LETTERS

MORMONS, INC.

Your article on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was very well done [RELIGION, Aug. 4]. I have been a Mormon all my life, attending meetings, paying tithes and offerings, teaching children and adults in church classes, etc. We Mormons believe that the sacrifice of worldly goods is an important principle, requiring faith in God as it does, but we also believe in freedom to exercise moral agency--which means, as far as monetary contributions are concerned, each member is free to pay or not. Your report made it seem as if Mormons are under a great deal of pressure to pay their annual 10% tithe. I don't think there is much pressure, other than that of individual conscience, to pay tithes or other contributions. BLAINE BORROWMAN Midvale, Utah

The Internal Revenue Service should study the Mormon church's use of power and guilt to collect a 10% tithe from its members. The IRS might find out what happens to church members who fall short of the 10%: privileges and positions are withheld; there is no admission to any temple; and they cannot reach the top rank of the three levels of heaven. TRACY A. BREEDING Denton, Md.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a global faith with a message that appeals to those who seek an anchor in a world of shifting values. However, leaders of the church were disappointed that you created a false impression of the church's income and wealth. Your estimates were greatly exaggerated. The church's income is not nearly what was reported. Also the church's assets are primarily money-consuming assets and not money-producing. BRUCE L. OLSEN, Managing Director Public Affairs Department The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Salt Lake City, Utah

Mormonism isn't a religion; it is a corporate empire. The Kingdom of God comes in a poor second to the riches of this church. DON RADEMACHER Glendale, Calif.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is wealthy because its people are basically honest, educated, industrious and unselfish. It sends out missionaries to share what its members have with other people. Don't mock that. GLENN A. HANSEN Chicago

I converted to Mormonism 27 years ago; ultimately, I did not leave the church--it left me. Many of its questionable beliefs and practices are not revealed to converts before baptism. Like every other cult, Mormonism gains psychological control by undermining self-trust. Your photograph of the young celebrant with arms raised and fists clenched says it all. Imagine trying to discuss your personal problems with a guy like that. NAME WITHHELD BY REQUEST Salt Lake City, Utah

As a fifth-generation Latter-day Saint, I read with interest your report on the church. It is amusing how the media are so intent on primarily examining the financial holdings of my church. My voluntary tithes and offerings stem from my sincere belief in the divine origins, doctrines and destiny of this religion. The real strength of the Mormon church can be found in what it offers mankind spiritually, not monetarily. PETER W. MADSEN West Jordan, Utah

Mormons are "nice" only to people who agree with them. I am not a Mormon, but I have countless friends who have been badly hurt by this cultlike faith. Their crime? Daring to want a more sophisticated intellectual life than their religion allows. After being raised in the suffocating sweetness of family and faith, they find themselves cast out, and although they relish their escape and freedom, a part of them will always ache for that absolutist belonging. Next time you write about Mormonism, look at all sides of this unusual, politically powerful and often cruel religion. SEAN GARDNER Santa Fe, N.M.

Ah, religion--man's answer to his spiritual hunger. Nourish the soul, find truth, find the meaning, find God. All religions seek to lead people through these searches to the ultimate answer. Unfortunately, along the way many religions, including Mormonism, have fallen prey to the "God in a box" syndrome--explanations that reduce the infinite to what mortal minds can comprehend and, possibly, equal. They can call this religion, but spirituality or faith, never! NANCY SIGLER Laguna Niguel, Calif.

Your story read like a pitch for recruits to the Mormon church. The assertion that Joseph Smith was "a simple farm boy" who was given tablets of ancient scriptural writings that were "taken up again to heaven" cries out for some investigative reporting. And if God speaks directly to the Mormon leaders, why did it take him until 1978, two decades after the start of the civil rights movement and 115 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, to reveal to his chosen people what most others already knew--that racism is wrong? LARS OPLAND Palmer, Alaska

NOT A MOVIE ENDING

The popular films of Alfred Hitchcock show that the American people love terror, horror and pain. The Andrew Cunanan-Gianni Versace murder case seems to have that ring to it [NATION, Aug. 4]. No one would have thought that this murderer would put the nation in such a frantic state. With Cunanan's desperate suicide, the worst of this nightmare is over, but we will probably never know what caused him to commit five murders across the country. MARGARET JONES Prescott, Ark.

Sometimes in order to become famous, people kill somebody who already is. We ordinary folks should appreciate common, everyday things. DEMIS DIOTALLEVI Rimini, Italy

WHO'S DRIVING THOSE MINIS?

Andrew Ferguson's musings, in "Me Tarzan, You Minivan," that men like sport-utility vehicles while women prefer minivans are full of sound and fury, signifying nothing [ESSAY, Aug. 4]. What Ferguson did get right is that very few SUVs ever perform any task more rugged than driving to the grocery store or picking up kindergartners. But to set up minivans vs. SUVs as a female-male battleground is an exercise in blowing hot air. Ferguson needs to look at the SUV in the lane next to him. The driver is probably not Tarzan at all--it's Jane! MARY L. DODGE Lynchburg, Va.

I don't know what kind of Stepford time warp Ferguson lives in, but here in Vermont, the guy who services our office computer network drives a minivan; so does the gentleman who maintains the brochure racks in my office, and my caterer and contract furniture supplier. Not a housewife among them. Minivans are practical vehicles that can haul other things besides runny-nosed kids, flea-bitten dogs and henpecked husbands. Sport-utes can't match them for practicality and cargo or passenger space, the price is right and, frankly, a minivan will never be mistaken for the extension of macho man that a Hummer or Range Rover surely is. PAULA WESSON Stowe, Vt.

MARKETING ELVIS

Your article on Elvis Presley Enterprises and the licensing of Elvis memorabilia [BUSINESS, Aug. 4] had me howling over E.P.E. president Priscilla Presley's astute insight into how Americans value their dead icons. And your review of riches generated since the King's death reminded me of an Elvis-impersonators convention in Las Vegas. Some 20,000 would-be Elvises attended the gathering in 1977, a 5000% increase over 1975. Had the impersonator trend continued geometrically through 1997, there might now be full national employment due to the tens of millions of Elvis wannabes. Just think, Priscilla Presley could displace Bill Gates at the top of the corporate hierarchy. Imagine an entire economy based on Elvis licensing--and maybe even edible Elvis underwear. CARL ZUKROFF Boston

The Elvis Presley estate and others have purchased broad "rights of descendibility of publicity"--court rulings that foster the creation of generations of idle rich at the expense of free speech. Presley family members and heirs of similar celebrities have veto power over how a person is portrayed in art and literature. If you want to produce a work of art inspired by Malcolm X, you must first get the approval of the licensing agency. One day the U.S. Supreme Court will look at these issues. I hope it will hold that free speech is more important than the right to perpetual profits. STEVE HOFER Indianapolis, Ind.

GOOD NIGHT, SWEET PRESS

I loved Hugh Sidey's article about the demise of his family's old newspaper printing press [AMERICAN SCENE, Aug. 4]. It brought back many fond memories. I was just 13 in 1944 when I got a job at the Alta Advocate in Dinuba, Calif. Every Thursday the rumble and roar of the news press came to life. She was a Country Campbell flatbed built in 1889. My usual chores were sweeping up and cleaning the job presses while Jake, the publisher, made up the front page. By 7 p.m. we lugged the forms to the bed of the press and ran a proof. Then we pulled the lever and started the first of 1,000 sheets of newsprint into the guides. In 1990 I returned to Dinuba. The paper had long since stopped publishing, and the Country Campbell was gone, just so much scrap iron. But my fond memories live on. Sleep well, old friend, you've earned it. DICK MCINTYRE Bakersfield, Calif.

Sidey's story brought back a flood of pleasant memories. I was born in 1922 in Hugh's hometown of Greenfield, Iowa, and grew up there. I learned a lot about printing and photography from his father Kenneth. Many an hour I spent with Ken, learning how to develop and print my own film (in his darkroom) and hearing the rumble of that press in the background. JACK FOSTER Prescott, Ariz.

A SIMPLE DIET FOR HEALTH

"Beyond Cholesterol," your article on the discovery that the amino acid homocysteine may be as closely linked to heart disease as cholesterol [MEDICINE, Aug. 4], echoed the message endorsed by the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association: Eat less meat and dairy products; include more plant-based foods in your diet. As you pointed out, the vitamins found in fresh foods, including green leafy vegetables, nuts and whole-grain cereals, plus vitamin supplements like B12, B6 and folic acid, can break homocysteine down. The right diet not only works to maintain safe homocysteine levels but also addresses the need for low-fat foods. As for the need to eat protein-rich meat or dairy products for vitamin B12--many fortified breakfast cereals contain B12. STEPHEN AVIS Calistoga, Calif.

SHORTER BUT NOT EASIER

In your PEOPLE item about Michael Bolton's and John Travolta's writing stories for youngsters [July 28], you said stars who want to publish books and don't want to hire a ghostwriter have an alternative: children's books. You should be ashamed of this comment. Children's books may be shorter, but they are not easier. Writing less means that absolutely every word must count. Blaise Pascal once apologized, "I have made this letter longer than usual, because I lack the time to make it short." Much of the best literature is written for young people; you owe children's writers an apology. GISELA TOBIEN SHERMAN Burlington, Ont.

NO ATTACKS ON INNOCENT BIKERS

Your story about disputes between San Francisco bicycle riders and motorists [AMERICAN SCENE, Aug. 11] quoted me as saying automobile drivers will use weapons if necessary during bicycle demonstrations. I want to make it clear that we who are part of Citizens Against Bike Anarchy are not madmen lying in wait with various weapons to attack innocent bicyclists. We simply advise all drivers to be prepared to defend themselves if they find a group of bike-rights protesters trying to tip over their car while they are in it. I was in London this summer and found no bike riders running red lights. Many riders wore reflective crossbelts, and most showed a healthy respect for four-wheeled vehicles. I wish this were the case in this city. JON ERIK BECKJORD, Chairman Citizens Against Bike Anarchy San Francisco

CLARIFICATION: RICHARD JEWELL

It has come to our attention that some of the statements regarding Richard Jewell set forth in our Aug. 12, 1996, article "From Fame to Infamy" and in our Nov. 11, 1996, story "The Strange Saga of Richard Jewell" may have been inaccurate or incomplete.

We may have been inaccurate in our description of Mr. Jewell as one who sought the limelight or publicity [Aug. 12] in the days after the Centennial Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta. According to Mr. Jewell, he did not seek any publicity during this time period. He states that he reluctantly submitted to a limited number of interviews requested by the media and arranged by a public relations director for AT&T, the corporate sponsor of the park.

We stated that Mr. Jewell fit a criminal profile of someone who wants to be a hero so badly that he creates emergencies so that he can rescue people [Nov. 11]. It is Mr. Jewell's position that no such legitimate law-enforcement profile existed. According to Mr. Jewell, he did not, in any event, fit this alleged profile or other profiles widely described by the media as characteristic of the bomber of Centennial Olympic Park.

Finally, we described Mr. Jewell as a police wannabe [Nov. 11]. According to Mr. Jewell, prior to the 1996 Olympics, at all times during his employment at Piedmont College in Georgia and the Habersham County Sheriff's Department, he was a duly certified police officer (not a security guard), and he at no time exceeded his authority or jurisdiction.

We express our regret to Mr. Jewell to the extent that any of our statements may have been inaccurate or incomplete.