Mormon myths: From hero fantasies to cautionary tales

Mormons are storytellers. They love a good tale of faith amid persecution, divine intervention, mysterious assistance, proselytizing prowess and Mormon ingenuity.

Such stories told and retold among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reflect the faith's emphasis on missionary work, genealogical research, temple work, admiration for church leaders, conversion and the day-to-day delights and sorrows of membership, says William A. Wilson, a renowned folklorist in the Intermountain West. They also are used as cautionary yarns for those who might stray from church practices.

Wilson has been collecting Mormon and other legends since 1962 after he returned from an LDS mission to Finland and enrolled at Indiana University's folklore program. In 1985, he helped create an archive at Brigham Young University, now the largest collection of Mormon folklore in the world. It now houses more than 50,000 stories, collected each year by students in one of the university's three undergraduate and one graduate class.

Many obviously aren't (Steve Martin isn't Mormon). Others probably aren't. And a few? Well ...

"Folklorists don't collect stories based on whether something is true or false. What is important is why," says Kristi Young, curator of the Wilson archives. "Knowing where, when and by whom a story is told can help you understand what the story means to that person."

Wilson once heard a man in his LDS congregation tell the loaf-of-bread miracle (see accompanying story) as if it just happened. Wilson had heard the same narrative described as happening on three different continents, five countries, and a number of states. In some versions, the missionary's wife baked the bread, in others, his mother, and sometimes she gave the bread to a stranger. The bread was variously wrapped in a linen napkin, a dish towel, a patterned cloth, a scarf or a newspaper.

"I cannot disprove the story. I hope it is true," Wilson said in a 1994 speech at BYU-Idaho (then Ricks College). "It would support my conviction that God really does come to the aid of missionaries in danger. Obviously, the story did not make itself up; something happened to send it on its way."

It would be foolish for Mormons to dismiss such stories as false, he said, "but equally foolish to accept them uncritically, and especially to make them the anchors of their faith."

It's interesting to observe a discussion as to precisely why the truth isn't what is important to Mormons.

Mormon Leader Fabricates; Reporter Fired: The Story of Elder Paul H. Dunn

by James Walker, Director

Elder Paul H. Dunn, a Mormon General Authority and a popular motivational speaker, role model and author, has told countless inspirational stories about his life for over twenty five years. New research has now come to light showing that these stories were untrue. Dunn's amazing stories were available in both book and cassette form in almost every Latter-day Saints (LDS) oriented bookstore in the country and Dunn was one of the best known and well respected leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

His stories included fantastic personal experiences: "Like the time his best friend died in his arms during a World War II battle, while imploring Mr. Dunn to teach America's youth about patriotism. Or how God protected him as enemy machine-gun bullets ripped away his clothing, gear and helmet without ever touching his skin. Or how perseverance and Mormon values led him to play major league baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals" (Dallas Morning News Saturday, February 16, 1991 47-A).

Evidence now indicates that these stories and countless others filling over 50 books and inspirational cassette tapes are not true after all. "Mr. Dunn's `dead' best friend isn't dead; only the heel of Mr. Dunn's boot caught a bullet; and he never played for the St. Louis Cardinals or any other major league team. Mr. Dunn acknowledged to The Arizona Republic that those stories and others were untrue, but he defends the fabrications as necessary to illustrate his theological and moral points." (ibid).

Dunn never successfully explained how telling falsehoods can promote good morals. Instead, he compared his stories to the parables of Jesus and said, "I haven't purposely tried to embellish or rewrite history. I've tried to illustrate points that would create interest." Dunn added that he was, "...simply putting history in little finer packages" (The Salt Lake Tribune, Saturday, February 16, 1991 2B).

Dunn's theory that "theological and moral points" can be found in stories that have no basis in history is similar to the whole concept of the Mormonism itself. Like Dunn's stories, the foundations of Mormonism -- like the amazing account of the Book of Mormon and the story of Joseph Smith's first vision -- cannot be independently verified as historical events. Instead, evidence exists that the events that form the essence of Mormonism are no more actual historical events than Paul Dunn's tall tales. In fact, Dunn's stories may be closer to truth than Joseph Smith's! World War II did happen and there really is a St. Louis Cardinal's baseball team. The events and peoples of the Book of Mormon have no such independent verification.

The Paul Dunn affair is complicated by another development.

The unusual twist in the Paul Dunn saga is that the person who was most punished for Dunn's falsehoods was not Dunn but Lynn Packer, the Mormon professor at Brigham Young University who did the research and uncovered the problems with Dunn's tales.

When rumors of Packer's findings first surfaced, the LDS Church began its own investigation and immediately placed Dunn -- a general authority since 1964 and one of the top 100 leaders of the Church -- on emeritus status for "health reasons." However, Dunn was never publicly reprimanded neither has the Church admitted that his stories were not true.

Researcher Lynn Parker did not get off so easily. "At the same time [that they placed Dunn on emeritus status], however, the university [BYU] terminated Packer's teaching contract, in part because he wanted to publish a story about his findings. Gordon Whiting, then chairman of the BYU communications department, had warned Packer in a memo that `publication of the Paul Dunn article will damage the church, will damage the university, will damage the department and will damage you'" (ibid).

When Parker, himself a Mormon, decided to release his four years of research to The Arizona Republic in spite of the threats, his contract was terminated and he lost his job. Whiting explained that Parker violated, "church and university policies that prohibit public criticism if church leaders, even if the criticism is true. (ibid, emphasis mine). Mormon leader Dunn was not reprimanded for altering the facts, but Parker was fired simply for showing that these stories were not true.

When I witness to Mormons, I have often witnessed a similar experience. Mormon's are often upset with me when I show them some of the 4,000 changes in the Book of Mormon or some of Joseph Smith's false prophecies. I must sometimes remind my Mormon friends that I was not the one who made the changes or the prophecies. If they want to be angry with someone, why don't they complain to the one who made the change or issued the prophecy. I didn't do it -- all I did was find out about it! But like Parker, the Mormon response is often to "shoot the messenger" rather than deal with the problem. This same attitude is often found in many of the cults and false religions.

As Christians we have a responsibility to those lost in the cults. We must share in a loving way the error of false religion and contrast that with the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. No one is happy to find out they have been deceived. Often you and I will be blamed for simply pointing out the deception. But we must still make the effort and take that risk. It is better that they discover the truth in this life, than after it is too late.

"I cannot disprove the story. I hope it is true," Wilson said in a 1994 speech at BYU-Idaho (then Ricks College). "It would support my conviction that God really does come to the aid of missionaries in danger. Obviously, the story did not make itself up; something happened to send it on its way."

....[Elder Paul H.] Dunn acknowledged to The Arizona Republic that those stories and others were untrue, but he defends the fabrications as necessary to illustrate his theological and moral points...."I haven't purposely tried to embellish or rewrite history. I've tried to illustrate points that would create interest." Dunn added that he was, "...simply putting history in little finer packages"

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.
We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.
For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised.
And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.
Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
-- 1 Corinthians 15:13-19

“They have among them a company, considered true Mormons, called the Danites, who have taken an oath to support the heads of the Church in all things that they say or do, whether right or wrong. Many, however, of this band are much dissatisfied with this oath, as being against moral and religious principles. On Saturday last, I am informed by the Mormons, that they had a meeting at Far West, at which they appointed a company of twelve, by the name of the ‘Destruction Company,’ for the purpose of burning and destroying, and that if the people of Buncombe came to do mischief upon the people of Caldwell, and committed depredations upon the Mormons, they were to burn Buncombe; and if the people of Clay and Ray made any movement against them, this destroying company were to burn Liberty and Richmond.

* * * *

The Prophet inculcates the notion, and it is believed by every true Mormon, that Smith’s prophecies are superior to the laws of the land. I have heard the Prophet say that he would yet tread down his enemies, and walk over their dead bodies; and if he was not let alone, he would be a second Mohammed to this generation, and that he would make it one gore of blood from the Rocky mountains to the Atlantic ocean; that like Mohammed, whose motto in treating for peace was, ‘the Alcoran or the Sword.’ So should it be eventually with us, ‘Joseph Smith or the Sword.’ These last statements were made during the last summer. The number of armed men at Adam-ondi-Ahman was between three and four hundred” (Affidavit of Thomas Marsh, the president of the Quorum of the Twelve, October 24, 1838, History of the Church 3:167).

It isn’t difficult to understand why the local non-Mormons in the area were fearful of Joseph Smith and his followers.

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