Still, the Small Voice: Narrative, Personal Revelation, and the Mormon Folk Tradition

Contents

vii Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 Literary Tradition 2 Approach 3 Methods 8 Names and Pseudonyms 11 Texts and Transcriptions 13 Chapter 1: The Broad Strokes of Tradition 15 The Mormon Folk Tradition 15 The Mormon Oral Tradition 21 Personal Revelation Narratives 23 Conclusion 50 Synthesis: The Boundaries of Genre 52 Chapter 2: Sharing the Sacred 60 Defining Performance 60 Norms for Performance 61 Strategies to Negotiate the Paradox 76 Evaluating Performance 82 Variation in Performance 96 Conclusion 128 Synthesis: The Paradox of Performance 129 Chapter 3: Transforming Life into Story 137 Genre 137 Prescriptive Revelation 140 Descriptive Revelation 159 Experience and the Narrative Tradition 173 Conclusion 180 Synthesis: The Interpretive Challenge of Religious Memorates 181 viii Contents Chapter 4: The Building Blocks of a Narrative Tradition 192 Narrative Patterns 193 Personal Revelation as Motif 215 Retroactive Revelation 226 Conclusion 240 Chapter 5: Echoes of Culture 242 Danger 244 Domestic Life 261 Church Work 288 Thematic Variation 313 Conclusion 317 Synthesis: Pattern in Performance 320 Chapter 6: A Record-Keeping People 327 The Written Tradition in Mormon Folklore 329 The Written Tradition for Personal Discovery 330 The Written Tradition in Family Records 333 The Written Tradition in Publication 346 Conclusion 372 Synthesis: Oral and Written Traditions 373 Afterword 381 Appendix 389 Notes 394 Works Cited 423 Index 441 ...