Virtual Mormons get a 'Second Life' — Part 2

This is the second in a two-part series. Read the first article: Virtual Mormons get a 'Second Life' — Part 1

Related: Reflections: Can avatars be Mormon?

ADAM ONDI AHMAN, Second Life — Keith Thompson entered the virtual world of Second Life to fill the extra time he had from being disabled. He used an 8-year-old's persona, or avatar, to explore childhood psychology — and to simply play a game.

But it didn't work out the way he planned.

His parents on the virtual reality role-playing game were divorced. He was on his own and had become the mastermind behind a growing community of Mormons in Second Life. He could choose to look like anybody (and almost anything) but Thompson decided to keep his childlike avatar, Skyler Goode.

"I definitely fell in love with Skyler," Thompson said. "(And) not just me, but the residents as well. They've adopted me. It's like a cartoon character that I animate."

Thompson said playing the part of a child has its advantages in the virtual fantasy world. Because children are not encouraged to go onto Second Life, everybody knows you are an adult already — but they suspend disbelief to play along. He becomes a bridge in some ways between the imaginary and the real.

"One advantage Skyler has as a child is that he has his one foot in the world of fantasy and one foot in the world of reality," he said. "It does help him to relate to both sides."

People choose their avatars for many different reasons. Brita Graham chose the look of her avatar, known as Belisima Grunberg, to be taller than she is in real life, for example.

"Some are playing a game," Thompson said. "Some are fulfilling fantasies. Some are representing themselves the way they wish others would look at them."

Thompson's Mormon community has about 100 residents, making it the largest religious community in Second Life. The islands he created, Adam ondi Ahman, Deseret, Bountiful and Zarahemla, have become a haven for those who visit the game — a haven from the darker side of virtual life.

"There are those who believe because it is just 'fantasy,' anything they do, any immorality they portray, they are guiltless for that, somehow," Thompson said. "We have watched several of our members fall away, not just from association with us, but in their testimonies as well — and they tell us how weakened their testimonies are. Fortunately that has been a rare exception."