When Chad Lewis returned home from a Mormon mission to Taiwan in 1992, his mother suggested he write a book.
Lewis laughed at her comment and said, "I haven't even done anything yet."
Since then, Lewis has experienced more than most and has taken on his mother's challenge by writing a book.
Lewis finished writing the book, which is a model of the late LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley's book, "Standing for Something," in March, and it is due to hit the bookstores this week.
"Surround Yourself With Greatness" is based on the life events of Lewis and the knowledge he has gained on having great people in his midst.
At age 18, Lewis' father suffered from a stroke that shook up the whole family and struck Lewis at a critical time. The doctors predicted that his father might not make it, and if he did, he would probably never be able to walk again.
Later, while in the first year of his mission, the importance of a person's surroundings came when reflecting on his father's near-death tragedy.
"That's when I came to the conclusion, when my dad was in his hospital room, he was surrounded by greatness. Prayers, fasting, love. Miracles were able to happen because of the atmosphere," Lewis said.
This event was the first of many Lewis considered life-changing, and so three years ago, when he started his book, it became Chapter 1: "The Bombshell."
With the near-death of his father, Lewis had enough to contribute to his book, but he told his mother, "I haven't done anything yet."
If he only knew then how true this statement was and where his life would take him.
Before his mission, Lewis planned to join his brother at the University of Utah as a walk-on, but was encouraged by Coach Jim Fassel to gain more weight and wait until after his mission to start using up his college football eligibility.
While serving in the Taiwan Taichung mission, Lewis had the opportunity to spend five months with another missionary, Larry Harmer, who then played football at BYU, and who would convince Lewis that playing football in Provo was where he needed to be.
Though Harmer had persuaded him on the mission, after returning home, Lewis was not as convinced and decided he would enroll at BYU but was going to become a doctor.
After a few weeks of the noncommittal answers, Harmer rebuked Lewis forcefully, "You need to pray about it."
Lewis prayed several weeks with no answer, when finally the answer came and he knew he was supposed to play football for BYU and that he was going to walk on to the team.
A string of events would lead to his ability to walk on the team, get a scholarship, a senior year record of 13-1, and a bowl game win that brought on the opportunity to prepare for the NFL draft.
Lewis signed as an undrafted free agent and played nine years in the NFL with both the Philadelphia Eagles and the St. Louis Rams.
Although Lewis won a Super Bowl with the Rams, he says his culminating moment was in the 2005 NFC Championship game when he caught a game-winning touchdown pass.
Since 2002, Lewis has been able to use the language skills he learned on his mission in Taiwan in his ambassador assignment to promote the NFL in both Singapore and Thailand. Lewis also helps with football clinics and teaches football basics to CEOs in China.
Lewis said strict laws in China prohibit missionary work, so he shares other important principles with the CEOs.
"I try to share why I love the language and the people of China," Lewis said. "I share how important it is that there is love in business and in companies."
"Surround Yourself With Greatness" balances the three most important things in Lewis' life: family, religion and football.
Lewis said his goal for the book was to balance these three plus to portray positive stories about his life that could address his faith.
"I wanted to make it an opportunity to address questions for nonmembers about my faith without being threatening and to make it interesting enough that a member wouldn't get bored with it," Lewis said. "That was one of the hardest parts about writing this book."
He believes without his mission he would not have been able to accomplish anything.
Lewis said the message portrayed in "Surround Yourself With Greatness" is vital for this time period and that the message is simple and clear cut for all.
"If you hang out with a skunk, you're going to stink," Lewis said. "It's not enough to let the bad win, people need to stand up for good."
He is hopeful that with the release of this book, people will be encouraged to stand up for good.
For more information on "Surround Yourself With Greatness," visit deseretbook.com.
e-mail: jmiller@desnews.com