Faith is a major part of young Real Salt Lake star and Utah native Zavier Gozo’s life.
Gozo appeared on Monday’s episode of the “All Those In Favor” podcast, where he discussed his faith as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while climbing the ranks of American professional soccer.
“I think it’s everywhere,” he said of his faith. “I feel like that’s what makes me myself and that’s what makes me confident, that’s what makes me confident on the field and off the field. So, I think I’m a lot more than just a soccer player. I’m first of all a child of God. I think that’s my mindset when I go into a lot of things.”
Gozo broke out onto the professional stage with three assists and four goals — including his viral bicycle kick goal — for Real Salt Lake in 2025.
On Monday, the 18-year-old forward, who is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, spoke openly about his faith.
‘The teacher is silent for the test’
Gozo said he hasn’t had doubts about his faith, but he has been guilty of wondering where God is in moments of hardship.
“I’ve learned in those moments that the teacher is silent for the test,” he said. “He kind of leaves you there to learn, and if you don’t learn then you’ll never be the person he wants you to become.”
Those moments “have grown my faith so much, even though I may have felt like he wasn’t with me,” he said, as he would live the gospel more “desperately.”
“I would go to the temple more. I would read more scriptures even though I wasn’t feeling those things. I feel like that’s what grew my testimony and as I got out of that season of whatever it was — sadness or whatever I was feeling — I come out feeling more loved by the Lord and feel his presence even more."
Turning to the scriptures
Studying the scriptures has been an important part of Gozo’s life, especially when dealing with adversity.
“I feel like just any time I would be going through a hard time, I would go to the temple. I would just sit at the temple and kind of pray, and then I would read my scriptures. And I feel like every time I would find something that’s like really relating to my situation,” he said.
When Gozo broke his fibula in 2023, he found peace from a specific scripture verse in the Book of Mormon, Alma 37:6, which reads: “by small and simple things are great things brought to pass.”
At the time of the break, Gozo was about to move up from RSL’s second team to the first team
“It would have been a really rewarding year for me, and it was just kind of just like I couldn’t see past my injury,” he said.
Gozo felt like his “faith was on a low” as he was “living every day on autopilot.” That changed one Sunday at church when one of his friends taught a lesson and referenced the verse.
“I just felt like a lot of peace from that scripture, and I feel like a lot of times we try to do too much at once. And it’s like we want all this but we don’t want to do the little things to get us there,” he said. “That just made me realize it’s all about the journey and it’s not about the destination. It’s about how you get there, and if you do small simple things every day, you’ll get where you want to be.”
For now, that journey will take Gozo to Portugal, where Real Salt Lake began its preseason play this week.
RSL beat Danish club Randers FC Thursday and will face Bröndby IF Monday. The match will be streamed on RSL.com at 7 a.m. MST.