When one of the more intense rivalries in college sports, between Florida and Florida State, boils over onto the gridiron later this month, there will be a peaceful haven of refuge on each campus, at least for LDS students and their friends.

Situated in the shadow of the Florida State University stadium where the football game will be played is the Tallahassee Institute of Religion. The Gainesville institute is adjacent to the University of Florida campus.

While they may be islands of serenity during bitter athletic clashes between the two schools, they offer much more than that for young members of the church who have a desire to take advantage of what the prominent north Florida universities have to offer, especially academically. Institute directors Bret Bowcutt in Tallahassee and Darrell A. Janson in Gainesville agree on that.

"They come here to feel the Spirit," Janson said, pointing out that the evils that confront young people aren't absent in north Florida. But institute is a spiritual shield against such things for those seeking the benefits of an education there.

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This story is provided by the LDS Church News, an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is produced weekly by the Deseret News.