The BYU basketball star who helped bring the restored gospel to Yugoslavia
When Krešimir Ćosić left Yugoslavia to play basketball at BYU, he had no idea he had enrolled at a religious university. What began as culture shock became a lifelong conversion that helped bring the restored gospel to his homeland.
He left Yugoslavia to play basketball at BYU. When he learned what BYU expected of its students, he wanted out. In 1969, 20-year-old Cresimir Chosich arrived at Brigham Y Young University on a basketball scholarship. Because he spoke very little English, he hadn't realized BYU was a religious school. He suddenly found himself living under an honor code that prohibited alcohol, tobacco, and sexual immorality.
His first thought was simple. How did I ever get here? And if I can't get out, how am I going to survive? What he didn't know was that God had been preparing him for this moment for years. As a teenager in Yugoslavia, Cresamir often visited his deeply religious grandmother. During those visits, he began having the same dream over and over again. He saw himself playing basketball in a huge arena surrounded by towering mountains and a peaceful lake.
Years later, when a recruiter showed him a BYU brochure, he recognized the place from his dream. Despite his rough beginning, something about BYU began to change him. He started attending family home evenings and spent hours discussing religion with Hugh Nibbi. The more he learned, the more he couldn't ignore what he felt. Eventually, he said, "There are a hundred reasons why I should not join the church, and only one reason why I should.
Because it is true." Cresir was baptized. Then he returned to Yugoslavia as a special missionary, sharing the gospel wherever basketball took him. He offered fans BYU t-shirts if they would read the articles of faith or his testimony. He translated church videos into Serbo Croatian, helped translate the Book of Mormon, helped missionaries enter Yugoslavia, and helped establish some of the first church branches there.
Later, after Croatia gained its independence, he served as the country's deputy ambassador to the United States. Sadly, he passed away from cancer in 1995 at just 46 years old. When Elder Russell M. Nelson dedicated Croatia in 2010. He expressed gratitude for the foundation Cresmeir had helped lay. Cresir thought God had given him a gift for basketball. But God used that gift to open doors, touch hearts, and help bring the restored gospel to his people.
The Lord can do the same with each of us. Whatever talents he has given you, he can use them to bless others and build his kingdom if you're willing.
