CFP: Responses to Krakauer’s *Under the Banner of Heaven*

In 2022, the FX Networks will release a miniseries adaptation of John Krakauer’s bestselling book Under the Banner of Heaven: The Story of Violent Faith. First published in 2003, Krakauer compares the beginnings and trajectories of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Robert Crossfield’s School of the Prophets, a fundamentalist Mormon group. Ron and Dan Lafferty, members of the latter group, committed a double murder in their faith’s name. 

To better contextualize the book and the documentary in terms of Mormon history, we invite thoughtful responses to Under the Banner of Heaven to be published shortly before the documentary appears in 2022. Final pieces will be 1,000-2,000 words.  Proposals should be 100-200 words and should include a short CV. 
The deadline for proposals is December 20, 2021. Send proposals to the program co-chairs at jstuartteaching@gmail.com and cristinamrosetti@gmail.com. Acknowledgment of receipt will be sent ASAP. Notification of acceptance/rejection will be made by January 10, 2022.

JWHA Conference Proceedings now Online!

The 2021 John Whitmer Historical Association Virtual Conference can now be viewed on the association’s YouTube Account. The conference schedule can be viewed here.

This year’s conference included the panel discussion “On the Scriptural Periphery: Perspectives on Joseph Smith’s Egyptian Project” (Session 101), an Author Meets Critics session on Mark Staker’s Joseph and Lucy Smith’s Tunbridge Farm: An Archaeology and Landscape Study (Session 201), along with eight other presentations and Jill Brim’s Presidential Address on the Joseph Smith Jr.’s Red Brick Store.

JWHA hopes to have their annual conference in St. George, Utah in 2024.

Faculty position in Latter-day Saint/Mormon Studies at The Graduate Theological Union (GTU)

Located in Berkeley, California, the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) is the largest and most
diverse partnership of seminaries and graduate schools in the United States, pursuin
interreligious collaboration in teaching, research, ministry, and service. Since its founding in
1962, the GTU has produced thousands of alumni who teach at eminent universities and
seminaries, lead and work in a broad variety of arenas – cultural, economic, inter-religious, nonprofit
and political – to achieve the greatest good.

PRIMARY POSITION PURPOSE AND EXPECTATIONS: In concert with the Bay Area Latter-day
Saint/Mormon Studies Council, GTU invites applications for a two-year term as Assistant
Professor of Latter-day Saint/Mormon Studies. This appointment will begin July 1, 2022, and
end on June 30, 2024, with the possibility of renewal. We seek an exceptional teacher-scholar
with interests that include, but are not restricted to, Latter-day Saint/Mormon Studies,
including the background, origins and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
and the American Restoration movement out of which it emerged, Latter-day Saint scriptural
texts, Latter-day Saint/Mormon culture, and the global church.

Candidates should be conversant with relevant methodologies and theories, demonstrate
strong facility with biblical and restoration scriptures, and be able to position Latter-day
Saint/Mormon Studies within the Judeo-Christian tradition and American Religious history.
The successful candidate will work under the supervision of the Academic Dean and in concert
with the GTU Director of Latter-day Saint/Mormon Studies and the Bay Area Mormon Studies
Council. Duties include teaching two classes or their equivalent per semester, supporting the
general GTU academic program, working with other GTU centers and affiliates, cooperating
with other Mormon Studies Centers, and supporting the objectives and activities of the Bay
Area Mormon Studies Council. It is expected that candidates will have a devotional grounding
in the Latter-day Saint tradition.

GTU is committed to a diversified faculty. Persons from groups underrepresented in the
American academy are especially encouraged to apply.

The application deadline is January 7, 2022. Applicants should send application materials
electronically to the office of the GTU dean, in care of Sabrina Kennedy, skennedy@gtu.edu.
Materials should include a letter of application, a curriculum vitae, and three letters of
recommendation. For further questions on the position, please contact Interim Dean and VP for
Academic Affairs, Elizabeth Peña, epena@gtu.edu.

The Graduate Theological Union is an Equal Opportunity Employer.