Mormon folklore
Mormon folklore is a body of expressive
Verbal lore for Mormons includes stories that missionaries tell each other as a part of initiation and also to encourage adherence to mission rules. Members tell stories about
Common customs for Mormons include reciting conversion narratives, which is especially common during
Pioneer handicrafts were inspired by the many cultures that came together in Utah. Handicrafts were initially a necessity, and pioneers developed techniques to adapt their skills to the materials on hand. Later, the
Research into Mormon folklore
Verbal lore
Missionary lore
They commonly tell stories about how new missionaries, or "greenies", are initiated into the existing missionary group through pranks, even if these pranks never occurred. Learning missionary slang also helps new missionaries feel like part of the missionary community. Missionaries often tell stories in which some missionaries try to escape mission life but are discovered. One common "unauthorized trip story"[7]: 13 tells how two missionaries write their weekly reports in advance, entrust them to their landlady, and embark on a sightseeing tour, only to be caught when their landlady sends the reports all at once. Another common story tells of a missionary who decides to break mission rules and participate in a sports tournament, only to be discovered by their mission president when their picture appears in the news. These stories focus on trickster heroes who fail and embody the group's childish fantasies, acting as "an approved steam-valve for the group".[7]: 14 In some stories that encourage obedience, a missionary disobeys the rules and suffers disastrous consequences. Other stories tell of missionaries miraculously saved from danger. Missionaries also tell stories about getting the best of a hostile world, even if it causes other people to suffer. Missionaries in such stories shake the dust from their feet after leaving a city that was unresponsive to their message. After performing this ritual, the city is destroyed through a natural disaster, war, or economic depression. Stories where people insult missionaries, only to come to an untimely end, are common.[7]
Folk narratives
Mormons tell stories about early church members,
Many Mormons engage in genealogy research in order to perform baptisms for the dead. One common folk narrative is for a researcher to have lost hope of finding more information, only to miraculously find it in a book or cemetery. There are also many stories of spirits helping church members to perform their temple work for the dead or conveying their gratitude somehow.[8][10][11][12][13]
Folk songs
In the 1850s and 1860s, Mormons used secular songs for worship and entertainment. They wrote their own poetry and set it to the familiar, secular tunes. One popular tune was "The Sea". Early church leader
Descriptions of customs
Testimonies
Relating conversion narratives is one of the many ways Mormons express their faith. During monthly
Marriage confirmation narratives, told in communal cooperation settings, relate how people let God or a church leader decide whom they should marry. This helped them to overcome their anxiety about whom to choose to marry. The folk belief that there exists only one suitable marriage partner, perpetuated in Mormon media[18] but not supported by Mormon theology, exacerbates this anxiety. Generally, marriage confirmation narratives support the idea that righteous living within Mormon expectations will lead to blessings like receiving spiritual revelation about who should become one's marriage partner and having a happy marriage. Such narratives help reinforce Mormon ideas about Mormons being a chosen community who receive special spiritual experiences, and help establish and fortify socially desirable behavior.[18]
Some Mormon women experience a vision of a future child that inspired them to have more children. If the next child is different from the child in the vision, the woman knows that the child is still "coming" and has another child. Margaret K. Brady documented this narrative type and sees it as a way to relieve Mormon women from the guilt they feel about thinking not to have more children, because the vision encourages them to change their mind and have more children. Sometimes these women share this experience in a visionary narrative. Telling the story reinforces the woman's spiritual identity, thus giving her a measure of power in her religious community.[19]
Courtship and families
Creative date invitations are pervasive in the Idaho, Utah, and Arizona area, starting in the 1970s when young women were encouraged to ask young men to Sadie Hawkins dances.[20] Folklorist Kristi Young writes that creative date invitations allowed young women to feel more comfortable asking young men on dates, since creative date invitations often do not require face-to-face interaction.[21]: 29 Sometimes the recipient of a creative date invitation will accept even if they already have a significant other.[2]
The LDS Church encourages families to meet together in
Pioneer Day
The first
In Utah where Pioneer Day is an official holiday, the day is celebrated with fireworks and historical reenactments. However, outside of Utah, observance depends on local members; often a congregation will have pioneer-themed talks but no festivities.[23] Dutch Mormons tend not to celebrate it, but in Germany, Pioneer Day is popular among Mormons.[2]
Other customs
In the mid-20th century, several performance art traditions helped revive folk arts. Church-wide folk-dancing festivals taught folk dancing to Mormon youth in the 1970s. Roadshows allowed members to exercise their creative talents on a smaller scale.[24]
In some missions, it is common to burn clothing to mark special missionary anniversaries, such as a tie after six months of service and a shirt after one year.[2]
Material objects
Handicrafts
Pine furniture, pottery, wool textiles, quilts, woodwork, decorative needlework, and toys have unique Mormon elements.[1]: 33 In early Mormon history, pioneers gathered in Utah from Europe and other parts of the world, bringing their knowledge of handicrafts with them. Utah pioneers were isolated and had to make most of their own clothes and linens. They adapted the techniques they knew to the materials they had on hand. Local historian Shirley B. Paxman argues that the pioneers's limited materials combined with their isolation resulted in work that was not self-conscious.[25] Since pioneer women did not think of themselves as artists, their decorative work was for their own or their family's simple pleasure. Pioneer women in Utah made their own yarn, linen thread and silk thread.[25] In the 1870s, pioneer women sold their handicrafts in cooperative stores owned by the Relief Society.[26]: 80 When handicrafts were no longer a necessity, they were promoted as improving mental health. Handicrafts for Women, published by the Relief Society in 1935, encouraged women to learn handicrafts to relieve them of the monotony of housework.[27] In the early 20th century, Relief Societies held monthly homemaking days to learn and practice household arts and crafts including needlework and quilting.[24] In 1963, handicrafts saw a resurgence in popularity that coincided with the Relief Society Magazine's new feature on arts and crafts.[28]
Relief Society crafts are one way that folk art is disseminated between Mormons. In 1963, crafter Ruby Swallow made resin grapes using old Christmas ornaments as molds. She presented the craft at a stake homemaking activity, and soon after taught her technique in a local craft store. The craft remained unusually popular, and many homes in the Intermountain West had a set by the 1970s. Eleanor Zimmerman, who helped popularize the grapes, said that the craft was popular because it was handmade but "looked store-bought."[28]: 79 Mark L. Staker, a curator for the Museum of Church History and Art, believes that the staying power of resin grapes is partially because they were made as a community, and also because Relief Society Magazine began emphasizing arts and crafts in 1963.[28] One popular genre of crafts turns inexpensive utilitarian objects into decorative ones.[29]
Utahns created a Utah quilt guild in 1977 to promote and preserve quilt making techniques. In documenting pioneer quilts, the Utah quilt guild found a wide variety of styles, including paper piecing, applique, and crazy quilt styles. Quilts were a common wedding gift.[30] Pioneer quilts often featured natural imagery, with sego lilies and beehives being special symbols of Mormon pioneers.[24] English and humanities professor Yvonne Milspaw studied contemporary American regional quilting and found that Utah Mormon quilters were the most innovative and relaxed about traditional quilt patterns. Pictorial quilts and quilts that incorporate memorabilia, like boy scout badges and silk-screened photos, were common.[31]: 378 The annual Springville Quilt Show accepts both hand-stitched and machine-quilted quilts.[32]
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Book Club Friends 4ever quilted by Dixie Davies. Sampler patch style with Christmas prints.
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Shattered quilted by Pamela Checketts and Sue's Quilts Shop.
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Human Hair Bracelet belonging to Zina Presendia Young Williams Card
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Hidden object toy
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Handmade dolls
Furniture
Early Utah pioneers in 1847 used wood from hardwood packing boxes as material for furniture.[33]: 24 Steam-driven lathes made Roman turned legs and furniture with spool-turned decoration popular.[33]: 17 Leaders encouraged craftsmanship, and cabinetmakers made their own designs, usually influenced by fashionable designs like the Empire style. Furniture makers adapted designs to local softwoods like cottonwood, box elder, and red and yellow pine.[33]: 27 The legs and spindles of furniture made with soft wood had to be thicker to accommodate the same amount of weight as furniture made with hardwood.[29]
In the 1850s and 60s, furniture was in great demand, but by 1869, there were enough cabinetmakers to create a variety of competing styles.[33]: 37 William Bell, a cabinetmaker from England, worked for Brigham Young and made a variety of simple yet fashionable pieces. He crafted a few unique pieces, including an octagonal rotating desk with painted graining to simulate other textures, and a reclining chair. Ralph Ramsay, another Mormon pioneer furniture maker, used Bell's workshop to carve a large eagle that decorated the entrance to Brigham Young's property.[33]: 55 Ramsay carved many other details iconic to Mormon architecture, including the original oxen supporting baptismal fonts in temples, the casework for the Salt Lake Tabernacle organ, and an ornate personal bed.[33]: 59–62
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Eagle gate made by Ralph Ramsay
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Salt Lake Tabernacle organ in 1901
Other pioneer craftsmen tried to adapt to conditions in Utah. Potters made jars and pots for local needs. Local soil was high in alkali, and traditional glazes were ineffective. Pioneers preferred the cheaper factory-made pottery, and by the end of the 19th century, only Erich C. Henrichsen's pottery remained in business, selling unglazed machine-made flower pots. Blacksmiths recycled any metal they could find and had consistent work to do, shoeing horses and repairing farm equipment. By the 1890s, most craftsmen were struggling to support themselves, as they could not compete with factory-made goods brought by the railway.[26]: 76 Since the church's emphasis on emergency preparedness, some Mormons have created storage space for preserved food inside furniture.[29][34]
Architecture
Rural Mormon settlements have several features that, when found together, distinguish them from non-Mormon settlements. These include wide roads, irrigation ditches, unpainted barns, and special wooden hay derricks.[1]: 30, 44 Lombardy poplars were often grown in rows to act as a windbreak, and streets were often numbered in grid fashion.[2] A two-story symmetrical home with a chimney on either end was popular, and called "I"-style or "Nauvoo"-style homes. "I"-style homes were often built adjoining one another in "L", "H", or "T" style homes. Homes were often built using adobe.[24]
Brigham Young instructed pioneers to build "beautiful" houses, and from 1847 to 1890, architects experimented with various decorations they found in house pattern books. Greek revival-inspired decorations included window heads in pediment shape, entablature, and plain cornice returns. For Gothic revival decorations, architects used intricate bargeboards and spired finials to traditional house plans. Dormers were popular and were built in many varying styles. Late 19th-century styles like Victorian were not common. Traditional house plans came from Colonial Georgian architecture. External designs were usually bilaterally symmetric, with three distinct components, one of which was centered to preserve symmetry. Second-story windows were built direct above first-story windows in this style. Architectural eclecticism was common, and architects sometimes used unusual solutions to create symmetric facades.[35]
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Willard, Utah with Poplars in the background
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George M. Brown House, built in the 1880s, uses bilateral triparte symmetry in its facade. The decorations are in the Gothic revival style.
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Clark–Taylor House, built around 1854
Gravestones
In the 19th century, the most popular symbol for gravestones in the Mormon cultural region was that of two hands clasped, as if in a handshake. Carol Edison, former director of the Utah Art Council's Folk Arts Program, interprets the symbol as having multiple meanings, representing either a goodbye to living relatives or a greeting to deceased relatives.[36]: 83 The clasped hands design was especially popular for upright marble grave markers. Starting around 1910, images of temples on gravestones appeared, reinforcing Mormon beliefs about families remaining together after death. With sandblasting technology in the 1960s, carving images of temples became much easier. Over a quarter of gravestone orders in 2013 included a temple image.[36]: 86 Many temple gravestones include the names of husband and wife on the same gravestone and the date of their temple sealing. The names of the children of the couple are sometimes also listed on the gravestone, showing the importance of the family unit.[36]: 88
Mormon fundamentalists
See also
- Christian mythology
- Culture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- Ethnic religion
- Folk religion
- Folkloristics
- Mormon art
- Symbolism in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- Death in 19th-century Mormonism
Notes
- ^ ISBN 978-1-60781-285-2. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7656-8052-5.
- ISBN 9780874804256, archived from the originalon 21 March 2024, retrieved 22 April 2024
- ^ "FOLK COLLECTION 4: No. 1: Series II: Vols. 10-18: The Fife Mormon Collection: Manuscript Sources". Library.usu.edu. Archived from the original on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2011.
- ^ Rudy, Jill Terry (2005). "Mormon Folklore Studies". Irreantum. 7 (1). Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
- ^ "Folklore (William A. Wilson Folklore Archives) | World History & Culture | L. Tom Perry Special Collections | HBLL". sites.lib.byu.edu. Archived from the original on 6 January 2016.
- ^ ISBN 0-87421-114-X. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8153-0751-8.
- ISBN 978-1-60781-285-2. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
- ^ "A close call / Kristie Niederer". findingaid.lib.byu.edu. L. Tom Perry Special Collections. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
- ^ "Susan Embry untitled legend about a faithful temple worker". findingaid.lib.byu.edu. L. Tom Perry Special Collections. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018.
- ^ "Temple work / Amy Shawgo". findingaid.lib.byu.edu. L. Tom Perry Special Collections. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
- ^ "Helps in genealogy / P. K. Anderson". findingaid.lib.byu.edu. L. Tom Perry Special Collections. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
- ISBN 0-252-07147-6.
- ISBN 978-1-60781-285-2. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
- ISBN 978-1-60781-285-2.
- ^ Eliason, Eric A. (1999). "Toward the Folkloristic Study of Latter-day Saint Conversion Narratives". BYU Studies Quarterly. 38 (1). Retrieved 11 May 2017. "Latter-day Saints often evaluate conversion narratives and testimonies based on an antiperformance aesthetic. Stories that seem contrived, melodramatic, self-centered, or manipulative can be deemed in violation of the principles of this genre's raisons d'être."
- ^ ISBN 978-1-60781-285-2.
- JSTOR 540905.
- ^ "Creative Invitations for Dates and Dances – World History & Culture -L. Tom Perry Special Collections". sites.lib.byu.edu. Brigham Young University. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
- ISBN 978-1-60781-285-2. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
- ^ Olson, Steven L. (1996). "Celebrating Cultural Identity: Pioneer Day in Nineteenth-Century Mormonism". BYU Studies. 36 (1). Retrieved 15 May 2017.
- ^ Bruner, Rachel. "What is Pioneer Day to Mormons?". ThoughtCo. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
- ^ OCLC 24502140
- ^ ISBN 0-87747-584-9.
- ^ a b Richards, Nancy. "Mormon Craftsmen in Utah". In Cannon, Hal (ed.). Utah Folk Art: A Catalog of Material Culture. Brigham Young University Press. p. 76.
- ^ Beeley, Glenn Johnson (1935). Handicrafts for Everywoman. Salt Lake City, Utah: The National Women's Relief Society.
- ^ a b c d e Staker, Mark L. (1995). "By Their Works Ye Shall Know Them: The World View Expressed in Mormon Folk Art". BYU Studies. 35 (5). Retrieved 3 May 2017.
- ^ OCLC 24502140
- ISBN 0-87480-541-4.
- JSTOR 541664.
- ^ Larson, Chase (5 August 2010). "Quilt Show is serious business at Springville Museum of Art". Daily Herald. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
- ^ ISBN 0-87905-632-0.
- ^ Berteaux, Kelsey (17 September 2013). "Food Storage Strategies". LDS Living. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
- ^ Carter, Tom. "Folk Design in Utah Architecture 1849–90". In Cannon, Hal (ed.). Utah Folk Art: A Catalog of Material Culture. Brigham Young University Press. p. 44; 49.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-60781-285-2. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
Further reading
- Eliason, Eric A.; Mould, Tom, eds. (2013). Latter-day Lore: Mormon Folklore Studies. Salt Lake City: OCLC 854139803. A compilation of classic and contemporary essays in Mormon folklore studies.
- Stanley, David H. (1994), "Folklore", Utah History Encyclopedia, University of Utah Press, ISBN 9780874804256, archived from the originalon 7 September 2023, retrieved 22 April 2024
- Wennergren, Mike (6 October 2007), "Folklore plays role for LDS: Professor says stories affirm values, beliefs", Deseret News A news article summarizing William Wilson's ideas about the importance of Mormon folklore in Mormon culture.
External links
- William A. Wilson Folklore Archives at L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University. Contains online summaries of student folklore research.
- Fan-run Mormon Urban Legend Website