Elder Rasband Highlights Milwaukee Brewers Shortstop Cooper Pratt During Nicaragua Temple Dedication

During his visit to dedicate the Managua Nicaragua Temple in Nicaragua, Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles highlighted the example of Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Cooper Pratt, pointing to the professional baseball player as an illustration of living and sharing religious beliefs in public life.

While speaking with media representatives in Managua on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, Elder Rasband reflected on Book of Mormon teachings from Alma at the Waters of Mormon, specifically the scriptural invitation in Mosiah 18:9 to stand as witnesses of God at all times, in all things, and in all places.

“I think of Cooper Pratt,” Elder Rasband said during the interview. “He’s being a witness of the Lord Jesus Christ even playing shortstop for the Milwaukee Brewers, and that makes me very proud of him.”

Elder Rasband, who was accompanied in Nicaragua by Elder Ryan K. Olsen—a General Authority Seventy and member of the Church’s Central America Area presidency—noted that Pratt’s public professional sports career on Major League Baseball’s largest stage demonstrates how members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can maintain their identity and values in any environment.

For the senior Church leader, Pratt’s recent accomplishments also connected to a personal relationship spanning decades with the baseball player’s family. Cooper Pratt’s father, Russell Pratt, served as a missionary under Elder Rasband’s direction when Elder Rasband presided over the New York New York North Mission from 1996 to 1999.

Recalling those years, Elder Rasband described the elder Pratt as a soft-spoken yet powerful leader who was deeply dedicated as a disciple of Jesus Christ and well-loved by fellow missionaries and local members alike in the New York area.

Russell Pratt, who currently serves as bishop of the Oxford Mississippi Ward in the Tupelo Mississippi Stake, reflected on the lasting impact of that missionary service under Elder Rasband’s leadership. He noted that the counsel, encouragement, and wisdom he received decades ago continue to guide his daily life and ministry.

“To this day, I can still hear his voice in the back of my mind — his counsel, his encouragement, his wisdom and, perhaps more than anything, his sincere love for people,” Russell Pratt said of his former mission president. “He taught me lessons about leadership, faith, service and loving others that I still draw on today.”

Elder Rasband said his awareness of Cooper Pratt’s athletic career and steadfast personal values came after reading a profile in Church News. He expressed deep pride in seeing how the player’s parents had instilled faith and character in their son, which later manifested prominently during Milwaukee’s postseason journey and subsequent appearance in the World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Concluding his remarks during the temple dedication media event, Elder Rasband emphasized that Pratt’s ability to remain true to his beliefs while competing at the highest levels of professional sports offers a broader lesson applicable to all members of the faith, regardless of their daily occupations or public visibility.