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Show III DI STRI3UTION rrhe chronological distribution of the Nephite stories, already was diffieult where no internal clues could be found, but for purposes of tabulation all dateless episodes were assigned to e1 ther "the early days" or "recent times.• The dividing point between the two periods was set at the year 1900, a convenient time for three reasons: (1) it lies midway between the period of colonization and the present; (2) Utah became a state near the close of the _ century (1896); and (3) experiences occurring since 1900 are told by subjects still living, whe reas episodes before that time a.re told chiefly by informants. Of the 150 stories tabulated, 87 are thu.s da.ted before 1000 and 63 since, an indi- Nephite visitations. There is no indication of a lag between the experience and its snergence as a story; on the contrary, it would be more logical to assume that many such tales existing in the early days have dropped out of circulation. As one collector inferred from her informant, •Such unidentified messangers seem to have been Q.uite com-mon" in early times (No. 63). This diminishing ot Nephite visitations •• explained by another informant in these words: "Things are so easy tor us now that we don't ha:ve the need for those Nephit es that we once had when we were pione·ering a.nd homesteading." (No. 105.) The earliest episode associated w1 th the NeJ;hit e legend is :for food and wa.t er attributed to a party of sailors sent ashore/by Christopher Columbus. 1'/tt~ The tendency to assign meaning based on L. D. S. doctrine to historical occurrences is not uncommon in llormon thought. For instance, the discovery of America is evidence of the fulfillment of a prophecy |
