John Whitmer Historical Association

The John Whitmer Historical Association (JWHA) is "an independent society composed of scholars, students and enthusiasts who share a lively interest in the history of the Latter Day Saint movement." ["The John Whitmer Historical Association Journal" Vol. 26 (2006), from the description on the back cover.] The organization takes its name from John Whitmer, the first official historian of the Latter Day Saint movement.

JWHA is headquartered in Independence, Missouri. It was originally founded by members of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (now "Community of Christ"). The association has always been open to all scholars regardless of their denominational affiliation.

Purpose of JWHA

According to the association's Bylaws, [John Whitmer Historical Association Bylaws, see http://www.jwha.info/about/AmendedBylaws07.pdf] the purpose of JWHA is to:
*Create and encourage interest in Latter Day Saint history, especially the history of the Community of Christ.
*Stimulate scholarly research and publication in the field of Latter Day Saint history,
*Promote communication among scholars of Latter Day Saint history, and
*Provide an institutional vehicle for the dissemination of the fruits of scholarly research to members of the Latter Day Saint churches and other interested persons.

In order to fulfill its purposes, JWHA sponsors an annual conference and other scholarly lectures, publishes a peer-reviewed journal as well as a quarterly newsletter, and also publishes books on the topic of Latter Day Saint history.

Annual Conferences

JWHA has held a conference every year since 1973, wherein historians in the organization present papers and speak in discussion panels. Traditionally these conferences are held from Thursday evening until Sunday morning in the last week of September. JWHA's first annual meeting was held in Nauvoo, Illinois. Recent annual conferences have been held in Nauvoo (2002), Far West, Missouri (2003), Omaha, Nebraska (2004), Springfield, Illinois (2005) and Independence, Missouri (2006). 202 registrants attended the 2006 conference, which included presentations by 85 scholars.

The 2007 JWHA conference was held September 27-30 in Kirtland, Ohio. Co-sponsored by the Communal Studies Association, the conference's topic was "Communal Experiments Among Latter Day Saints and Other American Groups," Upcoming conferences will be held in Voree, Wisconsin (2008), Independence, Missouri (2009), Amboy, Illinois (2010), Nauvoo, Illinois (2011), and Independence, Missouri (2012).

Banquets and Lecture Series

JWHA hosts a periodic "Spring Banquet" which includes a lecture on a topic of interest to the membership. The banquet is traditionally held in Independence, Missouri prior to the Community of Christ's World Conference. Recent Spring Banquet lecturers and topics have included:
*2004: Thomas W. Murphy, "Sin, Skin and Seed: Mistakes of Men in the Book of Mormon"
*2005: Martin E. Marty, "Keys to the Future"
*2007: Apostle Susan Skoor, "Women in Ministry"

For many years, JWHA sponsored a lecture series at Graceland University, but the practice was discontinued in the 1990s.

Periodicals

, Newell G. Bringhurst, William G. Hartley, William D. Russell and Richard Francaviglia. It also included 7 book reviews.

The association also publishes a quarterly newsletter.

John Whitmer Books

In September 2005, JWHA began to publish history books under its own imprint, John Whitmer Books. The first title published under the new imprint is Matthew Bolton's "Apostle of the Poor: The Life and Work of Missionary and Humanitarian Charles D. Neff".

In 2007, the association announced it would be publishing 4 new titles under the John Whitmer Books imprint: An illustrated guide to historic Kirtland, a compilation of articles relating to various branches in the Latter Day Saint movement, the stories of gay and lesbian Saints in the Community of Christ, and an updated reprint of "Let Contention Cease: The Dynamics of Dissent in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints."

History of JWHA

JWHA was founded on September 18, 1972 by fourteen historians and scholars associated with the "Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" (RLDS) now called the Community of Christ. The founding members were (in alphabetical order): Alma Blair, Paul Edwards, Robert Flanders, Barbara Higdon, Barbara Howard, Richard Howard, Larry Hunt, Warren Jennings, Gerald Kruse, Mark McKiernan, W. Grant McMurray, Gordon Mesley, William Russell, Geoff Spencer, and Pat Spillman.

As of 2007, JWHA reported 402 active members on its rolls, split roughly equally between the Midwestern United States and the Mormon cultural zone in the Western US.

The archives of JWHA are housed in the Du Rose Room of the Frederick M. Smith Library at Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa.

Presidents of JWHA

In addition to historians from the Community of Christ background, JWHA's presidents include historians who were practicing members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well as historians who were not members of any Latter Day Saint church. Past presidents of the association have been:
*Robert Flanders 1973-74 ("Nauvoo: Kingdom on the Mississippi" (1975) ISBN 0-252-00561-9)
*Alma Blair 1975
*Kenneth Stobaugh 1976
*William D. Russell 1977
*Barbara Higdon 1978
*Paul M. Edwards 1979 ("Our Legacy of Faith: A Brief History of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" (1991) ISBN 0-8309-0594-4)
*Clare Vlahos 1980
*W. Grant McMurray 1981
*Tom Morain 1982
*Norma Hiles 1983
*Paul M. Edwards 1984
*Richard P. Howard 1985 ("The Church through the Years" (1993) ISBN 0-8309-0629-0)
*Wayne Ham 1986
*Robert Mesle 1987
*Linda King Newell 1988 ("" (1984) ISBN 0-2520-6291-4)
*Maurice Draper 1989-90
*Roger Launius 1991-92 ("Alexander William Doniphan: Portrait of a Missouri Moderate" (1997) ISBN 0-8262-1132-1)
*Lee Pement 1993-94
*Jessie L. Embry 1995-96 ("Black Saints in a White Church: Contemporary African American Mormons" (1994) ISBN 1-5608-5044-2)
*Danny Jorgensen 1996-97
*Ronald E. Romig 1997-98
*Barbara Bernauer 1998-99
*Ed Warner 1999-2000
*Alma Blair 2000-01
*Michael S. Riggs 2001-02
*Biloine Whiting Young 2002-03 ("Obscure Believers: The Mormon Schism of Alpheus Cutler" (2002) ISBN 1-8806-5427-X)
*Mark Scherer 2003-04
*Jan Shipps 2004-05 ("Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious Tradition" (1987) ISBN 0-252-01417-0)
*Newell G. Bringhurst 2005-06 ("Saints, Slaves, and Blacks: The Changing Place of Black People Within Mormonism" (1981) ISBN 0-3132-2752-7)
*Alexander L. Baugh 2006-07 ("A Call to Arms: The 1838 Mormon Defense of Northern Missouri," BYU Studies, 2000.)

The current (2007–08) president of JWHA is Barbara Walden, Site Coordinator for the Kirtland Temple. The current President-Elect (who will become president in September 2008) is William Shepard, the Wingfield Watson Trustee for Strangite Properties.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.jwha.info/ Official website of the John Whitmer Historical Association]
* [http://www.johnwhitmerbooks.com/default.asp John Whitmer Books]