The Tanner Humanities Center at the University of Utah continues to support emerging scholarship in the field of Mormon Studies through its Graduate Research Fellowship in Mormon Studies. The fellowship was the first of its kind in the United States and provides a year of funding for a doctoral student whose research focuses on the history, beliefs, and culture of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints or other religious groups that trace their origins to Joseph Smith Jr.
This is a reminder of the upcoming April 6, 2026 deadlines for the Call for Papers, Student Conference Scholarships, and Award Nominations for John Whitmer Historical Association’s 2026 Annual Conference in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on September 24-26, 2026.
Thanks to Amy Tanner Thiriot for conducting this interview and giving us permission to publish it! Thanks, too, to Jenny Lund, for her time and answers!
Please share some general background about yourself. Where are you from? What’s your general background? How are you connected to the field of Mormon or Latter-day Saint history?
I was born and raised a non-Mormon in a very Mormon Salt Lake City. An interest in family history and the discovery that most of my ancestors had come to the West as Latter-day Saint converts eventually led me to studying the Church’s history and converting at the age of sixteen, much to the dismay of my family. My studies sparked a lifelong interest in the history of the Latter-day Saints.
The Mormon Social Science Association welcomes presenters and guests to our One-Day Conference at Utah Tech University in St. George, Utah. Sessions will be followed by Q&A conversations.
The Mormon Social Science Association welcomes paper submissions for our annual One-Day Conference at Utah Tech University in St. George, Utah on Friday, April 17, 2026.
In addition to paper sessions, there is time and space for research posters from undergraduate and graduate students. Poster proposals should include a title and abstract and specify that it is a poster presentation. Details in the submission form below.
Submissions close: March 15, 2026.
The MSSA invites submissions on all topics relevant to the social scientific study of Mormonism:
The Mormon Studies Unit welcomes papers and/or panels on a variety of themes and topics relating to the Mormon tradition, broadly defined. The proposals should analyze the material in terms of the academic study of religion. For the November 2026 conference, we propose a few themes:
Reality TV and Mormons; Mormons and the media
Patriotism as a performative aspect of a US Mormon identity
Papers related to the 200th anniversary of Joseph Smith’s witchcraft trial
Biographies of marginalized figures in Mormon history
The current state of Mormon Studies
Open Call: Other papers or panels dealing with aspects of Mormonism not mentioned in the previous call will also be considered. Papers may be selected for their relevance to themes which emerge among other submissions.
“Back to Independence!” could be the calling cry of the John Whitmer Historical Association, which returns to Independence, Missouri, every three years for its annual September conference. Although the location was familiar, JWHA finds new places and spaces for the history community to gather and learn. This year, the conference was held at the Harry S. Truman Library & Museum. Renovated and updated in 2021, several of the session rooms contained beautifully painted murals, and attendees explored the modernized museum about President Harry S. Truman’s life throughout the conference.
Organized by President-Elect Matthew L. Harris (Colorado State University-Pueblo) and his committee, this year’s conference featured twenty-three sessions with forty-six presentations, three panels, and three keynotes. Sessions and panels spanned different Restoration denominations, time periods, and parts of the world.
From Lisa Barlow’s claim of being “Mormon 2.0,” to Meredith Marks’ immortal declaration about “the rumors and the nastiness,” The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City has captured imaginations far beyond Utah. The show is at once high drama, cultural export, and local funhouse mirror—inviting us to think seriously (and playfully) about how Salt Lake City is represented, interpreted, and mythologized.
This symposium will bring together fans, critics, scholars, and community members for a day of lively discussion, re-enactment, and reflection. We are less interested in the strict application of academic methods than in thoughtful, stimulating insights rooted in local culture, fandom, and appreciation.
The Church History Department is now accepting grant applications to fund on-site research in the Church History Library.
The Church History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints invites applications for grants to conduct research in its archival, art, and artifact collections in Salt Lake City, Utah. These grants are intended to offset travel and research expenses for performing research at the Church History Library and Museum in Salt Lake City, Utah. We hope the grants will stimulate the examination of underrepresented groups and topics in Latter-day Saint history, such as women, youth, children, individuals outside the United States, immigrant groups, the globalization of the Church, and twentieth and twenty-first century history. We encourage all scholars who are interested in Latter-day Saint history, Latter-day Saint art history, or Latter-day Saint studies to apply, regardless of their affiliation with the Church or previous experience in researching Latter-day Saint history.
The department intends to award five types of grants in 2025:
Mark Staker on Legacies in Mormon Studies: “Jenny was always generous in sharing her knowledge. She was not only an exceptional educator (who also taught her colleagues along the way), but she…”
Kathy Cardon on Legacies in Mormon Studies: “I worked in the Church's Historical department when Jenny was in the Museum. I always enjoyed our interactions. Reading this article has been a real…”
Don Tate on Legacies in Mormon Studies: “Very well done and richly deserved! I am most proud of Jenny and how far she has come with her life, her scholarship, and her…”
Recent Comments
Mark Staker on Legacies in Mormon Studies: “Jenny was always generous in sharing her knowledge. She was not only an exceptional educator (who also taught her colleagues along the way), but she…”
Gary Bergera on Legacies in Mormon Studies: “Jenny's great. Thanks for posting this.”
Kathy Cardon on Legacies in Mormon Studies: “I worked in the Church's Historical department when Jenny was in the Museum. I always enjoyed our interactions. Reading this article has been a real…”
Don Tate on Legacies in Mormon Studies: “Very well done and richly deserved! I am most proud of Jenny and how far she has come with her life, her scholarship, and her…”
Ben P on Legacies in Mormon Studies: “My favorite former boss and respected current historian!”
Hannah J on Legacies in Mormon Studies: “I really enjoyed this! Going to be thinking about playing the long game for a while. Thanks Amy and Jenny.”