“We do get asked a lot of strange questions,” said junior Grace Rainey. “Like ‘Do you worship seagulls? Do you worship Joseph Smith? Do you worship water? How many moms do you have?’” She laughed before adding, “Just for the record, we’re not polygamists.”

   If you should ever stop by the school library at 8am on any given morning, Grace and her friends, members of the Church of the Latter Day Saints, are not difficult to find. As any early morning frequenter of the library can attest to, they are not only the group that appears most awake, but the group with the warm, enthusiastic dynamic that always seems to radiate from their table on the right side of the library.

   And as some know, by the time this group of students arrives to school at 8am, they have already been to church. While for many Western students the thought of waking up so early each morning seems unimaginable, for them it’s just a part of the daily routine.

   “Every morning we all meet in Crozet at 7am for seminary,” sophomore Rylee Franklin said. “It’s basically a bible study, and it’s just a really cool environment.”

   “It is early,” admitted junior Stuart Schill, “but being united with other people who have similar beliefs and values just gives me a lot of energy. I feel the strength that comes from all of us gathering together to talk about things, and I appreciate the unity it creates.”

   More commonly known as Mormons, members of this church are primarily concentrated in Utah but can also be found all over the globe. Virginia holds barely one percent of their total population, but as Stuart pointed out, “It’s kind of cool to live in a place where it’s not as common.”

   “I actually just moved here from Utah,” said sophomore Cutter Mendenhall, “and so there the population was mostly Mormon. When I came here, I noticed how much people pay attention to us – they ask me all sorts of questions and really take notice of little things that I do differently.”

   As Mormonism is not as widely practiced in a state like Virginia, some misconceptions have risen over the years, which Grace brought to light with her examples of all of the different questions they’ve been asked.

   “A lot of people think that we’re not Christian,” said senior Jared Carter, “which definitely isn’t true.”

   “And I think another common misconception is that Mormonism is brand new,” Stuart Added. “We do believe that Joseph Smith restored the church, but we would say he brought back the exact same church that existed when Jesus was on earth. But I guess it’s kind of like any other church organization; other people are Baptist or Methodist or Catholic or Muslim, and we’re Mormon. We as a people are just Christians that have set beliefs that are slightly different from other Christian groups.”

   “For example,” Rylee said, “we have certain standards we like to upkeep. One thing that a lot of people at Western notice about us is the way we dress modestly; we don’t wear short shorts and dresses.”

   “And we don’t really do stuff like swear or drink or do drugs,” Grace added.

   During high school, a time when it’s easy to fall prey to peer pressure, they credit each other with forming a strong support system and helping one another to maintain their priorities.

   When asked what their plans for the future were, the entire group responded in almost perfect unison. “Mission”. Jared then clarified by explaining how missionary service is an important tradition in the Church.

   “I’m in the process of putting in my mission papers right now,” he said. “Girls go for about eighteen months, and for guys it’s two years. You can say whether you want to learn a new language, but you don’t really have a choice in where you go – they can send you anywhere. One of my brothers went to Brazil, and the other one went to an island in the South Pacific. While on mission, you wake up at 6:30 in the morning and go out and proselyte and do service until you go to bed at 10:30 at night. You can’t use the internet or watch TV or listen to the radio.”

   Rylee, whose older brother is currently serving on his mission, said, “While on your mission you aren’t allowed to talk to family members, but every Monday you get a personal day, so you can write letters and send emails.”

   “And we do get to Skype with them twice a year – on Mother’s Day and Christmas,” said Stuart. “So when my sister Emily was on her mission in Portugal, I didn’t get to talk to her except for on those two days. It really made family a priority for me, and we had a lot of meaningful conversations [just through the letters and emails].”

   By spending so much time together both inside and out of school, the group agreed that they have all become very close – a small team they each know they can rely on and go to for anything.

   Rylee summed up part of what makes this group’s dynamic so special. “We’re all really close, and it’s nice because I don’t have to compromise anything I believe in, in order to be friends with them.”