On September 18, 2022, the John Whitmer Historical Association will celebrate its 50th anniversary, honoring a half century of promoting the study of Restoration history. JWHA will gather at the Community of Christ Temple in Independence, Missouri, September 15-18, to celebrate the golden anniversary.
Interested in attending or learning more? Read more about the event and see the 50th Anniversary Call for Papers. This year’s conference registration is available at a special discount. JWHA accepts papers on historical, cultural, and theological studies of the Latter Day Saint/Mormon movement.
Are you a student needing funding to attend? Applications for conference scholarships are open to both undergraduate and graduate students. JWHA conference scholarships include the following: cash reward, registration fees waived, banquet tickets provided, and free membership the following year.
Scholarship amounts vary from year to year, depending upon available funding. Successful applicants must present their papers at the annual JWHA conference. Winners will need to attend the conference Thursday evening through Saturday to help with various activities. Appy and read more about JWHA scholarships.
Proposals and conference scholarship applications are due April 6, 2022.
The Religious Studies Department at Hamilton College seeks applicants for a Visiting Instructor or Assistant Professor for a one-year leave replacement in indigenous studies beginning July 1, 2022. Candidates with ABD will be considered, although candidates with a PhD are preferred. The department seeks applicants with a specialization in an indigenous tradition in the Americas, with a capacity to teach other indigenous traditions in a comparative perspective. Additional interests include indigeneity theory, gender construction, and the global indigenous rights movements. Discipline is open, but candidates should display a capacity to engage perspectives on religion (traditions, lifeways) in an interdisciplinary undergraduate program. The candidate appointed to this position will teach five courses during the year.
2022 MHA will be in Logan. The only way to make sure that you’ll have room in your suitcases for everything you buy at exhibits there is to get your shopping done in a way that allows you to only pack a single bag for MHA travels. Plan ahead!
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.
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.
The Rocky Mountain American Religion Seminar invites applications to participate in a historical teaching seminar, “Teaching Hard History: The Bear River Massacre.” The seminar will be held in person on January 15, 2022, from 9 AM to 4 PM, at the University of Utah. The seminar will provide all materials necessary to participate. Applications are due on December 7, 2021.
On January 29, 1863, the United States Army killed between 250-400 Northwestern Shoshone men, women, and children in what is today Preston, Idaho. The event has been labeled a “battle,” suggesting that both sides were equally aggressive in preparing for violence. Indeed, until February 2021, the memorial established by settlers to commemorate the Army’s violence called it the “Battle of Bear River” rather than the “Bear River Massacre.” In the decades following the Massacre, the Shoshone homesteaded, joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They have also kept the memory of “Boa Ogoi,” the Shoshone name for the Massacre, alive through oral and community histories.
The workshop will gather middle and high school teachers and graduate students to model how to teach settler/indigenous encounters in Utah, focusing on the Bear River Massacre. Students will learn the historical contexts of the Massacre, its historical afterlives, and how religion has shaped the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone since 1863.
Joseph Stuart, a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Utah, will lead the morning’s meetings. He will outline the historical backdrops of the Bear River Massacre from multiple perspectives but centering on the lives of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone. He will also model a primary source activity for educators to use in the classroom.
In the afternoon, Darren Parry (Northwestern Shoshone) will share his family’s and peoples’ history in the decades following the Bear River Massacre. The afternoon will conclude with a primary source activity on historical memory adaptable to classroom settings.
Before attending the seminar, attendees will be expected to read a provided copy of Parry’s book, The Bear River Massacre: A Shoshone History.
To apply to participate, please send an email with the following information to jstuartteaching@gmail.com:
Your name, phone number, and email address
The name of the school where you teach (or the name of your academic institution if you are a student)
A short CV
2-4 sentences on how attending the workshop will help you as an educator
Applications are due on December 7, 2021. Travel stipends are available for those driving more than 20 miles to attend. Lunch will be provided.
Workshop Dates: August 4-6, 2022 Location: University of Utah, Salt Lake City Submission deadline: December 15, 2021
Inaugural Workshop We write to announce a series of workshops titled, “Indigenous Perspectives on the Meanings of Lamanite,” and invite proposals for the inaugural workshop, which will be held at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah, August 4-6, 2022. Proposals are due by December 15, 2021.
Steve Fleming on Study and Faith, 5:: “The burden of proof is on the claim of there BEING Nephites. From a scholarly point of view, the burden of proof is on the…”
Eric on Study and Faith, 5:: “But that's not what I was saying about the nature of evidence of an unknown civilization. I am talking about linguistics, not ruins. …”
Steve Fleming on Study and Faith, 5:: “Large civilizations leave behind evidence of their existence. For instance, I just read that scholars estimate the kingdom of Judah to have been around 110,000…”
Eric on Study and Faith, 5:: “I have always understood the key to issues with Nephite archeology to be language. Besides the fact that there is vastly more to Mesoamerican…”
Steven Borup on In Memoriam: James B.: “Bro Allen was the lead coordinator in 1980 for the BYU Washington, DC Seminar and added valuable insights into American history as we also toured…”
David G. on In Memoriam: James B.: “Jim was a legend who impacted so many through his scholarship and kind mentoring. He'll be missed.”
Recent Comments
Steve Fleming on Study and Faith, 5:: “The burden of proof is on the claim of there BEING Nephites. From a scholarly point of view, the burden of proof is on the…”
Eric on Study and Faith, 5:: “But that's not what I was saying about the nature of evidence of an unknown civilization. I am talking about linguistics, not ruins. …”
Steve Fleming on Study and Faith, 5:: “Large civilizations leave behind evidence of their existence. For instance, I just read that scholars estimate the kingdom of Judah to have been around 110,000…”
Eric on Study and Faith, 5:: “I have always understood the key to issues with Nephite archeology to be language. Besides the fact that there is vastly more to Mesoamerican…”
Steven Borup on In Memoriam: James B.: “Bro Allen was the lead coordinator in 1980 for the BYU Washington, DC Seminar and added valuable insights into American history as we also toured…”
David G. on In Memoriam: James B.: “Jim was a legend who impacted so many through his scholarship and kind mentoring. He'll be missed.”