Jackson County site for annual conference
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KANSAS CITY, MO.
Church members were among more than 400 enthusiasts who gathered near Independence, Mo., the headquarters of the Church for a brief time in the 1830s and the divinely appointed center of Zion (see Doctrine and Covenants 57:2-3) for the 45th Annual Mormon History Association Conference on May 27-30.
Begun in 1965 by Church Historian Leonard Arrington, the association is a non-denominational group that appeals to both professional and amateur historians with diverse backgrounds and dispositions pertaining to the work established and led by the Prophet Joseph Smith.
With Independence being the world headquarters of the Community of Christ (formerly Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) there was much involvement this year from leaders in that church, including a welcome address from President Stephen M. Veazey and a luncheon speech from one of his counselors in the first presidency, Becky L. Savage. Leading the conference was the association president for this year, Ronald E. Romig, the former Community of Christ archivist in Independence and currently site director at the Kirtland Temple visitor center in Ohio.
In addition to two scores of academic sessions held at the Holiday Inn-CoCo Key Water Resort in Kansas City, the conference featured optional tours of sites in the Church history-rich Jackson, Clay and Ray counties, where the Church passed some of its formative years and where Latter-day Saints endured mob violence culminating in their 1838 expulsion from the state into nearby Illinois, where they founded the city of Nauvoo.
A highlight of the conference, in fact, was the May 28 awards dinner where U.S. Sen. Christopher S. "Kit" Bond received the association's Thomas L. Kane Award for his 1976 action as Missouri governor in which he rescinded the 1838 "Extermination Order" authorizing the expulsion of Mormons.
Absent because of a scheduling conflict, the senator sent a recorded video message in which he accepted the award.
"You bet I'd do it again!" Sen. Bond declared regarding his rescission of Gov. Lilburn W. Boggs' 1838 order. "The treatment of the Mormon people in Missouri in the 1830s and beyond was barbaric. Women were raped and tortured. Men were killed by mobs or driven out of state. Their property was stolen. The lucky ones were those who were left alive with nothing and were forced to make their way into a more hospitable state."
While history cannot be changed, "we certainly ought to be able to learn from it and, where possible, acknowledge past mistakes."
Another highlight was Sunday morning, May 30, when attendees gathered in the sanctuary of the Community of Christ Temple in Independence, one of the structures on the square-mile area where the Prophet Joseph Smith envisioned a great temple to be built prior to the Second Coming of the Savior (see Doctrine and Covenants 57:3). There, they sang some of the first Mormon hymns, not far from where Church printer William W. Phelps penned and published some of those 1830s hymns in editions of The Evening and Morning Star.
Singing by the congregation was augmented by The Mormon Chorale, made up of local Latter-day Saints though not affiliated with the Church.
The service was conducted by Richard Clothier, professor emeritus of music at the Community of Christ Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa. Narration was read by Susan Skoor of the Community of Christ Council of Twelve Apostles and by Alex Baugh, associate professor of Church history at BYU. Hymns included "Redeemer of Israel" (with Community of Christ and LDS tune versions), "The Towers of Zion Soon Shall Rise," and "Now Let Us Rejoice" (sung to the same tune as "The Spirit of God Like a Fire Is Burning" as was done at the Kirtland Temple dedication in 1836).
Three of the academic presentations at the conference are summarized on these pages. More reports from the conference may be accessed at www.ldschurchnews.com or www.mormontimes.com.
