Hey, check it out -- it's a Mormon!

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Jun 19, 2007 | by Doug Robinson Deseret Morning News

You knew this would happen. In this the era of Mitt "The Mormon Candidate" Romney, Mormons are being put under a microscope like never before. It's as if the national media have discovered some strange new species inhabits the planet, and now they are holding it up to the light, shaking it, prodding it, observing it, asking it questions.

Is it normal? Is it a cult? Is it Christian? Does it get angry when you ask it about polygamy? Let's see what happens when we ask it about the Mountain Meadows Massacre? Does it really hold family home evening? What other odd behavior does it exhibit?

You get the feeling that if media and other outsiders could observe a Mormon or two in their natural habitat and take a few notes, they would do it. And so they did.

Not once, but twice in the past month Jorge Becerra, his wife, Debbie, and their five children allowed outsiders into their home to observe them practicing their faith and holding a family home evening -- first for Rev. Al Sharpton (as part of his kiss-and-make- up campaign in the wake of his infamous, ill-advised comment about Romney) and then for "NBC Nightly News."

The Becerras live in Sandy. He is a financial adviser and a stake president who has done voluntary work for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' public affairs department. Because of the latter connection, he got a call from church headquarters asking if he would allow his family to be observed by Sharpton while they held a family home evening.

So the Becerras did what they do every Monday night, or most of them anyway. With Sharpton and his assistants watching, along with an LDS Church official, they sang a hymn and prayed. Daughter Rachael sang a church hymn solo, and Debbie gave a lesson on the Prodigal Son. Sharpton sat quiet until he was asked to read a passage from the Bible.

"It was surreal looking up and seeing Rev. Sharpton there," says Debbie. "It was nice and short. He was in and out in 40 minutes. He was really nice but quiet -- I think he was tired. It had been a long day for him."

Then three weeks later, the church sent another visitor to the Becerra household. This time it was an "NBC Nightly News" crew, headed by reporter Ron Allen. They showed up on a Monday night to observe another family home evening. With cameras rolling and the crew observing, the Becerras sang a hymn and then prayed. Jorge gave a lesson. They ate Popsicles. They played croquet in the yard. The kids, distracted at first by the large TV cameras leaning in for close-up shots, eventually ignored the audience, and it was business as usual.

Afterward came the poking and prodding of these strange creatures called Mormons. What do you say when people think you're a cult, when they think you're strange, Jorge was asked. Doesn't it make you mad?

"I felt like he wanted to get some emotional reaction out of me, but I didn't feel defensive or bothered by it at all," says Jorge. "People just don't know us."

And that seems to be the problem, doesn't it.

Allen was skeptical. This family home evening stuff was a little too idyllic, a little too Mayberry -- the prayers, the scripture reading, the croquet and Popsicles. Who in this age can get their kids to spend an evening with mom and dad singing songs? Don't the kids resist? Aren't they too busy with soccer practice and dance lessons?

"What is ordinary to us, is extraordinary to the rest of the world, I guess," says Becerra. "Go to any house on the street; they're all doing the same thing. We're not different than anyone else around here. These are just things we do around here."

After a pause, Jorge added, "We felt like we were under a microscope, but we welcome any interest."

Ready or not, it's coming anyway. CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, Time magazine and newspapers from around the country have all come calling in recent weeks, and more will follow in the months ahead. They all want to know the same thing: What, exactly, is a Mormon?

Doug Robinson's column runs on Tuesday. Please send e-mail to drob@desnews.com.