Will Hopoate, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons), recently returned from serving a two-year full-time mission in Queensland. Yvonne Sampson from Channel Nine’s 'The Footy Show' interviews Will and the Hopoate family. He talks about his Mormon mission and his return to the NRL with the Parramatta Eels.
The 'Footy Show' is broadcast nationally in Australia and normally concentrates purely on game strategies and other entertainment. It is unusual for the program to delve so intimately into the spiritual life of a Rugby League player. It bills the segment as “A unique insight into the life of one of the NRL hottest young Talents. Will Hopoate sheds light on his family, faith and his highly anticipated return to rugby league”.
Second youngest to ever play in the “State of Origin”, Will scored a try helping the New South Wales Blues to defeat the Queensland Maroons before a crowd of 92,000. This unproven teenager did a man’s job in the gruelling match.
Turning down contracts exceeding a million dollars, he became a worldwide sensation with his decision to put his career on hold to take on a significantly more spiritual assignment. While serving in Queensland, Will eventually became an 'assistant' to the Mission President, the most senior role for male missionaries in the mission field in which he supervised the efforts of close to 200 other young men and women.
Mormon missionaries give service to the community without any strings attached. They also teach interested people about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the restoration of his ancient doctrines and practices in the 19th Century which were lost to the earth after the death of the ancient apostles.
Watch the YouTube video of the interview on the 'Footy Show'.
To view the "Why I Believe" segment on Will Hopoate while he was serving his Queensland mission for the Church, click here.