May 28, 2004
EVANSTON, Ill.--When one thinks of a wrestler, images of a tough, mean and uncaring individual often come to mind. But that is not the case with Northwestern student-athletes Scott Johnson (Kanab, Utah) and Nolan Walther (Anchorage, Alaska), two uncharacteristic wrestlers who went on a religious mission during their time at college.
Johnson, a 23-year-old sophomore, is the son of a cattle rancher and a county-level politician. His family, including his grandparents, are members of the church. In high school, he took a seminary class and gained his own understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. At that point, he knew he really wanted to join a mission.
Walther, a graduating senior, was raised by a lawyer and a teacher. As a Mormon, he always had the intention of going on a mission, but it was not until his senior year of high school that it really hit him to do one.
Both Wildcats ended up on missions that their older brothers had done, which was a huge rarity considering that there are over 330 different missions. Also, Johnson and Walther were assigned to learn another language--Polish for the former, Japanese for the latter--and speak it during their respective mission.
To begin training, both went to centers where they studied 14 hours a day of not only their new language but also religion. Walther, in addition, had cultural lessons since he was going to be stationed in Japan.
"The training was really intense," says Walther. "It was nothing but eat, sleep and study, so I learned a lot."
After the two months of rigorous training, the two began the rest of their missions in completely different parts of the world. Johnson headed to the Chicago, working in Irving Park and the Fox Lake area, while Walther went to Yonezawa, Iwaki, Hirosaki and Akita.
During their mission, in which they talked to people to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ, they were paired with one other person with whom they had to be 24 hours a day, never out of visual sight. This close partnership took some getting used to, but nothing Johnson or Walther could not tolerate.
Going house-to-house was difficult at times, rewarding at others. Many people did not want to be bothered and simply were rude to the missionaries. Some even had vicious dogs. But a few souls would appear now and then and listen to what they had to say.
"It was disheartening to be so turned away so harshly," says Johnson. "We were there to serve them, not to bother them."
After the two years were up, Johnson and Walther were set to resume their previous lives. The latter, who had walked on to the team in his freshman year, rejoined the squad following his return to the United States. Johnson, on the other hand, became a Wildcat in a different manner.
While a volunteer wrestling coach at the Irving Park YMCA during his mission, Johnson and his team were given tickets to an NU-Purdue dual match. After the contest, Johnson talked to head coach Tim Cysewski, who was already familiar with him, and was invited to join the team after his mission was over.
For Walther and Johnson, getting back into shape was tough, since neither worked out much during those two years. Also, since all they ever talked about was religion, it was hard for them to have regular conversation, especially with females, since they were not allowed to flirt during their mission.
Fortunately, there were some positive aspects in their return. For instance, living such a regimental lifestyle and constantly reviewing the Gospel of Jesus Christ helped the two develop discipline for the rigors of college life and excellent study skills.
Johnson and Walther also had a relatively smooth transition getting acquainted (or reacquainted) with their teammates. Instead of deriding them, the rest of the Wildcats were more or less fascinated with their experiences and wanted to know all about it.
The mutual understanding did not stop there. Cysewski allowed them (and still does) to practice on the team's given off day instead of having to practice on Sundays, something very important to Johnson and Walther.
In turn, they have returned the kind gesture, in an indirect way. The two have helped to change the stereotype of a typical wrestler that was previously described. They have shown that wrestlers can have a good side, too.
"You go from loving someone to a violent sport like wrestling," says Johnson, who is working on his economics degree. "I would be aggressive in competitions but only to a point. I had to learn to get mean. In fact, I learned to be two people--the person wrestling on the mat, and the nice Christian outside of wrestling. Just because you have the two lifestyles does not necessarily mean they conflict. Rather, I think they support each other."
And the best part of the mission? Walther, who is currently applying for med-school, explains:
"I went out to serve others, but in turn, I feel more blessed because of it. No doubt, we had some tough times, but I am a better person because of it. There are so many aspects of my life that the mission integrated into."
Better people they may be, but for the lives Walther and Johnson have touched--at Northwestern and worldwide--those individuals are the ones who should feel blessed.