Call for Applications: Leadership Positions in Mormon Scholars in the Humanities

See the call for an executive publicity officer HERE

See the call for the executive secretary position HERE

Joseph Smith Papers Documents, Volume 15 (and Introductory Press Conference)

Dowdle, Brett D., Adam H. Petty, J. Chase Kirkham, Elizabeth A. Kuehn, David W. Grua, and Matthew C. Godfrey, eds. Documents, Volume 15: 16 May–28 June 1844. Vol. 15 of the Documents series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Matthew C. Godfrey, R. Eric Smith, and Ronald K. Esplin. Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2023.

It’s not every day that two Latter-day Saint apostles participate in a press conference attended by historians. This past June 27, Elders Garrett A. Gong and David A. Bednar spoke to a group of scholars as a part of the publication of the last Joseph Smith Papers Project volume. Elder Kyle S. McKay, the Church Historian for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, introduced them and acknowledged the presence of Gail Miller and Kim Wilson, whose generous funding made the Smith Papers financially possible. McKay shared that all documents in the Project were written by Joseph Smith or under his direction. Helpfully, he also called for anyone with knowledge of other documents to submit them to the Church History Department so that they might be included on the JSPP website. Before turning the time to the apostles, McKay shared that “no other modern religious leader” has their papers made available with such thoroughness. That’s certainly true of churches and their publishing arms.

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Journal of Mormon History Book Review Workshop (Zoom Registration Required)

Learning to write a good book review is a skill that will benefit your career in several ways. Writing helps you improve your critical thinking and to put into words what you find valuable or less valuable about pieces of scholarship. Reviews are great (and relatively low-key ways) to build your CV and contribute to the intellectual discourse within a field. Writing helpful reviews establishes you as a person with expertise on the topic that can lead to further opportunities. Perhaps most importantly, writing helpful reviews builds communication skills, especially the ability to summarize, synthesize, and explain complex ideas in short form.

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