From his office on Utah's Capitol Hill, Leavitt had been working on solutions, too, but with the mighty three-spoked wheel of power cranked into motion, the road was quickly paved for answers.

The state obtained more federal agents to deal with immigration problems and more agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. State officials worked with Alexander Morrison, an area president of the LDS Church. The problem required tougher laws, more prison beds and intervention in the community. While crime initiatives worked their way through halls on Utah's Capitol Hill, the LDS Church deployed missionaries to the inner-city areas of Salt Lake and other places.

Then U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno and FBI Director Louis Freeh came to Salt Lake City. They spoke at a crime summit, attended press conferences and gave speeches. Huntsman and church leaders were nowhere to be found in the cameras' sights. Their work was behind the scenes.

Ultimately, crime rates turned the corner.

"Sometimes a problem is difficult enough, it chooses the most powerful to deal with it," said Ted Wilson, a former Salt Lake mayor and candidate for U.S. Senate and governor.

"This is kind of like the Utah way of doing things. Some problems so rattle us, we want all sectors to work together," he said. "But we're a conservative state. We don't want government to do everything. So we work like this — church, private business, government — to accomplish something." Having the church, Huntsman and Leavitt work quietly for a special goal "is quite natural," Wilson said.

Huntsman said last week he does his best work on civic and political projects from behind the scenes.

"In that regard, I spent two years meeting with community leaders and activists, with Sen. Hatch, the governor and various church leaders to do all in my power to lower the crime rate," Huntsman said. "It was a high priority for me, and quietly, behind the scenes, I spent a lot of time and effort in focusing on crime problems."

Utah is unique in its power structure — no other state has 70 percent of its residents identifying with one religion. And few states can match the dominance of one political party — four out of the five members of Utah's congressional delegation are Republicans, as are all state executive officers and two-thirds of the Utah House and Senate.

For many Utahns, daily life revolves around church, work and activities like school and recreation. Reflecting those priorities, President Hinckley, 90, was listed as the most influential person in the state.