On his 69th birthday, Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints threw out the ceremonial first pitch on JustServe Night at a Kansas City Royals Major League Baseball game on Tuesday, Aug. 6.
The Apostle’s pitch was caught by former Royals World Series pitcher and Latter-day Saint Jeremy Guthrie, according to an article on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
The pregame festivities also featured 150 service and teaching missionaries from the Church’s Missouri Independence Mission, who performed the United States national anthem, with lyrics signed by American Sign Language missionaries.
The Royals honored Elder Stevenson, who was accompanied by his wife, Sister Lesa Stevenson, friends and family, with birthday wishes and a cake.
“It was a very special evening to be with local community and interfaith leaders, along with over 2,000 Latter-day Saints and missionaries,” said Elder Stevenson, who is the first Apostle to participate in a Royals game. “This underscores the importance of JustServe and communities coming together to help others. I was especially grateful for the warm birthday wishes from everyone.”
Guthrie, who played for five Major League Baseball teams and then served as president of the Texas Houston South Mission from 2018 to 2021, described the night as a “fantastic experience.”
“It brought back fond memories to see the missionaries singing the national anthem on the field, and it was all topped off by having an Apostle of the Lord, Elder Gary Stevenson, be there to throw the first pitch,” said Guthrie, who also caught a ceremonial first pitch from Elder David A. Bednar at a Houston Astros game in 2019.
This year’s Latter-day Saint night with the Royals highlighted the JustServe initiative — a Church-sponsored, service-organizing website and app — by distributing T-shirts and organizing a service collection for Giving the Basics, a nonprofit organization in the Kansas City area that provides essential hygiene products to those in need.
“Having Elder and Sister Stevenson join for a wonderful JustServe Night at the Royals was a treat for the many members and friends of the Church,” said Elder Jeremiah Morgan, an Area Seventy.
The Church’s JustServe night at the Royals came two weeks after 180 young men and women from the Colorado Denver North Mission sang the United States national anthem at a Colorado Rockies baseball game on July 24.
Elder Stevenson previously threw out the ceremonial first pitch at a Los Angeles Angels baseball game in 2016.
