Table of Contents Introduction 1 The Importance of Folklore The Deeper Necessity: Folklore and the Humanities 9 Building Bridges: Folklore in the Academy 23 Arts and Cultural Policy 32 "Something There Is That Doesn't Love a Wall" 44 The Folk Speak: Everyday Life in Pioneer Oral Narratives 62 Documenting Folklore 81 Folklore and National Identity Herder, Folklore, and Romantic Nationalism 107 Sibelius, the Kalevala, and Karelianism 124 Folklore, Nationalism, and the Challenge of the Future 142 Finns in a New World: A Folkloristic Perspective 150 Folklore, Religion, and Who We Are The Concept of the West and Other Hindrances to the Study of Mormon Folklore 169 The Study of Mormon Folklore: An Uncertain Mirror for Truth 182 On Being Human: The Folklore of Mormon Missionaries 201 The Seriousness of Mormon Humor 221 Freeways, Parking Lots, and Ice Cream Stands: Three Nephites in Contemporary Mormon Culture 236 "Teach Me All That I Must Do": The Practice of Mormon Religion 253 Personal Narratives: The Family Novel 261 A Daughter's Biography of William A. Wilson 282 William A. Wilson's Published Works 291 Works Cited 296 Contributors of Introductions to Essays 308 Index 311