Under the bright lights of television, Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve and Los Angeles-based commentator Hugh Hewitt sat in front of a large fireplace in the formal dining room of the Beehive House, which had been Brigham Young's home in downtown Salt Lake City. For three hours, they talked about the effect of God in life.

"I first felt the witness of the Spirit in my life," began Elder Maxwell, "around the time my sister was ill. She lay dying of whooping cough, six weeks old. I'd been about 14-years-old. I was a grease monkey at a Greyhound Bus Depot. I came home at three in the morning, saw the lights on. I knew she was ill and said to myself, `This is big trouble.' And when I got inside, she was in lying on the round dining room table and had stopped breathing."Antibiotics were not available. I watched my father, after the manner of the New Testament, bless her by the power of the priesthood, and I saw her begin to breathe again. I knew then the power of the priesthood was real. She's a mother of seven and a nurse today. But at that moment I had experienced seeing the Spirit operate . . . . I began to feel a transcendent relationship with God."

The interview was conducted in November of 1995 as part of an eight-segment Public Broadcasting System special called "Searching for God in America."

In addition to Elder Maxwell, seven other religious leaders were interviewed for the series. The interviews were later compiled into a book with the same title as the series.

The idea for the national series stemmed from responses Mr. Hewitt received from one-on-one conversations with religious leaders during his weekly broadcasts in Los Angeles.

He found that, contrary to the lack of religious overtones in the media, people are still interested in understanding God and His influence in life.

"Faith is as dynamic today as ever before," contends Mr. Hewitt in the introduction to his book. "America is in the midst of a religious resurgence that harkens back to the Great Revivals. Most Americans still believe in God as a present and powerful force."

The purpose of the series was not to delve into the various religions of the world, but to probe the lives of respected religious leaders to see what happened in their lives to confirm their faith, explained Tom Daniels, manager of television relations for the Church's public affairs office who arranged for the interview before his retirement in July. As a result of these interviews, Mr. Hewitt determined that there was a relationship between devotion and experience.

"The intensity of beliefs is proportionate to the rigor with which people practice it. All of the eight guests believe deeply and have experienced God deeply, because they take the time to study and to worship and to be disciplined in it. There is no shortcut to enlightenment," Mr. Hewitt said during a radio broadcast with Gerry Pond of the Church's public affairs office. "I'd also point out that many of these people have a tremendous charisma that comes from their sincerity and their conviction."

To those who witnessed the taping of the PBS interview, that charisma was apparent when the two entered the stage and shook hands.

"There was instant chemistry when they met," Brother Daniels said. "Hugh Hewitt was very well prepared and appeared intrigued by Elder Maxwell's depth. He asked probing, in-depth questions which allowed Elder Maxwell to speak from the abundance of his knowledge.

"At one point during the interview, Elder Maxwell was responding to a question about the nature of suffering and said, `I do not know the meaning of all things, but I know that God loves His children.' "

Mr. Hewitt recognized the comment based on Book of Mormon scripture, and said. "I think you quoted Nephi just now."

The interview lasted about three hours and was shot by two cameras from KCET, a PBS affiliate out of Los Angeles. The program aired nationally during July. The segment ended the series.

"It was beautifully produced," Brother Daniels said. "But it must have been a tough job editing that material into a 30-minute segment."

Elder Maxwell talked about his challenges as a youth, that, in retrospect, were "shaping tutorials."

"Early in life my level of self-esteem was quite low. I raised pigs. I had a severe case of acne. I didn't grow when I should have and did not make the basketball team. Things looked difficult. I had a lot of wonderful friends, but I sensed that I wasn't always in the inner circle of things. It was then, it seems to me, that the Lord was nudging me away from basketball - maybe the acne gave me greater empathy for people - but He was doing things with me that I wasn't conscious of."

Later in the interview, Mr. Hewitt asked, "Isn't there a time when you just want to stop doing this, to play tennis, enjoy those 22 grandchildren, and just say, `Enough of this apostleship?' "

"That's a tender question," Elder Maxwell said. "I love those grandchildren. No, the zest to do the work remains. I am more physically tired; the aging process obviously is taking its toll. But the scriptures say that we will be blessed with the renewing of our bodies. I see that happen all the time in coping with jet lag. We hop off an airplane, and we're supposed to go before an audience and inspire and lift them, and we try to do that. But I do notice the aging process, and our work is really never done."

Elder Maxwell spoke of the "eloquence of example," Satan, "the incurable insomniac," of the "suffering in quiet ways" of the apostles, and the joy that comes from "seeing a prodigal return."

The interview covered a spectrum of beliefs and doctrine of the Church, including Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, the differences between the LDS Church and traditional Christian churches, marriage and the sealing power, the driving interest in family history, and learning to love enemies.

But all discussions were not strictly doctrinal. Moments of humor laced the interview.

"I'm banking on a God who's all-merciful. And, as a result, no matter what I do, or how I do it, in the next life, if He's there, He's going to let me off because He's like a Father," Mr. Hewitt said.

"He is a generous God," Elder Maxwell affirmed, "but He's not only perfect in His mercy, He's also perfect in His justice . . . . Once again, except a man become as a little child, he cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven. There's no footnote at the bottom of that page that says, `Of course, we'll consider the following exceptions.' "

Another question probed whether the Church spends much time considering the exact timing of the Second Coming as some denominations do.

"No," Elder Maxwell responded, "because we're told that the angels up in heaven don't know, and they're a reasonably informed group."

Still another question dealt with the "multiplicity of worlds besides this one" created by God.

"Our scriptures say that God told Moses only about this planet. I guess he didn't have a high enough security clearance to be given all that other data. But we're not worshiping a one-planet God. How vast in space His dominions are we do not know, but we are not alone in the universe."

But beyond the stories, the personal anecdotes, the moments of humor, Elder Maxwell lined the interview with an apostolic testimony.

"We can't go home to Him unless we are more like Him," Elder Maxwell said. "The Prophet Mormon . . . speaks of how Jesus waits for us with open arms. At that transcending moment at the entrance to His kingdom we can be clasped in the arms of Jesus. We can't have that transcendent experience except we become more like Him. This is the journey of discipleship. It's worth all the tests and the trials and the inexplicable things through which we must pass."