The Mormon History Association (MHA) is an independent, non-profit organization

Non-profit organization

Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

 dedicated to the study and understanding of all aspects of Mormon

Mormon

The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...

 history to promote understanding, scholarly research, and publication in the field. MHA was founded in December 1965 at the American Historical Association

American Historical Association

The American Historical Association is the oldest and largest society of historians and professors of history in the United States. Founded in 1884, the association promotes historical studies, the teaching of history, and the preservation of and access to historical materials...

 (AHA) meeting in San Francisco

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

 under the leadership of Latter-day Saint and historian, Leonard J. Arrington

Leonard J. Arrington

Leonard James Arrington was an author, academic and the founder of the Mormon History Association. He is known as the "Dean of Mormon History" and "the Father of Mormon History" because of his many influential contributions to the field.-Biographical background:Arrington was born in Twin Falls,...

. In 1972, MHA became an independent organization with its own annual conferences and publications. The Journal of Mormon History, the official biennial publication of the association, began publication in 1974. MHA also publishes the quarterly Mormon History Newsletter and is an affiliate of both AHA and the Western History Association

Western History Association

The Western History Association was organized in 1961 at Santa Fe, New Mexico, to "promote the study of the North American West in its varied aspects and broadest sense." Included in the field of study are the American West and western Canada. The Western History Association is headquartered at...

.

MHA "welcome[s] all who are interested in the Mormon past, irrespective of religious affiliation, academic training, or world location." Its members are composed of people both within and without The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and the Community of Christ

Community of Christ

The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , is an American-based international Christian church established in April 1830 that claims as its mission "to proclaim Jesus Christ and promote communities of joy, hope, love, and peace"...

, including those who reject Mormonism

Mormonism

Mormonism is the religion practiced by Mormons, and is the predominant religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement. This movement was founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. beginning in the 1820s as a form of Christian primitivism. During the 1830s and 1840s, Mormonism gradually distinguished itself...

.

Presidents

MHA presidents are recognized contributors to the field of Mormon history and serve for one year.

Years	Name	Prominence at the time of service
1966–67	Leonard J. Arrington Leonard J. Arrington Leonard James Arrington was an author, academic and the founder of the Mormon History Association. He is known as the "Dean of Mormon History" and "the Father of Mormon History" because of his many influential contributions to the field.-Biographical background:Arrington was born in Twin Falls,...	MHA co-founder; Utah State University Utah State University Utah State University is a public university located in Logan, Utah. It is a land-grant and space-grant institution and is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities....  history professor; author of Great Basin Kingdom
1967–68	Eugene E. Campbell Eugene E. Campbell Eugene Edward "Gene" Campbell was an American professor of history at Brigham Young University .-Biography:...	Brigham Young University Brigham Young University Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...  (BYU) history professor
1968–69	T. Edgar Lyon T. Edgar Lyon Thomas Edgar "Ed" Lyon was a prominent Latter-day Saint historian and educator. He is most noted for his work on 19th century Latter-day Saint history. He also wrote on Latter-day Saint doctrine....	Nauvoo Restoration
1969–70	S. George Ellsworth	Utah State University Utah State University Utah State University is a public university located in Logan, Utah. It is a land-grant and space-grant institution and is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities....  history professor
1970–71	Richard D. Poll Richard D. Poll Richard Douglas Poll was an American historian, academic, author and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . His liberal religiosity influenced his notable metaphor about "Iron Rod" vs. "Liahona" LDS Church members. -Biography:Poll was born in Salt Lake City, where he lived...	Western Illinois University Western Illinois University Western Illinois University is a public university founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. Like many similar institutions of the time, Western Illinois State Normal School focused on teacher training for its relatively small body of students. As the normal school grew, it became...  vice-president; former Brigham Young University Brigham Young University Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...  history professor
1971–72	Davis Bitton Davis Bitton -External links:*...	MHA co-founder; University of Utah University of Utah The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...  history professor
1972–73	James B. Allen James B. Allen (historian) James Brown "Jim" Allen is an American historian of Mormonism and was an official Assistant Church Historian of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1972–1979.-Biography:...	MHA co-founder; Brigham Young University Brigham Young University Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...  history professor
1973–74	Reed C. Durham Jr.	Director of Institute of Religion Institute of Religion Institutes of Religion provide religious educational classes for young single adult and university students who belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...  at the University of Utah University of Utah The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
1974–75	Thomas G. Alexander Thomas G. Alexander Thomas Glen Alexander is an American historian and academic who is professor emeritus from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where he was also Lemuel Hardison Redd, Jr. Professor of Western History and director of the Charles Redd Center for Western Studies.-Biography:Alexander was born in...
1975–76	Charles S. Peterson	University of Utah University of Utah The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...  history professor; former director of the Utah State Historical Society Utah State Historical Society The Utah State Historical Society, founded in 1897 and now part of the Government of Utah, United States, encourages the research, study, and publication of Utah history.... .
1976–77	Paul M. Edwards
1977–78	Douglas D. Alder
1978–79	Milton Backman	Brigham Young University Brigham Young University Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...  religious education professor
1979–80	Jan Shipps Jan Shipps Jo Ann Barnett "Jan" Shipps is an American historian specializing in Mormon History, particularly in the latter half of the 20th century to the present. Shipps is generally regarded as the foremost non-Mormon scholar of the Latter Day Saint movement, having given particular attention to The...	Indiana University Indiana University Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...  professor of history and religious studies
1980–81	Dean C. Jessee Dean C. Jessee Dean Cornell Jessee is a historian of the early Latter Day Saint movement and leading expert on the writings of Joseph Smith, Jr.-Biography:...	Author of Letters of Brigham Young to his Sons; archivist and researcher with the LDS Church.
1981–82	Melvin T. Smith
1982–83	William D. Russell William D. Russell (historian) William Dean Russell is an American historian focusing on the history of the Latter Day Saint movement. Russell taught at Graceland University for forty-one years, retiring as a professor of history in 2007. He has been a civil rights activist since the 1960s, championing the causes of equality...	Professor of history at Graceland University Graceland University Graceland is not ranked by U.S. News & World Report, being deemed a Tier 3 institution. It is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission as a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.-Housing System:...
1983–84	Kenneth W. Godfrey	LDS Institute of Religion Director
1984–85	Maureen U. Beecher	Brigham Young University Brigham Young University Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...  English professor with the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Church History Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Church History The Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Church History was an academic research organization at Brigham Young University from 1980 to 2005, which sought to promote the study of the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.-History:In 1982, the History Division of the church's... .
1985–86	Richard L. Bushman	Columbia University Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...  history professor; author of Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism.
1986–87	Richard W. Sadler
1987–88	Valeen Tippetts Avery Valeen Tippetts Avery Valeen Tippetts Avery was an American biographer and historian best known for her work on Western American and Latter Day Saint history...	Co-author of Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith, Prophet's Wife, "Elect Lady," Polygamy's Foe is a biography of Emma Hale Smith, wife of Joseph Smith Jr., written by Linda King Newell and Valeen Tippetts Avery....
1988–89	Stanley B. Kimball Stanley B. Kimball Stanley Buchholz Kimball was a historian at Southern Illinois University. He was an expert on eastern European history but also wrote on Latter-day Saint history, specifically his ancestor Heber C...	Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, commonly abbreviated SIUE, is a four-year coed public university in Edwardsville, Illinois about from St. Louis, Missouri. SIUE was established in 1957 as an extension of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, and is the younger of the two largest...  history professor; author of Heber C. Kimball: Mormon Patriarch and Pioneer
1989–90	Carol Cornwall Madsen Carol Cornwall Madsen Carol Cornwall Madsen is an emeritus professor of history at Brigham Young University where she was a research historian with the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Church History. She also served as associate director of BYU's Women's Research Institute...	Brigham Young University Brigham Young University Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...  history professor with the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Church History Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Church History The Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Church History was an academic research organization at Brigham Young University from 1980 to 2005, which sought to promote the study of the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.-History:In 1982, the History Division of the church's... .
1990–91	Richard P. Howard Richard P. Howard Richard P. Howard is historian emeritus of Community of Christ, having served as world church historian of that organization from 1966–1994. He was the first professionally trained scholar to occupy that position...	World Church Historian of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
1991–92	Ronald W. Walker Ronald W. Walker Ronald Warren Walker is a historian of the Latter Day Saint movement who was formerly a professor at Brigham Young University and president of the Mormon History Association.-Biography:...
1992–93	Marvin S. Hill Marvin S. Hill Marvin Sidney Hill is a retired professor of American history at Brigham Young University and a historian of the Latter Day Saint movement.- Biography :...	Brigham Young University Brigham Young University Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...  history professor and author of Quest for Refuge: The Mormon Flight from American Pluralism
1993–94	Roger D. Launius
1994–95	Mario S. DePillis
1995–96	David J. Whittaker David J. Whittaker David Jay Whittaker is a Mormon historian and bibliographer. He has authored or co-authored seven books and about fifty scholarly articles. He was the curator of Western and Mormon history manuscripts for the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Library of the Harold B. Lee Library. He was also a...	Brigham Young University Brigham Young University Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...  archivist
1996–97	Linda King Newell Linda King Newell Linda King Newell is an American historian and author.Newell co-authored the 1984 book Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith with Valeen Tippetts Avery. During this time she was also editor of the scholarly Mormon periodical Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought with her husband L...	University of Utah University of Utah The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...  history professor; co-author of Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith, Prophet's Wife, "Elect Lady," Polygamy's Foe is a biography of Emma Hale Smith, wife of Joseph Smith Jr., written by Linda King Newell and Valeen Tippetts Avery.... ; former co-editor of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought is an independent quarterly journal of "Mormon thought" that addresses a wide range of issues on Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint Movement.... ; former John Whitmer Historical Association John Whitmer Historical Association The John Whitmer Historical Association "is an independent scholarly society composed of individuals of various religious faiths who share a lively interest in ......  president
1997–98	Armand L. Mauss	Washington State University Washington State University Washington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university...  professor of sociology and religious studies
1998–99	Jill Mulvay Derr Jill Mulvay Derr Jill Mulvay Derr was an American history professor at Brigham Young University and the director of the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Church History, as well as the president of the Mormon History Association....	BYU History professor, later director of the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute
1999–2000	Newell G. Bringhurst
2000–01	William G. Hartley William G. Hartley William George Hartley is an American historian and author. He had written many books primarily on family history research, histories of specific families and 19th-century Latter-day Saint history.-Biography:...
2001–02	Dean L. May Dean L. May Dean Lowe May was an American academic, author and documentary filmmaker and professor of History at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. May specialized in nineteenth- and twentieth-century social and cultural history of the American West through the study of community and family...	Professor of History, University of Utah University of Utah The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest... , specializing in social history of the American West
2002–03	Larry Foster
2003–04	Martha Sonntag Bradley
2004–05	Donald Q. Cannon Donald Q. Cannon Donald Quayle Cannon is a retired professor at Brigham Young University who specializes in Mormon history, particularly early Mormon history and international Mormon history....	Brigham Young University Brigham Young University Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...  professor
2005–06	Philip L. Barlow	Harvard-trained professor of theology Theology Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...  and American United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...  religious history at Utah State University Utah State University Utah State University is a public university located in Logan, Utah. It is a land-grant and space-grant institution and is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities....
2006–07	Ronald K. Esplin	Director of Joseph Smith Papers Project; former Brigham Young University Brigham Young University Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...  professor; former Joseph Fielding Smith Institute director.
2007–08	Paul L. Anderson Paul L. Anderson Paul L. Anderson is a Latter-day Saint architectural historian, museum curator and hymnwriter.Anderson was born in Pasadena, California and as a young man served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Japan....	BYU Museum of Art curator
2008–09	Kathryn M. Daynes Kathryn M. Daynes Kathryn M. "Kathy" Daynes is a professor of history at Brigham Young University and a historian of Mormonism, specializing in Mormon polygamy. She was president of the Mormon History Association in 2008-2009....	Brigham Young University Brigham Young University Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...  history professor; author of More Wives Than One.
2009–10	Ronald E. Romig	Community of Christ Community of Christ The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , is an American-based international Christian church established in April 1830 that claims as its mission "to proclaim Jesus Christ and promote communities of joy, hope, love, and peace"...  archivist
2010–11	William P. MacKinnon	Independent historian; author of At Sword's Point: A Documentary History of the Utah War to 1858.

Journal of Mormon History

Since 1974, MHA has produced the Journal of Mormon History, one of the premier academic journals in the field of Mormon studies

Mormon studies

Mormon studies is the interdisciplinary academic study of the beliefs, practices, history and culture of those known by the term Mormon and denominations belonging to the Latter Day Saint movement whose members do not generally go by the term "Mormon"...

. From the founding of MHA until 1974, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought

Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought

Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought is an independent quarterly journal of "Mormon thought" that addresses a wide range of issues on Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint Movement....

 was a principal venue for articles on Mormon History written by MHA members.

A DVD archive of past issues of the Journal is available at MHA's web site.

List of Journal of Mormon History editors

Name	Position	Term
Richard Sadler	Editor	1974–1981
Dean L. May Dean L. May Dean Lowe May was an American academic, author and documentary filmmaker and professor of History at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. May specialized in nineteenth- and twentieth-century social and cultural history of the American West through the study of community and family...	Editor	1982–1985
Leonard J. Arrington Leonard J. Arrington Leonard James Arrington was an author, academic and the founder of the Mormon History Association. He is known as the "Dean of Mormon History" and "the Father of Mormon History" because of his many influential contributions to the field.-Biographical background:Arrington was born in Twin Falls,...	Editor	1986–1987
Lowell M. Durham, Jr.	Editor	1988–1990
Lavina Fielding Anderson Lavina Fielding Anderson Lavina Fielding Anderson is a Latter Day Saint scholar, writer, editor, and feminist. Anderson holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Washington...	Editor	1991–2009
Martha P. Taysom	Editor	2009–present

Mormon History Association Awards

Among the awards presented by the Association are: the Leonard J. Arrington

Leonard J. Arrington

Leonard James Arrington was an author, academic and the founder of the Mormon History Association. He is known as the "Dean of Mormon History" and "the Father of Mormon History" because of his many influential contributions to the field.-Biographical background:Arrington was born in Twin Falls,...

 Award "for distinguished and meritorious service to Mormon history" – named for the MHA's founder, and father of New Mormon history

New Mormon history

New Mormon history refers to a style of reporting the history of Mormonism by both Mormon and non-Mormon scholars which departs from earlier more polemical styles of history...

; Best Book Award; Best First Book; Best Documentary or Bibliography; Best Biography; an award for an outstanding International Mormon history; an award for an outstanding history of a Mormon family (or grouping of families in one community); and the Thomas L. Kane Award, usually given to a non-Mormon historian "in the grand tradition of Thomas L. Kane

Thomas L. Kane

Thomas Leiper Kane was an American attorney, abolitionist, and military officer who was influential in the western migration of the Latter-day Saint movement and served as a Union Army colonel and general of volunteers in the American Civil War...

, the Pennsylvania native [and non-Mormon] who, in 1857, put his reputation on the line in behalf of compromise and peace."

External links

• Official website
• Awards given by the MHA
• Digitized archive of the Journal of Mormon History (1974–2004)
• Digitized archive of the Journal of Mormon History (1974-2009)