User:John Hamer
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John Hamer on Wikipedia. I am an independent researcher, interested in history, historic maps and historical mapping. My fields of specialization are Medieval European history, Medieval cartography and the history of the Latter Day Saint movement.
I have focused on the last topic in particular in the past five years. My maps have been published in dozens of history books, journals, museum exhibits, and documentary files. In 2011, wrote and illustrated a full-color volume entitled Northeast of Eden: Atlas of Mormon Settlement in Caldwell County, Missouri, 1834-39, which was published by John Whitmer Books.
In addition to my work mapping the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement, I am interested in the "divergent paths of the Restoration" — the Latter Day Saint denominations aside from the large Utah-based church. In 2007, with Newell G. Bringhurst, I co-edited a volume entitled Scattering of the Saints: Schism within Mormonism, which was published by John Whitmer Books. In 2010, with David Howlett and Barbara Walden, I co-wrote Community of Christ: An Illustrated History, which was published by Herald Publishing House.
From 2005-2009, I served as executive director of the John Whitmer Historical Association — a Midwest-based independent association of historians and enthusiasts who focus on Latter Day Saint history. Upon my retirement, I was elected president of the association. My presidential year 2010–2011 ended on September 24, 2011. I am also a member of the Mormon History Association.
I'm a member of the Community of Christ, and I have friends and acquaintances across the Latter Day Saint movement. My ancestors joined the movement 7 generations ago and early family members had connections with the Brighamites, Rigdonites, Strangites and Whitmerites. My interest is in the history and culture and my personal goal is to try to write Latter Day Saint history in a way that is both neutral and accurate — by avoiding the standard polemical analysis that is normally heaped upon the narratives from both apologists and overly harsh critics of the movement.
I've been a regular participant in the Mormon Bloggernacle. I was a founding contributor to MormonMatters and a regular contributor to By Common Consent. My author archives can be found here: http://mormonmatters.org/author/john-hamer/ and http://bycommonconsent.com/author/johnhamer/
User:Morning_star has created a wikipedia page about me: John C. Hamer.