her friend, Ingrid Solomona, but things didn't work out as planned.

"She ended up not playing," Taylor said. "I said, 'You are leaving me in Wyoming? I am the only black female athlete at the school.' I was mad."

But she stuck it out, made new friends, worked hard and performed well. She was twice named an all-region, all-conference and all-tournament honoree, not to mention making the dean's list. Her coach asked her where she wanted to play next.

"Utah," Taylor said.

Before long, she was playing phone tag with Utah volleyball coach Beth Launiere. Taylor was offered a spot on the team, much to her delight.

While things were going well with volleyball, Taylor began dating a Mormon returned missionary whom she wants to remain nameless. He was a nice guy, she said, but had an annoying habit of pestering her with religious questions.

This irked Taylor but pushed her to do something she had never considered before — take the missionary discussions.

"We would argue about what religion was right, what was wrong. I said, 'Stop asking me all these questions; leave me alone,'" she said. "Toward the end of our relationship, I decided I wanted to at least take the missionary discussions, just to see."

She went to trusted LDS teammates Stephanie Hodgman and Chelsie Sandberg and asked how one initiates communication with the Mormon missionaries. She also informed her soon-to-be ex that he wasn't invited.

"But I care about you and want to be involved," he told her.

Her response: "This isn't about you whatsoever, and I don't want you to be involved."

"He somewhat took offense to that," she said.

Taylor didn't want to be forced into anything, and Sandberg and Hodgman were exactly the friends she needed at the time. They let Taylor set the pace.

"The best thing is they would never bring it up. They didn't ask me questions about what I wanted to do. They didn't try to persuade me," Taylor said. "They were just being friends, and that was nice."

Baptism and beyond

When Taylor made her decision to be baptized, she was so excited she invited everyone on her long cell phone contact list: teammates (both current and former), coaches, friends and family.

The reaction was mixed. Many on the Utah volleyball team were supportive, including nonmembers. Her mother was supportive. People referred to her as "the girl who converted."

But it was not uncommon to hear people say things like, "What is wrong with you, Hilary Taylor? Of all the people to convert, I didn't expect her." Some accused her of getting baptized for the guy she had been dating, but they had broken up, and he eventually married someone else.

One family member told her, "Why are you doing this? I am never going to talk to you again."

Hodgman said Taylor was courageous in standing by her decision.

"Close friends who were anti-Mormon told her she was going to hell, but she had the faith to look past that," Hodgman said.

More than three years later, Taylor's volleyball career is over and she was recently accepted into the nursing program at Weber State University. There are aspects of the church she is still adjusting to, like the lack of noise in a church meeting and refraining from clapping.

"When I saw President (Gordon B.) Hinckley walk out at conference, my first impulse was to clap," she said.

Taylor has no regrets about joining the church.

"When you grow up doing things one way, then switch to something new, it's not easy, but I am happy with my decision," she said. "I am still asking a lot of questions, but I still stand by my decision."

E-mail: ttoone@desnews.com