It was underneath the lights of Broadway on Sept. 25, 2011, that Boston resident Liza Morong’s life changed forever. She just didn’t know it then.
The 21-year-old musical theater major was sitting in the Eugene O’Neill Theatre in New York City, watching “The Book of Mormon” musical.
Written by the creators of “South Park,” the edgy, irreverent but enormously popular musical is about two Mormon missionaries who try to share the Book of Mormon with the natives of northern Uganda.
“I laughed hysterically the entire show,” Morong said. “I thought, ‘Wow, these people are crazy. They must be brainwashed.’”
With her interest piqued, Morong, who was raised Congregationalist, found herself on the official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Mormon.org, simply to continue her amusement with this seemingly bizarre faith.
When she found a link for a live chat with missionaries, Morong felt like she had hit the jackpot. But what she found wasn’t what she expected.
It was when she started chatting with Elder Trevor Boardman, a missionary in the referral center at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, that everything changed.
“I thought, ‘These clowns are in for a treat with me,’ ” Morong said. “But (Elder Boardman) was so incredibly nice. I could not be mean to him.”
It was his genuine kindness, not his message, that caught Morong off guard.
Morong was able to ask sincere questions she had since attending the musical. After her questions, Elder Boardman invited her to chat again.
Her initial reaction was a resounding no.
“But then I thought, ‘You know, I do want to chat again.’ I caught myself by surprise,” she said.
Read the rest at Deseret News
We published this story based on a published story by the Deseret News. We unfortunately have heard that Liza Morong has decided to leave the church. We have decided to leave the story up because this isn’t the only time this has happened and it surely won’t be the last time. Here is another story of someone who saw the musical and was subsequently baptized (and about to serve a mission himself!): How The Book of Mormon Musical led to my Baptism in the Mormon Church
