The John Whitmer Historical Association Journal is published twice each year and serves as a leading venue for scholarship on Restoration history broadly understood. The journal welcomes submissions from established scholars, early-career faculty, graduate students, independent researchers, archivists, and others whose work contributes to the study of the Restoration tradition and its many communities, institutions, cultures, theologies, and historical contexts.
Use the journal index to find articles by author or by volume
The journal’s particular areas of interest include Community of Christ and RLDS history and culture, the wider Latter Day Saint movement, Restoration branches and “divergent paths,” lived religion, theology, institutional life, biography, material culture, global developments, and the intersections of Restoration history with adjacent fields such as religious studies, sociology, anthropology, political science, cultural studies, literary studies, archival studies, digital humanities, and peace and conflict studies. The Editorial Board welcomes contributions that are carefully researched, clearly written, and grounded in strong scholarly standards.
The archive of past issues of The JWHA Journal are available to all except for the past two years’ issues. The most recent issues are available to members only. Please join today and get access!
Featured Past Issue
Hidden Things Shall Come to Light
“Smith family members and historians have long believed that a daguerreotype, or photograph, of Joseph Smith Jr., was made before his June 27, 1844, assassination. That daguerreotype has now been found. Learn more in the JWHA Journal Spring/Summer 2022 issue.”
Getting to Know the Journal Editor
Authors are invited to submit article manuscripts, documentary essays, archival studies, review essays, and other scholarly work related to Restoration history and culture.
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Please send article submissions and inquiries to: Ken R. Mulliken, Ph.D. |
Book Reviews David J. Howlett |
Book Review Submission Guidelines
The book review editor will approach potential reviewers in many cases, but others are welcome to indicate their interest in doing a particular review. The guidelines for articles apply generally to book reviews. Please submit reviews by email. Single-spaced documents are preferred. Submissions are accepted throughout the year.
Editorial Policy
John Whitmer Association Journal
The John Whitmer Historical Association Journal solicits manuscripts broadly related to the Restoration/Mormon/Latter Day Saint historical tradition. As the parent association, JWHA, is independent of any religious institution, so too is its journal. Accordingly, the journal is committed to publishing scholarly articles that represent and reflect strong professional historical standards. In the interest of maintaining objective integrity, manuscripts that apologetically advocate for or overtly disparage any institutional religious viewpoint will not be accepted.
Submission of a paper implies that it represents unpublished prose in print or electronic format, except in abstract form, and is not simultaneously being submitted to another venue. Material accepted for publication is subject to copy editing.
All manuscripts are subject to review, usually by two experienced referees. Feedback to authors may be offered after review by the Editorial Board. Suitability for publication is determined by the editor and members of the Editorial Board. Decisions of the editor are final. The author is responsible for the content of the material, including that resulting from copy editing changes.
Guidelines for Journal Submissions
All submissions should be accompanied by the author’s contact information, including name, mailing address, email address, and phone number.
Papers must be submitted in digital format, preferably as a Microsoft Word document sent by email attachment. Notes should be displayed as footnotes, not endnotes.
Style is based on The Chicago Manual of Style, 18th edition. References using this style should be complete, clear, and consistently formatted.
Photographs, maps, tables, charts, and other illustrations are welcome when they strengthen the manuscript. Authors are responsible for providing source information, captions, permissions, and identification of persons, places, and objects depicted.
Submissions will be reviewed by the JWHA Editorial Board for quality, originality, relevance, documentation, and appropriateness to the journal’s readers. Feedback to authors may be offered after review by the Editorial Board.
Submitting a manuscript for possible use in The John Whitmer Historical Association Journal assumes permission to publish the article. Copyrights for articles accepted for the journal revert to the authors after publication, though JWHA claims the right to reproduce published works as
part of the whole in printed or electronic formats. The journal editorial staff reserves the right to apply minor copy editing to the manuscript.
The John Whitmer Historical Association Journal Style Guide
About Restoration Studies
Restoration Studies has been combined with The JWHA Journal. This journal of theology, religious studies, and cultural studies was first published in 1980 by the Community of Christ Temple School. Beginning in 2009, JWHA and Community of Christ Seminary began joint publication of Restoration Studies.
The JWHA Journal continues to welcome submissions on theology, religious studies, and cultural studies in the Latter Day Saint movement, especially when such work contributes to the broader study of Restoration history, thought, culture, and lived experience.
Please send inquiries and submissions related to Restoration Studies content to:
Katherine Hill
katherineghill42@gmail.com
Past Editors
Imogene Goodyear (1981)
Clare D. Vlahos (1982-83)
William D. Russell (1984-85)
Peter A. Judd (1986-87)
Imogene Goodyear, second tenure (1988)
Susan Kisslinger (1989-91)
W. B. “Pat” Spillman (1992-94)
Lyman F. Edwards (1995-97)
Jessie L. Embry (1998-2000)
Joni Wilson (2001-03)
W. B. “Pat” Spillman, second tenure (2004-08)
Vickie Cleverly Speek (2009-11)
William D. “Bill” Morain (2012-2023)
Vickie Cleverly Speek, second tenure (2024)
Ken Mulliken (2025-)
