Parting the Veil: Stories from a Mormon Imagination

by Phyllis Barber

Something about Mormonism keeps bringing Phyllis Barber back to its roots, something about the power of the miraculous she knew so intimately as a child. She was always fascinated by Sunday school stories of Joseph Smith's visions, about the Three Nephites rescuing people in harm's way, and about how unborn spirits talk to women in the night and ask to receive a mortal body. The idea that the veil between heaven and earth can be parted has never been far from her. The Mormonism with which Barber identifies begins with Joseph Smith's ideas which give her own imagination access to infinite conversations with heavenly beings and free-flowing consideration of any meritorious idea. These stories are drawn from western folklore and Mormon history and from portraits of contemporary people caught by religious ideals. As much as Barber vacillates between the need to know and the need to doubt, she can't help telling stories that wrestle with the possibility of a thin veil fluttering nearby.

Genres: Lds, Short Stories

129 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1999

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This set of short stories based on Mormon folklore is in the Mormon Folk Realism tradition. Some stories are humorous, some surreal, and some touch on how our survival instinct intersects with religious experience. The stories about pioneers felt human and not the neat inspirational stories I grew up with. There's a story about a woman who gets so tired of her husband using his whip on everything and anything that she cuts it up into soup. There's a story about an organist who feels weird at church because all her garments were in the wash. There's a story about a Mormon girl yearning for Levi lovin'. The collection, which is out of print, is freely available on the Signature Books website.

[Cynthia Egbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was first introduced to Barber's work at the same time I was learning about my own mystic tendencies and she has been an author who speaks to my soul ever since. These stories deal with concepts and ideas that I wish I could write about as well as Phyllis does. This particular volume is meant for an LDS audience, particularly an LDS mystic audience so it is not going to be everyone's cup of tea but I fell in love with every story and character. I am also grateful that the author provided the reader with resources and origins for the tales that have a basis in real history.

[Sharman Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quirky Mormon stories that stir up memories of similar tales heard, mostly while living in Utah (which I did for 11 years in early adulthood). All my ancestors were part of the Mormon migration from the eastern U.S., Scandinavia and Great Britain to gather with the Saints in Utah. They were seekers and willing to leave comfort behind to follow their hearts. They felt guided and watched over by kindred spirits beyond the veil. They sought to establish a safe, self-reliant, holy community, a Zion, far away from persecution, and in doing so, they became "a peculiar people." Barber's story-telling deposits readers right smack dab in the middle of all this peculiarity, and she does it with humor, generosity, and an appreciation for the mystery of faith.

[Twila Newey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this look into Mormon mysticism. Phyllis captures a variety of Mormon voice that was familiar to me in some of the mystical stories passed down through my own family.