Non-LDS students do need to adapt to taking religion classes with their LDS peers. BYU requires every student to take 14 hours of religion courses to graduate.

Each student must take four "doctrinal foundation" classes — Book of Mormon 121 and Book of Mormon 122 plus either New Testament 211 or 212 and either Doctrine and Covenants 324 or 325. The four courses fill eight hours.

Every student also must take six hours of religious electives.

BYU does recognize one gap in Book of Mormon study. The university segregates students who have served church missions — 42 percent of undergraduates — into special sections because of their expertise.

BYU spokeswoman Carri Jenkins said 319 of 29,577 students enrolled during fall semester were not LDS. Exactly 100 of the 319 were freshmen.

Wyllie has spent the school year researching the issue of resurrecting the class. SAC will conduct a student focus group on the subject on Thursday, and Wyllie is preparing a draft proposal to take to the administration through SAC and the BYU Student Service Association.

If SAC deems it worthy, she will take it to a vice president and then to the dean of religion.

"We don't want to get ahead of ourselves," she said of the slow progress. "We wanted to be sure we understood the whole process. We want to be able to say we talked to students, faculty and staff, and this is what they said."

Ironically, Wyllie joined the LDS Church in December.

Warner taught the first half of the Book of Mormon each fall semester and the second half during winter semester.

BYU's Web site quotes a past class schedule explaining the importance of religion courses: "Secular understanding and skill are important attainments in life and will better serve the individual when accompanied by religious convictions, attitudes, and standards of behavior. Ideally, students should take one religion class each semester of enrollment."

Hundreds of religiously affiliated colleges and universities have requirements similar to BYU's. For example, each of the 102 members schools of the Council for Christian Colleges Universities requires its students to take six hours of religious credits, CCCU assistant vice president Nate Mouttet said.

Warner said teaching the class wasn't easy. Wyllie estimates that half of the non-Mormon students aren't Christian, and Warner said he had to teach them to pray to fulfill BYU's practice of starting classes with prayer.

"I prayed quite a few times until I could get some of those who had never prayed publicly in their lives to do so in front of their peers. By the end of the semester, many were able to express heartfelt prayers.

"It was a rich experience."

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E-mail: twalch@desnews.com