WITH ITS UNIQUE ROLE in American history, the LDS Church has long been the subject of scholarly works and historical treatises. But, despite its rapid growth and ever-increasing membership, the church has largely been ignored by the popular press.
Now Warner Books has announced the upcoming publication of an exclusive look inside the church. Fifty of the world's best photographers (including three Pulitzer Prize winners) traveled around the world for a year "documenting the people, history, culture, rituals and challenges of the global Mormon church" for the hardcover book, which will appear in October.Titled "The Mission: Inside The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," it will be done in the style of the popular "day in the life" series. With a preface from President Gordon B. Hinckley, the book results from what editor Matthew Naythons calls "unprecedented access" to the people and events of the church. "Many of these events have never been recorded by outside photographers; some have never even been accessible to official church photographers."
The book came about when Naythons, whose Epicenter Communications specializes in large-scale photojournalism projects, finished a book on Sarajevo and was looking for another possibility.
Naythons, who has a medical background as well as a journalistic one, had earlier spent three months at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta and had become acquainted with James Mason, a Mormon who was then head of the center. "He was the first church member I had ever met."
A couple of years went by, he says, and he came to Utah to go skiing. "The man who picked me up at the airport was Samoan. I asked him why he was here where it was cold, so far away from Samoa, and he told me it was because of the church. That was when something clicked. I knew I had the global project I was looking for. I wrote to Dr. Mason and asked him if he thought the church would be interested. Shortly after that I got a call from Bruce Olsen of church communications.
"It was pure serendipity all the way around," he says. "It's a world-class project involving six continents, more than 30 countries, the best photographers and editors." And above all, he says, he hopes that the book will offer an opportunity for outsiders, guided by insiders, to get to know the church.
There was a real advantage in having non-members working on the project, says Acey Harper, director of photography for the book. "To us everything was new. It was a great learning experience," he said. "It was interesting and wonderful - one of those assignments you can't just walk away from." And he had nothing but praise for the many people he came in contact with.
Every one of the photographers got involved in emotional experiences, he said. His first assignment was in Belize. "I was going there on another project and asked if there was anything that I could get started on for this one. They set me up with a couple of elders in Suc-cotz, and I had a wonderful day. It was my first indication that I was going to have to change my lifestyle. These people get up early, and they don't waste time!"
Later he followed a young man from the first moment he got his mission call - through the ward activities, the requisite visit to Mr. Mac's and on to Thailand. "My wife laughed when I told her I had been called to Thailand." And he remembers one particular picture he took of a young Thai girl being baptized. There was a look on her face, he says, that will stay with him forever. "Everywhere, you see the looks of people's faces and you feel the spirit and know that strong, deep, important things are happening.
"Our photo editor saw a picture of a woman in England who was involved in sending relief supplies to Bosnia, and she called to say she didn't know what it was that woman had, but it was something wonderful. `I want some of what she's got,' she told me."
Then there was the German photographer who followed a group going down the Amazon River on a temple trip. "They had saved all year to make the trip. All year - that alone is something to contemplate. It was 1,500, maybe 2,000 miles. They chartered a riverboat and slept in hammocks and cooked with fires on the open deck.
"This photographer has been all over the world, taking pictures of things you can't even imagine. And he said one of the most touching moments in his career was when he left that group, and `they made for me a song,' is how he put it. They sang him a hymn. Mostly we hoped for one picture per assignment, but we ended up doing six pages on that journey alone with what it says about the church, the faith, the dedication of the members."
He hopes, he says, that the book will help people outside the church understand what it is all about. "There are so many misunderstandings out there. People tell me, `Oh, the Mormons, they're the ones with all the wives.' or `They don't believe in the Bible.' " He felt at times like he was on a mission himself, he said, setting them straight.
And, says Harper, there are so many things outsiders can learn. "Take Family Home Evening. That's such a wonderful program. I have a family, and I know how hard it is to keep on the right track and to teach family values. I must have assigned a dozen Family Home Evenings around the world."
Baptisms, weddings, summer camps, funerals, missions, families. They covered it all, he says. "The only thing we didn't do, of course, was go inside the temples. Except the one in Bountiful, we did do some things during the open house before the dedication, but only in the foyer."
"The Mission" will have more than 300 photographs, interspersed with caption and essay material. It will sell for $49.95 and be out just in time for general conference.