DURANGO - Utah, with the help of Mormon church real estate and fresh-faced volunteers, is preparing to put on the biggest bash in its history – the 2002 Winter Games.
Tens of thousands of visitors can soon judge for themselves what kind of party animals these people are.
The state, church and Salt Lake City have been trying to counter the sobering image that their people are a bit, well, stodgy. Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson even participated in a much-publicized pub crawl to show how much fun his city, with its high percentage of teetotalers, can be, when necessary.
The church, though, has 60,000 missionaries around the world at this moment who are impressing people with just the opposite. It's not hard to pick out which young men in Durango and other Colorado towns party the least.
The 20-year-old blond-haired, freckle-faced youth in the dark suit, backpack filled with books and papers, knocks on the doors and introduces himself and his 19-year-old partner as Elders Mecham and Crawford.
"I am a representative of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," Mecham says after ringing the doorbell. "We are here to share a message of Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father."
If Nathan Mecham and James Crawford seem young to be called elders, it's all relative. Both have been eligible to hold the priesthood in their church since they were 12 years old.
And even Catholic priests live less monklike lives than young Mormon missionaries during their two-year stints. Mormon missionaries, like all their kindred faithful, are famous for not using tobacco or drinking alcohol, coffee or even tea. But few know that missionaries also are forbidden to enjoy mass media - no concerts, movies, not even TV news or newspapers.
"It's hard at first'
When the World Trade Center collapsed, Mecham heard about it from other people. But the men can listen to church music and watch church videos.
"It's hard at first," Crawford says, "but after a while you quit wondering what's happening on "Friends.' "
It's all about bringing people to Christ, Mecham says.
After practicing Mormon youths reach the age of 19, they answer the mission call, which could send them almost anywhere in the world armed with Books of Mormon, flip charts and some pamphlets.
"The coolest thing about God's plan, the reason why God has a plan for us, is so we can be happy," Mecham says about midway into his spiel.
The missionaries, eligible to serve up to age 26, put their educations, jobs and relationships on hold to go wherever they are sent, to pound the pavement. Single males older than 26 are encouraged to start families, not missions, Mecham says. Women or older married couples can serve 18-month missions if "called," but it's less common.
The church prepares its evangelists at missionary training centers in Provo, Utah; London; and elsewhere around the world. For a mission in an English-speaking country, the training is an intense 21/2 weeks that the youths call a "spiritual boot camp." For foreign missions, additional time and classes in language are provided.
"We have classes all day long about how to talk to people, about how not to be idiots," Mecham says.
Proof in the word
But don't take their word for anything, the men say. Read the Book of Mormon. Ask the Holy Ghost with a sincere heart, and he'll tell you it's true, they say. They hand out free copies of their Mormon scripture, which they believe describes Jesus' activities on the American continent right after his Resurrection in Jerusalem.
Mecham, from Spokane, Wash., studied fine arts in college for a year and is considering a major in editorial illustration. But he suspended school to serve in the LDS Albuquerque Mission. It covers an expanse from Silverton in the north to Socorro, N.M. Mecham and Crawford will move around this region throughout their two years.
Crawford, now three months into his mission, will be in the small Navajo settlement of Tohajilee, N.M., by the end of the month. Mecham will remain in Durango for the foreseeable future as its zone leader.
Crawford worked for a year in a chicken processing plant to save money to pay for his mission. Either the youths or their families are responsible for coming up with $375 a month to cover mission life, Mecham says. The church pays nothing, unless a family absolutely can't afford it, he says.
Missionary funds are pooled, so the church can average out rents and living expenses in places as disparate as Durango and, say, Quito, Ecuador. Without a pool, few young missionaries could afford to live in a town like this. But the system in place helps level the field, from Hong Kong to Chile. Local Mormon families play their parts by hosting dinners for the young men.
A missionary's work takes up 61/2 days a week, Mecham says. They are never really off the clock, 24 hours a day, except for sleep and that half-day. It's when they do laundry, housework, grocery shopping and letter writing, Mecham says.
They can even play some sports, but no contact games, such as tackle football or boxing. They get plenty of exercise walking or cycling many miles each day, spreading the word.
Working together
Mecham must do everything with his partner, Crawford. Although he is from Longview, Wash., the two had never met before the mission.
For Crawford, missing his family is probably the hardest thing. That and memorizing all the lessons and then getting over his shyness enough to preach to strangers after arriving unannounced, uninvited. Nine out of 10 people in Durango are kind to them, the men say.
"Some people let us in so they can try to destroy us," Mecham says. "We don't argue. We try to find points of agreement. The Holy Spirit will do most of the work."
What about those 19-year-olds who can't quite take the pressure and quit.
"It's definitely a failure," Mecham says, "but they're not going to be kicked out of the church or shunned by their family or friends or anything."
For Mecham, the most difficult part of his mission isn't the occasional hostility encountered, the homesickness or even giving up dating for two years, although that's all tough.
He says that the worst part is getting up at 6:30 a.m. every day for breakfast and about two hours of study before going out.
"I spent the first 19 years of my life not waking up at 6:30 a.m.," Mecham says. "It's hard, but I do it.
"It's a commitment we make, and we enjoy doing it. It's a discipline thing. Even people who aren't members of our church respect that."