Proceedings of the Southwestern Anthropological Association, 2019
This paper draws connections between human encounters with the spirit world and local understandi... more This paper draws connections between human encounters with the spirit world and local understandings of spiritual worth in a Latter-day Saint (LDS or Mormon) community in northern Utah, and we consider how encounters with spirits are both mediated and mediating in various ways. LDS cosmology describes a robust spirit world, and Mor-mons in this community occasionally experience visits from spirits. Many such encounters are with benign or benevolent spirits, such as the spirits of deceased relatives, but individuals are also visited or harassed by malevolent spirits. The pa-per analyzes interviews conducted during ethnographic research in Cache Valley, Utah and accounts of spirit visitations from the Utah State University folklore collection; most of the research was conducted in 2017. We propose that experiences and interpretations of spirit visits, whether benign or malevolent, can be understood through local conceptions of morality, spirituality, and the nature of spiritually adept persons.
Proceedings of the Southwestern Anthropological Association, 2019
This paper draws connections between human encounters with the spirit world and local understandi... more This paper draws connections between human encounters with the spirit world and local understandings of spiritual worth in a Latter-day Saint (LDS or Mormon) community in northern Utah, and we consider how encounters with spirits are both mediated and mediating in various ways. LDS cosmology describes a robust spirit world, and Mor-mons in this community occasionally experience visits from spirits. Many such encounters are with benign or benevolent spirits, such as the spirits of deceased relatives, but individuals are also visited or harassed by malevolent spirits. The pa-per analyzes interviews conducted during ethnographic research in Cache Valley, Utah and accounts of spirit visitations from the Utah State University folklore collection; most of the research was conducted in 2017. We propose that experiences and interpretations of spirit visits, whether benign or malevolent, can be understood through local conceptions of morality, spirituality, and the nature of spiritually adept persons.
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