Between Pulpit and Pew

The Supernatural World in Mormon History and Folklore

Author: W. Paul Reeve and Michael Scott Van Wagenen

Mormons gave to supernatural legends and events distinctive meanings related to Mormon theology and culture, but such narratives incorporated motifs found in many cultures. Many such historical legends and beliefs continue to find adherents down to the present. In this collection, historians employ folklore to illuminate the cultural and religious

Product Unavailable

PRODUCT INFORMATION

Summary

Description

Cain wanders the frontier as a Big foot-like hairy beast and confronts an early Mormon apostle. An evil band of murderers from Mormon scripture, known as the Gadiant on robbers, provides an excuse for the failure of a desert town. Stories of children raised from the dead with decayed bodies and damaged minds help draw boundaries between the proper spheres of human and divine action. Mormons who observe UFOs in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries find ways to explain them in relation to the church's cosmology. The millenarian dimension of that belief system induces church members to invest in the Dream Mine, a hidden treasure that a would-be heir to Joseph Smith wraps in prophecy of the end times. A Utah version of Nessie haunts a large mountain lake. Non-Mormons attempt to discredit Joseph Smith with tales that he had tried and failed to walk on water. Mormons gave distinctive meanings to supernatural legends and events,but their narratives incorporated motifs found in many cultures. Many such historical legends and beliefs found adherents down to the present. This collection employs folklore to illuminate the cultural and religious history of a people.

Critic Reviews

“It is significant that historians have chosen to better understand the history of Mormons by looking at their folklore, including their expressions of the supernatural . . . Some historians might have viewed these legends as peripheral to the main story of the church and its members, but here we see that they help fill out and give form to the story. -Elaine Thatcher, foreword to Between Pulpit and Pew”

"It is significant that historians have chosen to better understand the history of Mormons by looking at their folklore, including their expressions of the supernatural . . . Some historians might have viewed these legends as peripheral to the main story of the church and its members, but here we see that they help fill out and give form to the story."—Elaine Thatcher, foreword to Between Pulpit and Pew
"An excellent compilation."— Benjamin E. Zeller, Nova Religio

More on this Book

The New Farmers' Market, 2nd Edition is a must-have resource for growers interested in selling their farm or market garden products through farmers' markets, as well as for market managers and city planners in starting, managing, and promoting a market. The book is also invaluable for community activists in educating the public about local food and agriculture.The New Farmerse(tm) Market was first published in 2001, when there were 3,000 farmerse(tm) markets in the U.S.; today, the number is 8,000 and growing. Farmerse(tm) markets have become a major commercial avenue for farmers to make a living, and for communities to serve as a vital economic, social and cultural focal point.The 2nd Edition, in addition to being extensively revised to keep up with the changes in farmerse(tm) markets, includes new chapters on how farmers and farmers' markets are utilizing social media and internet marketing. Yet another new chapter highlights how farmers' markets have become the vanguard of the alternative food movement, and what farmers need to know about the issues involved.