Welcome and Introduction
Eric Paul Rogers, chair of the JWHA awards committee, welcomed attendees to the awards luncheon and provided a brief overview of the event. He expressed gratitude for the JWHA community and emphasized the importance of the awards in recognizing the many significant contributions to Restoration history in 2023.
Sponsors and Award Categories
The awards sponsors, including the Smith-Pettit Foundation, Dan & Beth Whittemore, Eric & Stephanie Rogers, Katherine Pollock, Greg & Cynthia Kofford, Joe Geisner, and Jerry Mogg, were acknowledged. The awards were announced, including the Smith-Pettit Best Book Award, the Whittemore Best Documentary History Award, the Alma Blair Best Biography Award, the Pollock Best Historical Article Award, the Greg Kofford Best Historical Article Award, and the Suzanne Geisner & Jerry Mogg Best Theological Article Award.
Award Presentations
The awards were presented by members of the Awards Committee, including John Dinger, Makoto Hunter, Eric Rogers, David Wilson, Julianne Briscoe, and Bryce Blankenagel. Committee members Dima Hurlbut and Robyn Spears were also recognized. The award recipients were announced, their accomplishments highlighted, and the publishers of the winning books and articles recognized.
- Smith-Pettit Best Book Award: Vengeance is Mine: The Mountain Meadow Massacre and Its Aftermath by Richard Turley Jr. and Barbara Jones Brown, published by Oxford University Press.
- Whittemore Best Documentary History Award: Slavery in Zion: A Documentary and Genealogical History of Black Lives and Black Servitude in Utah Territory, 1847–1862 by Amy Tanner Thiriot, published by University of Utah Press.
- Alma Blair Best Biography Award: Like a Fiery Meteor: The Life of Joseph F. Smith by Stephen C. Taysom, published by University of Utah Press.
- Pollock Best Historical Article Award: “A Supervisory Type of Thing”: The Establishment and Impact of the Latter-day Saint Mission in Postcolonial Southeastern Nigeria” by David Dmitri Hurlbut, published in the Journal for the Institute for African Studies.
- Greg Kofford Best Historical Article Award: “Creating A Religious Counterpublic: RLDS Feminists and Women’s Ordination Advocacy in America, 1970-1985” by Nancy and David, published in the Journal of Mormon History.
- Suzanne Geisner & Jerry Mogg Best Theological Article Award: “Not Only to the Gentiles, but Also to the African”: Samuel Chambers and Scripture” by Janiece Johnson and Quincy D. Newell, published by Cambridge University Press.
Conclusion
The luncheon concluded with a thank you to the authors, publishers, and awards committee members. An invitation was extended to submit award nominations for books and articles published in 2024 for consideration for 2025 awards. You are invited to nominate books online using this link.
