← Leading Saints
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- [00:02]
Kurt Francom
Hey everyone, you probably don't know this, but Leading Saints is not just a podcast. I know in the past we've been known as a podcast, but now Leading Saints is an online platform, an online community that we call Zion Lab because we are focused on not just preparing leaders to be better prepared to lead, but we want to help everybody, regardless of their church calling, to build Zion. And Zion Lab is the place to it's the laboratory of Zion, if you will, to step into, share your ideas, best practices. What are you doing in a specific calling? What are you doing outside of a calling? Where do you feel inspired? What are other people doing? And it is becoming such a dynamic, phenomenal community. And there's an AI bot in there that you can ask questions to and it will scour the archives of the Leading Saints. What has it been since 2010 we've been creating content. It will scour those archives and give you a specific answer to the content that you're looking for. So come join us over at Zion Lab, which you can find@leadingsaints.org Zion
- [01:03]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
welcome
- [01:04]
Kurt Francom
to another episode of the Leading Saints podcast and today I get to invite in another BYU football legend, Gifford Nielsen. I'm so excited to do these interviews. I'm a big BYU guy. I love talking BYU sports and history and leadership in the context of of these things.
- [01:22]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
And so Gifford Nilsson was an obvious
- [01:25]
Kurt Francom
person to bring in to the Leading Saints podcast and I actually have opportunity to hang out with Gifford Nielsen, Elder Gifford Nielsen. And you can too on the Sea Saints Cruise experience that's happening In September of 2026, September 14th, we're doing an Alaskan cruise together and we want you to come with us. We are going to have really awesome Leading Saints experiences for the Leading Saints audience on board there. I'll be there. We'll be teaching, running workshops, having great discussions on the deck. Gifford Nielsen will be there sharing some of his experience, sharing the gospel, his stories from being a general authority and and many similar to the stories you're about to hear here. So we're going to put all the details in the show notes. If you go to c saints.com use the code leading Saints to make sure that you get included as part of the Leading Saints experiences that we're going to do. And I have a sort of a private group within that private group on board of the Sea Saints Cruise Experience. So it's going to be awesome to be there with myself with Gifford Nielsen and several others who are Latter Day Saint powerhouse brands and have great experience of speaking and Performing. So it's going to be awesome. You'll find all the details at Sea Saints. And to sort of give you a feel for what that experience is going to be like, I wanted to interview Elder Gifford Nielsen, who a few years ago was released as a General Authority 70. Before that, he had an incredible career as a broadcaster. Before that he was in the NFL playing for the Houston Oilers. And of course before that he was one of Lavelle Edwards quarterbacks, one of the classic quarterbacks, All American quarterbacks. And so there's just so many directions we can go in this, and I
- [03:01]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
love the stories that came from this.
- [03:03]
Kurt Francom
As far as what he learned attending different state conferences, what he learned preparing general conference talks, what he learned, you know, as a protege to the, as a mentee to Lavelle Edwards. I mean, so many directions to go and, and spiritual discussion and inspiring one. You're going to enjoy it. Here's my interview with Elder Gifford Nielsen.
- [03:31]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
All right, Elder Gifford Nilsen, welcome to the Leading Saints podcast.
- [03:34]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Kurt, nice to be with you.
- [03:35]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah, this is, you know, we've had opportunity to connect on, on various, in various contexts where we were both on the BYU cruise last year and it was fun seeing you in, in that element. And then obviously, you know, I've been hearing you in conference for years now and so. And then we have opportunity to connect on an upcoming Latter Day Saint cruise that I'm really looking forward to. But this is a, this is an honor to, to talk with you and learn. Learn from you for a minute.
- [04:00]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Well, I think I will learn as much from you as you learn from me. But it was really enjoyable to be on that BYU cruise, to be back with some of my former teammates. You know, I think it was the first cruise that Jim McMahon had ever been on. And you know, whenever you're with Jim, interesting things happen. It's always enjoyable to be with him. But you know what? The influence of BYU and the influence of the cruise and all the people on the cruise with him was profound. And you wouldn't know that with Jim, but if you know him intimately and as a fellow quarterback like I know him and how he goes about doing his work and the way he prepares for games and everything like that. It was just a very enjoyable time to be with him and to be with everybody associated with BYU athletics. It was a, it was an enjoyable time.
- [04:48]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
And you and Jim McMahon, you've created quite a friendship over the years, is that right?
- [04:52]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Yes, he was my. Not too many people know this, but when I was the starting quarterback at byu. He was my punter. He was the third string quarterback and he was the punter. And I can remember our offensive coordinator, Doug Scoville used to say let's get first downs because we don't know what he's going to do when he goes on the field. We don't even know if he's going to be wearing shoes. So let's get some first downs, let's score some touchdowns. But he was a great teammate. You know, he's always been a controversial figure at BYU until late. Now he is totally embraced the foundation that helped him become the number one pick of the Chicago Bears and have the success of winning a Super Bowl. But as a very young, immature athlete, he didn't fully appreciate what he had at byu. And so it's taken years of me, other quarterbacks, other friends at BYU to help him understand what BYU represents, what the church represents. He hasn't embraced it. He married a member of the church and they have a beautiful family. They since have parted and gone separate ways, but he has had church influence in his life and, and that's what these kinds of things are all about. When you start talking about cruises and you talk about get togethers, devotionals, you're well recognized podcaster. So you have been in so many different settings to, to have such powerful positive influence on so many. When you get in these settings, all of those foundational things come back and we're really here to uplift others. And anytime I'm with Jim, people say you're crazy. But when I'm with Jim, I'm uplifted by him and the way he goes about doing his work and how he prepares himself and he was prepared to go on that cruise.
- [06:43]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah, yeah, it was fun to see him there and interacting with, with the fan base and just, you know, surround him and love him and it was fun seeing you two disengage on stage and you know, just the friendship that's obvious there, that's really cool.
- [06:55]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Well, I've always been a little conscious for him. So. Yeah, you know, if you remember on the cruise, he was starting to say things that he probably shouldn't say. When I said, you know, Jim, come on, read the room a little bit. You don't have to tell all the little skeletons in the closet. So yeah, we just have a great relationship and, and that's what these gatherings are all about. Whether it's a cruise or whether it's a devotional, whether it's women's conference or general conference, when we all get Together, there's just a feeling of togetherness that really permeates any outside influences that are any kind of negative influences. They're really positive influences, and that's what makes me happy.
- [07:33]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah. Yeah. That's really cool. So, man, I mean, you've had such a unique career path with, you know, obviously college football, professional football, and then in broadcasting. And then as a. As a General Authority 70, I may bounce around a little bit here, but maybe take us to when the call came. As a general authority. What's the story behind that?
- [07:52]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Well, it was a very unique story, very interesting story, and I'll share a little bit with you, but you never know what's happening. I was. Wendy and I were living in Houston. My wife's name is Wendy. To introduce her in this podcast to all those listening, and she is just an absolute gem in every sense of the word. Highest quality, just remarkable. And we raised our family in Houston, Texas, so we had six children. And they're all little Texans. They claim to be Texans. A couple of them were born in Utah, but four of them were born in Texas. And I think all of them claim to be Texans. We like that. So we were down there. We were serving at the time. I was serving as an area 70 down there. This was after my television career was over, 25 years of television at KHOU TV, CBS in Houston. And so we were serving as an Area 70, or I was serving as an Area 70. And then I said to Wendy, I go, you know, professional football and television, you know, where do you want to go this Christmas? Because the kids were all married, and every other year we had them. And this was going to be like the first year that we were going to be separate from our children. And I said, where do you want to go anywhere in the world this Christmas? I'll take you because you've been such an amazing companion through all of this. We'll go somewhere. And we decided. We were talking about the southern tip of Italy. We were talking about Switzerland, we were talking about London, talking about all these things. We ended up in our condo in Orem.
- [09:29]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Oh, wow. Exotic.
- [09:31]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
And then I received a call that elder El Tom Perry wanted to talk to me and could we set up a Zoom call? Wasn't a Zoom call back then. I think it was. I don't think Zoom was around, like, Skype or something. Yes, a Skype call. That's what it was, a Skype call. And I said, well, I'm actually in Orem at our condo. And the secretary said, just a second and then I heard Elder Perry in the back say, he's in Utah. Well, tell him to get up here. So I go, okay. She comes back on and said, elder Perry would like to see you in his office if possible. I said, I think I heard him say that. So we went to Salt Lake City and had a little interview with him. And he's just such a. An amazing. He was such an amazing person. We had this interview with him, and then he said, I don't know where this is going to go. I just carrying out the work of the First Presidency, but they may call you back. But I wouldn't make too much reference of this call.
- [10:28]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah.
- [10:28]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
You know, don't be weird about it, but our meeting, I wouldn't, you know, I wouldn't go broadcast it. And so about a month later, got a call from church headquarters that President Eyring would like to visit with us, and we were back in Houston. And it's kind of interesting because at the time, we had a little computer. This was not. I mean, the computer age was. We were here. We were in the middle of the computer age. But it's kind of interesting that we put a. A little laptop or a computer on our couch. And we were looking at President Eyring's office, and then the. The technology guy said, okay, they're ready. And so President Eyring comes in and sits down and we're talking to him just like we're talking right now. And he said. I said, I've got a letter here from the First Presidency, and proceeded to call us to be a member of the first quorum of the 70. And it was like, what? And it was in 2013, it was right after President Monson had made the announcement that the age of missionaries were changing. And the number of missions and the number of missionaries serving, just off the charts. And we thought for sure, because of meeting with him, that we were going to be called to go on a mission, but our mission was a little bit different than we thought.
- [11:45]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah. So tell me, as you. As you started that role, did you have a specific assignment? What do you remember? Just sort of finding your bearings in that role as a general authority?
- [11:53]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Well, it's, as they say, drinking from a fire hose.
- [11:57]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah.
- [11:57]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Because you don't really understand and know everything about what the Lord is asking you to do. One of the great things with President Eyring is his love and his patience. And so in that initial call, he was so kind to Wende and me, explaining what was about ready to happen, and continued to Encourage us to be patient and that the Lord had a calling for us and that the Lord would send us through his apostles and prophets where he needed us most. So prepare yourself for this call. And I can remember thinking so many different things from my past to where I was right there and to what was going to happen in the future. So you really go through a really deep self reflection of life and of everything that you've done. I've wanted to apologize for throwing an incomplete pass, for throwing an interception, for wronging anybody. I just felt like I wanted to be ready to accept the call that the Lord had issued through his apostles and prophets. And so we prepared ourselves. And one of the interesting things about this is we were called early, we were sustained. We were called earlier in the year in January. We were sustained in General Conference in April, but we didn't start our assignment until the 1st of August. And it was at church headquarters. Wendy and I had never been to Israel. So I said to her, we're going to be doing this for a while. Do you want to go to Israel during July, which we heard was very hot, or do you want to try to go to Israel right now? And she said, like, let's do it right now. We looked around and we found that Daniel Rona, who is putting together a tour in May. So we kind of dropped everything and said, let's go to Israel. I want to learn more about Jesus life. I want to walk where he may have walked or close to it. I want to learn as much as I can. And so that was a tremendous blessing for us that Daniel Rona had that tour. And he taught us a lot. He grew up Jewish and became a member of the church. So he gave us an amazing foundation about the Holy Land, about Jesus and what might have happened to the Savior, which I think really prepared us for this call. Full time service in the call of the Lord. So it was a special time.
- [14:28]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
That's cool. I'm curious. Well, I guess the next question I have is just preparing to speak at General Conference. What was that experience like? Typically, you know, the new general authorities speak at the next General Conference. How did the invitation come? And then how do you even begin to prepare?
- [14:44]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
It's interesting how the invitation comes because it was a letter from the First Presidency inviting me to speak in the Saturday afternoon session of General Conference in 2013, the April General Conference. In 2013, it was the next General Conference. And so when you think about it, it's pretty amazing because you grow up watching General Conference and you thirst after the words of apostles and prophets and those assigned by them to speak in that meeting. And the letter comes, and you're asked to speak in the Saturday afternoon session of general conference. You have nine minutes. Please be thoughtful and report back to the first presidency if you'll accept the assignment. Well, you really don't have a choice. You're going to accept the assignment. And so, yeah, accept the assignment. And then I was just told by many of the senior brethren and even some of my new general authorities, or recently called general authorities, that the revelation just flows and you find out very quickly that it's not your talk, that this is the talk that the Lord wants you to give, and impressions will come to your mind. And when you have these impressions, you can start to formulate what the Lord wants those that are listening to hear. And it's recorded, so you can't go back and say, I'd like to do that one over again. And so you really put a lot of prayer and fasting, a lot of time in the temple, just thinking about, what is the message that I need to give? And so, yeah, it was a beautiful experience to watch how the Spirit works and understand and know that when you go to the podium, that's not your talk, it's the Savior's talk that has been given by him, and you're to deliver what the Savior wants the people to hear from you.
- [16:38]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah. Did you feel like you ever run into a space of, like, just sort of wrestling with a message, unsure, you know, either the topic or how to say something or. I mean, was it a lot of times just sort of a week by week, you're sort of wrestling over the words or. What was that like?
- [16:53]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Yeah, you wrestle long and hard and you change it. You have so many iterations. That's why I love when I hear all these stories about the prophet Joseph, how he translated the plates and those that were the scribes, Emma Oliver Cowdery, they would write and then they would stop, and then they would go have lunch or whatever they did and come back and continue on. And I'm thinking, how other than heaven's help did this happen? Because I rewrote that conference talk and adjusted that conference talk at least 50 times, going back and forth and editing out the things that I didn't think were right and putting in the things that I did think were right. And so it was. We were called in April, and it was the October conference of 2013. And I just remember President Monson saying, now is the time for members and missionaries to work Together. And that was kind of the feeling that he was calling every one of us to do what President Nelson said, gather Israel on this side and the other side of the veil. And that just kept coming back. And I kept thinking to myself, I questioned it a bunch of times. I'm going, how many other people are going to use President Monson's quote and say, now is the time for members and missionaries to come together and work closely together? And I'm thinking, are we all going to be repetitive? Because at that time, the excitement of missionary work, the Lord flipped his number. You can remember this. There were 58,000 missionaries serving. When he announced the age change, that number flipped around to 85.
- [18:33]
Quote from a Church Leader (possibly President David O. McKay or another LDS Church leader)
Wow.
- [18:34]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
So five. And the eight were just boom, just like that. And I'm thinking, this is the message. And so I just trusted the Lord that If I'm just one of the. One of the 10 that are going to give this same message, I'm one of the 10. Because we don't really know what other people are doing. We don't know what their messages are. This is all what the Lord is giving us. And so it was an amazing experience to see how close heaven is. When you're on the Lord's assignment. That's what it's like to speak in General conference. The second one that I spoke in General Conference was really, really weird and really different for me because it was Covid. I spoke in the final priesthood meeting we had when I spoke right before the first presidency spoke. And there were, in the conference, in the small conference room, There were the 15 apostles and prophets, and there were four general authorities, one giving the opening prayer, one giving the closing prayer, and then two speakers, and that's all that was there. So it was a totally different experience because you had no audience participation. You just got up there and you just looked at the camera and gave your talk. So I had two very, very interesting and unique experiences. But in both cases, it was clear that those were not the words that I put on paper and put in the teleprompter. Those are the words that the Lord wanted me to deliver, that he gave me to deliver. I think that's kind of interesting. And we're also unique, and we're all so diverse and we come from so many different backgrounds that the Lord uses those experiences that we've had in the past to help us formulate what he once again, what he wants us to deliver.
- [20:20]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah, that's powerful. I'm curious, especially as a general authority,
- [20:24]
Kurt Francom
you know, it comes to leadership and
- [20:25]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
seeing so many different styles of leadership. I mean, I assume a large part of your ministry there was. You're going to state conferences and being a visiting authority at various state conferences. And you probably see so many different approaches, so many different styles of, you know, leadership or personalities that are involved there. What did you learn just from attending so many state conferences?
- [20:47]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
I learned that we have powerful leadership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints with presidencies of the Melchizedek priesthood, the stake president and his counselors. We read in doctrine covenant section 107 that everything else is an appendage unto the higher and holy Melchizedek priesthood after the order of the Son of God. Then we have just amazing leaders all over the world. Some might be a little bit stronger than others, but we were to go in as general authorities on assignment from the Lord through the acting president of the quorum of the 12, to take on these assignments, whether it was a stake conference, a mission tour, a temple review, or anything else that they had that they needed to have done. That was kind of the essence of the second conference address I gave, that I was called by the Office of the First Presidency to go represent the prophet because he couldn't go to help a young man that was really suffering and having a hard time. And, boy, you start to think about that, you're pleading for heaven's help. But I learned that the leadership when we would go to stake conferences was powerful. I learned that the women leadership in every stake was powerful. I would sit there and listen to these talks, and I was thinking, wow, that's inspired that they're saying that to this congregation. And I just think it was even more of a testimony to me of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and how the Lord has set up his church.
- [22:30]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah. Did you have a certain approach to each state conference as far as how you would prepare or, you know, engage with the stake presidency or what you'd speak on or what was that like?
- [22:40]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Yeah. So you have. A lot of. What I always tried to do is I always tried to teach what the apostles and prophets were focused on and can include stories and then relate it back to what I just heard from President Nelson. I think President Nelson. And you know this because you've served in leadership positions. I'm not sure if there's been a prophet quoted more. It seemed like every. In every general conference, it was. President Nelson was getting quoted. He had so many remarkable, inspired thoughts that, you know, you could just go back and you can just. How do you just capture all of them. Because every conference, it was think celestial. It was, you know, focused on the temple, focused on gathering Israel on both sides of the veil. It was. He was so inspired in his leadership. I mean, President Monson was, too, under that leadership, and President Oaks is now. There's no question about it, especially when you're right in the middle of it, you actually see the mantle pass from one prophet to another prophet, and then you see the mantle fall upon prophets. So during my service, to see Elder Rasband and Elder Stevenson and Elder Gong and Elder Kieran and Elder Suarez and now Elder Gilbert, and I hope I didn't leave anybody out, but. Yeah, yeah, but we saw the mantle of authority just fall on them in the most miraculous way that we all could sit there with our hands held high and say, I sustain this. I'm working on the. In their. In the inner part of this. I see it every day. I sustain this. A lot of naysayers out there, and I'm thinking, no, I want to be on this team. I don't want to be on that team. I want to be on this team because I see it every day. And I really saw it with President Nelson because that was. He was the prophet that I associated with the most during my service. How the mantle just fell upon him in remarkable ways.
- [24:41]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah.
- [24:42]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
So when you ask the question about what state conferences and what do you teach? You know, I don't have my scriptures right in front of me, but it's Doctrine Covenant, Section 52, if I recall correctly. You teach what the apostles and prophets are really not on the limb on that one. I kind of want to look that up, but I haven't. I wasn't even thinking about that. But it's teach what the apostles and prophets teach because they are connected, they are in tune, and.
- [25:05]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Which makes sense and also probably bring some comfort that you don't have to reinvent the will every time. Like, you know, what are we going
- [25:11]
Kurt Francom
to talk about this time?
- [25:11]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
It's always. That direction is always right there.
- [25:14]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Kurt, I will tell you this. Anytime you go into a stake, you study, you learn. You learn about the stake, and you learn about how they're doing with ministering and. And you're. You're looking at how they're doing with. With baptisms and confirmations and priesthood advancement and temple recommends. You. You have all the data in front of you. And I always used to look at this and go, wow, this. This is a committed stake. It's not 100% or never 100%, but this is a committed Stake. And I just kept hearing from apostles and prophets, will you please go in and tell the people we love them? And will you please tell everybody that we need them? And will you please tell everybody that we thank them? Because the last time I looked, none of the stake presidents and their leadership and none of the bishops and their leadership were getting paid.
- [26:03]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Right?
- [26:04]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
This is a. We're a giving and loving organization. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is all about consecration, giving the talents that you've been given to others. So will you please tell them we love them and please thank them for their service? I want to thank you, Kurt, for your service. You've served positions. Thank you. And your wife, thank her. And your sisters and your brothers and your parents. Thank them, because that's what this is all about. And then teach them about Jesus and teach them about what he's gone through and what he offers every one of us, no matter what we're going through. Because there are a lot of triumphs in life, but, man, there's a lot of tragedy. There are a lot of difficult things. Like, I just. I mean, I. I'm kind of stunned even today with his podcast, that one of my dear, dear companions, Mark Bassett, has graduated to the other side.
- [27:03]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Oh, yeah.
- [27:03]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
And I'm going, wow. How does that happen? He's the executive director of the missionary department. We served in the missionary department together. I had the beautiful opportunity to kind of help start the service missionary opportunity in the church and work with President Nelson and Elder Renlund and Elder Cook on coming up with a purpose statement of service missionaries. And that was an assignment that I was been given. And as soon as I left the missionary department, I turned it over to Elder Bassett and we just had so many amazing conversations about service missionaries and what could happen. Because President Nelson said everybody should serve a mission. If you want to serve a mission, you shouldn't be restricted by maybe a health issue or something. We can find a mission for you. Whether it's serving in the temple or at desert industries or local charitable organizations, we can find a mission for you. But nobody should be excluded from serving a mission. Teaching mission, service, mission. To us, it was like this, the world sometimes. It was kind of like this through all the. This is President Nelson. This is what he wanted right here. And to work with Elder Bassett and to see where he took it after I left was absolutely remarkable. And then to be the executive director of the missionary department, he just did a marvelous job. I mean, bishop baptisms last year were up 20%. All over the world under his leadership, 25%, maybe even 30%. I'm not sure exactly what the figure was, but they were up all over the world.
- [28:33]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yep.
- [28:34]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
And then he was called home. And how do you even put your arms around that?
- [28:39]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah. Shocking.
- [28:40]
Kurt Francom
Shocking.
- [28:41]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Truly is shocking.
- [28:42]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
But the Lord's in charge.
- [28:44]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
That's right.
- [28:45]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Of what needs to happen and when it needs to happen. And none of us are immune to that. And so when you go into a state conference, you're helping lift the people, lift the leadership and lift the people and thank them and tell them we love them and that the prophets, seers, and revelators love them.
- [29:01]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah. Was there anything from your time as a local stake leader, as you had, you know, different visiting authorities come through that influenced how you showed up or how you engaged or, you know, both the good and the bad examples, maybe, that you wanted to just, you know, be a good, good representative there?
- [29:19]
Kurt Francom
Sure.
- [29:19]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Yeah. And, you know, whenever. Whenever we had a general authority visit, it was always a really beautiful and nice experience because we wanted to know what they were, what they were going to be teaching. And I found out that they were powerful teachers and told stories. I found out that they could tell stories that related to me and everyone else in our stake. When I was the stake president of the Houston, Texas Owl Stake, we just had wonderful visitors that would come in and really teach us what was going on. Ralph Kerr was one of them. Elder Ralph Kerr, he was the commissioner of education. He was amazing when he came. And, yeah, there's so many. I'm just trying to recall. That was many years ago, but that was one that he just told stories, and he helped us relate to whatever we were going through to the gospel of Jesus Christ. And I think that's the beauty, I think, of inspired teaching. So when I go to a state conference, I never prepared notes. I never had notes. I would kind of prepare my talk when I would sit on the stand and I would look down at the people, I'd look into their eyes and look into their hearts. And by the time that it was time for me to speak, I pretty much knew what I was going to speak about.
- [30:32]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And going week to week. So it's not like you have a ton of time to prepare anyways from.
- [30:38]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
No, no. You should be preparing every day. Yeah.
- [30:40]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
I mean, with your study. Right.
- [30:41]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Yeah. That's the key to prepare every day. Read something, ponder something. You get your assignment from the acting president of the quorum of the 12, and then, you know, you're going into a stake you look at that and then you start to prepare and go to the temple. Many times in the temple, I had revelatory experiences. This is what I need to teach this week. Going in. And then I would go in and go, that's not what I'm supposed to teach. I was inspired to study that, but that's not what I. In fact, this is kind of interesting. After state conferences, I would meet with the Stake Presidency on many occasions, and most of the time they would say, elder Nielsen, thank you. That's exactly what we needed to hear. Okay, very nice. They're not going to say, Elder Nielsen. That was the worst talk I've ever heard and really fun. You wouldn't have come. Yeah, but they say that. And then many times I would say, now, very quickly, I've got to go. But do you want to hear the talk that I had prepared that I didn't give?
- [31:42]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah.
- [31:43]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
And by the way, these were impressions coming in, so you might want to just focus on that just a little bit. But the membership didn't hear it.
- [31:50]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah. That's interesting. That's really cool. And there's so much. I mean, we could spend hours on just your. Your service there during that time as a general authority and any other point, principle, concept for a leadership audience that of that time as a general authority that you want to make sure we cover.
- [32:05]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Yes, thank you for asking. Learn how the Spirit speaks to you and then trust the spirit. It's like, I think the number one thing that missionaries need to know and need to understand. How do I know if it's me? And how do I know if it's the Spirit? Well, if it's anything good, it's the Spirit. It's always fun to be with Elder Bednar because Elder Bednar says, quit worrying about it.
- [32:28]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah, yeah.
- [32:29]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
If it's anything good, it's gotta be the Spirit. The Spirit is the testifier of all good things. It is a testifier of the Father, the Son, the restored gospel. But all good impressions. So don't sit there and worry about it. If you've got a good impression, you've got a good impression.
- [32:48]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah.
- [32:49]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
And that's really important to know and understand. So I think for all of your listeners, all of all leaders, we all need to teach what we're inspired to teach, but we all need to be prepared to teach what we're inspired to teach. Because if you're all of a sudden you're sitting on the stand, you look down there and say, man, this.
- [33:13]
Quote from a Church Leader (possibly President David O. McKay or another LDS Church leader)
Wow.
- [33:14]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
I'm looking. These people need Faith. They need to increase their faith. Well, maybe that's not what you thought about going in, but quickly. Where can you go for faith? These people need hope.
- [33:28]
Quote from a Church Leader (possibly President David O. McKay or another LDS Church leader)
Wow.
- [33:28]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Where are you going to? Faith, hope, charity and love with a nice single to the glory of God qualifies us for this work. We must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ. Having a perfect brightness of hope. Maybe the best line in all Scripture, because so many times we all feel hopeless because of what's happening around us. And so it's like preparation going in to know what you need to address.
- [33:56]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah, that's really cool.
- [33:57]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
That's why this is such a beautiful, beautiful experience to be part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Because we testify of the Holy Ghost and we know that's a gift that has been given to us to teach with power. And the Holy Ghost is the great teacher.
- [34:13]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah, that's powerful. Maybe give us just a quick run through of where the different places you served as a general authority and the assignments you had. What countries were you in?
- [34:22]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Yeah, so I started. Wendy and I started in Salt Lake City. So we left Houston after 35 years and we moved back into an apartment. It was apartment life. No home anymore. It was a traveling apartment. Wherever we went, some apartments. The church does a beautiful job taking care of general authorities on assignment. So, yeah, we had wonderful living accommodations, but we were back in apartments or a condo or something like that. So we went back to Salt Lake and we actually lived in the Brigham apartments. It was like we were first married for that first year. Going through training at headquarters.
- [34:59]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah.
- [35:00]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Then the Lord sent us to the Pacific area. So we lived in Auckland, New Zealand. So we had all the isles of the sea from Tahiti on the east to Perth, Australia, on the west. Huge, huge area. I think it was like five time zones, something like that. And then all the isles of the sea. So we traveled the Cook Islands, Tahiti, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, Australia, New Zealand. It was just an amazing experience. But the travel was really difficult and tough and challenging, but it was great. Then we came back to Salt Lake City for about five, six years and served in the North American Northeast area. It was the second time. My first year I served in the North America Northeast area. When you're serving in an area presidency in the United States, you live in Salt Lake City. Then you travel to that area. If you're in an international assignment, you go live internationally. And then this was the most unusual thing on planet Earth. Our last two years. The Lord, through President Nelson, sent us to lead the Church in West Africa. So off to Ghana. So we had never really lived in Africa. We'd visited one time our daughter who was on a little island of Malabo right off the coast of Cameroon, where our son in law was a. He was an oil and gas attorney out of Houston. So they took their little family to Malabo. We visited one time, but never really lived in Africa. So our last two years we lived in Accra, Ghana, and then we took care of the church. I was the president of the area. And so everything happening in Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Cote d', Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, the Gambia, Senegal, Morristown, Molly, Chad and Nir was my responsibility. That's a big responsibility.
- [37:00]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah. Wow. What an adventure, right?
- [37:02]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Yeah. So that was. It was an amazing experience traveling through Africa. And you know what we were told when we went there? That you're going to really do some good things there, but they're going to teach you so much more than you can ever learn. And my African, our African brothers and sisters are absolutely remarkable. Yeah, they're spiritual, they're smart, they're talented, they're courageous. They battle life every day. They're humble, they're sweet. They would give you anything they ever had. We came back different and we've never changed. We've got African and Polynesian blood running through our veins and North America, Central North America, Northeast blood running through our veins. We love every one of our assignments.
- [37:49]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah, that's awesome. And when the release comes, like, obviously, you know, that 70 birth, 70th birthday kind of looms over you as it gets closer. Maybe. But is there anything worth mentioning? Just being released and sort of phasing out of that part of your life?
- [38:04]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Yeah, it's very reflective because you've been in a spiritual. It's been a, you know, you've been riding a spiritual tidal wave since 2013 for us. Some of our brethren have been there doing it for 20 years. We did it for 11, 12 years, you know, but it's a. You're just about ready to get off this spiritual tidal wave. And try not to get off too far. Maybe the waves are not quite as tall, maybe they're just down here. But continue to build on what you, what you have. So when the time comes for you to be released once again, it's a time of great reflection on every mission tour that you've been on, every state conference that you've attended and presided over, every temple review, every assignment from the first presidency in the Quorum of the twelve. Just everything comes back into your heart. In your mind. And then you kind of ask yourself, did I give it every everything I had? Was the Lord pleased with my offering? So it's a time of great reflection. And the feeling is, yes, you've done what you were asked to do. Now it's time for others to step in and continue to build it and continue to carry on personally. Just an example of this. So when we went to Africa, West Africa is having so much success. And the last year in West Africa we had 34,124 baptisms. And wow, you're creating over 20 stakes and adding 15 new missions. And when we left, an all African presidency took our place. My second counselor, Elder Alfred Kyungu became the president, Adinka Jitteran became the first counselor and Isaac Morrison became the second counselor. And when you think you've done a Great job with 34,124 baptisms under their leadership, last year they had 49,000 baptisms.
- [40:04]
Quote from a Church Leader (possibly President David O. McKay or another LDS Church leader)
Wow.
- [40:05]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
And you just think about how the church is growing and the need for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 43,000 people in BYU Pathway worldwide. 43,000. We've got a university in West Africa with no buildings other than our stake centers.
- [40:24]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah.
- [40:24]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Because the Africans, our African brothers and sisters, need the gospel. They need self reliance principles. They need to continue to elevate them educational wise. They need to understand that they can be an eternal family. They love Jesus. But when you start to talk about the gospel in West Africa and the encompassing temple they need the temples. They go, yes, we believe that. Where's that been? Well, it's here. It's right here. Right here. It's like Alma 26. You're in the hands of the Lord of the harvest and you are his. That's what Ammon and Aaron and Omner and Himni, that's what they experienced in Alma 17 to 27. They got those people that they taught to understand that they were actually in the hands of the Lord of the harvest. And they are his, not ours. They're his. And that is just an amazing experience when that happens.
- [41:25]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
I love it. I love it. All right, now I want to bounce back to maybe some younger days. I never had an opportunity to interview Lavelle Edwards as far as his leadership and his approach and things. And so the next big option is I had opportunity to interview so many of his players and learned his leadership that way. What, what could you teach us that about leadership that you learned from Lavelle Edwards?
- [41:48]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
He practices what he preaches to the max. There's no facade he is as genuine of a leader as you will ever be around. And Patty was even better. I can't say Lavelle without saying Patty. Can't say Patty.
- [42:05]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
She just passed away. Right.
- [42:06]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Which taught us when we're young and we're getting married, that you can't say gift without Wendy and Wendy without Gif.
- [42:14]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah, yeah.
- [42:15]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
And the temple was really, really important to them. And the gospel was really important to them. They went to the temple every week before our games. And so what are we going to do? We're going to the temple. And we learn lessons from them all the time. Maybe the most powerful. I'll share this experience with you. And sometimes I tell it to different devotionals that I go to to just talk about the man. So we played in front of thousands, tens of thousands. I don't know, maybe not on national television, maybe 500,000 or a million people we played in front of. And those were all great and filled stadiums and had so much success. The greatest lesson I ever learned from him very quickly was he had open heart surgery. Wendy and I came back here, we went to visit him in his house, and Patty goes, you want to tell you the story of Lavelle? And I went, yeah. He goes, he's coming out of heart surgery. This was in December, and he had tubes down his throat and a tube up his nose. And he said to Patty, hey, Patty, call the bishop and tell the bishop we can't make it to tithing settlement. This is one of the greatest coaches in college football history. And when he was under medication, coming out of heart surgery, that's what he said to his wife. But then he said, but please tell the bishop, you know, I can only. I can see him sitting back there with a tube down, but tell the bishop I'm a full tithe payer. And I'm thinking of all the lessons that he could have ever taught me. That was the most powerful, that even under the influence, with tubes in his body, physically incapacitated, that that was on his mind. And I thought, what would be on my mind? What would come out of my mouth? And I'm thinking, that's the power of Lavelle Edwards. Just a simple little lesson. But man alive, how lucky were we to have him? Yeah, we could go on and on. We could spend the rest of the day on this podcast telling Lavelle stories, I bet. But that was just a powerful. That in one of the most precarious situations you could ever be in, he wanted the Lord to know that he was a full tithe pair. What does that tell all of his players?
- [44:25]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah, that's cool. And what I appreciated so much, just the. The visual of him on the, you know, sidelines without the headset on, which is just. Is unheard of today. Right. But just that symbol of delegation that. The trust he had in his. His assistants and his staff, that he didn't have to be in the middle of every conversation type of thing.
- [44:44]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
They were playing against Arizona State in a very important game, because back in 1976, we had to beat Arizona, and we had to beat Arizona State to be relevant. I mean, it was like they were in the top 10, top 20, and BYU was kind of coming out of obscurity, but we had a really good football team. And I can remember we were playing Arizona State in Cougar Stadium, and at the end of the first quarter, it was one of the wildest first quarters. I think it was 21:20 at the end of the first quarter. So if you got there late, you missed a heck of a football game just in the first quarter. So we got laid in the game. Our defense tightened down like we got laid in the game. And he's over there. You know, he's good looking this. And I am running for my life. There's a big defensive end. I think he was an all American, Willie Scroggins. And he was chasing me, and he grabbed my jersey and had hold of my jersey, and I had the football in my hand, and I couldn't throw it, so I put the football in my left hand and I threw it to Dave Lowery. And he got about 12 yards in the first down.
- [45:47]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Oh, wow.
- [45:48]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
And then Willie Scroggins just pounded me into the ground, and it was like, wow, that was a great play. And I looked over at Lavelle, and he goes, oh, that was interesting. I'm going, is that's all you got for me?
- [46:00]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah.
- [46:00]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
On that unbelievable play, that's all you got? That was interesting. Unfold your arms and put a smile on your face. Elder Holland used to say, lebel really is a happy guy. He just needs to tell his face.
- [46:14]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
That's so true. Right?
- [46:16]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
But he was. He was as genuine and pure as anyone could ever be. We're all. And we all know it. All those who played for him are unbelievably blessed. He was only in his third year, second year, when I came along. So he always. Our joke was always, you know, I said, it took you a little bit of time. I would always tell him when we would speak together at different functions, and things like that. I said, yeah, took you a little time to put me in. And now you'd got a stadium named after you. And he would always go, well, you were the slowest quarterback I've ever had. And for me to make you an All American was one of the greatest coaching feats anyone could ever do. So we would always have a good time. I miss him, love him. Patty passed away this last year, and we miss her, but they're together on the other side. And I've got great feelings in my mind just about what they look like right now.
- [47:12]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah, I'll see them again, for sure. Awesome. Was there a moment where you thought suddenly, like, was the goal always the NFL, or was that always a possibility for you? Or was there a moment where you thought, hey, actually, I could turn this into a longer football career?
- [47:26]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Yeah. I was a basketball player growing up, so I was more basketball than I was football. In fact, I played basketball for two years at byu.
- [47:34]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Oh, wow.
- [47:34]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Started about eight games. Eight or nine games, if I can recall. I mean, this is over 50 years ago, so my memory is going a little bit.
- [47:41]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah, no problem.
- [47:42]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Your audience will have to go look it up. But I started about eight games my freshman year and 1820 games my sophomore year and then made the decision to play football. Then Lavelle hired a guy by the name of Doug Scoville who had what everybody knows is the west coast offense. He comes to BYU and he puts in this offense that nobody knew what was going on. So we had the advantage over everyone else. We had this passing game. Everybody else was running the veer or the wishbone offense. We had the passing game. And so we were just having a great time. And after being with Doug Scoville, he turned me into a quarterback. He turned me into an All American quarterback in one year. How do you even put your arms around that? Couldn't do that in today's game. But he turned me into an All American quarterback in one year. And he goes, I'm here to light up the scoreboard. And we lit up the scoreboard.
- [48:34]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah, for sure.
- [48:35]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Significant. So after that, to answer your question, then the possibility was coming that I was going to be drafted in the NFL. And if you would have told me that that was going to be the case as a young kid growing up in Provo, Utah, I would have told you, you're crazy. There's no way.
- [48:50]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah, yeah.
- [48:51]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
But it happened.
- [48:52]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
It happened. And it was the. The Houston Oilers.
- [48:57]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
The Houston Oilers. And now they're the Tennessee Titans. They went to it moved and became the Tennessee Oilers and then the Tennessee Titans. But I was very, very lucky because I had Lavelle Edwards as my college coach. And then I had one of the most interesting and greatest human beings on planet Earth. Bum Phillips is my coach in my pro coach.
- [49:21]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Wow.
- [49:21]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
And Bum was a Texas legend. If you go to Texas and you just say Bum Phillips, they'll say, where do you want to sit in this restaurant? Where do you want your seats for your concert? Where do you want. You know, he was that big.
- [49:33]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah.
- [49:33]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
And he was as genuine as Lavelle. Most amazing. Well, Gifford, it's really good to have you here in Texas. And we're so grateful that you're here. And we just know that you're going to make a major contribution to our tax tame. And I'm thinking to myself, do people really talk that way? And I said, what's your name? Bum. I'm. I'm never. I'm going to call my coach Bum. But he was as good as you could ever imagine. I was so lucky.
- [50:02]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah.
- [50:02]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
So lucky. And had that con. Then had my first or. I came in the league with Earl Campbell, the great running back from the University of Texas. Before I got hurt my senior year. I was kind of like the leading candidate to win the Heisman. And Earl ended up winning the Heisman.
- [50:17]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Oh, wow.
- [50:18]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
So we had our careers together. It was just so enjoyable. That guy's a powerful human being.
- [50:23]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
And anything coming to mind as far as what you learned about leadership or being a latter day Saint in the NFL during those years or.
- [50:29]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Yes.
- [50:30]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
What comes to mind.
- [50:30]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Yeah. Here you go. Bum was powerful in breaking down barriers so he could take. At the time, you could say this can't now. But a Mormon kid out of Utah, a surfer out of California, a kid who is. Who was raised in drug infested neighborhoods in Philadelphia, kind of a. Well, guys from the south that were interesting in their views, I'll put it and break down all barriers. Black, white, green, red. And put us together where we actually loved each other.
- [51:10]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Wow.
- [51:10]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Like no one I've ever seen. And so, you know, Lavelle had his way of doing things. Bum had to. He had to work with a little bit more difficult situation because of all of these players. Plus you have money in the NFL. Not a lot back when I played. But you did have money. You had pride and ego. I remember Rodney Kimball, who was our trainer my senior year. Before every practice and before every game, you have your ankles taped. So your ankles are protected, right?
- [51:43]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah.
- [51:43]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
And he t. He Would tape my ankles every day. He'd slap the bottom of my foot and he'd say, go your way, sin no more. And remember, the NFL is the tool of the devil. So I kind of knew what I was getting myself into. But we need good heroes in today's world. And so I was ready for the challenge, and I wasn't going to deviate from what I'd been taught my entire life. So there I. We could spend hours on your podcast talking about different experiences in the NFL with some of my teammates who couldn't quite understand it. A Mormon kid out of Utah and how he doesn't like me and discriminates against me. And also, so many stories. But that was bum. He brought us all together.
- [52:26]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah.
- [52:27]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
In fact, the last time I saw my coach, he was probably 84, 85. He was close to passing. I'd just been called. This was the last time I was going to see him. And he said, what are you going to be doing? And I said, well, Bum, I'm going to go throughout the world proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. And he goes, what are you going to be teaching? And I said, I'm going to teach everybody what you taught me, how there's no black and white, there's no red and green. There's no language barriers. This is bringing everyone together to win and love each other. That's what I'm going to teach. He said, what else are you going to be teaching? And I said, where we came from, why we're here, and what's going to happen to us after this earthly existence is over. And then I'll never forget him looking at me with tears in his eyes. And he said, what's going to happen to me? I went, whoa. I had my Book of Mormon with me. I always wanted to read to him out of the Book of Mormon.
- [53:31]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
I bet.
- [53:32]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
So I read to him out of Alma 40. Here's a son learning from his father, and I'm thinking, your son is Wade Phillips. That goes to the Dallas Cowboys. Okay.
- [53:41]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Oh, wow.
- [53:42]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Here's a father teaching a son who was asking the same question you're asking. What's going to happen? So I read to him out of the Book of Mormon, and it was one of the most spiritual, precious moments on planet Earth. Just me and my coach talking to him. What's going to happen after this life is over? That, Kurt, is what this life is all about. And it only took me about 40 years, from the time I was drafted to then, to get to that point. So it was Pretty cool.
- [54:15]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah. I'm curious, was there any. Any, like, tactic or approach that he did in order to stimulate that unity or. I mean, does anything come to mind or was it just sort of in his style?
- [54:27]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
He would not let the. The black players be on one bus and the country western guys on the other bus. He made us and he roomed. He put us all together. Roomed each other. I mean, he just took diversity and just put it together.
- [54:43]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah. And once you get to know somebody, it's amazing how much you begin to love them, Right?
- [54:47]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Yep.
- [54:47]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
So.
- [54:48]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
And share. Share your life with them. Share your experiences, your growing up experiences. Share your family with each other. He was a master at it. In a very interesting setting. The NFL is a very interesting setting. That hasn't changed. Still interesting. So just more money now. More money, but still, pride, adulation, failure. Every thing you go through in life, you can learn in the NFL.
- [55:16]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah. That's cool. So how would you explain the transition from the NFL to broadcasting? What's the story there?
- [55:22]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Well, that was interesting because we were a really good team for three years, and then we became a very bad team when the owner of the Houston Oilers fired Bum. You never fire a Texas legend.
- [55:35]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah.
- [55:35]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
So the whole city turned on our team.
- [55:38]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Oh, wow.
- [55:38]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
And then Bum went to New Orleans and started taking all of our players. Didn't take me. He left me there. He took some of the players, and I was kind of left there to just die on the vine. It was, like, bad. So we went from highest of high, playing the Steelers in the AFC Championship game, one game away from the super bowl, two straight years, to going to the lowest of low. So the Oilers decided they were going to start over. And Archie Manning was one of the quarterbacks on our team. Oliver Luck was the other quarterback. Oliver was in law school. Archie had just been traded to Minnesota, and it was me. And at the time, the television station in Houston came and said, would you. Would you come and be our sportscaster? And I went, what are you talking about? Heavens, no. You know how hard it is to get here? I'm not going to do that. They said, will you at least listen to an offer? At the same time, the Oilers were signing a quarterback by the name of Warren Moon out of Canada.
- [56:38]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Oh, wow.
- [56:39]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
And his head coach, Hugh Campbell. And so they actually signed him both. And I'm going, well, Warren's coming here, and Hugh Campbell, his head coach, is coming here. And they just run a. The won the Gray cup in Canada. I'm not going to play. And I was Told you're not going to play. You're going to be Warren's backup. And I thought. And then the TV station said, here, you don't have to do that anymore. Here's this. Plus, you can walk, you're not maimed, you don't have concussions. Yeah, you're okay. So I. I made the jump. Long story.
- [57:09]
Quote from a Church Leader (possibly President David O. McKay or another LDS Church leader)
Long.
- [57:09]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah, yeah.
- [57:10]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Long story. Profound story in my life, but made the jump. And actually one of the things I always wanted to do is tell the NFL I was done. And not have them tell me I was done. When you go in the NFL, the only way you're out is when they come to you and say, you can't play anymore because you're so injured, you can't walk or you're no good, you're terrible. So we're going to move from you or this or that. It's not a pleasant experience. And you got cut in the NFL. But I was doing. Everything was going great. Everything was fine, and I was still healthy. I hadn't had major injuries. And. And I always wanted to tell the NFL when I was done and not have them tell me. And that television opened that opportunity. Open that door for that opportunity.
- [57:55]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
That's great. And then you're. So you're the sports broadcaster for years and years.
- [57:59]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
25 years. When we started, cartoons were beating us in the ratings. But the CBS affiliate In Houston hired Dr. Neil Frank out of the National Hurricane center to be our weathercaster. And he became iconic, had a flat top haircut. But Dr. Neal was on the air talking about rivers of air and atmospheric pressure, and the people just loved him. And anytime there was a hurricane in the Gulf, everybody was Turning to Channel 11, the Spirit of Texas. And then I was the anchor on the other side. We were together for 17 years and started where, seriously, cartoons were beating us, but we got two anchors. We got Dr. Neal on one side, me on the other side. And we actually became the number one CBS affiliate over ksl. By the way, homeboy in the country just has a dominant, or they had a dominant rating here in Utah, and we became the number one CBS affiliate in the country.
- [58:57]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
That's cool.
- [58:58]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
So it was an interesting evolution and I made so many mistakes. The other TV stations used to, they. They had a GIF Nielsen blooper reel of the stupid things that I would say on tv.
- [59:10]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Wow.
- [59:10]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
It showed everybody. I don't know where that blooper reel is, but everybody, if anybody saw that, they would have a fun time, they would have a good laugh.
- [59:18]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
That's awesome. Really cool. Well, man, like you said, we could spend hours and hours on these different, you know, parts of your journey and your career and in your spiritual journey. And Fry can't accomplish that in this episode, but we are. We get the opportunity to be vacation buddies on a cruise, and we're bringing our families and friends. And what can you tell us about that experience?
- [59:39]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Well, let me just tell you something about Troy Dunn. Yeah, I love Troy Dunn. He was.
- [59:43]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah, he's great.
- [59:44]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
He was a guy that was kind of instrumental in putting together the BYU Athletic Cruise. This was a cruise just for the athletes at BYU and fans. So we did that. And I think this might have come from that. But Troy is just a very talented guy, has had experience behind the camera or with a microphone, and he's just a fun person to be around. And he's put together this cruising with the Saints, and it sounded so enjoyable. And we were thinking about an Alaskan cruise. We didn't know exactly what the time was, but if you listen to his little cruising with the Saints, he had a little deal, says it's going to be between home football games. And I'm very involved with BYU's football team, and so it just worked out great. And so he's put together an amazing group going on this cruise. I think it leaves on the. What is it, the 14th through the 21st of September. It's going to be beautiful. It's going out of Seattle and then coming back into Seattle and you get a chance to see Juno and Sitka and what was.
- [60:52]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah, so many of these little. Yeah, Ketchikan. And. Yeah.
- [60:56]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
And I just thought, how cool would it be to be with Kurt Frankham? Are you kidding? I greet you with Kurt Frankham.
- [61:05]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah.
- [61:06]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Yeah.
- [61:06]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Most BYU legends say that.
- [61:09]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
And you know what?
- [61:09]
Quote from a Church Leader (possibly President David O. McKay or another LDS Church leader)
We.
- [61:10]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
And Kenneth Cope is going on it. We. We love the music of Kenneth.
- [61:14]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah, he's great.
- [61:15]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
And so why not be a part of this? And so we want to encourage everybody. If you want to. If you want a great time. I don't know exactly what's going to happen on this cruise, but I do know Troy Dunn.
- [61:25]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah.
- [61:26]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
And true. Troy Dunn is all about fun. How about that? Troy Dunn is all about fun.
- [61:31]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Absolutely.
- [61:31]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
And enjoyment. And so this is going to be a great time to be together and. And having a chance to see Alaska. And I think maybe the most beautiful time of the year, either the spring or the fall, but the fall, I can only imagine that the leaves are going to be changing. I don't even know that. But the Leaves are going to be changing. It's going to be spectacular. We're going to have a great time together. We want to encourage everybody to come and join us.
- [61:54]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yeah, for sure. And you'll have opportunity to speak on the cruise and then I, I hope to arrange some, some further follow up interviews with you that made me hear some of these other stories and I think it would be just be a great time to get together and, and connect with other Latter Day Saints and have a spiritual experience on the water. So it'll be awesome.
- [62:12]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
So, Troy, I hope I said everything the right way because he's going to listen to this. He is y and make sure that we're saying things appropriately. But this is just a great group and looks like one of these memorable times. So Kurt, it's so enjoyable to get to know you better and yeah, for sure. Looking forward to hearing your wise counsel.
- [62:32]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Well, we'll see if there is any, but I'm excited to hang out and we'll put all the details as far as how to, how to book a cabin on the Screws experience and make sure that you're, you're part of the leading Saints group and others that have a great experience there. So.
- [62:45]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Yes, travel.
- [62:49]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yep.
- [62:50]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Not traveling with it. Well, you are traveling with the Saints, but it's Sea Saints inspiring travel. I'm just looking at this right now and that's exactly what it's going to be. It's on the Anthem of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean ship and 14th to the 21st. And we're going to have a great time.
- [63:05]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
Yep. Well, the last question I have for you, Elder Nelson, is just as you reflect on your time as a leader, you know, obviously in the church context, but also in the, the sports and the broadcasting world, how has being a leader helped you become a better follower of Jesus Christ?
- [63:22]
Elder Gifford Nielsen
Well, here's been my experience over the years that I think authentic preparation is a key. So when you're a leader, I think you have to be prepared. I was always taught that from all my coaches from Lavelle, Doug Scoville, even going back to high school when we were so successful in high school with Dick Hill and Bright Lake and football. Jim, a little bit emotional right now because Jim Spencer really gave us a lot of belief with our high school football team or high school basketball team. And one of the last times I ever saw him was in the temple. And those are the kind of leaders that I was around. So when I started thinking about Lavelle and I started thinking about Jim Spencer and I Could think about Dick Hill and Bride Lake and all these coaches, they were just good men who really cared about us. And so here's what I always saw with President Monson and when I started my service and President Nelson, they just cared deeply about us. They cared about our families, they knew us by name. It was authentic. It was authentic leadership. And when you're authentic, you can read someone so fast. You can read through someone so fast, you know what? They're a gentleman agenda is so fast. It was bum. His agenda was us. The owner's agenda didn't seem like it was us, but our head coach's agenda was us. And breaking down the barriers to bring us together, that's just total authentic leadership. And then you have to know the X's and O's, you have to know how to treat people. But we knew exactly what we were getting with every one of those coaches that I mentioned. And I've left some coaches out and I'm sorry if I've done that. I don't want to offend anybody. But it was, I think when you start talking about leadership and you start talking about joy and happiness in life, it's being prepared and being authentic. And know that you're not the source, you're not the great one, you're just the one there helping the team be lifted. And that's kind of what I saw with every one of those hard work, work, preparation, authentic relationships. That's what we had with all of them.
- [65:45]
Kurt Francom
Hey, you made it to the end of the episode. Wasn't that so good? You know, I tend to pinch myself that this is what I get to do. I get to sit down with some remarkable people across the world, Experts, everyday leaders, PhDs, therapists, whatever it be, and have such an impactful conversation. I hope you'll share it, drop it into text message and email and share it to someone who maybe came to mind during this episode. And if you go to the show notes and scroll to the bottom, there's actually a list of some of our most popular episodes. So don't stop with this episode. I mean, you're not done with the dishes or mowing the lawn or working out, so you might as well keep it going at the bottom of those show notes and make sure you listen to each one maybe a couple times
- [66:24]
Interviewer (likely Kurt Francom)
on a few of them.
- [66:26]
Kurt Francom
And remember, head on over to Zion lab and ask a question. See what other questions are being asked@leadingsaints.org Zion.
- [66:42]
Quote from a Church Leader (possibly President David O. McKay or another LDS Church leader)
It came as a result of the position of leadership which was imposed upon us by the God of heaven who brought forth a restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And when the declaration was made concerning the only true and living church upon the face of the earth, we were immediately put in a position of loneliness. A loneliness of leadership from which we cannot shrink nor run away, and to which we must face up with boldness and courage and ability.