ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Members of the Church attending the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis offer a leavening influence of spirituality, according to Pres. Boyd A. Waite, president of the Annapolis Maryland Stake.

"I have always felt strong impressions about the Lord's influence in helping these young people come to the Naval Academy," said Pres. Waite, who is also a professor of chemistry at the academy.

"There is a noble and sacred purpose to their being here," he said, "and it is clear that the hand of the Lord has helped them come."

Founded in 1845, the Naval Academy is nestled on the East Coast of the United States between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Md., along the picturesque Chesapeake Bay.

The academy is an institution, steeped in history and strong in academic programs, where, in addition to academics, midshipmen learn military science and discipline. From 5:30 a.m. until bed checks at night, midshipmen lead structured lives of stringent schedules, including marching in formation with their companies to the mess hall for most meals.

After graduation, midshipmen receive their commissions in the Navy or Marine Corps and serve a minimum of five years on active duty. Many go on from there, making a career of the military.

About 65 LDS members are currently attending the academy. They are comparitively few among the 4,000 midshipmen, but their steady, righteous influence is a "massive force for good," said Pres. Waite.

"They make a difference by sharing the gospel to classmates and teachers. They are happy, and people notice them."

Fifteen LDS young men from the academy are currently serving missions and eight more are expected to serve at the end of the school year. Since 1984, approximately 50 members have served missions and been readmitted to the academy.

In order for a midshipman to serve a mission, he must resign from the academy and then be readmitted. Resigning is a weighty matter and carries the possibility of being denied readmittance.

Returned missionaries have made a significant impression on the leaders at the academy, explained Pres. Waite. Studies of academic and military performance show that returned missionaries advance in class standings following their mission, some very dramatically.

"Each midshipman who returns after a mission brings a strong leadership presence to their companies and classmates," said Pres. Waite. "These returned missionaries have served as hosts for many foreign naval officers and visitors. Two have been chosen to serve as regimental commanders, which is the second highest leadership responsibility at the academy, and another returned missionary helped establish an exchange program with the Japanese Naval Academy."

Steve Cronquist, in 1984, was the first midshipmen to resign from the academy, and then be readmitted following his mission. "It was an excruciatingly painful decision," remembered Pres. Waite, who was serving as Elder Cronquist's bishop at the time.

Until then, no one had resigned a commission at the academy to serve a mission, though the groundwork had been laid at other military academies. Still, the missionary waters at the Naval Academy were untested and the prospects of losing his commission loomed large for Elder Cronquist.

But his desires to serve a mission were great, and stepping into the unknown, he submitted his missionary papers and began the resignation process. Lower lever officers in the chain of command questioned his commitment to the Navy and viewed his desires to serve a mission as a conflict of purposes.

Undaunted, Elder Cronquist pursued his course of resignation. The academy superintendent, Rear Admiral Charles Larson, who was familiar with the Church and its standards, supported Elder Cronquist in his resignation and readmittance two years later.

"Each midshipmen who has resigned to serve a mission has pioneered something new about the process," said Pres. Waite. "Those who have left during the past several years have been able to do so because of the heroic efforts and the faith of their predecessors.

"The prestige associated with returned missionaries here is great and highly honored with the brigade, albeit quietly but noticeably," he said.

Frederick I. Davis, associate dean for Academic Affairs, is aware of midshipmen who leave to serve missions. "Personally," he said, "I have been impressed by these midshipmen. I think the difficulties one might expect due to the interruption of their studies is compensated by an increased maturity and a strengthened dedication to their goals."

And while serving missions has improved the quality of the midshipmen, studying at the academy has also improved the quality of the missionary. At an LDSSA recognition dinner in May 1997, Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve noted that with the pre-mission experience at the academy, "young men hit the road running full speed" on their missions.

Sterling Colton of Bethesda, Md., and former president of the Canada Vancouver Mission noted the influence the academy had on one of his missionaries.

"Elder Cannon Neslen served in many leadership positions, including assistant for six months," he said. "I was impressed how his training at the Naval Academy had prepared him for his mission and leadership. He was mature beyond his years. He was self-disciplined and a self-starter. He could focus his efforts, and as a result, was very productive.

"As a mission president, I would have welcomed as many missionaries with his training as I could have obtained."

Since returning to the Naval Academy, Elder Neslen of the Bountiful Utah South Stake has been called to serve as LDSSA president. "My mission helped me realize my life's goals," he said.

The common experience for most midshipmen dealing with the stresses of the first year is learning to find strength and support in their testimonies, and in their membership in the Church.

"Midshipmen need people," said 1st Class Blake Jacobson, a senior from Concord, N.C., who assists with home teaching assignments as a counselor in the midshipmen priesthood group leadership.

"It's nice to know that you have someone to call," he said.

In addition to the spiritual strength derived from institute classes and service in the ward, attending the temple in Washington, D.C., is another a source of solace. "The temple becomes a haven for me," said Midshipman 2nd Class Trevor Laughter of Hendersonville, N.C. "The academy forces me to rely on my spiritual side."

Unique among the midshipmen this year are the four Whitmer siblings from Cuttingsville, Vt. Grant and David are juniors and were joined this year by two other siblings, Jennifer and Jeff, who are freshmen.

Some families have a legacy of descendants attending the Naval Academy, but never has there been a family with four students enrolled concurrently.

"Our parents were extremely driven to motivate us when we were younger," said Grant, who served a mission in Budapest, Hungary, from 1994-96. "Seeing how the gospel changes people's lives is amazing. You have an impact on the destinies of men."

Today, despite the rigors of academy life, member midshipmen lend their talents and testimonies to the strength of the Church in the Annapolis area. Many have callings as priesthood leaders, teachers and even in the nursery.

Each year, through their efforts, young men are activated and others are baptized, like Rob Alexander of Mt. Rainier, Md.

"There was something different about [my roommate]," said Brother Alexander, who had little knowledge of the Church when he entered the academy as a plebe. But he began asking when he watched his freshman roommate, Matt Vernon of Las Vegas, Nev., study scriptures.

"I always believed in Jesus Christ and just accepted it," he said. "People in the ward made me feel welcome, like family." He now attends a popular institute class at the academy taught by CES director Earl Deschamps.

Kim Palmer of Springfield, Ill., had a similar experience. Assigned to the same company as Trevor Laughter, she noticed that "Trevor was really upbeat and happy, nothing ever got him down," she said. "Just from talking with him, I could tell he really lived what he believed."

Now, several months since her baptism, she describes herself as "100 percent happier."

"Right from the beginning," she said, "I was like, wow, this is right. This is true."

Pres. Waite reminds his young men to be patient in long-suffering, "that ye may show forth good examples." (see Alma 17:11.) He reminds them that complete commitment must be accompanied by the spirit of service.

Finally, he teaches, after the refining experiences of the academy have produced such traits as self-discipline and a capacity for hard work, then are they in a position to wield a great influence, as described in Alma 18:2.

"It's a privilege to be around such great young people," he added.