Associate professor Anthony Hatcher had his first religion story published in the Durham Herald-Sun June 14.
The story starts:
“The missionary impulse in the United States dates to the 17th century Puritans.
Several contemporary faiths practice door-to-door ministry with zeal,most notably Jehovah’s Witnesses and members of the Church of JesusChrist of Latter-day Saints (LDS), also known as the Mormon Church.
While Jehovah’s Witnesses tend to knock on doors within their owncities, Mormon missionaries put their lives on hold and volunteer to besent to far-flung corners of the country, or even the globe.
Eight LDS missionaries currently serve in the Durham-Chapel Hill area.What compels these young people to leave behind friends and family,spend two years in unfamiliar locales witnessing to others, withoccasionally hostile results, and depend upon the kindness of strangersfor many of their meals?”