Richard P. Howard

Howard's contributions include foundational work on Latter Day Saint scripture[4] and the professionalization of the history of the Reorganization and the Community of Christ.

In the RLDS context, major participants in the New Mormon History included Howard, Robert Flanders, Alma Blair, Barbara Higdon, Paul M. Edwards, William D. Russell, and W. Grant McMurray.

[9] While serving as church historian, Howard contributed articles to the independent, progressive RLDS periodical, Courage: A Journal of History, Thought, and Action.

Published quarterly between 1970 and 1973, Courage anticipated many of the progressive changes that would occur within the RLDS Church as it transformed into the Community of Christ.

[10] Howard's contributions included a study of the Book of Abraham in which he concluded with candor that "separate analyses of modern Egyptologists have established conclusive evidences that Joseph Smith's Book of Abraham (text and interpretations of the papyri drawings) is not even remotely related to the cultural reality behind the inscriptions and artwork on the Egyptian papyri brought to Kirtland.

Flanders concluded that the traditional RLDS view was incorrect, asserting instead that the practice had indeed originated with Joseph Smith.

His seminal article on the topic, "The Changing RLDS Response to Mormon Polygamy: A Preliminary Analysis" (1983), opened the door to reassess the church's official policy.

More recent articles by Howard include, "The Quest for Traces of a Peace Gene in Restoration History"[19] and "The RLDS Church's Anti-Polygamy Stance Adapted/Canonized 1967–1972: The Specter of an Impending Schism"[20] Since Ronald E. Romig retired as church archivist in 2009, Howard has served as a part-time volunteer in the Community of Christ Archives at the temple in Independence, Missouri.