The Stormin’ Mormons

These three youth from the Edmond Third Ward in Stillwater, Oklahoma, are “crazy-good” wake boarders. Last summer Rachel Orgill, Ashley Merkley, and Isaac Cordy entered the Oklahoma City River Wakeboarding tournament. Just to let everyone know who they were and what they stood for, they made a big poster and individual T-shirts declaring themselves the “Stormin’ Mormons.”

They had a great time competing on Saturday, and to their surprise, each one made the tournament finals in their divisions. The problem was, the finals were on Sunday. Without hesitation, all three notified the event coordinators that they would not be competing in the finals because they would be observing the Sabbath. The coordinators were surprised the youth were willing to pay to enter the tournament and now were giving up sure prizes and placements as finalists.

The three friends had the opportunity to explain their decision to many in the crowd and to the other competitors, who overwhelmingly thought it was “cool” that their convictions were more important to them than winning.

Photograph courtesy of Karen Orgill