The John Whitmer Historical Association (JWHA) is an independent, nonprofit[1][3] organization promoting study, research, and publishing about the history and culture of the Latter Day Saint movement.

[12][13] In this spirit, Robert Flanders, a professor at the RLDS-affiliated Graceland College, published Nauvoo: Kingdom on the Mississippi in 1965.

Then Richard P. Howard, another proponent of the New Mormon History, was appointed Church Historian in 1966, further upsetting some traditional believers.

[10] This progressive approach to Mormon studies inspired Courage: A Journal of History, Thought and Action, founded in 1970 by several faculty from Graceland College.

[11][16] Despite positive experiences, RLDS historians in the midwest found MHA participation difficult due to the distance to Utah.

[20] From its beginning the JWHA board of directors included LDS members,[11] and Utah historians were invited to join.

[22][23] Some traditionalists and religious leaders warned that this approach could damage faith,[24] while questioning and liberal Latter Day Saints found community and intellectual freedom.

On direction from President Wallace B. Smith, Howard undertook a five-year study which was then edited and softened by RLDS leaders and historians in 1982.

[28] This became one of the "Church-shaking changes" that transformed the RLDS Church in the 1980s and 1990s, alongside the ordination of women, the new temple in Independence, and the break with father-son succession of the presidency.

[30] During this time McMurray joined other RLDS supporters of the New Mormon History to found the JWHA, serving as its president in 1981.

[39] In another example from the 1973 JWHA conference, Lawrence Foster, another non-Mormon, shared his research on polygamy with LDS Assistant Church Historian Davis Bitton.

[16] For many years the JWHA Journal was published annually in October[9][19][51] (but is now semiannual)[52] with scholarly papers, book reviews, and other features.

Although founded by Community of Christ scholars, a significant proportion of the articles and reviews are written by LDS or non-Mormon contributors.

[55] The JWHA holds its annual meeting at a different historic site within Mormon history, on the last full weekend in September.

[54][59] The JWHA hosts a scholarly lecture at its Spring Banquet,[9] held in Independence, Missouri,[41] before each triennial World Conference of the Community of Christ, during a time when church members and leaders are gathered to the city.

[29][60] In 2005, the JWHA founded John Whitmer Books, a publishing imprint for scholarly titles in Mormon Studies.