After Elizabeth Smart survived nine months of being kidnapped, so many aspects of her life changed forever — including her definition of faith.
“In the spiritual sense, I would say before, it was just very rigid, very, ‘This is what was said, so this is what I’m going to believe,’” Smart, 38, exclusively reveals in her Us Weekly cover story, on newsstands now. “And now it’s evolved more, like, this makes sense to me, my heart. This resounds in my heart. For me, this is truth, and I believe in this.”
Smart was kidnapped from her Salt Lake City home at the age of 14 by religious fanatic Brian David Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee, and was held captive for nine months before being safely rescued in 2003.
When she was taken against her will, she remembers her captors “constantly being like, ‘God commanded us to do this. God commanded us to do that.’”
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“That was kind of the beginning of me being like, ‘No, He didn’t. No, He didn’t. God wouldn’t tell you to hurt someone else. That’s not the God I know,’” Smart continues. “That was kind of the beginning of me recognizing that just because somebody says something does not mean it’s necessarily true.”
What continues to be true for Smart is the importance of family and living life to the fullest. The activist, who shares children Chloe, 11, James, 9, and Olivia, 7, with husband Matthew Gilmour, recently made headlines for competing in a bodybuilding competition.
While Smart spent her childhood dressed modestly, she recently owned the stage in a bikini when she proudly shared photos via Instagram from an April competition, where she placed first in her division
“I think the wonderful thing about this, in regards to my post, is that the overwhelming majority of people were so positive about it, where I had the fear that it was going to be the opposite,” she tells Us. “I feel like that was very hopeful to me and encouraging that society is changing. I think if I had done this 100 years ago,I would not have gotten that reaction. I think it is inspiring and hopeful that society is changing, that women can step on stage and feel supported instead of judged.”
As Smart continues to make health and fitness a priority, she also won’t stop advocating for crime victims.
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The author of Detours looks back on her kidnapping today and is “not sorry that it happened to me.”
“I’m grateful for the person that it helped me be, because I do have such a passion for speaking out for victims and for being involved in this work,” she says. “It’s really given me a passion and a purpose in life. It’s [also] taught me compassion. It’s taught me empathy. It’s taught me to not just look at someone and judge what you see on the cover or how they’re acting in that moment.”
For more on Smart’s bodybuilding journey and her life today, pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now.
