The men meet on the third floor, the women meet in the sanctuary. The older boys, dressed in white shirts and ties, read the Book of Mormon on the balcony. Every room on the ground floor is packed with children attending classes on Mormon history and doctrine. Reflecting the explosive growth of the Mormon church worldwide, this flock has increased from 40 to 150 members in just eight years, and church leaders are now planning to build their own church, which would be one of the largest buildings in town. The project has raised some controversy in North Yarmouth, where there are only three Mormon families.
Some residents oppose the building's size, which they see as too imposing for such a rural town.
Some express concern that the project appears to be funded and controlled from out of state. It doesn't seem right. In Belmont, Mass., residents fought a proposed Mormon temple all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In Maine, there are Mormon churches in Cape Elizabeth, Windham, Oxford, Cornish, Topsham, Augusta, Winthrop, Belfast, Rockland and Damariscotta. Statewide, there are about 8,500 members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the religion's official name.