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 December 1965 at the American Historical Association (AHA) meeting in San Francisco under the leadership of Latter-day Saint and historian 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[s] 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.[1] Its members are composed of people both within and without the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and the Community of Christ, including those who reject Mormonism.
MHA presidents are recognized contributors to the field of Mormon history and serve for one year.
| Years | Name | Prominence at the time of service | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966–67 | Leonard J. Arrington | MHA co-founder; Utah State University historian; author of Great Basin Kingdom | |
| 1967–68 | Eugene E. Campbell | Brigham Young University (BYU) history professor | |
| 1968–69 | T. Edgar Lyon | Nauvoo Restoration | |
| 1969–70 | S. George Ellsworth | Utah State University history professor | |
| 1970–71 | Richard D. Poll | Western Illinois University vice-president; former BYU historian | |
| 1971–72 | Davis Bitton | MHA co-founder; University of Utah history professor | |
| 1972–73 | James B. Allen | MHA co-founder; BYU history professor | |
| 1973–74 | Reed C. Durham Jr. | Director of Institute of Religion at the University of Utah | |
| 1974–75 | Thomas G. Alexander | BYU history professor | |
| 1975–76 | Charles S. Peterson | University of Utah historian; former director of USHS | |
| 1976–77 | Paul M. Edwards | ||
| 1977–78 | Douglas D. Alder | USU history professor and director of honors program | |
| 1978–79 | Milton V. Backman | BYU Religious Education professor | |
| 1979–80 | Jan Shipps | Indiana University professor of history and religious studies | |
| 1980–81 | Dean C. Jessee | Joseph Smith researcher and archivist with the LDS Church. | |
| 1981–82 | Melvin T. Smith | ||
| 1982–83 | William D. Russell | Professor of history at Graceland University | |
| 1983–84 | Kenneth W. Godfrey | LDS Institute of Religion Director | |
| 1984–85 | Maureen U. Beecher | BYU English professor with the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute. | |
| 1985–86 | Richard L. Bushman | Columbia University historian; author of Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism | |
| 1986–87 | Richard W. Sadler | ||
| 1987–88 | Valeen Tippetts Avery | Northern Arizona University historian, Co-author of | |
| 1988–89 | Stanley B. Kimball | SIU Edwardsville historian; biographer of Heber C. Kimball | |
| 1989–90 | Carol Cornwall Madsen | BYU historian with the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute. | |
| 1990–91 | Richard P. Howard | World Church Historian of the RLDS Church | |
| 1991–92 | Ronald W. Walker | BYU history professor | |
| 1992–93 | Marvin S. Hill | BYU historian; author of Quest for Refuge: The Mormon Flight from American Pluralism | |
| 1993–94 | Roger D. Launius | JWHA president; chief historian for NASA | |
| 1994–95 | Mario De Pillis | ||
| 1995–96 | David J. Whittaker | Brigham Young University archivist | |
| 1996–97 | Linda King Newell | historian
| |
| 1997–98 | Armand L. Mauss | WSU professor of sociology and religious studies | |
| 1998–99 | Jill Mulvay Derr | BYU historian; authored women's histories | |
| 1999–2000 | Newell G. Bringhurst | ||
| 2000–01 | William G. Hartley | Director of the Family History and Genealogy Research Center at BYU | |
| 2001–02 | Dean L. May | University of Utah historian specializing in social history of the American West | |
| 2002–03 | Lawrence Foster | Georgia Institute of Technology professor of history, technology, and society | |
| 2003–04 | Martha Sonntag Bradley | ||
| 2004–05 | Donald Q. Cannon | Brigham Young University professor | |
| 2005–06 | Philip L. Barlow | Professor of theology and American religious history at Hanover College | |
| 2006–07 | Ronald K. Esplin | Joseph Smith Papers Project director; BYU historian; Joseph Fielding Smith Institute director | |
| 2007–08 | Paul L. Anderson | BYU Museum of Art curator | |
| 2008–09 | Kathryn M. Daynes | BYU historian; author of More Wives Than One | |
| 2009–10 | Ronald E. Romig | Community of Christ archivist | |
| 2010–11 | William P. MacKinnon[2] | Independent historian; author of At Sword's Point | |
| 2011–12 | Richard L. Jensen[3] | Research historian with LDS Church History Department | |
| 2012–13 | Glen M. Leonard | Independent historian; author of Nauvoo | |
| 2013–14 | Richard E. Bennett | BYU professor of Church History and Doctrine | |
| 2014–15 | Laurel Thatcher Ulrich | Harvard University historian of early America and women; Pulitzer and Bancroft winner | |
| 2015–16 | Laurie Maffly-Kipp | Professor at Danforth Center on Religion and Politics, Washington University in St. Louis | |
| 2016–17 | Brian Q. Cannon | BYU historian and director of the Charles Redd Center | |
| 2017–18 | Patrick Q. Mason | Utah State University Arrington Chair of Mormon History and Culture, professor of history. Former Howard W. Hunter Chair at Claremont University. | |
| 2018–19 | W. Paul Reeve | University of Utah professor of history and the director of graduate studies in the history department | |
| 2019–20 | Ignacio M. Garcia | BYU Lemuel H. Redd Jr. professor of Western American History at Brigham Young University. | |
| 2020–21 | Jenny Lund | Director of the Historic Sites Division of the Church History Department |
Since 1974, MHA has produced the Journal of Mormon History, an academic journal in the field of Mormon studies. From the founding of MHA until 1974, 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.
| Name | Position | Term | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Sadler | Editor | 1974–1981 | |
| Editor | 1982–1985 | ||
| Editor | 1986–1987 | ||
| Lowell M. Durham Jr. | Editor | 1988–1990 | |
| Editor | 1991–2009 | ||
| Martha P. Taysom[4] | Editor | 2009–2016 | |
| Jessie L. Embry[5] | Editor | 2016–2019 | |
| Christopher James Blythe Jessie L. Embry | Co-editors | 2020–2022 | |
| Christopher Cannon Jones Jessie L. Embry | Co-editors | 2023- |
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).