DRAPER, Utah — Young people confined to the Wasatch Youth Facility are here to reap the consequences of their bad decisions.

Most are repeat offenders of crimes ranging from car theft to assaults — some have been arrested up to 50 times. Other facilities of Utah's Division of Youth Corrections confine younger youth with lesser offenses, such as repeatedly skipping school.

For the youth confined in these facilities, the day ultimately ends in a narrow cell. A cell at Wasatch has a concrete ceiling and floor, a steel door and a deadbolt lock with the keyhole outside. The cell has just two amenities, a toilet and cot.

Young people are sobered in these surroundings and may well reflect on who they are, why they are here, and where this life will lead them. Yet, however they regard themselves, or whatever others may think of them, the young people find in their cells one outreach of comfort — a brightly colored quilt for them to keep, donated by a local Relief Society.

These quilts, touches of softness in a hard environment, are but a small part of the Church's outreach for troubled youth in the Utah North Area. Under the leadership of Elder Bruce D. Porter of the Second Quorum of the Seventy, 16 branches operate at northern Utah Youth Correctional facilities with an additional two in nearby Wyoming. Branches also function at privately operated youth rehabilitation centers. The branches hold Sunday worship meetings, without the sacrament, and midweek activities within the facilities. The meetings — open to all, with neither judging nor proselytizing — are an acknowledgement by the Church of this segment of its membership, and an acknowledgement by the state of the spiritual needs of confined young people.

"The Lord has commanded us to visit those who are in prison and minister to their needs," said Elder Porter, chairman of the Utah North Area's LDS Correctional Services. "A significant share of the offenders in the state of Utah are either members of the Church, former members of the Church or those interested in the Church who would like to attend our meetings. We feel it is a sacred obligation to the Lord to visit them."

And, he observed, it is easier to change a 14-year-old than a 40-year-old.

Under Elder Porter's direction, hundreds of volunteer leaders and youth workers spend hours each week bonding with incarcerated young men and women; teaching lessons, playing games and listening.

"The youth come from all walks of life, from all classes and economic settings, and are active and less-inactive in the Church," Elder Porter said. "The thread that unites them is that they are all children of God.

"These youth are still teachable and still very open to the Spirit," he said. "They've made mistakes, but they are youthful mistakes and they still could have a good life ahead of them. They are able to change if they want to. We hope most of them will end up leading responsible lives and become good members of the Church."

The Church is a guest in each facility, and each has different rules for volunteers. At some, the Church has contributed toward the building of interdenominational chapels. The scriptures and other Church materials are available, and Church Educational System instructors also provide seminary classes for the confined youth.

It is the goal to have in the detention centers "as strong a Church presence as possible."

The strength of this presence is most evident on Sundays. On a typical, recent Sunday at the Wasatch Youth Facility, about 15 Church volunteers, including a stake president and his counselor, branch leaders and Young Men and Young Women teachers, reported for service. They attended a sacrament service first, and then conducted a worship service and Sunday School. About 30 young women, attended, each in institutional clothing and little make-up.

"We don't force them to come; they want to come," said E. Kent Pulsipher, director of LDS Correctional Services, of the Utah North Area. A former stake president and LDS Family Services agency director, Elder Pulsipher and his wife, Joan, were recently called as Church service missionaries with LDS Family Services to coordinate and expand the Church's Correctional Services outreach to prison systems throughout the United States. He coordinates those who serve as priesthood and auxiliary leaders, Church service missionaries and volunteers to youth and adults in correctional facilities.

"It is our desire that those who provide service are not naive, but properly prepared through orientation," said Elder Pulsipher. "But we don't go in a spirit of fear; we go in a spirit of love, and teach the gospel.

"We take very seriously what President Boyd K. Packer (Acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve) said: 'True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior. The study of doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior.' "(Ensign, November 1986, p. 17.)

In the worship service, basic doctrines are taught, such as faith, repentance, prayer, the Plan of Salvation, forgiveness, and Heavenly Father's love.

After a worship service, a Sunday School class was held. A young single adult volunteer taught an object lesson to the class. He asked for a volunteer to leave the room, then hid an object. Half the class was instructed to try to mislead the individual who had left the room, the other half to tell the truth about the object's location. The winning half was promised donuts. When the young woman returned, a lively discussion developed. In the end, she followed the associates who misled her, and in the end, the entire class was given donuts.

The importance of resisting peer pressure, and accepting responsibility for choices, was emphasized. The young woman was solemn about the results and a few of the mis-leaders leaned back to apologize to the young woman. For the closing song, the young women sang, "I Am a Child of God," some without hymnals.

Afterwards, one of the young women explained in an interview why she attended Church services. "I come to Church so I can feel better about myself," she said. "Every night that I am here, I pray to God that I can get my life straight." She said she had been in and out of the system since she was 12.

"I know that my bishop loves me, because he came to our house."

At another worship service, a young man interviewed, who was not a member, said that being arrested "was real hard at first. I thought it was the end of everything." Now, however, "I feel like they [Church leaders] care. They make me feel like I can get somewhere. Now, [my goals] don't seem so impossible anymore."

That theme of hope is emphasized by the General Authorities who speak to the youth at the facilities, said Brother Pulsipher. "They tell the youth that 'Everything that God has through His plan is still available for you through the Atonement and through your own behavior, eventually.' It is exciting for the leaders, as well as the youth, to hear this."

On Monday, the day begins at 7 a.m. for the youth, who are unlocked from their cells, have breakfast and attend school classes beginning at 8 a.m. They break for a 20-minute lunch at noon and meet back in class until 3 p.m. Athletic time follows until dinner at 5 p.m., and parental visiting hours extend from 5:30-9:30 p.m. most evenings. One night a week, LDS youth leaders provide an activity. Sample activities are bringing in popcorn and watching the NBA playoffs, or having a psychiatrist discuss the effects of drugs on the brain, or listening to representatives of various careers.

Gary K. Dalton, director, Utah Division of Youth Corrections, expressed appreciation for the role of volunteers from various churches, including the LDS Church. "Our No. 1 priority is the kids," he said. "Even though there are some real problem kids and they have committed some egregious acts, our effort, hopefully, is to turn their lives around. We have long subscribed to the fact that kids have spiritual needs, and if you don't attend to their internal spiritual needs, you will lose them on the other issues."

He said the youth understand the word "repentance," but often don't know how to engage in the repentance process. "A lot of them never can get that resolved from a spiritual, or conscience, point of view. The Church programs help them do that."

He expressed appreciation for the many volunteers. "We probably don't have a quilt in our detention centers that hasn't been made by a Relief Society group somewhere in the valley."

Charles Hall, a former president of a long-term youth detention branch, said, "We hope [the Church] will change them, but you can never tell for how long or how much."

Many are repeat offenders. "One young man [who had attended meetings] came back after he had been in a drive-by shooting. He said, 'But, president, I want you to know that this time, I shot at the ground instead of at the people.'

"Those are the kinds of victories that we hope for," said President Hall.

"Volunteers are the best hope these youth have," he said. "If the religious community doesn't step up and try to help here, these kids are never going to have better values."

He explained that branch presidents try very hard to coordinate with the youth's home bishop so the youth can receive support when released.

The program starts with prevention and goes beyond incarceration, said Elder Craig T. Vincent, an Area Authority Seventy who is also involved in the Church's LDS Corrections outreach effort. "We try to prevent them from going back. It takes a concerted effort by the family, the bishop and the young people where that individual came from."

An attorney who had often been to detention facilities in his professional capacity, Elder Vincent gained a new perspective of the detention centers after his first Sunday visit.

"I came away with a stronger affirmation than ever before that the Spirit of the Lord will be there for those who are seeking the knowledge of the truth," he said. "The gospel in the prison is full of light; the Lord's Spirit is there and it changes your life as much as it changes theirs'."

E-mail: jhart@desnews.com