The three disciples who were silent seemed to be afraid to declare their wishes, but Jesus knew that they wanted to remain on earth and continue to do good deeds and minister to the people.?He blessed them that they should live to see all things that happened on the earth before the Second Coming.?At his second coming, they would “be changed in the twinkling of an eye from mortality to immortality.?o:p>

The legend states that the Three Nephites would also be safe from harm, and that if they were taken captive, prisons or deep pits could not hold them, and wild animals could not hurt them.

“Because there is no official doctrine within the Mormon Church beyond the story of their origins, an unofficial belief system about them has grown up beside the official Mormon belief system,?explains George Schoemaker, a folklorist and professor at Brigham Young University.?But there are aspects of Mormon beliefs that lend themselves to the development of such a body of folklore, or as Schoemaker says, there is “fertile ground for an unofficial belief system to materialize.?o:p>

For example, Mormons consider themselves “a peculiar people,?a kingdom apart, living in the world but not of it.?They believe they belong to the “one true church,? a church lost to apostasy following the death of Christ but later restored by revelation from God to Joseph Smith.?They believe that they have an obligation, through vigorous missionary work, to share their restored gospel with the world.

The bulk of Mormon folklore reinforces these beliefs, including the idea that Mormons must devote themselves valiantly to the cause—indeed, that they may suffer dire consequences if they fail to do so.? Mormon folklore often falls into two broad categories: stories that show how God protects the church in its battle with the world, and, like the folklore of the early Puritans, those that tell how God brings about conformity to church teachings by intervening in the lives of church members.

Western tales. In the locale where the Mormon Church is headquartered, the western United States, fascinating tales have taken root.? One family cherishes the story of their great-great-grandmother, who wore the same dress during her entire trek from midwestern Ohio to pioneer Utah when she was a young girl.?