What is JWHA?

The John Whitmer Historical Association (JWHA) is an independent, non-profit society composed of scholars, students, and enthusiasts who share a lively interest in the history of the Latter Day Saint movement. Founded in 1973 and headquartered in Independence, Missouri, JWHA is open to individuals of all religious faiths.

Each year on the last full weekend in September, JWHA holds a history conference where researchers come together to present papers and to share ideas. We also hold a theology and religious studies symposium each April in Independence, Missouri.

Since 1981, the association has published an annual academic Journal, which is recognized as the definitive scholarly publication covering the broader history of the Latter Day Saint movement. In 2005, JWHA launched John Whitmer Books to publish book-length research.

To learn more, visit JWHA’s website, www.JWHA.info.


Who Was John Whitmer?

John Whitmer was the first church historian in the Latter Day Saint movement. In 1831, Joseph Smith Jr. received a revelation calling Whitmer to record the history of the church.

Several years later, a power struggle over leadership of the church in Missouri led to Whitmer’s excommunication. Smith and other church leaders demanded that Whitmer turn over his history manuscript, so that they could re-write it. Whitmer refused and continued to maintain the record, even recording his own excommunication.

Whitmer lived a long, productive life and died in Far West, Missouri in 1873, still a faithful believer in his own strand of Mormonism.