October 10-11, 2025 Utah State University Inn SUBMISSION DEADLINE: June 13, 2025 SUBMISSION EMAIL: bookofmormonsa@gmail.com
The Book of Mormon Studies Association (BoMSA) is pleased to announce its ninth annual meeting, to be held on October 10-11, 2025, at Utah State University. The event is sponsored by USU’s Department of Religious Studies and with thanks to Patrick Mason, the Leonard J. Arrington Chair of Mormon History and Culture.
This annual event gathers a variety of scholars invested in serious academic study of the Book of Mormon. It has no particular theme but instead invites papers on any subject related to the Book of Mormon from any viable academic angle. This year’s two keynote addresses will be delivered by Matthew Bowman (Claremont Graduate University) and Jillian Sayre (Rutgers University-Camden). We also will feature two special panels: one celebrating the completion of Royal Skousen’s massive critical text project and the other on Book of Mormon Art. As we have for the past several years, we will hold a pre- conference exhibit at the Church History Library on Thursday afternoon. This event will feature documents related to the development and publication of Orson Pratt’s 1879 edition of the Book of Mormon.
Over the past six years, Dr. Steven C. Harper has done a remarkable job leading BYU Studies as its editor in chief. We are grateful for his thoughtful leadership and inspiring publication record of BYU’s premier academic journal under his leadership. Having completed two, three-year terms as editor in chief, Steve looks forward to returning to his campus responsibilities as professor of Church history and doctrine at BYU beginning fall semester 2025.
Proposals due: April 1, 2025: accepted on a rolling basis (no limit on participants)
The Juanita Brooks Conference, a platform that values and promotes diverse histories and cultures of Utah and the American West, eagerly awaits your poster submissions. We extend this invitation to scholars and students across various fields, including environmental history, American religion, women’s history, and Native American studies. Your contributions should be related to subjects significant to the states associated with Juanita Brooks’ life and scholarship—Utah, Idaho, Arizona, and Nevada.
Posters should meet the following requirements (adapted from the American Historical Association):
Readable from 5 to 10 feet
Use at least a 48-point font for titles and a 36-point font for body text and tables
Submit your work (or a colleague’s work) for an MHA Award! Publishers: submit your author’s work!
Here are the awards for this year’s cycle:
The Jan Shipps Best Article Award: awarded to the author(s) of 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.
Best Article on Mormon Women’s History: awarded to the author(s) of 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 to the author(s) of the best international Mormon history article (in print or online journals), in honor of Andrew Jenson, Assistant LDS Church Historian, for his outstanding contribution in documenting nearly every LDS congregation around the world.
Please send submissions to joseph [dot] stuart [at] byu [dot] edu.
Happy almost New Year, folks! As a way of ushering in this new year, Spencer Stewart and I invite you to submit a proposal for a special issue of the Journal of Mormon History, called “Mormon History in the Digital Age.” We’re hoping that the issue will be inclusive of all kinds of contributions, hence the variety of submission categories below. If what you’re thinking of doesn’t seem to fit one of the categories, or if you’re unsure if your project would count, please email us! We’re happy to address any questions you might have before the proposal deadline. We hope you’re as excited as we are to highlight the digital work that exists within Mormon Studies!
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.
Provo, Utah – The world’s largest database of Latter-day Saint art just got bigger. The Book of Mormon Art Catalog (https://bookofmormonartcatalog.org) now includes not only visual art inspired by the Book of Mormon but also art based on Church history, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price.
Since the catalog launched in 2022, it has grown to include more than 8,000 artworks. The website organizes Latter-day Saint art from the 19th century to today and from artists around the globe. Careful research by the Book of Mormon Art Catalog team has brought these pieces together from public and private collections, archives, museums, and the holdings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other branches of the Restoration.
Users of the free website can choose to explore “Book of Mormon Art” or “Restoration History & Scripture Art.” Within each section, the updated website has six helpful browsing categories—1) artist’s name, 2) year of creation, 3) artist’s country, 4) scripture reference, 5) topic, and 6) style or technique.
The Faith and Knowledge Conference was established in 2007 by Latter-day Saint scholar Richard Bushman. Its mission is to bring together graduate students and early career scholars from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Community of Christ, and other faith traditions that follow Joseph Smith. The conference aims to explore the interactions between religious faith and scholarship for members of restoration movements. During the past eight meetings, students have shared their experiences as Mormon scholars in the academy with an eye toward the challenges and insights resulting from the intersection of faith and scholarship. These papers and conversations have provided thought-provoking historical, exegetical, and theoretical perspectives, as well as compelling models for locating discipleship through scholarly disciplines.
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.”