Between Pulpit and Pew: The Supernatural World in Mormon History and Folklore

Authors

Curtis Ashton
Michael S. Van Wagenen
W. Paul Reeve

Keywords

Mormon studies, book review, history, Mormon folklore

Abstract

In an address to a joint meeting of the Utah Historical Society and the Folklore Society of Utah in 1991, folklorist William A. Wilson applauded the two organizations for their cooperation over the previous twenty years and then urged even greater cooperation between history and folklore in Utah over the next twenty years. Between Pulpit and Pew serves as one benchmark for measuring just how seriously a rising generation of historians have taken Wilson's challenge. The editors, Paul Reeve and Michael Van Wagenen, are firmly planted in their chosen discipline, each with an impressive start to developing careers that explore contributions not only of Mormon-Americans but also of Mexican-Americans, Native Americans, and African-Americans to American history. With this work, however, these authors, and the four others they have gathered around them, demonstrate their virtuosity in cross-disciplinary conversation. Throughout the book's eight chapters, the stated aim is to "take Latter-day Saint lore seriously and recognize it as an important component of Mormon history."

Recommended Citation

Ashton, Curtis; Van Wagenen, Michael S.; and Reeve, W. Paul (2013) "Between Pulpit and Pew: The Supernatural World in Mormon History and Folklore," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 52: Iss. 1, Article 13.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol52/iss1/13