Max Hall, the record-setting BYU quarterback out of Mesa Arizona and former LDS missionary in Iowa has become the talk of the nation after leading the Arizona Cardinals to victory over the defending Super Bowl Champion Saints(until being knocked out of today's game against the Seahawks with a concussion). The undrafted rookie quarterback has been compared to Kurt Warner. He commands the respect of his team.

Is Max Hall the next Steve Young for the church? Apparently not.

You probably did not catch it, but Elder Ucthdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles used the priesthood session of general conference to take a swipe at Hall's hateful rant about the University of Utah. The apostles said, "Perhaps there is no better laboratory to observe the sin of pride than the world of sports. I have always loved participating in and attending sporting events. But I confess there are times when the lack of civility in sports is embarrassing. How is it that normally kind and compassionate human beings can be so intolerant and filled with hatred toward an opposing team and its fans?...They justify their hatred with broad generalizations and apply them to everyone associated with the other team."
http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-1298-19,00.html

To remind you the words of the now infamous diatribe: "I don't like Utah. In fact, I hate them. I hate everything about them. I hate their program, I hate their fans, I hate everything....I think the whole university, their fans and their organization, is classless."

My understanding is that Church brass were not happy about the post-game comments, especially when the QB's hateful words were broadcast again and again over the national networks. Earlier in the season, he spoke about representing the faith as a QB. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pe7ZyfQ0ic I am sure they were also unhappy about hearing the QB drop the F-bomb on live national TV earlier in the game after missing a pass. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooqKFukHmyw&feature=related

The use of profanity seems to be continuing. According to ESPN, in a huddle at a recent NFL game, "He barked out one sentence that dripped with confidence, contained at least two expletives, and was described as somewhat shocking."

"I can't repeat what he said," receiver Larry Fitzgerald says, citing Hall's reputation as a man of faith. "It was something that we wouldn't expect from a BYU guy, a Mormon guy," says center Lyle Sendlein. "

In the same week that the media is digging into revelations about Brett Favre's past, the media is also looking into Max Hall's past, specifically, his short time as an LDS missionary in Iowa. According to ESPN, "Hall left for his mission after his freshman season, heading to Iowa at the age of 19. He didn't complete the full two years of the mission, and doesn't talk much about why he left."

ESPN called the Iowa Mission Office to get the scoop on the early departure. According to ESPN, "They don't know him. A woman called Sister Bee is working Tuesday afternoon in the Des Moines, Iowa-based office of the Latter-Day Saints Mission, and will confirm just one thing about Max Hall: No one on staff remembers him. It was years ago, and the faces are constantly changing." See http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?id=5708548 for full article.

Is it really true that none of the missionary in the mission office nor the president and his wife know who Max Hall was? Absolutely not. I live in Iowa and all the missionaries serving here know who he is and where he served. They are familiar with the circumstances surrounding his departure. I've even spoken with missionaries that served when he was here. He is by far the greatest legend the Iowa mission has ever had. I'll leave it at that.

Anyways, it appears that Church PR has infiltrated the Iowa Mission to tightly control what gets out to the media about Max Hall, and I'm not speaking just about the mission office. The missionaries suddenly are avoiding the subject entirely, as though they are under some sort of marching orders.

Will Max Hall become the next Steve Young? Probably not.

Note:Former NFL star Steve Young is the darling of LDS Church Public Affairs. The handsome Super Bowl MVP is well known and respected by sports fans the world over and appears regularly on ESPN. Young has been the poster boy of the church for over two decades, a convenient figure for Mormons to point out to their non-Mormon friends. Despite playing football on the Sabbath, Young is so revered by the church PR deparment that it had him narrate a recent video campaign dispelling myths about mormons. See clip at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfOyGTLDqjM

Very well written and substantiated; agree with your conclusions.

I understand that he was one of those missionaries that mission presidents love but that ever-obedient missionaries disdain. Confident, athletic, charismatic, and showing flashes of leadership, he came across at first glance as the A.P. type(returned missionaries know what I mean by this).

For those missionaries who strive to obey the mission rules, there is often a lot of resentment in seeing a disobedient missionary have success and receive adoration. Accordingly, some past and present Iowa missionaries have been troubled by him as a missionary and him as a BYU QB.

Maximus Hall is fascinating and complex. One poster called him a gladiator. I agree and respect him as such. In my experience, powerful people tend to be enshrined in controversy.

If you meet him in person, he will likely win you over. He can be incredibly charismatic and inspiring. That he jumped over Matt Leinhart and other QBs into a starting role with the Cardinals as an undrafted free agent is a testament to his character.

I think this just goes to show that sucess in life really doesn't have anything to do with the level of our "faithfulness." Whether one has an addiction to painkillers like Rush Limbaugh or is a bit too friendly with the ladies has no bearing on one's ability to suceed in life. What matters is raw talent, drive, and energy.

Like him or dislike him, Max Hall definitely has "it."

I would guess that the reason the LDS church is distancing itself from Max Hall as you have so excellently detailed is because its leaders don't view him as poster boy material - too much baggage and a bit of a loose canon.

I dont' think its leaders are faulty for being selective about it - the church has never image problems within its prophets, seers and revelators and idiots like Glen Beck, why would they through the spotlight on someone like Max?

What was even more incredulous was Bronco's comments. One can forgive an immature player's hot-headed comments, but then head Coach Bronco -- instead of blasting and apologizing for the remarks that essentially trashed the entire UofU community, merely said that he respects Hall's passion and allows him to have his own opinion. Talk about classless, sheesh!

He is a free spirit. He isn't afraid to speak his mind. He's a fighter. May not like the times when he has come across a bit self-righteous, but I can't deny that he can be an exciting and entertaining lighting rod.

Wasn't there more to the story than his rant? I don't remember the details, but I though he said this after his wife was spit on at Rice Eccles or something. Didn't Whittingham rant about something similar happening to his wife the following year? I've never met Hall, but I have met Whittingham and he is a first class douche.

I guess he is still in good graces with the Mormon church PR department, but it will be interesting to see what happens in the future. His wife (along with her family--a brother of hers is gay) has been quite open in their opposition to marriage discrimination. Although Steve has chosen to remain publicly silent on the issue, who knows what other pressures could come to bear as the Mormon church forces its members to take a stance on the issue and purges opposition among the ranks.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=4686916

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/nov05election/detail?entry_id=32216

Someone posted a link concerning Young's wife in one of the mormon discussion groups during the bruhaha concerning Prop8. She was called a turncoat for having put a equal rights sign into her yard. Does anyone remember that?

I don't remember the post but I can verify the sign since I have friends who live across the street from them. So how's this: you guys can say an anonymous poster on RfM (toto) claims to know the Young's neighbors who said they saw the anti-Prop 8 sign in the Young's front yard.

But, it's true. I do and they did.

Iowa is a state known for being overrun by meth use. Could that have led Mad Max down this slippery path?

Duplicate post.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/08/2014 11:58AM by agnesbroomhead.

I think I should be the next Steve Young type. After all, I'm manly, clean cut, upstanding, and adorable. If chosen, I promise I will not drop any f-bombs. The Boner.

when do I get to hear the 'E' word ?

I think we all know some TBM family and friends who read this.

Busted for shoplifting and a little coke in AZ. hahahaa, was he hoping he would get noticed by store security?

That's hardly even worth yawning about imo.

Hall's local cult leaders can now ask him about pornograpy he enjoys to view.

Yep, Drugs and porn are to blame for this promising young Mormon athlete they'll surmise .

Another little yawn.

The members continue to waste their life in the Mo bubble.

Maybe Max Hall will leave the controlling Mormon cult and find himself?

It's a little amusing to observe how the brethern react to a LDS public figure getting arrested for drugs.

81f today in Klickitat county WA.

but, rumors at the time said he left early because he didn't believe the church was true.

He then went to BYU and taught Sunday School in his BYU ward, so who knows what his belief system is. Whatever it is now, it needs fixed.

Maybe Mr. Deity can help him write a funny comedy bit for an exmo commercial. That would be funny.

One year at the mesa temple he and another cardinal spoke to the crowd in december during the christmas lights