THE DEADLINE FOR THE 2023-24 MORMON STUDIES FELLOWSHIP APPLICATION IS MARCH 1, 2023. LINK TO APPLICATION HERE
The first of its kind in the nation, the Tanner Humanities Center’s Mormon Studies fellowship provides a doctoral student funds to spend a year researching the history, beliefs, and culture of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members, or any religious group that traces its roots to Joseph Smith Jr. This fellowship is open to all dissertation level students of the Mormon Experience from any university in the United States or from around the world. Areas of focus include, but are not limited to: Theology, History, Sociology, Economics, Literature, Philosophy, and Political Science.
Friends and colleagues, the time has come to submit articles for Mormon History Association awards! Here are this year’s categories:
Jan Shipps Best Article Award
Awarded to the published article or essay that best exemplifies the legacy of one of MHA’s most important founders, scholars, and leaders. Overall quality is a crucial consideration, as well as an author’s use of interdisciplinary tools, interpretive innovation, and/or incorporation of distinct Mormon traditions.
Journal of Mormon History Best Article Award
Determined by JMH editors; you do not need to submit for this award
Best article on Mormon women’s history
Awarded for an outstanding article on the experiences of Mormon women in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Sponsored by the Mormon Women’s History Initiative Team (MWHIT), an independent group of scholars from around the United States who encourage research, writing, and publications on Mormon women’s history.
Best International Article Award
Awarded for the best international Mormon history article (in print or online journals) in honor of Andrew Jenson (pictured), Assistant LDS Church Historian, for his outstanding contribution to documenting nearly every LDS congregation around the world.
Jenny Reeder chairs the Article Awards Committee is chaired by Jenny Reeder. Authors and readers are invited to submit, by email, articles for the committees’ consideration: jennyreeder1@gmail.com.
Self-submissions are encouraged, as are all other forms of award submissions.
You can also submit for book awards, and learn about MHA’s other awards, HERE.
This job is to assist the Church History Department in its purpose to help God’s Children make and keep sacred covenants by researching and writing for Church history publications, sometimes as a project lead. Under limited supervision, this individual acts as a primary contributor to Church history publications, researching, writing, annotating, and editing content regarding Latter-day Saint history. Reports to managing historian or senior managing historian.
The Editor of the John Whitmer Historical Association will manage the accession, review, acceptance/rejection, revision, and editing of professional articles, book reviews, and letters to prepare for submission to the production director for each biannual issue.
This is my third year(!) doing this recap and I decided to limit listing five for each category. There are many more worthy of consideration. This list is reflective of my own interests and I want folks to add more publications in the comments.
Also, I’ll tell you who I think is going to win MHA awards if you Venmo me enough an Austin SLAB (IYKYK). Topics and works are in alphabetical order and are not an indication of rank.
Magen Edvalson is an independent historian associated with the Oral History Project for the Community of Christ. She holds a masters degree in Folklore from Utah State University and a BFA in Theatre from the University of Utah. Her research interests include comparative folklore within the Restoration, theatre as performative ritual, and apotheosis in folklore. She currently resides in Oregon with her spouse. Thanks for reviewing, Magen!
The 1960s and 70s for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Community of Christ) might best be summed up as a time of historical excitement. This era brought about a fervor amongst academics from both camps as they recognized the value of self-reflection through historical and sociological lenses. This would have a profound impact on theology and structure, further dividing them, but it would also bring them closer together. The Mormon History Association was founded in 1965 primarily by LDS scholars, while the John Whitmer Historical Association was founded in 1972 by RLDS scholars. Both of these institutions have employed the talents of academics from across the Restoration as much as possible, initiating a decades-long conversation between their parent churches that continues to bear fruit.
On Thursday, October 27, 2022, the Church History Library of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints launched the websites for the Eliza R. Snow and Emmeline B. Wells Papers. Either of these projects would be newsworthy; the two of them together promise to launch many new projects in Latter-day Saint women’s history.
Some context for the project: beginning decades ago, historians like Cherry B. Silver, Sheree Bench, Jill Mulvey Derr, Carol Cornwall Madsen, and others transcribed and annotated documents. Then, roughly a decade ago, the historian Jill Derr suggested the creation of “a female Journal of Discourses” for Latter-day Saints to access women’s words and witness. These Papers Projects join Relief Society: The First Fifty Yearsand At the Pulpit: Key Documents in Latter-day Saint Women’s History as collections in these “journals of discourse.”
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.”