Richard A. Searfoss didn't actually aim for the stars when, as a young boy, he plotted his life's course. But he did aim high and, whenever he gets the chance, he encourages today's youth to do the same.
A major in the U.S. Air Force and a NASA astronaut at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, he qualified last summer for assignment as a pilot on future Space Shuttle flight crews. If the present schedule is adhered to, he will be the first member of the Church to pilot the shuttle and, eventually, to command a Space Shuttle mission.His time is divided between the space center in Houston and Cape Canaveral, Fla. He also goes throughout the United States on speaking assignments.
"I go out and help sell the space program. I'm excited about the chance not only to represent the astronaut office, but also to meet members of the Church and help set a good example," said Maj. Searfoss, 35, a high priest. He and his wife, the former Julie McGuire of Glendale, Calif., and daughters, Megan, 9, and Elizabeth, 7, are members of the League City Ward, Friendswood Texas Stake. He serves on the ward activities committee.
"In my public speeches, I can't endorse personal religious beliefs or creeds," said Maj. Searfoss, "but people eventually discover I'm LDS. It's always exciting to run up with a Church member in an audience or a reception line. The members are usually excited and surprised to learn there is another Latter-day Saint who is an astronaut. (Don Lind, president of the Summit Creek (singles) Branch in the Smithfield Utah Stake, an astronaut for 19 years, flew aboard the Challenger from April 29-May 6, 1985.)
"We [the astronauts for future flight crewsT do a lot of speaking all over the country. In addition to making official appearances for NASA, I try to speak at firesides or other LDS meetings in my spare time."
In a Church News interview, Maj. Searfoss talked animatedly about NASA, and described himself as having "always been a believer" in the space program. "I always knew I would go into the military," he said. "In 7th grade, I decided I would to go the Air Force Academy. I was fortunate enough to get there, and then to have a chance to come to NASA.
"I try to emphasize, when I talk to youth, that once they've started high school it's time to start figuring out what they want to do with their lives. I encourage them to set goals and work toward them."
When the conversation turned to the Church, Maj. Searfoss' voice became somewhat reflective, but retained a high level of zeal.
He joined the Church in 1976, when he was a cadet at the U.S. Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Colo. "I knew next to nothing about the Church," he recalled. "My father was in the Air Force, so we lived in a lot of different places. I had an ecumenical Protestant background, having attended chapels on military bases. I attended services for different Protestant denominations each week.
"When I started investigating the Church, I wasn't actively looking for anything. My interest in the Church began one day when I was walking past the room of another cadet in my squadron, Rick Canale. I stopped to chat. His bed was covered with pamphlets; I picked one up and started reading. It was a pamphlet about the Church.
"I didn't realize it at the time, but during our conversation Rick bore his testimony. One of the things he said was: `Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.' (Amos 3:7.) That concept was brand new to me. I'd never been issued a statement like that before. It struck home to me that that's the way it should be done. Rick's testimony piqued my interest."
Maj. Searfoss said his friend invited him to attend stake conference. "I went to the Saturday evening session, but didn't plan to go back on Sunday because I was finishing up my sophomore year and had finals to prepare for. I had planned to study all day Sunday.
"The first talk I heard in an LDS meeting was by Elder Neal A. Maxwell, the General Authority who presided over the conference. I was so impressed with the meeting that I decided to attend the conference session on Sunday. Afterward I went to the home of another Church member, Bob Atkinson, who was my teacher in French literature. The Atkinsons fellowshipped me and told me more about the Church. I learned an object lesson: I kept the Sabbath, and did better on my finals than I had up to that point in my academic career."
Maj. Searfoss said he began taking missionary discussions and was baptized a short time later. "I called my dad and told him I was going to join the Church," he recalled. "My dad said, `You'll make a good Mormon.' "
Maj. Searfoss said he has found many opportunities to talk with others about the Church, especially those with whom he has served in the Air Force. He graduated in 1980 from undergraduate pilot training at Williams AFB in Arizona. From 1981-84, he flew the F-111F at RAF Lakenheath, England. That stint was followed by a tour of duty at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, where he was an F-111A instructor pilot and weapons officer until 1987. He attended the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in Maryland in 1988, and, at the time he was selected for the astronaut program, he was a flight instructor at the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB, Calif. He has logged more than 2,300 hours flying time in 53 different types of aircraft.
"When I was with the squadron in England, we used to deploy to Turkey," he reflected. "A lot of the guys would go out to drink during their time off; I would run 8-10 miles a day. Some of them became interested in running and started running with me, and a few asked questions about the Church. The standards we strive to live in the gospel really do stand out. It's important for every member to stand for what he or she believes and knows is right."
Because he was not reared as a member of the Church, Maj. Searfoss said he missed out learning specific gospel principles as a youth. However, he was not without good influences. He said he has "the best of parents" who instilled in him strong Christian values, and that the Boy Scouts of America made a great impression on his life. "My whole values system was influenced by Scouting's ideals, by the Scout law and oath," he said. "Scouting taught me about working toward a goal." - Gerry Avant
