Interest by the national and international media in the Church and its role in society continues to mount as the time of the 2002 Winter Olympics approaches.

Executives of NBC's Olympic coverage team were among the latest media crews to visit Salt Lake City in preparation of the Olympics. They requested to meet with Church leaders as part of their three-day production seminar held in Salt Lake City Nov. 5-7. NBC has the broadcast rights of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.

Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve addressed the approximately 300 reporters, researchers, producers and other network personnel gathered at the Salt Lake Hilton and answered questions.

Part of the presentation included a video featuring former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Steve Young and former Miss America, Sharlene Wells Hawkes.

"It was a proactive move by us to have our staff get a clear picture of what role the LDS Church has, and to dispel any notion about these being the Mormon Games," said David Neal, executive vice president of the network's Olympic division.

The issue of polygamy was addressed during the presentation, as well as the history of Salt Lake City and the settlement of the valley by pioneers.

The presentation was well received, said Mr. Neal. "I think there is a natural curiosity on the part of certainly any first-time visitor to the state of Utah, a curiosity about just what role the Church plays in everyday life here," he said.

"There were very few questions," he said, and none about the availability of alcohol, which has, at times, been a controversial debate. "To the credit of our group, this is not a naive collection of people. There's been a lot of reading done ahead of time."

NBC's visit to Salt Lake City included trips to the Olympic site venues where they became familiar with the city and the landscape. They also met key civic and Olympic officials.

As part of NBC's visit, nightly news anchor Tom Brokaw interviewed President Gordon B. Hinckley. Later he talked to local station KSL-TV about how pleasant and reassuring it was to again speak with the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"He always astonishes me," Brokaw said, referring to President Hinckley. "This is the third or fourth meeting I think I've had with him, and he is so mentally alert and obviously articulate and fearless you can ask him anything. I love to get his assessment of what's going on around this country and the world because he's so well traveled, so well informed."

The interview is to air in February on NBC Sports during prime-time special coverage of the Winter Games. Portions of the interview also will be broadcast the same month on NBC News.

Mr. Brokaw said that during the interview he and President Hinckley talked about misconceptions about the Church and what that might mean for Utah during the Olympics. He said President Hinckley made it clear that "this will not be the Mormon Olympics. This will be the Salt Lake City Olympics."

"He was in good form."

Reporters and photographers from other national publications, as well as many international media, have visited Salt Lake City and plan advance coverage before the February games.

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