海角大神

Ezra Hainsworth, bedecked in a stars-and-stripes jacket, stands ready to urge fellow students at Dixie State University into the campus鈥檚 early voting booths.

But the college student can鈥檛 yet step into one himself: Unusually for someone involved in a get out the vote effort, he doesn鈥檛 know whom he鈥檚 going to vote for next week.

鈥淚 disagree with Hillary鈥檚 policies and politics, and Trump lives a lifestyle we don鈥檛 support, either,鈥� says Mr. Hainsworth, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 鈥淚t鈥檚 still up in the air for me.鈥�

Mormons, perhaps more than any other religious group, have struggled to reconcile the values of their faith with the choices they face at the ballot box this year. Hainsworth鈥檚 and his fellow Mormons鈥� hesitation means there鈥檚 a well-documented possibility the deep-red state, where they make up 60 percent of the electorate, may not choose a Republican for the first time in half a century. That doesn鈥檛 mean Utah is going to choose Mrs. Clinton, either. Instead, Evan McMullin, a former CIA operative who has raised less than $1 million, is the first independent candidate since George Wallace to have even an outside shot at winning a state.

鈥淯tah more than any other state represents much of the country's misgivings about Donald Trump in particular," says Henrie Walton, director of the Institute of Politics at Dixie.

鈥淓van McMullin is a moral safe place and an emotional safe place. He allows Mormons to feel good about themselves while having done their civic duty."

Certainly, members of other conservative faiths have struggled with their choice this year 鈥� with young Evangelicals and women expressing their unwillingness to support the GOP candidate. But the sense of civic obligation to help preserve the democratic country in which their faith was founded is particularly strong among Mormons, experts say. Sitting out an election as important as this one would be unconscionable. As a result, the 鈥渓esser of two evils鈥� struggle may feel even more pronounced.

鈥淭he Mormon church takes very seriously the civic duty to go out and vote,鈥� Mr. Walton says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important that members cast their ballot not just based on a candidate鈥檚 policy positions but also on their moral character.鈥�

Like many religious voters, residents of this corner of southwest Utah say hearing Trump casually discussing sexual assault on a hot mic was disturbing, to say the least. But unlike many other conservatives, Mormon voters also are put off by his proposals to keep Muslims and Syrian refugees out of the country. Singling out members of a minority faith does not sit well with those whose ancestors faced violent persecution for their faith, scholars and political analysts say.

鈥淯tahns want to feel good about who they鈥檙e voting for,鈥� says Jason Perry, director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at Utah University. 鈥淧eople are not feeling comfortable.鈥�

While that feeling is shared fairly widely among much of the electorate in 2016, the shape it has taken in Utah is unique to that state. The beneficiary: Mr. McMullin, a Utah native and graduate of Brigham Young University, who is on the ballot in 11 states. The former chief policy director for the House Republican Conference saw a surge in support following the release in early October of the "Access Hollywood" video that featured Trump talking about groping women.

On Sept. 25, McMullin had the support of about of likely voters in the state, giving Trump a comfortable lead at 34 percent, according to data collected by the Hinckley Institute and The Salt Lake Tribune. By the end of October, support for McMullin had swelled to 鈥� putting him only two percentage points behind Trump, who had dropped to 32 percent. (Clinton hovered at 25 percent through the same period.)

Ann Oakley, a St. George resident and LDS church member, says she used to think that casting her ballot for McMullin was just another way of helping Clinton win. But since the release of the Trump video, 鈥淚鈥檓 leaning toward voting for him,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t would at least send a message that we don鈥檛 approve of either candidate.鈥�

Nancy Ross, who teaches at Dixie and until last November was a practicing Mormon, sees it differently. To her, a vote for McMullin is less as an act of defiance as an inability to make a tough decision 鈥� and emblematic of what she says is the LDS church鈥檚 tendency to frame issues in black and white.

鈥淢orality frames everything in good and bad,鈥� says Dr. Ross, an avid Clinton supporter who left the church because of its position on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. 鈥淎nything gray is automatically tainted. Evan McMullin provides an easy choice.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 a cop out,鈥� she says.

There are signs McMullin鈥檚 ascent . And it doesn鈥檛 mean Utah is going to be added to the list of swing states, like Florida and Ohio, going forward.

鈥淚鈥檓 not convinced that this means that Utah voters are abandoning the Republican Party,鈥� says W. Paul Reeve, author of several books on Mormon issues and director of graduate studies in history at the University of Utah.

But McMullin鈥檚 surprise surge so close to Election Day speaks to the depth of Utahns鈥� dissatisfaction.

鈥淭his has been a reliably red state for 52 years,鈥� says Mr. Perry at the University of Utah, noting that the last Democratic presidential candidate to win the state was Lyndon Johnson in 1964. Now, he says, 鈥渁 third party is making headway. And it鈥檚 not because they know him 鈥� they don鈥檛. It鈥檚 who he is not.鈥�

Meanwhile, some Mormon voters in Utah 鈥� and in St. George, a college town in the state's deeply conservative southwestern region 鈥� continue to grapple with the conflict in conscience the candidates present.聽

鈥淚 want to leave feeling like I voted for what I felt was right,鈥� says Anilee Bundy, who remains undecided. 鈥淚 like to live my life that way. I think voting shouldn鈥檛 be any different.鈥�

Correction: This article has been updated to correct the spelling of Nancy Ross's name.