The Mormon History Association is working to align its scholarly focus with the global presence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As the organization celebrates its fiftieth anniversary, discussions have emerged regarding the need for more international participation and diverse voices to reflect a truly global membership.
While Mormonism has maintained a global presence since the 1840s, scholarly engagement has often remained centered in the United States. Data from 2011 shows that 55 percent of the more than fourteen million Church members lived outside the US and Canada, with 48 percent of all stakes located in international areas. This represents a significant shift from fifty years ago, when international stakes accounted for less than 3 percent.
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, who served as MHA president from 2014 to 2015, stated that the association needs to internationalize its meetings and scholarship. This goal includes expanding engagement beyond conventional Mormon culture areas and finding new ways to present and disseminate scholarly work. During the 2014 MHA Conference, Professor Jehu Hanciles noted a disparity between an increasingly global and multiracial Church and the lack of non-Western voices in scholarly gatherings.
Various organizations are already implementing strategies to increase international engagement. The LDS Church History Department has begun a process to decentralize its collection by working with over 220 area, country, and regional history advisers to preserve and share history locally. Additionally, the Joseph Smith Papers project has released translations of the first four accounts of the vision into ten languages.
Other scholarly efforts include the European Mormon Studies Association and the Brazilian Association for Mormon Studies. The Mormon Scholars Foundation also focuses on mentoring young scholars, with efforts to include non-US participants in its summer seminars. Despite these developments, some organizations, such as the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, noted that the field of Mormon studies remains relatively US-centric.
To foster greater international involvement, the article suggests several approaches, including the use of webinar technology for distance participation and the organization of joint activities with regional historical organizations. As the field of Mormon studies evolves, increasing the involvement of participants from developing nations remains a significant challenge and opportunity for scholars.
