Deciding which university to attend is always a difficult decision, but for student Michelle Broadbent, the decision to attend BYU changed her and her family’s lives forever.
Broadbent’s journey to BYU began long before she started applying for colleges. At eleven years old, her mom had the opportunity to travel from her home in China to Oklahoma for a one-year research program. During that year, Broadbent shared that she and her mom attended the Church of Christ every Sunday, and Broadbent went to their church camp that summer.
“That kind of opened my mind,” Broadbent said.
She learned about the Bible, enjoyed the activities and loved meeting people at church. Broadbent looked back on that experience with fondness.
“It was just a special experience for me,” she said.
This exposure to religion opened up a curiosity that could not be contained. Even after returning to China, Broadbent continued studying what she could about religion on her own. She researched many religions, including those outside of Christianity and native to China, like Buddhism and Confucianism.
Although she enjoyed the study, Broadbent said she found many religions to be focused on fear.
“If you do something wrong, you need to always live in the shadow of your mistakes,” Broadbent said.
She added that this made her feel unsettled and kept her diligently searching.
As the time came to attend college, both Broadbent and her mom were eager for her to study abroad for her higher education. Broadbent was an incredible student and public speaker during high school. She received multiple full-ride scholarships from universities in America but felt drawn to studying at a Christian university because of her interest in religion.
Ultimately, it was a miraculous connection with her mom’s colleague that brought BYU to their attention. When Broadbent’s mom heard her colleague's glowing recommendation of the school, Broadbent said that her mom "had a strong feeling, like 'hey you should go here ... this is the one.'"
Broadbent explained that one of the biggest contributing factors to their decision was that BYU was the only campus they knew of that was a dry campus and had an honor code.
Though Broadbent and her mom had friends who discouraged her from attending the university, Broadbent trusted her mom’s feelings and moved forward with the decision to attend BYU. She soon began communicating via social media with her future roommate at Helaman Halls.
Broadbent told her roommate that she wanted to "know more about church," and within a short time Broadbent was meeting with the missionaries on campus.
Janette Wong, a senior at BYU, was invited to join the first lesson Broadbent had with the missionaries. Wong was impressed with Broadbent’s enthusiasm and knowledge of the gospel.
“This did not feel like a first lesson,” Wong said. “I didn’t know exactly where Michelle was at, but the way she was talking to the missionaries and answering their questions, felt like she’d known everything for a long time.”
Wong previously served as a Mandarin speaking missionary and was able to help Broadbent with church-specific words that were unfamiliar to her. As soon as Broadbent understood the new concepts, she knew it was true.
“She was like, 'I believe it'. She was like, 'I know this is right,'” Wong said.
What Broadbent said impressed her the most about the church was the charity she felt from the members and the message is has to share.
“I just feel a strong love of God with everything I’ve been learning,” Broadbent said.
Broadbent added that before she learned about the gospel, she was seeking for “reputation. Like, money. Like, that kind of thing people normally do.”
When she learned that the missionaries gave up 18 months of their life without pay to teach others about Jesus Christ, she felt “so special.” That was a pivotal moment in her testimony when she realized how much was sacrificed to bring her the gospel.
Broadbent explained that the next few weeks were a whirlwind. She began attending church, making friends and reading the Book of Mormon with her roommate. Within two months, Broadbent made the decision to be baptized.
Wong gave Broadbent a ride to her baptism that day, and said she remembers her friend glowing with happiness and excitement.
“She looked beautiful, and she had this light about her,” Wong said. “She can’t contain her joy for the gospel. And that infectious joy that she has for the gospel is bound to take her to share it with other people across the world. So, she’s never going to stop being a missionary after she’s baptized.”
Broadbent proved her friend correct by adapting the missionary spirit after her baptism. Throughout the process of her conversion, Broadbent called her mom every day to tell her all she was learning about the gospel from the missionaries. Her mom was enthusiastic about getting baptized.
“The second you join, I’m ready,” she told her daughter.
However, her mom was a professor in China and faced conflict when she tried to get baptized in her country. Eventually, she decided her love for the gospel was stronger than any sacrifice it would take to be baptized. During the summer of 2023, Broadbent, her mother and her sister traveled to Hungary since it was the quickest way to receive a visa.
Brother John Hilton III, Broadbent’s church leader and good friend, was surprised one day to receive a call from her in Budapest asking for help to meet with the missionaries so her family could get baptized. Miraculously, he was able to, and that day Broadbent and her family got in contact with the missionaries.
They sat down with the missionaries for five hours on a Friday and went over all the lessons. On Saturday, Broadbent’s mom and sister were baptized, and on Sunday they were confirmed.
“That just shows a level of depth and dedication to the gospel that Michelle would make those efforts to share the gospel, and that their whole family would fly to Hungary to be baptized,” Hilton said.
Since her mother and sister’s miraculous baptism in Hungary, Broadbent has continued lifting and inspiring those around her.
“Michelle is a powerful example of how the gospel of Jesus Christ can transform a person and strengthen them to do things that they could not do with their own limited capacities,” Hilton said. “To see her capabilities magnified through Jesus Christ and His Atonement has been inspirational to watch.”
Broadbent plans to graduate from BYU with a degree in human development. She hopes to use the spiritual and academic knowledge she has acquired from BYU to bless the lives of others.