The Mormon History Association (MHA) is an independent,

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

dedicated to the study and understanding of all aspects of

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

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

American Historical Association The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world, claiming over 10,000 members. Founded in 1884, AHA works to protect academic free ...

(AHA) meeting in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

under the leadership of

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 ...

and

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

Leonard J. Arrington. 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. MHA "welcome all who are interested in the Mormon past, irrespective of religious affiliation, academic training, or world location." It is not formally affiliated with the LDS Church. Its members are composed of people both within and without

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) and the

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 ...

, including those who reject

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 ...

Presidents

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

''Journal of Mormon History''

Since 1974, MHA has produced the ''Journal of Mormon History'', an

academic journal An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which Scholarly method, scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the ...

in the field of

Mormon studies Mormon studies is the interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary list of academic disciplines, academic study of the beliefs and practices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, beliefs, practices, Latter Day Saint movement#History, histor ...

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

Mormon History Association Awards

Among the awards presented by the association are: the Leonard J. Arrington Award "for distinguished and meritorious service to Mormon history" – named for the MHA's founder, and father of New Mormon 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).

References

External links

Official website (new)

DigitalCommons.USU.edu/MormonHistory

Official website (old)

Awards given by the MHA

Digitized archive of the ''Journal of Mormon History''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mormon History Association 1965 establishments in California *Mormon History Association Historical societies in Utah History organizations based in the United States Latter Day Saint organizations Mormon studies Organizations based in Utah Organizations established in 1965 Non-profit organizations based in Utah