The Tanner Humanities Center at the University of Utah continues to support emerging scholarship in the field of Mormon Studies through its Graduate Research Fellowship in Mormon Studies. The fellowship was the first of its kind in the United States and provides a year of funding for a doctoral student whose research focuses on the history, beliefs, and culture of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints or other religious groups that trace their origins to Joseph Smith Jr.
This is a reminder of the upcoming April 6, 2026 deadlines for the Call for Papers, Student Conference Scholarships, and Award Nominations for John Whitmer Historical Association’s 2026 Annual Conference in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on September 24-26, 2026.
Thanks to Amy Tanner Thiriot for conducting this interview and giving us permission to publish it! Thanks, too, to Jenny Lund, for her time and answers!
Please share some general background about yourself. Where are you from? What’s your general background? How are you connected to the field of Mormon or Latter-day Saint history?
I was born and raised a non-Mormon in a very Mormon Salt Lake City. An interest in family history and the discovery that most of my ancestors had come to the West as Latter-day Saint converts eventually led me to studying the Church’s history and converting at the age of sixteen, much to the dismay of my family. My studies sparked a lifelong interest in the history of the Latter-day Saints.
The Mormon Social Science Association welcomes presenters and guests to our One-Day Conference at Utah Tech University in St. George, Utah. Sessions will be followed by Q&A conversations.
The Mormon Social Science Association welcomes paper submissions for our annual One-Day Conference at Utah Tech University in St. George, Utah on Friday, April 17, 2026.
In addition to paper sessions, there is time and space for research posters from undergraduate and graduate students. Poster proposals should include a title and abstract and specify that it is a poster presentation. Details in the submission form below.
Submissions close: March 15, 2026.
The MSSA invites submissions on all topics relevant to the social scientific study of Mormonism:
Latter-day Saints hold strong beliefs about connecting to their ancestors. This manifests in many ways, including a desire to better understand these ancestors and to perform sacred ordinances on their behalf. The genealogical work done by Latter-day Saints is represented by the millions of records digitized and preserved on familysearch.org, countless volunteer hours to assist those who desire a stronger connection to their family, and the vast rhetoric of family heritage and history over Latter-day Saint pulpits and within classrooms. But this family history work is also dependent upon technology, including print technology. How did the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints disseminate information about family history? What printed forms were required to be filled out to submit a name for temple ordinances? How did print connect ever increasing families with each other? Print and print history sheds light on the fascinating history of genealogical efforts within the church.
The Church History Library in Salt Lake City will hold an all-day workshop on the history of Latter-day Saint print and genealogy to be held Friday, April 3, 2026. Led by three BYU scholars—Amy Harris, Christopher Cannon Jones, and Joseph R. Stuart—participants will explore the trends, technology, and printing history of genealogy, family history, and LDS temple work. They will also explore historical implications of investigating such source material as cultural artifacts. This workshop will include hands-on analysis of print materials, including family group sheets, family association newsletters, lesson manuals, church produced magazines and books, and ephemera spanning the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Participants will explore new ways of approaching and analyzing such sources.
The Mormon Studies Unit welcomes papers and/or panels on a variety of themes and topics relating to the Mormon tradition, broadly defined. The proposals should analyze the material in terms of the academic study of religion. For the November 2026 conference, we propose a few themes:
Reality TV and Mormons; Mormons and the media
Patriotism as a performative aspect of a US Mormon identity
Papers related to the 200th anniversary of Joseph Smith’s witchcraft trial
Biographies of marginalized figures in Mormon history
The current state of Mormon Studies
Open Call: Other papers or panels dealing with aspects of Mormonism not mentioned in the previous call will also be considered. Papers may be selected for their relevance to themes which emerge among other submissions.
“Back to Independence!” could be the calling cry of the John Whitmer Historical Association, which returns to Independence, Missouri, every three years for its annual September conference. Although the location was familiar, JWHA finds new places and spaces for the history community to gather and learn. This year, the conference was held at the Harry S. Truman Library & Museum. Renovated and updated in 2021, several of the session rooms contained beautifully painted murals, and attendees explored the modernized museum about President Harry S. Truman’s life throughout the conference.
Organized by President-Elect Matthew L. Harris (Colorado State University-Pueblo) and his committee, this year’s conference featured twenty-three sessions with forty-six presentations, three panels, and three keynotes. Sessions and panels spanned different Restoration denominations, time periods, and parts of the world.
From Lisa Barlow’s claim of being “Mormon 2.0,” to Meredith Marks’ immortal declaration about “the rumors and the nastiness,” The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City has captured imaginations far beyond Utah. The show is at once high drama, cultural export, and local funhouse mirror—inviting us to think seriously (and playfully) about how Salt Lake City is represented, interpreted, and mythologized.
This symposium will bring together fans, critics, scholars, and community members for a day of lively discussion, re-enactment, and reflection. We are less interested in the strict application of academic methods than in thoughtful, stimulating insights rooted in local culture, fandom, and appreciation.
Mark Staker on Legacies in Mormon Studies: “Jenny was always generous in sharing her knowledge. She was not only an exceptional educator (who also taught her colleagues along the way), but she…”
Kathy Cardon on Legacies in Mormon Studies: “I worked in the Church's Historical department when Jenny was in the Museum. I always enjoyed our interactions. Reading this article has been a real…”
Don Tate on Legacies in Mormon Studies: “Very well done and richly deserved! I am most proud of Jenny and how far she has come with her life, her scholarship, and her…”
Recent Comments
Mark Staker on Legacies in Mormon Studies: “Jenny was always generous in sharing her knowledge. She was not only an exceptional educator (who also taught her colleagues along the way), but she…”
Gary Bergera on Legacies in Mormon Studies: “Jenny's great. Thanks for posting this.”
Kathy Cardon on Legacies in Mormon Studies: “I worked in the Church's Historical department when Jenny was in the Museum. I always enjoyed our interactions. Reading this article has been a real…”
Don Tate on Legacies in Mormon Studies: “Very well done and richly deserved! I am most proud of Jenny and how far she has come with her life, her scholarship, and her…”
Ben P on Legacies in Mormon Studies: “My favorite former boss and respected current historian!”
Hannah J on Legacies in Mormon Studies: “I really enjoyed this! Going to be thinking about playing the long game for a while. Thanks Amy and Jenny.”