When I decided it would be a good idea to
take on folklore from the Latter Day Saint, or ‘Mormon’ culture, I did not know
what I would find, but I went in with my eyes wide open. Sometimes it is
hard to look at and question a way of life that has helped govern your own
belief systems. After all, what if what you find causes you to question
your own faith?
What I found was that faith was one of the
main driving forces of the inception, recording of, and perpetuation of much of
what would be considered ‘Mormon’ folklore. I am sure that the same would
be the case if I were to investigate the folklore of any religion based
culture.
I had so much fun as I found web sites
which worked to disprove tales of faith and explain them away through rational
explanation and thought right along with sites which attempted to prove the
veracity of the same tales. I found books which presented the trends that
shaped Mormon folklore through the years, including a period of excitement over
sightings of what we today, would call UFOs during the early to mid-1800s.
The
most beautiful discovery I made involved finding a story in a book published in
1956. The tale is one that I have in a collection of stories from my own
ancestors. A tear came to my eye as I read through the account from the
book, which followed the version I had grown up on. My faith has been enriched
by the folklore I have found. My funny bone has been tickled by the tales
that I have found. My knowledge of the history of the Latter Day Saint
People has grown as I read their stories. Oh, what fun!
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