At a Glance
When Luther Elliss was a football player at the University of Utah, his teammates made a habit of attending swim meets to show support for their fellow athletes. While attending one of the meets, a beautiful swimmer caught his eye. Her name was Rebecca, and before long, the two of them were dating. As they got to know each other, Luther was really taken with her personality, and the fact that she wasn’t focused on him being a football player. As time passed, he realized she was the one, and had plans to take Rebecca to dinner and propose to her. At the last minute, Luther’s coach asked him to meet a high school football recruit who really wanted to meet Luther. He called Rebecca and let her know that he would be late. As Luther visited with the recruit, they began to play video games, and time slipped by. Luther’s phone rang at 2 A.M., and it was Rebecca wanting to know what happened. Here’s how Luther recalls it: “After lots of apologies, I was able to talk my way into her house at 3 A.M. While the recruit ended up committing to another school, fortunately for me, Rebecca said yes to my proposal of a lifetime commitment.”
They were soon married, and their first son Kaden came into the world on July 10, 1995. “I was in awe and amazement of the entire process. I was literally dumbfounded by how good God is,” he says. While Luther grew up in church, it wasn’t until the Lions’ Team Chaplain, Dave, came into his life, and showed Luther what it meant to truly give your life and heart to Jesus Christ.
After Kaden’s birth, their family began to grow, and today, he and Rebecca are parents to eleven children (you read that correctly!) – and their faith is having a big impact on their approach to parenting. They encourage their children to own their faith – not because they told them so, but because they believe, understand and can defend it. They are also concerned about the constant drumbeat of self-centeredness the world plays. Luther adds, “We want our kids to pursue what God and the Bible says about character and morality – and to make good choices in living out their faith.”
Luther loves to wrestle, play tag, and play kickball with his family. And with eleven children, it’s pretty easy to get a game going. He strives to give Rebecca some quiet time at night, and when the two of them can get away, they like to have a romantic dinner and talk.
His advice to fathers is simple: make God first in your life, and being a dad and husband will come naturally.
