CHICAGO — Thomas Appiah and his wife, Katrina, have no problem with all the curious new questions about their Mormon faith.

The couple recalled attending a recent event at a non-denominational church and entering into a discussion about Jesus. As Appiah spoke on the Scriptures, people became captivated and many asked if he was a pastor and where they could hear him preach. When he told them he was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the crowd turned.

"All of a sudden, that desire to befriend me, that desire to embrace me, it all turned to animosity. They became argumentative and said we were not Christians," said Appiah. "I felt sorry for them; they missed the chance to know me truly for who I am."

His wife added, "I think once prejudice is there, it just becomes really hard to get rid of."

Despite tremendous growth of the Mormon Church worldwide and a heightened profile of the faith due to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, church officials and members still face hostile attitudes and misperceptions about their beliefs.

Mormonism is one of the fastest-growing religions in the world, with more than 13 million members, more than a third of those in Latin America, according to church figures. The church now ranks as the fourth-largest denomination in the U.S., with close to 6 million members, surpassing Presbyterians, Lutherans and Episcopalians.

In the past, church officials largely distanced themselves from public scrutiny, perpetuating the notion that the religion is strange and secretive. But with Mormonism becoming an issue in the candidacy of Romney, a Mormon, the church has done an about-face and launched an unprecedented campaign to inform the public about the religion.

This month, church officials based in Salt Lake City hosted their first online news conference to educate the nation's religion reporters on the Mormon faith. The effort includes a 24-hour hot line for political writers seeking basic information about the church and a media guide outlining church beliefs. In addition, church officials are discussing visits by senior church officials, known as apostles, to newspaper editorial boards for presentations on Mormon beliefs.

"Right now, there is a national conversation going on about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," said church spokesman Mike Otterson. "We want to be part of that conversation. ... We won't stand by and let other people define us."

As the nation watches, the Mormon Church now stands at a crossroads, struggling with how to portray itself to the public and whether to be more forthcoming about church beliefs. Church officials have emphasized common ground with other Christians, such as belief in Jesus Christ and acceptance of the Bible. Yet, full disclosure means open discussion of their controversial differences, including the teaching that humans are "spirit children" of God, the belief that Mormon leaders are living prophets and the significance of baptisms for the dead. Some say such candor could be a double-edged sword.

"This is critical for the church," said Jan Shipps, a prominent Mormon scholar and professor emeritus of history and religious studies at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. "It could bring Mormonism into the nation's religious mainstream or it could make it seem wackier than ever.

"The best they can hope is to create an atmosphere for people to begin to say: This is a legitimate way to be religious. If they can get that across, that Mormonism is a legitimate way to be Christian, and if they can use this as a way to establish more legitimacy, it will work to the church's benefit. But, if there is so much emphasis on the unusual aspects of Mormon worship, it could make things worse."

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was founded in a log cabin by Joseph Smith and five members in upstate New York in 1830. Members believe Smith revived the early church after receiving revelations from God through the angel Moroni. From those early American beginnings, the church has grown rapidly, fueled mainly by black and Latino converts won over by Mormon missionary zeal.

The global surge of Mormonism has been hotly debated, with one scholar, Rodney Stark, claiming it is the fastest-growing religion in the world, rivaling Islam. Stark predicts there will be 60 million Mormons by 2080. Many have attacked that claim as a myth, saying the church also struggles with retaining members.

In the U.S., the Mormon Church is the second-fastest-growing denomination behind the Pentecostal Assemblies of God Church. Mormon scholars and church officials say converts are attracted by the religion's focus on family.

Appiah, 43, was converted in his native Ghana, leaving the Methodist Church. In 1987, while Appiah was working as a Mormon missionary in London, he met Katrina Allen, a dark-haired, outspoken woman from Utah raised as a Latter-day Saint. They married in 1991 in Salt Lake City and now live in Schaumburg, Ill., with their four children.

"This is a way of life for me. People who know me say that `Thomas Appiah is a family man,' and they know that's true because of my faith," he said.

Regardless of such testimony, anti-Mormon feelings persist, with the church attacked as anti-Christian and a cult. Others mistakenly believe Mormons still practice polygamy, even though the church banned plural marriages in 1890.

ars, the polygamy legacy is hard to shake because it forms such a central part of the church's history. Also, splinter polygamist sects exist throughout Utah. Smith introduced polygamy to the church through a revelation from God and is believed to have had more than 30 wives.

Others attribute anti-Mormon feelings to secrecy surrounding temple ceremonies. Church members refer to the temple as "sacred, not secret."

"You know what happens in the temple? It's people in white clothes making promises to God," said Janet Stowell, a church member who lives in Winnetka, Ill.

Still, Laurie Maffly-Kipp, associate professor of religion at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said American culture presumes the public has the right to know.

"I've never understood why ... certain religious actions need to be open to scrutiny from the outside, but many Americans believe this and assume that if it is not public, it must be illicit in some way," she said.

Mormons want tolerance and acceptance, said Maffly-Kipp, but not necessarily assimilation. So there is some debate on how acceptance could affect the distinctive character of the faith.

"The great risk of public acceptance is that it would raise the question of what makes Mormons unique and distinctive," she said. "Tension with the larger culture has had advantages in creating a close-knit sense of community among the church. Losing that altogether might well create problems."

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