Salt Lake's Struggle to Join World - on Its Own Terms ; Winter Games Spotlight City's Split Identity

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In 11 days, the world will come to Salt Lake City, not only to watch and enjoy, but also to judge.

This year's Winter Olympic venue is not, after all, some anonymous alpine hamlet like Lillehammer or Lake Placid. This is a sprawling city that, both friends and critics agree, is among the world's most peculiar - a place largely shaped by one faith since Brigham Young led his band of Mormon pioneers to a cleft in the Wasatch Range more than 150 years ago and proclaimed, "This is the right place."

Already, there are myths and misunderstandings: that polygamy remains common, that pubs are as scarce as palm trees, and that the town is whiter than a starched bedsheet. …