Collection of supernatural religious legends
Scope and Contents
Collection contains fieldwork reports of legends on religious themes, often with cultural and historical connections to Mormonism. Items were collected by students in folklore classes at Brigham Young University, Utah State University, and the University of Utah from 1954 to 2019.
Digital collections (2019-2021) can be accessed at https://lib.byu.edu/collections/wilson-folklore-archive/. Most of the physical items are typewritten, but a few of the older items are handwritten. Many of the items contain a description of how, when, and where they were collected as well as explanations of social and cultural contexts.
Dates
- 1954-2021
Conditions Governing Access
Open for public research.
Conditions Governing Use
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to use material from this collection must be obtained from Reference Services at specialcollections@byu.edu.
Extent
8 half boxes (2 linear ft.)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
Arranged in twelve series: 1. Collection of appearances and manifestations of supernatural beings and revenants, 1958-2019. 2. Collection of legends about unsolicited divine intervention, 1961-2019. 3. Collection of legends about solicited divine intervention, 1960-2019. 4. Collection of punishments, curses, and afflictions, 1960-1999. 5. Collection of out-of-body experiences, 1956-2001. 6. Collection of instances of glossolalia, 1961-2018. 7. Collection of premonitions, dreams, and visions, 1959-2001. 8. Collection of forecasts and prophecies, 1961-2013. 9. Collection of legends about religious buildings or objects, 1962-2012. 10. Collection of legends about patriarchal blessings, 1975-2000. 11. Collection of saints' legends, 1975-2002. 12. Collection of miscellaneous supernatural religious legends, 1965-2001.
Digital collections (2019-2021) can be accessed at https://lib.byu.edu/collections/wilson-folklore-archive/. Digital collections are organized at collection rather than series level.
Custodial History
Personal narratives in the collection were generally collected from informants by students in Brigham Young University folklore classes. These narratives were submitted for class, then submitted to the William A. Wilson Folklore Archives at Brigham Young University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated; Various folklore students; 1960-2017.
Appraisal
The folklore of university students, families, religious life, Polynesia and the Intermountain West (William A. Wilson Folklore Archives collection development policy IV.a.i.4, October 2009.)
Processing Information
Processed; Jayna Gottenbos for Ryan Lee, curator; 2018.
- Title
- Register of the Collection of supernatural religious legends
- Status
- In Progress
- Author
- Jayna Gottenbos
- Date
- 2018 August 9
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English in Latin script.
Repository Details
Part of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Repository
1130 HBLL
Brigham Young University
Provo Utah 84602 United States