OGDEN -- While Salt Lake City officials quarrel over liquor laws and Olympic organizers scramble to redeem their scandal-ridden image, one major player in Utah is more quietly preparing to meet the crowds and the media glare the Games will bring.
As the dominant religion and founding body of the state, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is gearing up to help Utah host the world.
Although the church considers the Olympics an opportunity, the Games aren't necessarily a proselyting opportunity. Missionaries will not volunteer in the Games, nor will there be extra missionaries on the streets of cities with Olympic venues.
Rather, said church spokesman Mike Otterson, the Games are a chance to be part of a community effort.
"But we'll be happy if journalists come ... and go away knowing something about who we are."
While missionaries won't be meeting people at the airport with handbills, they will be handling the influx of visitors at Temple Square. The church will step up the number of missionaries at the site to handle the Olympics.
Temple Square is already the number one tourist destination in Utah, with about five million visitors a year. The barrage of athletes, fans and media could significantly up the count.
Church President Gordon B. Hinckley has said he would like the church to establish a "legacy of goodwill" in the Games.
Not 'center stage'
Otterson said the church wants to be "helpful" but not take "center stage."
Although a church committee has been meeting regularly to prepare for the Olympics, the committee's thrust is to respond to Salt Lake Olympic Committee requests, not establish its own, Otterson said.
One item on the church's agenda is emphasizing the church's Christianity.
In a New York Times story, Elder Dallin H. Oaks, a church apostle, said the church wants to be identified in media coverage differently than it commonly is.
The church, Oaks said, would prefer to be called by its full name on first reference, and "Church of Jesus Christ" thereafter. Historically, "Mormon Church" has been the common form of reference, with the church's proper name included in stories primarily about church activities.
New emphasis
Aside from Oaks' comments, the church has made no official statement on the matter. Dale Bills, a spokesman for the church, said the public affairs office expects an announcement soon.
Oaks said church leaders will encourage members to refer to the church the same way.
"I don't mind being called a Mormon, but I don't want it said I belong to the Mormon Church," he said.
The change, or "reaffirmation" as Bills called it, could take some getting used to for members who commonly refer to themselves as "LDS" and less- commonly as members of the "Mormon Church."
"Because we have the Book of Mormon, we'll always have that affiliation, or that handle," said Alan Dayley, a Mormon who represents the church in Ogden's Interfaith Works.
In The Associated Press stylebook, to which journalists refer for direction, "Mormon Church" is listed as "acceptable in all references."
But "we've never agreed with the AP style guide," Otterson said.
The church's public affairs office will provide journalists with guidance as to name usage and possibly with style guides, Bills said.
New habit?
Although the term "Mormon Church" has been deeply ingrained in the church's 170-year history, Otterson said, it's not too late to change the habit.
"We call African Americans "African Americans' and Native Americans "Native Americans' because those groups rejected other names," he said.
With the Olympic spotlight looming, the church is being "showcased." The emphasis on the church's official title will help ensure the church is understood, Dayley said.
Requests for information
As the Olympics approach, the church's public affairs department is receiving more inquiries from across the country and from abroad. Some of the requests have to do with the church's history and beliefs, others with "things we would consider stereotypical, like polygamy," Otterson said.
The church has agreed to lend SLOC land in downtown Salt Lake for the medals plaza, as well as land in Park City. Church-owned Brigham Young University has announced it will dismiss classes during the Olympics so that students can volunteer for the Games.