Indian youth should take pride in what they have and set high goals to reach their potential, advised Steve Young, pro quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers and a member of the Church.

Young and Dale Tingey, American Indian Services director, recently visited the Navajo reservation in Arizona to meet with several different groups of Indian youth and encourage them to seek for the best.The 49ers quarterback was the featured speaker at a special fireside in Chinle, Ariz., headquarters of the first stake organized on an Indian reservation (taking in both the Navajo and Hopi Indian nations). Accompanying him were former BYU football stars Mark Bellini and Jim Herrmann, both of whom played professional football for a time.

Young said that in high school and on the 49ers he's known as Steve Young, the Mormon. He was the only Mormon in his high school and now with the San Francisco pro team.

"I share the gospel everywhere I go," he emphasized. "This includes the playing field - and even with linemen on the opposite team.

"One time a big lineman had me down and asked close to my face, `Are you a Mormon?' The next time he had me down, he asked, `Are Mormons Christians?' And the next time, `Is the Book of Mormon scripture?' I said yes to all three questions. I don't know yet if this fellow joined or not but I did my little part."

Bellini told the audience - who had come from as far away as 200 miles - that he had wanted to play football since he was a small boy. Despite being told that he was too small and not fast enough, he set his goals and became a walk-on at BYU and was an All-American wide receiver on the 1984 national champion team. He was later drafted by the Indianapolis Colts.

"When I went to BYU, I wasn't a Mormon," Bellini said. "But while taking a Book of Mormon class, I had a good feeling about the book. A few months later, my teacher baptized me, and I'm very happy for that decision.

"Being on the reservation shouldn't hamper your goals or your potential," he told the audience, many of whom were youngsters and teenagers. "Develop your potential and make things happen here."

Herrmann, an All-American defensive end from Wisconsin who was married two weeks before the trip, said that he'd spoken at several firesides during his BYU days even though he isn't a Latter-day Saint.

"I have had many questions answered about the Church over the years, and I did lots of praying in the rough two-hour flight here," he said with a big smile. "My wife, also a BYU graduate, and I have some serious thinking to do about our lives and where we're going."

Young, a hit at the fireside, has worked with American Indian Services to raise funds for work with Indians. During his trip to Arizona, he gave workshops to students at Monument Valley High School in Arizona and San Juan High School in Blanding, Utah.

The morning after the fireside, Young was the featured speaker at a special youth seminar at the Navajo Nation capital in Window Rock, hosted by tribal Vice Pres. Marshall Plummer. Several outstanding Navajo teenage boys and girls who received All-State honors in various sports received autographed footballs from Young.

"Look to leaders in your own tribal nation," Young told the youth seminar. "There's history here; take pride in what you have. In other places, people are mixed up and confused. Here you have unity and leadership. . . ."

He encouraged the youth to set high goals and achieve their potential. "Look at me. I'm 29 and a law school student in the off season at BYU. Older people are interested in you staying in school because they are wiser and know why you should get an education."

Young also teamed up recently with LDS pro golfer Johnny Miller to raise money for scholarships for Indian college students at the Great American Indian Golf ShootOut at Jeremy Ranch near Park City, Utah.

Miller and Young led a field of pro and amateur golfers in raising more than $125,000 for scholarships in a five-man scramble tournament, sponsored by American Indian Services and the Utah food industry.

Miller is a former BYU All-American and pro golfer and current NBC golf commentator.

The Indian ShootOut has become one of the nation's top one-day fund-raising events. During the past year, American Indian Services provided scholarships to 222 students, along with 77 grants. The organization requires that students provide half of their costs to match the scholarship request.