I received in the mail yesterday the program for the Winter Meeting of the American Society of Church History, to be held January 3-6, 2008 in Washington, D.C.  Because of all of the discussion lately on how Mormonism fits into larger American historical frameworks, I was anxious to see how many sessions of the ASCH meeting discussed Mormonism. I knew of one already, and was pleased to find an additional session focusing on Mormonism, both of which look great.  Both sessions are included below.

Saturday, January 5

7:00-8:30 AM

Breakfast discussion: “The Mormons,” a documentary film by Helen Whitney

State Room

• Steven Harper, Brigham Young University, Chair
• Sara M. Patterson, Loyola Marymount University, Panelist
• Jan Shipps, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis, Panelist
• The Audience, Comments

 Sunday, January 6

8:30-10:30 AM, Session 32

The Boundaries of American Religious Freedom: Nineteenth-Century Mormon Clashes with Government Power

Independence Room

• Gretchen Adams, Texas Tech University, Chair
• John G. Turner, University of South Alabama – “Nothing But Morals”: Brigham Young, Frontier Methodism, and Early Mormon Conversions
• Patrick Q. Mason, American University of Cairo – Religion, Violence, and the State: Government Complicity in Southern Anti-Mormon Violence, 1876-1900
• J. Spencer Fluhman, Brigham Young University – The Making of Federal Anti-Mormonism before Reynolds
• Quincy D. Newell, University of Wyoming, Comments