ALPINE, Utah — While attending an international school in Brazil as a child, Julie Bangerter Beck asked her mother a simple question: "Why does everyone have to be so different?"

Photo by Jason Olson

Julie and Ramon Beck have spent their life together in Alpine, Utah. In addition to giving service in their small community and the Church, they enjoy music and traveling.

"They are not different," her mother responded. "They are just interesting." The world, she said, would be a really boring place if everyone "was the same as you."

From that moment on, Julie considered it a blessing to be surrounded by children from many different lands, who embraced different cultures and spoke different languages. Everyone she met became interesting.

More than 40 years later, she again looks back on that experience which, early on, shaped her view of the world and by extension the worldwide Church and its now 11.6 million members. She looks forward to again meeting people from different lands, this time as first counselor in the Young Women general presidency.

Born Sept. 29, 1954, Julie Bangerter was the fifth of Wm. Grant and Geraldine Bangerter's 11 children. While she was raised mostly in Granger (now part of West Valley), Utah, she spent five years — from age 4 to 9 — in Brazil while her father served as president of the Brazilian Mission.

"We didn't play house or dolls," Sister Beck said recalling those years. "We played missionary. We would tract and transfer all over the yard. I wanted to be like those sister missionaries. I wore their old clothes. I carried their old bags."

The 22 seats at the mission home dinning room table were always full. Her father, who later served as a General Authority, was an example of devotion to the Church. Her mother, who gave birth to a baby only 10 days after arriving in Brazil, led the mission in referrals and taught her children what it meant to be truly brave. Sister Bangerter, a nurse, also took care of sick missionaries and pioneered the use of gamma globulin to treat hepatitis for missionaries in South America.

The family returned from Brazil in 1963 to the same community they had left five years earlier. Julie then spoke fluent Portuguese, and carried in her heart a fascination for language, people, cultures and geography. She played the clarinet and piano and was a member of the high school pep club and Future Homemakers of America Association.

In 1970 her family moved to Alpine, Utah — a small community she would only leave again to attend Dixie College in Southern Utah.

On a summer break from Dixie College, Julie met and started dating Ramon Beck; his ancestors helped settle Alpine. They were married Dec. 28, 1973, in the Salt Lake Temple.

While Sister Beck's father fulfilled assignments as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy, the older Bangerter children — which included Julie and her new husband — looked after their parents' home and farm and for her younger brothers and sisters. "It was a team effort," she said. Now reflecting on the closeness of her family, Sister Beck calls her father's Church service a "sweet sacrifice."

In 1978 the Becks built a house in Alpine on family property; 23 years later they still live in that home located within a mile of both their parents. Brother Beck works at the Alpine office of the Bank of American Fork.

"Once," said Brother Beck, "we looked at a house in [nearby] American Fork and got homesick."

Because the community was small, the Becks found themselves involved in a little bit of everything. Brother Beck served on the city council; Sister Beck helped organize activities for the annual "Alpine Days" celebrations. The entire family — which included three children — also worked on the Church farm, sometimes weeding rows of beans so long they stretched "clear to Payson."

In addition to a love for their community, the Becks also share a love for something else: music. All three of the Beck children are accomplished pianists. Brother Beck said people often comment on his children's talent; he knows, however, that it came from daily 5:30 a.m. practice sessions. Sister Beck sat with her children during many of those hours, some of which were delightful, many of which were not.

"I wanted them to develop discipline and responsibility," she said. "I wanted them to learn a quality product. I wanted them to learn about winning and losing. I wanted them to understand polishing a product and develop good thinking skills.

"The bonus is that they can also play the piano."

And when the children would reach music goals the entire family would take a vacation; love of travel is a third thing the family shares.

Sister Beck's health, however, made travel hard. For a period of about 10 years she struggled with a poor immune system. "There were times I was bed ridden and discouraged," she recalled. "I wondered if I would ever be able to offer anything again. You see people out hiking, playing and doing things with their children. I fought for everything we did."

On one memorable occasion the family traveled to the eastern United States; Sister Beck combated shingles the entire trip. But she went because she didn't want her health to make her family homebound.

And as a result of these trials, health is one thing she is thankful for now. "I really feel like the Lord made me well so I could serve," she said. "It is a miracle."

Only unlike the miracles in the scriptures, hers happened little by little, year by year. But when she received her calling to the Young Women general presidency, she was able to look President Gordon B. Hinckley in the eyes and say, "I have good health."

Today, Sister Beck loves to read; she made a goal in 1981 to read the scriptures daily and has a near perfect record. She loves to spend time with her three grandchildren; she makes them family picture books so they can remember their time together. She also enjoys the opportunity to serve in the Church. And while her new calling won't be easy, she thinks maybe past experiences will help her face future challenges.

"I will think back on the families and girls I knew in Brazil and draw from those experiences," she said.

E-mail: sarah@desnews.com