As time passed, the world depicted by the stories changed markedly. The horse gave way
to the automobile, the rural village to the urban center, and the country lane to the
freeway. But one constant remained, tying earlier and contemporary Mormons together—
the belief that in times of need God intervenes in the lives of his people. Thus, Mormon
folklore, from the beginning, is replete with accounts of miraculous headings, remarkable
conversions, rescues from disasters, and the receipt of spiritual guidance.
These themes are often manifest in accounts that comprise one of the best-known
legend cycles in American folklore—the legend of the Three Nephites. The Book of
Mormon tells of a people who left Jerusalem 600 years before Christ and made their way
under God’s direction to the New World. Later, following His birth and ministry in the
Holy Land, Christ visited this New World people (called Nephites after one of their early
leaders), established his church among them after the pattern of the church in Jerusalem,
once again chose twelve disciples, and, as he had done with John the Beloved, allowed
three of these disciples to “tarry in the flesh,” until his second coming to bring people to
him. Throughout the Mormon West, stories have circulated telling of the visits of one or
more of these ancient disciples, who appear to people in spiritual or physical distress,
give assistance, and then miraculously disappear—the remarkable disappearance
testifying to the spiritual nature of the visitor. The following story is typical:
A family consisting of parents and three children were on their way to [a
church] conference. They lived on a desert, and it was a hot, dusty ride of
two hundred miles to the tabernacle. On the way home the car broke down
on a lonely road, which was even more deserted because it was Sunday.
The children were hot and hungry, and the poor father could not find the
trouble. Just then, two men in white came walking down the road and
offered to help. Telling the man to get in his car and start the motor, they
lifted the hood. To the family’s surprise the car started, and after kissing
his wife and hugging his children for joy, he went out to thank the men.
They had disappeared.
Whether the assistance given people comes from the Three Nephites or by other means,
contemporary Mormon stories of divine intervention tend to cluster around three major
themes: missionary efforts, genealogical research, and temple activity. All three themes are closely related. Though Mormons believe that salvation, or exaltation, in the kingdom
of God is available only to those who embrace their gospel and participate in its saving
ordinances, they also believe that because God is just, he will provide every individual an
opportunity to accept or reject this gospel. Hence, Mormons engage in vigorous
missionary efforts, attempting to take the restored gospel to “every kindred, tongue, and
people.” In spite of these efforts, Mormons know that many will have died without ever
hearing the message of salvation. So they seek out the names of their dead ancestors and
then, in sacred temples, vicariously perform for them saving ordinances like baptism and
marriage that must be performed “in the flesh.” Those who have been denied an
opportunity to hear the gospel in this life will, Mormons believe, have that opportunity in
the hereafter. If they accept, and if necessary ordinances have been performed on their
behalf by the living, then they will have equal claim on the kingdom with those who have
accepted the gospel in this life. In this way, God proves himself no respecter of persons,
providing all who have lived the opportunity to accept the gospel of Christ.
Story after story circulating among Mormons reinforces these beliefs and encourages
adherence to them. Stories from the mission fields tell of miraculous conversions and of
missionaries being saved from angry mobs, starvation, natural disasters, and the dangers
of the modern world. The Three Nephites, for example, help missionaries preach at street
meetings, calm angry mobs, bring food to hungry missionaries, and pull some of them
from flaming pileups on Los Angeles freeways.
Genealogical narratives tell of researchers being led to necessary sources after they
have themselves exhausted every possibility. An old man brings a newspaper from
another country containing names a researcher has been seeking; a book is accidentally
knocked from a library shelf and falls open to a page containing missing information; a
man is instructed by a stranger to visit a cemetery where he finds missing family names;
another man is instructed to visit a pawnshop, where he finds his genealogical data in a
Bible.
Genealogical research culminates in vicarious templeordinance activity. And once
again stories reflecting and supporting this activity abound. In many of these, as in the
following account, the people for whom the ordinances are performed participate in the
action of the narrative, thus adding further credence and emotional impact to the story:
This man and woman were going through the temple doing work for the
dead, and they got out to Salt Lake, and they had kids. And at the last
minute the baby-sitter didn’t come, and so they had to take their kids to
the temple with them. And they were standing outside the temple waiting
to get in, and they didn’t know what they were going to do with their kids.
There was no one around there they could leave them with, and they
didn’t know what they were going to do with them. While they were
standing there, this strange man and woman came up to them and
introduced themselves and said they would tend their kids while they went
through the temple. The man and woman tended their kids, and the couple
went in and did work for the dead, and that couple tending their kids
turned out to be the couple they did the work for. When they came out of
the temple, the man and woman were no longer there.