The Olympics

may have ended, but for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day

Saints, in many ways it is a beginning.

Salt Lake City

and the Mormons, as LDS members are often called, have been in the spotlight

of the world for the past few weeks.

Seventy percent

of Utah's population is Mormon and roughly 50 percent in Salt Lake City

are Mormon. With over 11 million members, the faith is considered to be

the world's fastest growing religion. Slightly less than 2 percent of

the United States population are members of the church over half of the

fast-expanding religion live outside the U.S.

Fayette County

is home to approximately 1,000 Mormons.

Local members

of the LDS were excited and proud to have the eyes of the world focusing

on the home of their church as they hosted the 19th Winter Olympics. Many

Fayette County Mormons have strong ties to Utah. Some grew up in the state,

some have relatives living in the state, and some attended Brigham Young

University.

"There

are a lot of misconceptions about the church. The Olympics were an opportunity

for the world to look at the church and members of the church, to see

the normalcy," said VelDean Fincher, a local marketing communications

expert and a lifelong Mormon.

Fincher was

born in Utah and is related to the original pioneers who settled the state

on both sides of her family. Regarding being brought up as a member of

the LDS, she added, "I have a deep faith and deep convictions that

come from my own searching."

There are two

Fayette County LDS "wards" or congregations the Peachtree City

Ward led by Bishop Reed Galli, and the Whitewater Ward led by Bishop Gary

Moore. Wards are divided along geographic lines members attend the church

that serves their geographic location.

Both bishops

are volunteers, serving for five or more years each. In fact, all leaders

in the local church are volunteers, typically serving in positions for

up to two years before rotating. Members of the church are active overall

teaching, watching the children, helping with youth activities and generally

stepping in where needed.

"Members

do a lot everyone usually has a calling," said Moore. Moore's wife,

Laree, runs the church nursery.

Moore and Galli

hold full-time jobs, are involved in the day-to-day activities of their

children and are very much a part of the community in addition to their

duties as bishops. LDS members are encouraged to be active in their community

typically church members are involved in Scouting, organized sports, political

activities and civic groups.

The church

does not hold the belief that government or politics and religion should

be kept separate.

The call to

be active and involved in the community may explain the high number of

Mormon volunteers who assisted with the Olympics.

Moore noted,

"The people in Salt Lake City were really excited. What impressed

me most were the skaters in the opening and closing ceremonies. Only 39

were professionals, the rest were volunteers." A lot of the volunteers

came from Brigham Young University.

Five LDS members

also participated in the Olympics Rowean Bright, Australia, downhill skiing;

Sabine Ruckauer, Germany, women's ice hockey; Tamami Tanaka, Japan, women's

biathlon; Werner Hoeger, Venezuela, Luge; Chris Hoeger, Venezuela, Luge.

Werner and Chris Hoeger are father and son.

For many in

Fayette County, prior to the Games, the only awareness they had of the

LDS was the occasional sighting of pairs of neatly dressed young Mormon

missionaries riding their bikes across the county. Local Mormons are hoping

that will change as a result of the Olympics.

Moore was excited

about the Olympics. "I can't see anything but good from the Olympics

being in Salt Lake City," he said. "This was good exposure for

the church to the world. It will show the world that we're friendly, and

shine a good light on the church."

Galli also

was pleased with the Olympics. "It's great publicity for the church,"

he said. "The press was very positive and I see good things coming

out of it. Many people don't think we are Christians - if they just keep

hearing the full name of the church it will be good."

Young men and

women are strongly encouraged to volunteer to serve as missionaries. Nineteen-year-old

men generally spend two years as missionaries, while the ladies begin

their missionary stint at 21, serving for 18-months. The young people

do not work during their service and usually must support themselves either

through working prior to service or through help from their parents.

The church

gives strong support to those who are financially unable to afford to

pay their own way, Moore said. "Some families may have three boys

out at the same time. If there are no funds, the ward may ask for contributions

or a family may volunteer to pay their expenses for a month or longer,"

he said. The missionaries' primary mission is to proclaim the gospel.

The Mormon

religion is very efficient. Churches are often shared by multiple congregations.

In Fayette County, the Peachtree City Ward meets from 9 a.m. to noon,

Whitewater from 1 - 4 p.m Sundays. Visitors are welcome. The three hours

are broken into three parts with breaks in-between. First-time visitors

may want to plan to be part of the Sacrament meeting, which is 70 minutes

long and is first on the agenda. Members participate in the Sacrament

giving talks regarding designated subjects. Sunday School follows the

Sacrament.

There are a

number of meetings and activities available to members during the week.

The youth receive a large amount of attention they are involved in the

Sunday services and many activities center around them.

Currently the

two wards are sharing space on the corner of Ga. Highway 54 and the Peachtree

Parkway. In June, if all goes according to plan, the congregations will

share a new home on Redwine Road next to High Grove subdivision. The new

14,000-sq. ft. building sits on a seven-acre tract.

As another

example of the churche's efficiency, a standard plan is used for all new

churches of the same size. Alleviating a lot of the stress and time involvement

of local volunteer leaders, the central office in Utah is responsible

for land acquisition, architectural designs and contracting with builders

and others.

Mormons believe

in modern day revelations, something that sets them apart from some other

Christian religions. The church and the doctrines play a large part of

every aspect of member's lives. A strong emphasis is placed on staying

out of debt and being financially stable. The church is helpful to those

in need and, said Galli, "has a tremendous welfare system for helping

the poor and those in need."

Members also

are encouraged to keep a one-year supply of food on hand. Like most religions

following the tenets of the Bible, tithing 10 percent is a component of

the LDS beliefs. Moore said, "It is a sacrifice, but it also provides

a blessing."

The Latter

Day Saints use four books to guide them the King James version of the

Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of

Great Price. The Book of Mormon has been translated into over 100 languages.

Currently there

are over 60,000 missionaries throughout the world spreading the LDS faith.

Roughly 2.2 new churches are being erected each day, said Galli. The church

has experienced such high growth in Fayette County, expectations are that

soon there will be three wards here.

For information

on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, see www.lds.org .

For information regarding the local wards, phone 770-461-7636 or 678-364-6656.