Dear Friends,
Whether you are hunkering down in a snow-drenched Eastern blizzard, or enduring the blisteringly hot air of the arid West and Midwest, I want to wish everyone a blissful and safe Easter Season.
For many of us, Easter is a way for us to commemorate our shared vision of Joseph Smith’s Restorationist movement and the church he founded, the CHURCH OF CHRIST. Despite the church taking many twists and turns since its founding on April 6, 1830, the legacy that the prophet left remains as vibrant and strong as ever.
This year, from September 24-26, 2026, we will hold our annual JWHA conference in the historic community of Council Bluffs, Iowa–an area rich with Restoration history. Conference organizers Nancy Ross and Eric Paul Rogers are working hard to put together a first-rate conference. Some of the very best and brightest minds in Restoration history will join us. Jana Riess, Ryan Cragun, and Justin Dyer will feature an all-star lineup to discuss “LDS Disaffiliation.” Ken Mulliken will lead an important panel featuring editors from the John Whitmer Historical Association Journal, the Journal of Mormon History and BYU Studies, which will offer insights into how to publish in their journals. Thomas Murphy’s recently published book Unsettling Scripture: Iroquois and the Book of Mormon (University of Utah Press, 2026) will be the subject of an “author meets critic” session, feathering scholars Elise Boxer, Amanda Hendrix-Komoto, and Paul DeBarthe. Stay tuned for more as the conference unfolds!
And lastly, this year’s Richard P. Howard lecture will be given by distinguished Community of Christ scholar Matthew Bolton, who will speak to us on the vital topic of “Nuclear Colonialism and the Ambivalent Church: Responses to French Pacific Nuclear Weapons Testing by International Leaders of the Community of Christ/RLDS Church.” My presidential address will offer some thoughts on writing church history. I have titled it “What the Present Owes the Past”: Or, What Historians Owe LDS Church History.”
I am really looking forward to this conference. As always, it will feature a blend of younger scholars, up-and-coming scholars, and senior scholars all eager to share their work in Restoration history. If you haven’t submitted a paper yet, it’s not too late. The deadline is April 6, 2026. You can submit your papers and panels here: 2026 Annual Conference Call for Papers | JWHA.info
We hope you can join us, in what promises to be a lively and engaging conference.
See you in Council Bluffs, and Happy Easter!
Matt Harris
President, JWHA
