Stories of encounters with the Three Nephites, immortal saint-like figures, dominate the folklore of the Latter-day Saint tradition. The authors of this volume use hundreds of legends collected by the renowned folklorist William A. Wilson from across a lifetime of research, study, and interviews to focus on the different themes exhibited by the Three Nephites and show that LDS culture, beliefs, and values are embodied by and through the Three Nephites. Each chapter focuses on a different t...

Contributions by Sandra Bartlett Atwood, Nathan E. Bender, London Brickley, Eric A. Eliason, Noah D. Eliason, Tim Frandy, Robert Glenn Howard, Jay Mechling, Annamarie O'Brien Morel, Raymond Summerville, Tok Thompson, and Megan L. ZahayGuns are a ubiquitous part of life in the United States. Arguably more pervasive than physical guns is “gunlore,” which refers to the many folklore genres related to firearms. Gunlore: Firearms, Folkways, and Communities is the first book to ...

An important part of discipleship is knowing what questions to ask—and which ones have not yet been adequately answered. From the beginning to recent times, prophets have reminded the Saints that the Restoration is ongoing, not an event. Our purpose in assembling this collection of essays is simple: we wish to celebrate the miracle of continuing revelation, and the promise of more to come, that God will “yet reveal many great and important things.” This means that the essays selected for i...

Nicknamed the “Island of Lace,” the Caribbean island of Saba is the smallest special municipality in the Netherlands. Folklorist Eric A. Eliason, at the behest of the president of the Saba Lace Ladies’ Foundation and Saba’s director of tourism, traveled to the island with the intent to document the history and patterns of Saba lace. Born out of his research, The Island of Lace tells the story of lacework’s central role in Saba’s culture, economy, and history. Accompanied by over t...

What if the territory of Deseret had never joined the Union and instead became its own nation? What if Leo Tolstoy or Nikola Tesla had converted to the LDS Church? What if Brigham Young had gone all the way to California instead of stopping in Utah? The genre of alternate history invites us to imagine how the past (and thus our present and future) would be different if different choices had been made. These eight stories provide glimpses at alternate historical trajectories for Mormons and...

To See Them Run explores how and why Great Plains hunters have chased coyotes with greyhounds and other sight hounds since before George Armstrong Custer. Though a well-developed, long-lived, widespread, and undeniably enthralling tradition, the practice remains little known, even to those living in Oklahoma, Nebraska, and South Dakota, where the tradition is common. Coyote coursing, hunting with greyhounds launched from specially made pickup rigs, is a hobby by locals, for locals...

Latter-day Lore gathers nearly thirty seminal works in Mormon folklore scholarship from its beginnings in the late nineteenth century to the present in order to highlight the depth, breadth, and richness of that scholarship. This examination of LDS folklore studies reveals theoretical, methodological, and topical shifts that also reflect shifts in the field at large. Areas for future research are also suggested.The thorough introduction by the volume editors elucidates the...

Warrior Ways is one of the first book-length explorations of military folklife, and focuses on the lore produced by modern American warriors, illuminating the ways in which members of the armed services creatively express the complex experience of military life. In short, lively essays, contributors to the volume, all of whom have close personal or professional relationships to the military, examine battlefield talismans, personal narrative (storytelling), “Jody calls” (marching and runnin...

Jesus, matadors, panthers, bandits, Indians, movie stars, waifs, and, of course, Elvis are recognized icons of the oft-despised, uber-kitsch art form of black velvet painting. In Black Velvet Art author Eric A. Eliason and photographer Scott Squire present a comprehensive overview of this covertly-loved and overtly-reviled tradition.In cooperation with a network of artists, collectors, importers, and gallery owners in Tijuana, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Calgary, this book d...

Guns are a ubiquitous part of life in the United States. Arguably more pervasive than physical guns is "gunlore," which refers to the many folklore genres related to firearms. Gunlore: Firearms, Folkways, and Communities is the first book to engage with the many narratives, rituals, folk-speech, customs, art, and handicraft encompassed by gunlore.Like most expressive cultures, gunlore emerges from specific communities. Groups with a shared interest around firearms may form...

An intimate portrait of the man behind one of America’s fastest growing religions, Falling in Love with Joseph Smith offers a surprising and provocative window into the Mormon experience.When award-winning documentary film writer Jane Barnes was working on the PBS Frontline/American Experience special series The Mormons, she was surprised to find herself passionately drawn to Joseph Smith. The product of an Episcopalian, “WASPy” family, she couldn...

This book is a collection of 220 fundamental quotes and aphorisms of Abraham Lincoln. It grants his reflections on subjects ranging from Slavery to Bible, Freedom and God:“Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.”“I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him.”“I never had a policy; I have just tried to do my very b...