Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles throws the first pitch during The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints family night at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland, July 25, 2022.
SALT LAKE CITY — One of the top leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints threw the ceremonial first pitch at a Major League Baseball game Monday night. Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles pitched the first ball as part of Latter-day Saints Night at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland. The Church’s Baltimore Stake sponsors the annual event.
According to a press release, Elder Renlund served as a bishop for a congregation in the Baltimore area during his medical residency in the 1980s at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His wife, Ruth Renlund, who earned a law degree from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law during the family’s time in Baltimore, was also at the game.
A member of the Church is invited to throw the first pitch for the event every year; a full-time missionary did so in 2014.
In years past, Latter-day Saints Day at Camden Yards has served as a significant interfaith event for the greater Baltimore community. In 2015, Church representatives invited Rev. Dr. S. Todd Yeary of Douglas Memorial Community Church and Rev. Dr. Alvin C. Hathaway of Union Baptist Church to join Elder Michael P. Brady, Area Seventy for the North America Northeast Area, to throw the first pitch. Both joined in the next year as well.
Similar events have been held at other major league ballparks across the United States, including Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, and Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas.
After his pitch, Elder Renlund stayed to enjoy the rest of the game as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 5-1.
will@cvradio.com