Saints of Sage and Saddle

[creekster]

Have any of you smart guys read this book? I picked up a copy frmo my local used book store for $3.00. A very interesting read, I think. ANy others ever read this?

[Solon]

Originally Posted by creekster

Have any of you smart guys read this book? I picked up a copy frmo my local used book store for $3.00. A very interesting read, I think. ANy others ever read this?

No. What's it about?

[creekster]

Originally Posted by Solon

No. What's it about?

It was written by Austin and Alta Fife and published in 1956. It is a collection and examination of Mormon Folklore. They examine many stories (three nephites, miracels of missionary work. etc,) and place them in the context of the Mormon experience. The stroeis are sometimes familiar in their specifics, other times in their general nature and other times previously unknown(to me). I was most struck by just how different the predominant culture of the church is now cmpared to fortnier utah back in the day.

[Solon]

Originally Posted by creekster

It was written by Austin and Alta Fife and published in 1956. It is a collection and examination of Mormon Folklore. They examine many stories (three nephites, miracels of missionary work. etc,) and place them in the context of the Mormon experience. The stroeis are sometimes familiar in their specifics, other times in their general nature and other times previously unknown(to me). I was most struck by just how different the predominant culture of the church is now cmpared to fortnier utah back in the day.

I just ordered it and look forward to reading it. Thakns, creekster.

(typo in your honor)

[creekster]

Originally Posted by Solon

I just ordered it and look forward to reading it. Thakns, creekster.

(typo in your honor)

great! let me know what you think when you read it.

[Solon]

Originally Posted by creekster

Have any of you smart guys read this book? I picked up a copy frmo my local used book store for $3.00. A very interesting read, I think. ANy others ever read this?

I finally finished this book over the weekend. It only took me what, 2 months? It's a perfect read for 20-minute intervals before falling asleep.

I really liked the book, and feel especially attached since the used copy I managed to land is a decrepit old moldy re-bound reject from the Oxnard public library. Extra sweet.

Creekster's summary is a pretty good one. The Fifes have compiled thousands of pages from archival sources and oral histories dealing with Mormon folklore, and have worked hard to synthesize the stories along basic themes and storylines. The overall tone is a bit condescending (in my opinion), and they either made some trivial errors, or the church has changed more in the past 50 years than I had known.

At any rate, it's an interesting read. I really liked the stories about the various lost gold mines. For some reason, I eat that stuff up. The Three Nephites Stories were excellent as well, and there's an entire chapter dedicated to J. Golden Kimball. Many of the book's tales are familiar stories, such as Elders being struck dead for trying to confer the priesthood on a fence post, the Three Nephites arriving with food at exactly the right moment, or the forces of Satan opposing the building of a temple. The 1950s (the book was first published in '56) show through in the chapter on the LDS relations with native Americans (called "Savages and Saints") and the anecdotes betray the condescending fear with which the white settlers seem to have treated the Indians. The book includes several songs - lyrics and notes - as well, most of which was lost on me, but I did skim over the words.

I really enjoy reading mythography (the fancy name for myth compilations), since they're valuable documents for glimpsing the thoughts, values, and ideals of a culture. It doesn't matter if the stories are "true" or not (at least, from my point of view). It does matter that the people of the time believed them and allowed the ideals in these stories to influence their own decisions.

As creekster indicated, it's amazing to think of modern day Utah in relation to the places described here. The descriptions, more than anything, reminded me of Stegner's Mormon Country. The prose is much duller than Stengner's (whose isn't?), but the world these stories describe is much different than today's button-down LDS suit-culture. At the very least this compilation is an informative catalog of LDS folklore. The stories give a glimpse of a rustic, close-knit community of saddle-hardened believers who acknowledged the hand of God in all sorts of daily minutiae. Stories that deal with hunger, disease, death, and opposition from satanic forces betray the immense hardships of carving out a life in the wilderness. The stories describe a visionary people who delighted in miracles and hoped their efforts to simultaneously build families, cities, and the kingdom of God would someday bear fruit, if not in their lives, then for their descendants.

Thanks for teh recommendation creekster. [typo in your honor]

[creekster]

Solon's critique was obviously much better than mine. I am glad you liked it, as I did as well. If you like this sort of thing at all, you should try to get a hold of this book.