LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD PRESENTED
TO WILLIAM GRANT MCMURRAY
IN GRATEFUL APPRECIATION FOR CONTINUED COURAGE,
WISDOM, AND DEDICATED SCHOLARSHIP
JOHN WHITMER HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION 2025
The John Whitmer Historical Association President has the distinct privilege of recognizing an individual member of our association. As I contemplated this opportunity, it was not hard to settle on one of our significant members. William Grant McMurray was not only one of the founders of our organization, but he has contributed over long periods in enduring ways to the cause of history. On behalf of the John Whitmer Historical Association, I would like to recognize him with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Not long after Grant graduated from Graceland College and married Joyce Lorance, he and others met in the living room of Richard P. and Barbara P. Howard here in Independence on September 18, 1972, when they organized the John Whitmer Historical Association. The following year, he became the Assistant History Commissioner for the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In that role he served as an assistant to Church historian Richard Howard. That September our organization held its first conference in Nauvoo, Illinois. In 1978 Grant was he first speaker at the annual banquet sponsored by our organization the night before World Conference officially begins. He served on the editorial committee of our journal during the first seven years of its existence from 1981 – 1987.
During that period, Grant was given increasing ministerial responsibilities where he had to focus on the present. He spent 33 years as a full-time minister in church service, eight of them as Prophet-President. During that time, he had the remarkable, inspired ability to negotiate the past and the present. He led the name change from the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to the Community of Christ and in changes in controversial church policy. A profound experience for me was his influential 2003 talk at the Mormon History Association conference in Kirtland Temple where he addressed some of the complex interaction between history and theology. I felt as I heard him speak that history was unfolding before me. Grant did an interview with Greg Prince for the journal Dialogue in 2010 where he again addressed important issues of history.
Grant’s health has not allowed him to fill as influential role in the history community in the past decade as earlier and partly contributed to his resignation as Prophet-President of the Community of Christ. But he has not remained idle behind the scenes when it’s come to opportunities to inspire and invigorate others to carry on the torch. This award is intended to acknowledge not only a lifetime of dedication to the cause of history, but our deep gratitude toward the impact that dedication has had on us and our understanding of our place in the world. Thank you, Grant, for all you’ve done.
Presented by Mark Staker, President, JWHA
September 19, 2025
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