Taylor Booth
Taylor Booth was one of 18 players named to the U.S. men’s soccer team’s roster for the Summer Games held in Paris, France. This year marks the first time the U.S. men’s team has competed in the Olympics since 2008.
Booth, a forward on the Olympic team, was born in Eden, Utah. His parents, Kelli and Chad Booth, were both collegiate soccer players. He was fourteen when he obtained an Italian passport because of his father’s Italian heritage, and moved to Germany to play soccer.
- When he was living and playing in Germany — “going through many difficult experiences,” including culture shock and a new language — Booth met and befriended a missionary couple. They took an interest in Booth, attended his games and ministered to him on a regular basis. One day he came home from training to find a batch of homemade brownies and a note that reminded him to “love the Lord.”
- “That’s something that has stuck with me for a long time,” he said. “It’s something that was small and simple, but it helped me so much and made me feel so loved.”
- Booth said he is often asked how he balances his faith with his professional life. It’s a question everyone should consider.
- “What price are you willing to pay for discipleship? Am I going to sleep in on a Sunday morning when I have a free day? Or do I wake up, get ready, go to church, take the sacrament and feel His love?” he said. “I have a long ways to go, but it’s nice to know that I have a loving Savior who urges me to keep going, keep striving and keep loving.”[1]
“The one thing that has stayed constant with me through all these experiences and journey has been my faith, knowing that God is always there for me,” Booth said. “It’s helped me stay grounded. It’s helped me look at the bigger picture and remember that He is aware of me. He knows my needs. He knows my strengths and my weaknesses, and He wants nothing more than for me to feel His life and joy.”
Booth was joined by other Latter-day Saint Olympic athletes addressing young adults on the topic of “Sports and the Gospel” at a devotional in a Versailles meetinghouse on Sunday, July 28, with Elder Franck A. Poznanski, an Area Seventy, presiding.
Booth has had an international career since 2016 and has represented the United States at a number of youth levels, from under-15 to under-19. Most notably, he was included in the United States squad for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup in India.
