Item Detail
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25396
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0
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0
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English
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Freeways, Parking Lots, and Ice Cream Stands : The Three Nephites in Contemporary Society
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Latter-day Lore : Mormon Folklore Studies
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Salt Lake City
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University of Utah Press
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198-214
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Stories of the Three Nephites, then, like the stories of Millie and George or of Carol and Brent, are still very much a part of contemporary Mormon society. In our unguarded moments, in a testimony meeting, in a Sunday school class, in intimate conversations with small groups of friends, in the family circle— when critical perceptions are tuned low and the spiritual vibrations are strong— in these moments the Nephite stories circulate among us. And they tell us much of ourselves and of our church. They mirror our attitudes, values, and principal concerns; they reinforce church teachings and persuade us to follow them; they tell us of a personal God concerned with our individual problems; and they provide us with pride in the past, with confidence in the future, and with the means of meeting the crises of modern living with equanimity. So long as the stories continue to meet these ends, they will remain a vital part of Mormon folk tradition, and they will continue to enlarge our understanding of Mormon culture. [From the text]