John C. Hamer (born 1970) is an American-Canadian historian and mapmaker. His research has focused primarily on the history of the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by ...

, authoring several books on the topic. Hamer is a leading expert on various schisms within especially non-far-Western (U.S.) portions of the Latter Day Saint "Restoration" movement. Raised in

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church), Hamer left the religion before joining

Community of Christ Community of Christ, known legally and from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), is an American-based international church, and is the second-largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement ...

in 2010. He serves as

Pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

of its

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Congregation. Hamer was a contributor to ''

By Common Consent ''By Common Consent'' (BCC) is a group blog featuring commentary and discussions, especially regarding the culture of and current events within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was founded in 2004 and is one of s ...

'', the Restoration Studies Coordinator at Sunstone Education Foundation, and the Executive Director of the

John Whitmer Historical Association The John Whitmer Historical Association (JWHA) is an independent, nonprofit organization promoting study, research, and publishing about the history and culture of the Latter Day Saint movement. It is especially focused on the History of the Commu ...

Biography

Hamer's mother's ancestry goes back seven generations to the early

Latter Day Saint The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded b ...

church in 1833. His family history is connected to many variations of the (Latter Day Saint) Restoration (including Brighamites, Josephites,

Rigdonites A Rigdonite is a member of the Latter Day Saint movement who accepts Sidney Rigdon as the successor in the church presidency to the movement's founder, Joseph Smith Jr. The early history of the Rigdonite movement is shared with the history of the ...

Whitmerites The Church of Christ, informally referred to as the Church of Christ (Whitmerite), was founded by David Whitmer, one of the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon's Golden Plates, who had been excommunicated from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latt ...

, and Strangites). Hamer was born in the suburbs of Chicago, and grew up in a suburb of Minneapolis. He was raised

LDS LDS may refer to: Organizations Religion * Latter Day Saint movement (LDS movement), a collection of independent church groups **The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the largest group within the Latter Day Saint movement * Latvijas ...

— and very active as a Deacons Quorum President, Seminary Class President,

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of Scouting America. Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Scout rank has been earned by over ...

at 13 — but became a "

closet A closet (especially in North American English usage) is an enclosed space, with a door, used for storage, particularly that of clothes. ''Fitted closets'' are built into the walls of the house so that they take up no apparent space in the roo ...

doubter" as a teenager, and left organized religion altogether as an adult. Uninterested in

Mormonism Mormonism is the theology and religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationism, Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to va ...

, at age 26 he read ''

No Man Knows My History ''No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith'' is a 1945 book by Fawn M. Brodie that was one of the first significant non-hagiographic biographies of Joseph Smith, the progenitor of the Latter Day Saint movement. ''No Man Knows My History' ...

'', and commented that — ironically —

Fawn Brodie Fawn McKay Brodie (September 15, 1915 – January 10, 1981) was an American biographer and one of the first female professors of history at UCLA. She is best known for ''Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History'' (1974), a work of psychobiography, ...

rehabilitated

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thou ...

for him. Hamer received a B.A. degree from

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

, and a

master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

Career

John Hamer was executive director of the

2005–2009 and the Association's president 2010–2011. In 2007 Hamer was founding editor of the Association's imprint,

John Whitmer Books The John Whitmer Historical Association (JWHA) is an independent, nonprofit organization promoting study, research, and publishing about the history and culture of the Latter Day Saint movement. It is especially focused on the Community of Christ ...

. He also has produced maps for university presses and museums, including the

University of Michigan Press The University of Michigan Press is a university press that is a part of Michigan Publishing at the University of Michigan Library. It publishes 170 new titles each year in the humanities and social sciences. Titles from the press have earn ...

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's la ...

, the

Smithsonian Institution Press The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

, the

Strategic Air and Space Museum The Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum is a museum focusing on aircraft and nuclear missiles of the United States Air Force during the Cold War. It is located near Ashland, Nebraska, along Interstate 80 southwest of Omaha. The objective of ...

, and the

Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

. In Mormon studies, he has made maps for the LDS Church's ''

Joseph Smith Papers Project ''The Joseph Smith Papers'' (or Joseph Smith Papers Project) is a documentary editing project to collect, research, and publish all documents created by, or under the direction of, Joseph Smith (1805–1844), the founder of the Latter Day Saint m ...

'', Herald Publishing House, Greg Kofford Books, the ''

Journal of Mormon History The Mormon History Association (MHA) is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to the study and understanding of all aspects of Mormon history to promote understanding, scholarly research, and publication in the field. MHA was founded in ...

'', '' Mormon Historic Studies'', the '' JWHA Journal'', and '' Restoration Studies'', among others. On 6 April 2010, Hamer joined

. He presently serves as pastor of its congregation in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and as a Historian for its Canada East Mission. He is President of the Sionito Group of Charities. Hamer is a founding editor at the group blog ''Saints Herald.'' Hamer helped found the Community of Christ ministry Latter-day Seekers as well as the on-line, inclusive pastoral gathering, Beyond the Walls. Hamer gives regular lectures at Centre Place (the Toronto congregation of Community of Christ) on the topics of history, theology, and philosophy. Over 100 of his lectures are available on the Centre Place YouTube channel. Semiweekly on weekdays, Hamer teaches

sitting meditation ''Zazen'' is a meditative discipline that is typically the primary practice of the Zen Buddhist tradition. The generalized Japanese term for meditation is 瞑想 (''meisō''); however, ''zazen'' has been used informally to include all forms ...

from the

Zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...

tradition.

Personal life

Hamer is married to Mike Karpowicz. They live in Toronto, Ontario.

Works

Books

* * * * * * *

Articles

* * * *

Podcast appearances

Hamer has been a guest on many

podcasts A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an episodic series of digital audio files that users can download to a personal device or stream to listen to at a time of their ...

including ''

Mormon Stories ''Mormon Stories Podcast'' is a podcast principally hosted by psychologist John Dehlin featuring interviews with individuals and occasionally scholars on Mormon topics. The podcasts are noted as a platform for individuals critical of the Church ...

'', '' Gay Mormon Stories'', '' Mormon Sunday School'', '' Project Zion Podcast'', ''

Feminist Mormon Housewives Feminist Mormon Housewives (fMh) is a group blog, podcast, and Facebook group featuring commentary and discussion on contemporary Mormon culture and women's issues. According to ''The New York Times,'' "Unlike the more mainstream Mormon blogs&nbs ...

'', ''Mormon Expression'', '' Infants on Thrones'', '' Mormon Expositor'', ''

Sunstone Sunstone is a microcline or oligoclase feldspar, which when viewed from certain directions exhibits a aventurescence, spangled appearance. It has been found in Southern Norway, Sweden, various United States localities and on some beaches along ...

'', '' Radio West'', '' Back Story with the American History Guys'', '' Interesting Canadian Mormons'', '' Naked Mormonism'', '' Rational Faiths'', and '' Mormon Matters''.

References

External links

*
John C. Hamer's Centre Place lectures on YouTube

SaintsHerald.com/Columnists

InfantsOnThrones.com/About

MormonMatters.org/Author/John Hamer

ByCommonConsent.com/John Hamer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamer, John C. 1970 births 21st-century American essayists American Latter Day Saint writers American bloggers American cartographers American emigrants to Canada American historians of religion American leaders of the Community of Christ American male bloggers American male writers American religion academics Brigham Young University alumni Canadian Latter Day Saint writers Canadian Latter Day Saints Canadian historians of religion Canadian leaders of the Community of Christ Canadian male non-fiction writers Canadian religion academics Canadian gay writers Historians of the Latter Day Saint movement LGBTQ Christian clergy LGBTQ Latter Day Saints American LGBTQ historians LGBTQ people from Illinois LGBTQ people from Minnesota Living people Mormon studies scholars People from Aurora, Illinois People from Edina, Minnesota University of Michigan alumni Writers from Minnesota Writers from Toronto Historians from Illinois American gay writers 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people