Printing for the Youth of Zion: One Approach to the History of Latter-day Saint Print Culture
In 1831, Joseph Smith dictated a revelation on the “printing…selecting and writing books for schools in this church, that little children also may receive instruction.” (D&C 55:4) This instruction to W.W. Phelps and Oliver Cowdery established that the creation of printed material for children and youth was to be a priority for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While the effort of creating printed material for children lay largely dormant for a few decades, by the late nineteenth century, a robust print culture had developed around this goal, and it continued to gain momentum into the twentieth century.
Along with its relaunch, Element: A Journal of Mormon Philosophy and Theology seeks submissions for its upcoming 2024 issue. Submissions are welcomed from students and from lay and professional philosophers alike. Papers must engage with subject matter relevant to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in an intellectually rigorous manner, and must do so through the lens of the academic disciplines of philosophy or theology. To be considered for publication in the journal’s 2024 issue, submissions must be received by April 15, 2023, and must adhere to the journal’s submission and style guides. Submissions received after this date may be considered for publication in subsequent issues.
In 2023, The John Whitmer Historical Association Journal published twenty-three articles through a special edition for the association’s fifth anniversary (Vol 43, no.1) and the Fall/Winter Issue (Vol. 43, no. 2). Topics for these two volumes include international history (Community of Christ in England and Nigeria), women’s history, Latter-day Saint/Community of Christ interdenominational studies, art/theatre/literature, and more. The denominations published about include Community of Christ, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite), and the Church of Christ (Temple Lot).
The John Whitmer Historical Association also has a full index of published articles with short descriptions and past issues (2-year wall) available on its website. Subscriptions to the journal can be made by joining the association with both physical and electronic journal options available. Journal articles can also be found in libraries and through ILL.
The Young Women and Young Men Organizations of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Department of Church History and Doctrine at BYU and the Church History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announce the Church History Symposium, October 24–25, 2024. The symposium will convene at Brigham Young University (October 24) and at the Church History Library in Salt Lake City (October 25). Keynote speakers include Young Women General President Emily Freeman, and Young Men General President Steven J. Lund, and Dr. Monica Mercado, Professor of Women’s Studies and North American Religions at Colgate University.
The Mormon History Association presents Latter Day Histories–a three-part virtual lecture series that features the latest research in Mormon history from award-winning members of our community. This year will feature lectures with Richard Bushman (Colombia University) “Do the Gold Plates Matter?” and interview with Kris Wright–11/30/23; Elisa Pulido (Independent Historian) “Marriage and Divorce in the Latter Day Saint Tradition: Parallel Histories” and interview with Amanda Hendrix-Komoto–01/25/24; and Christopher Blythe (Brigham Young University) “Emma Hale Smith In the Eyes of Her LDS Descendants” and interview with Janiece Johnson–03/28/24. You can sign up for a single lecture or for full season access. All proceeds are earmarked for the live-streaming and recording of the annual conference. Event Details Latter Day Histories
The University of Virginia’s Mormon Studies Program is pleased to announce the inaugural award of the Aileen H. and Hal M. Clyde Research Fellowship in Mormon Studies and Gender. For the year 2024, as many as two fellowships of $2,500 will be awarded for research in the Gregory A. Prince Collection related to Mormonism and gender, including women’s history, feminist studies, masculinity studies, or sexuality studies. Proposals will be reviewed beginning on January 15, 2024.
Also, beginning January 15, 2024, we will begin reviewing applications for two, short-term fellowships of $2,500 each to conduct research in the Prince Collection on any topic related to Mormonism.
The Utah Historical Society (UHS) seeks a field services professional to be the inaugural Director of Local History Services. The Director of Local History Services (DLHS) will be responsible for developing and implementing programming statewide that supports public history organizations across Utah, such as historical societies, cultural heritage organizations, history museums, and others who serve the public. The DLHS will develop programs that support capacity-building for the public history network and work in partnership with other statewide providers, such as the Utah Division of Arts & Museums and Utah Humanities, to amplify field services work across the state.
As the Utah Historical Society looks to 2026 and the opening of the Museum of Utah, the DLHS will have the opportunity to build the agency’s support and capacity-building network from the ground-up, ensuring that UHS provides resources and support to small public history organizations across Utah, and ensures their ability to thrive in their communities.
UHS practices inclusiveness in the work that we do and across our organization. We recognize the diverse strengths, needs, voices, and backgrounds of all members of our community and are committed to the equitable treatment of all people and the elimination of discrimination in all its forms.
About Us: Founded in 1897, Utah Historical Society works to foster curiosity about the past, inform the present, and strengthen our shared future. The agency continues to share the state’s history through six major initiatives, including public history, women’s history initiative, publications, Peoples of Utah Revisited, Library & Collections, and the Museum of Utah. Learn more about our work at history.utah.gov and explore our 2023-2027 Strategic Plan(Download PDF reader).
Principal Duties The Director of Local History Services duties include:
In the summer of 2024, the Latter-day Saint Theology Seminar, with support from the Laura F. Willes Center for Book of Mormon Studies and the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship at Brigham Young University, will sponsor a summer seminar for graduate students and faculty devoted to reading 2 Nephi 2.
The seminar will be hosted by Matthew Bowman at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California, from May 26 through June 7. Travel arrangements, housing, and a $1250 stipend will be provided for admitted participants. The seminar will be led by Adam Miller and Joseph Spencer, directors of the Latter-day Saint Theology Seminar.
This ninth annual summer seminar will again adopt the Latter-day Saint Theology Seminar’s practice of facilitating intense, exploratory, interdisciplinary, and collaborative readings of Latter-day Saint scripture in a live two-week format. During the first week, the seminar will meet daily to work word by word through the text of 2 Nephi 2:11-27 from a variety of disciplinary perspectives (philosophical, historical, literary, anthropological, rhetorical, political, archeological, sociological, etc.) in order to promote theologically rich readings of the text. The second week will workshop conference papers based on the previous week’s collaboration and will culminate in a one-day conference, open to the public, on June 7, 2024. The conference proceedings will then be gathered and edited for publication.
The seminar welcomes applications from a wide variety of academic disciplines, cultural backgrounds, and geographic locations. Graduate students, junior faculty, and scholars based outside the U.S. are especially encouraged to apply, though applications from senior and independent scholars are also welcome.
Applications should be submitted by January 15, 2024. Notifications will be sent by February 1, 2024. Application materials should include (1) a full curriculum vitae, (2) a 200 word statement regarding the applicant’s interest in the seminar, and (3) a 500-750 word essay that demonstrates the applicant’s ability to offer a close, creative, and theologically substantial reading of 2 Nephi 2:25.
Questions and application materials should be directed to maxwell_institute@byu.edu
For more information about the Maxwell Institute, visit: mi.byu.edu
The Second Annual Juanita Brooks Conference will take place on April 18-20, 2024. Juanita Brooks wrote extensively about her family and other family relationships, biographies, as well as about southern Utah, most famously about the Mountain Meadows Massacre. We welcome papers related to Juanita Brooks’ work in southern Utah and its surrounding Mormon communities. The program committee invites scholars young and old, local and global, to investigate all aspects of these themes:
1) Family
2) Biography
3) Region (specific to southern Utah, Arizona, and Nevada)
While topics may address Latter-day Saint or Mormon history, the conference is not specifically centered on either theme.
Matt Witten on LATTER-DAY SAINT THEOLOGY &: “This one? https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/157453”
Eric Nielson on LATTER-DAY SAINT THEOLOGY &: “I would like to read Paulsen's dissertation. Does anyone have some link or way to access it?”
Blake on LATTER-DAY SAINT THEOLOGY &: “I got a kick out of your list of "finitists" -- for a number of reasons. Sterling McMurrin was certainly not a finitist -- or…”
Steve Fleming on Study and Faith, 3:: “Thanks, Mark. Glad to have been on this journey with you for so many years!”
Recent Comments
Terry H on LATTER-DAY SAINT THEOLOGY &: “I mean, I know its in the link, but just curious.”
Terry H on LATTER-DAY SAINT THEOLOGY &: “Perhaps I missed something, but when and where is it?”
Matt Witten on LATTER-DAY SAINT THEOLOGY &: “This one? https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/157453”
Eric Nielson on LATTER-DAY SAINT THEOLOGY &: “I would like to read Paulsen's dissertation. Does anyone have some link or way to access it?”
Blake on LATTER-DAY SAINT THEOLOGY &: “I got a kick out of your list of "finitists" -- for a number of reasons. Sterling McMurrin was certainly not a finitist -- or…”
Steve Fleming on Study and Faith, 3:: “Thanks, Mark. Glad to have been on this journey with you for so many years!”