We have only recently returned from our wonderful conference in St. George, Utah, and I am still processing all that I learned at this historic gathering of Restoration friends! Presentations at the conference this year included a wide array of fascinating topics. Lachlan Mackay, our Howard Lecturer, presented on the Community of Christ’s Response to New Mormon History. Lachlan’s presentation included his personal experience related to the transfer of the Kirtland Temple and Nauvoo historic properties this past year. Marlin K. Jensen shared a moving and personal narrative about the LDS Church’s history with several groups of descendants of the victims of the tragedy at Mountain Meadows Massacre. Our tours to Short Creek, Arizona and to the site of the Mountain Meadows Massacre were all exceptional. Thanks to Barbara Jones Brown, Richard Turley, Jr., and Bryan Buchanan for being outstanding tour guides! Finally, I spoke about interactions between Mountain Saints and the Smith Family in Midwest, during the time period 1846-1900. I want to express thanks to all those who presented and participated in any capacity at the conference this year!
Rachel Killebrew was honored at the conference with the President’s Award. We so appreciate her consistent contributions to JWHA for many years of service. Rachel’s ongoing efforts, along with her husband Dan (our technology specialist at the conference), have been indispensable to making JWHA’s annual conferences a success. Thank you to both Rachel and Dan!
Our sincere thanks to everyone who participated in our conference in St. George, Utah. We want to recognize and extend special recognition to Mark Staker and Rachel Killebrew, who served as the program chair and co-chair, and organized a memorable conference. With Mark’s leadership, we are in great hands for the year ahead. Our conference next year will be held in Independence, Missouri. We hope to see you all next September as we return to the Midwest.
JWHA Business Meeting/Membership Report
Our conference in St. George opened with the annual business meeting among the general membership of the JWHA. Our financial report was prepared by Ryan Sargent and shows that the JWHA is in good financial shape moving forward. Our financial report was accepted by a unanimous vote.
The board decided not to increase the number of board members, as proposed last year. We also clarified that while we will continue to hold a spring event during the year of Community of Christ World Conference, we will not necessarily hold a business meeting unless it is warranted.
–Kyle Walker
