More than 900 Church members cheered from the bleachers as an Apostle and his wife stepped to the mound and waved to the crowd on “Latter-day Saint Night at Camden Yards” prior to the Baltimore Orioles-Tampa Bay Rays game Monday.
Sporting a white Orioles jersey, the ceremonial first pitch was delivered down the middle for a strike by right-hander Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was accompanied by his wife, Sister Ruth L. Renlund.
The Orioles won the game, 5-1.
The Orioles have hosted similar events sponsored by the Church’s Baltimore Maryland Stake since 2007. This is the first time an Apostle has thrown the first pitch at Camden Yards. Other Apostles and Church leaders have been invited to throw out the first pitch at other Major League Baseball games many times over the years.
The visit to Baltimore was a homecoming for the Renlunds, who lived in the city from 1980–86 while Elder Renlund completed an internal medical residency and a cardiology fellowship at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Sister Renlund earned a juris doctorate from the University of Maryland.
During the final three years of their time in Baltimore, Elder Renlund also served as bishop of a congregation that encompassed much of the city.
Now 40 years later, Elder Renlund considers their years in the city as transformative for their family.
“It was this concentrated experience that changed us forever and changed the course of our lives,” Elder Renlund said. “I don’t think there’s a day that goes by that we don’t think about our experience in Baltimore.”
Read more about the Renlund’s time in Baltimore, including Sister Renlund's diagnosis of ovarian cancer, at Deseret News.
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