The 5,000-square-foot log cabin looks out over a meandering stream and fish pond. Ducks, chickens and horses call the place home, in addition to Brown's charges — boys and men who are there in a last-ditch attempt to redeem themselves before it's too late.

"There's an incredibly large problem in Utah County with heroin," Brown said, adding he knows one stake president in Orem who has seen four kids in his area die from overdoses within the past six months. Prescription painkillers are also a major problem, he said, but carry less social stigma among Latter-day Saints.

Brown teaches spiritual principles every day and is not shy about his belief that his work is a mission of mercy, despite the fact that he charges $6,000 per month to house and mentor each of his clients. "I could charge $20,000 a month, and I'd be full in about two months."

Demand for his services is larger than the Ranch's ability to accommodate, so he's already got plans to expand the men's facility and add a women's dorm on the property as well.

LDS structure and members' belief in the eternal nature of family relationships mean that as long as there are Latter-day Saints who struggle with addiction there will be a need for services that go beyond secular treatment, Brown said.

"Sometimes people in the church say they'll just pray and go to church. That's necessary, but it's not going to help you stay sober," Brown said. "You can't go to quorum meeting and say, 'You know what, I'm feeling pretty crummy and I want to start drinking.'

"Every now and then a person in recovery has to talk with someone who has the same problem."

For information, see www.renaissanceranch.net.

---

E-mail: carrie@desnews.com