Three of the four members of the USA Junior World Cup luge team that captured the gold medal at Innsbruck, Austria, in January and the silver medal at Nagano, Japan, in February are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.Two of them — Taylor Morris, of South Jordan, Utah, and Trent Matheson, of Bountiful, Utah — slide together in the doubles part of the team competition.At 16, Morris won the U.S. luge singles national championship in 2007. Matheson, at age 17, won the silver medal in the same competition in 2006.In the recent luge U.S. junior championships held in February at Park City, Matheson claimed the silver medal and Morris the bronze.Team competition in the luge works like this: The fastest time for the male singles and the fastest time for the female singles are combined, and then a doubles run is taken and combined.The singles' fastest male has been Robby Huerbin of Pittsburgh, the only member of the foursome who is not LDS. The singles' fastest female has been Katie Hansen of La Canada, Calif., the team's third Mormon. She won both the Junior Worlds and the U.S. Nationals last year at the age of 15."It was a total miracle," she said.She said there was a huge party after the Worlds and everyone was offering her drinks. "It's not for me," she said she told them. After that, they knew what her standards were."Everyone on the circuit knows what you are about," she said.Matheson said it's difficult in a sports environment to talk about the church, but he always says "no thanks" to all the drinks offered. All three of them attend church when they can at a small branch near Lake Placid, N.Y."It is a stark contrast between that little branch and a normal Utah ward," Matheson said.Morris is a world-class driver in the luge, but when it comes to automobiles, he doesn't even have his driver's license. It must be that he hasn't had time with his world travel and all."No, no," his father, Brian Morris, said. "Mom and Dad won't let him get his driver's license until he gets his Eagle (Scout rank). That's the house rule."He lacks his Eagle project and just a few merit badges but assures that he will attain it before he turns 18.When Taylor Morris isn't competing around the world, the U.S. team trains in Lake Placid — leaving little time for a normal teenage home life. His mother, Keri, hates having him gone, but her son said, "She knows it has been my dream."He takes courses online, and Bingham High School is working with him to finish his grades.It would seem that his lifestyle would take a toll on church life, but he attends the small church in Lake Placid when he can with about 15 members. But when traveling in Europe, there is never a chance to attend services. "I bring my scriptures," Morris said.When asked if he had read the Book of Mormon, he replied, "Many times."He then volunteered this information referring to his Mormon teammates: "We read aloud at night before going to bed, then we have like a family prayer."He related a story about a girl who crashed during practice and was unconscious. The training session was stopped, and she had to be air-lifted out. But before the helicopter arrived they decided to pray for her."I said the prayer," Morris said, "and everyone there was not LDS. It was really a good experience that we could do something so special. And I didn't know her really well." After the prayer, "Everyone knew she would be OK.""I was only 13 at the time," he said.This is his seventh year of sliding. He became involved in the sport right after the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. His future looks bright, but the obvious question about a mission looms. After the 2010 Olympics, his father said most of the veteran luge sliders will probably retire, so the 2014 Olympics in Russia is what his son is really preparing for. He will be 22 at that time and may go on a mission afterward.Right now he is a Mormon example in a high-profile role with opportunities to answer a lot of questions.Standing on the podium after winning the gold in Innsbruck and listening to the "Star-Spangled Banner" was a moving experience, according to Morris. German teams dominate the luge."I was kinda getting sick of the German national anthem," he said.
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