Pastor John Hamer | |
---|---|
Personal | |
Born | 1970 (age 53–54) |
Religion | Christian Restorationist and non-denominational [1] [2] [3] |
Nationality | American Canadian |
Home town | Aurora, Illinois |
Spouse | Mike Karpowicz |
Denomination | Community of Christ (committed gay-lesbian-trans couples affirming [4] ) |
Alma mater | Brigham Young University (B.A.) University of Michigan (M.A., 1995) [5] |
Profession | Historian, mapmaker |
Church | Toronto Congregation at Centre Place [6] (founded in 1891) |
Senior posting | |
Based in | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
Profession | Historian, mapmaker |
Post | (Senior) pastor |
Website | saintswithoutborders centreplace |
John C. Hamer (born 1970) is an American-Canadian historian and mapmaker. His research has focused primarily on the history of the Latter Day Saint movement, authoring several books on the topic. Hamer is a leading expert on various schisms within especially non- far-Western (U.S.) portions of the Latter Day Saint "Restoration" movement. Raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), Hamer left the religion before joining Community of Christ in 2010 and now serves as Pastor of its Toronto Congregation. [7]
Hamer was a contributor to By Common Consent , the Restoration Studies Coordinator at Sunstone Education Foundation, and the Executive Director of the John Whitmer Historical Association. [8]
Hamer's mother's ancestry goes back seven generations to the early Latter Day Saint church in 1833. [9] His family history is connected to many variations of the (Latter Day Saint) Restoration (including Brighamites, Josephites, Rigdonites, Whitmerites, and Strangites). [8]
Hamer was born in the suburbs of Chicago, and grew up in a suburb of Minneapolis. [9] He was raised LDS — and very active as a Deacons Quorum President, Seminary Class President, Eagle Scout at 13 — but became a "closet doubter" as a teenager, and left organized religion altogether as an adult. Uninterested in Mormonism, at age 26 he read No Man Knows My History , and commented that — ironically — Fawn Brodie rehabilitated Joseph Smith for him. [10]
Hamer received a B.A. degree from Brigham Young University, and a master's from the University of Michigan.
The view that the Reorganization was the only true continuation of the original church was also a theological claim, held by early members of the Reorganization. Community of Christ abandoned this claim decades ago when it came to understand that the very act of making the claim to be 'the one and only true church,' is a sign that you aren't it (i.e., because there isn't just one).
Theologically early Mormons believed that they were the Restoration of the New Testament church in every sense, including recovering all the actual historical practices and institutional authority. This was a faith position that was zealously believed, but which cannot be shown to be possible in an actual historical sense. This is no shame on them; people regularly have these notions — the people of the Renaissance actually believed they had given birth anew to the Classical era. Of course they hadn't. They created something new, because you can never go home again. Likewise the 1830 organization was something new. And the 1860 reorganization, although possessed of vast continuity of membership, belief, and practice with the 1830 organization, was (in fact) a new foundation in an institutional historical sense.
—John Hamer, Wheat & Tares, December 4, 2010 [11]
John Hamer was executive director of the John Whitmer Historical Association 2005–2009 and the Association's president 2010–2011. [13] In 2007 Hamer was founding editor of the Association's imprint, John Whitmer Books.[ citation needed ] He also has produced maps for university presses and museums, including the University of Michigan Press, Columbia University Press, the Smithsonian Institution Press, the Strategic Air and Space Museum, and the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center. In Mormon studies, he has made maps for the LDS Church's Joseph Smith Papers Project , Herald Publishing House, Greg Kofford Books, the Journal of Mormon History , Mormon Historic Studies , the JWHA Journal , and Restoration Studies , among others. [14]
On 6 April 2010, Hamer joined Community of Christ. He presently serves as pastor of its congregation in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and as a Historian for its Canada East Mission. He is President of the Sionito Group of Charities. Hamer is a founding editor at the group blog Saints Herald. [15] Hamer helped found the Community of Christ ministry Latter-day Seekers [16] as well as the on-line, inclusive pastoral gathering, Beyond the Walls. [17] [6] Hamer gives regular lectures at Centre Place (the Toronto congregation of Community of Christ) on the topics of history, theology, and philosophy. Over 100 of his lectures are available on the Centre Place YouTube channel. [18] Semiweekly on weekdays, Hamer teaches sitting meditation from the Zen tradition. [19]
Hamer is married to Mike Karpowicz. They live in Toronto, Ontario. [8] [20]
With maps by John C. Hamer
With photographs by Val Brinkerhoff, and illustrations by John Hamer
Souvenir book of the 36th Annual Meeting of the John Whitmer Historical Association, held in Old Voree (Burlington), Wisconsin, in 2008. Includes maps, photos, association information, and the complete program of the conference.
Cover design by John C. Hamer
2011 Presidential Address John Whitmer Historical Association
Hamer has been a guest on many podcasts including Mormon Stories , Gay Mormon Stories , Mormon Sunday School , Project Zion Podcast , Feminist Mormon Housewives , Mormon Expression, Infants on Thrones , Mormon Expositor , Sunstone , Radio West , Back Story with the American History Guys , Interesting Canadian Mormons , Naked Mormonism , Rational Faiths , and Mormon Matters . [21]
The Church of Christ, informally called Hedrickites and the Church of Christ (Temple Lot), is a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement headquartered in Independence, Missouri, on what is known as the Temple Lot. The nickname for members of the church comes from the surname of Granville Hedrick, who was ordained as the church's leader in July 1863. Unlike the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and Community of Christ, the Temple Lot church rejects the office of prophet or president, being instead led by its Quorum of Twelve Apostles. The church also rejects the doctrines of baptism for the dead and celestial marriage promulgated by the Utah-based LDS Church, as well as the Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price. While once avidly engaged in dialogue with other Latter Day Saint factions, the church no longer has any official contact with any other organization. It is notable for its sole ownership of the Temple Lot, which it has held for nearly 150 years. As of 2013, membership is 7,310 members in 11 countries. Most of the members live in the United States, but there are parishes in Canada, Mexico, Honduras, Nigeria, Kenya, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Tanzania, India, Ethiopia, and the Philippines.
The Latter Day Saint movement is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Joseph Smith in the late 1820s.
The Church of Christ was the original name of the Latter Day Saint church founded by Joseph Smith. Organized informally in 1829 in Upstate New York and then formally on April 6, 1830, it was the first organization to implement the principles found in Smith's newly published Book of Mormon, and thus its establishment represents the formal beginning of the Latter Day Saint movement. Later names for this organization included the Church of the Latter Day Saints, the Church of Jesus Christ, the Church of God, the Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
The Latter Day Saint movement is a religious movement within Christianity that arose during the Second Great Awakening in the early 19th century and that led to the set of doctrines, practices, and cultures called Mormonism, and to the existence of numerous Latter Day Saint churches. Its history is characterized by intense controversy and persecution in reaction to some of the movement's doctrines and practices and their relationship to mainstream Christianity. The purpose of this article is to give an overview of the different groups, beliefs, and denominations that began with the influence of Joseph Smith.
The Encyclopedia of Mormonism is a semi-official English-language encyclopedia for topics relevant to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The encyclopedia's five volumes have been digitized and are available for free online via the Harold B. Lee Library's official website.
The Church of Christ, informally referred to as the Church of Christ (Whitmerite), was a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement based on the claims of David Whitmer, one of the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon's Golden Plates.
Grant Hart Palmer spent thirty-four years in the LDS Church Education System, teaching institute and seminary, and served as a chaplain at the Salt Lake County jail for thirteen years. In 2002 Signature Books published Grant’s book, An Insider’s View of Mormon Origins, in which Grant scrutinized many of Mormonism’s foundational stories. Grant went on to publish two additional books, The Incomparable Christ in 2005, and Restoring Christ: Leaving Mormon Jesus for Jesus of the Gospels.
Stay LDS / Mormon is a collaborative blog featuring discussion and commentary about Mormon issues, beliefs, culture, thought and current events. It was created by Brian Johnston and John Dehlin, formerly of the Sunstone Education Foundation.
Mormon Stories Podcast is a podcast principally hosted by psychologist John Dehlin featuring interviews with individuals and occasionally scholars on Mormon topics. The podcasts are noted as a platform for individuals critical of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, skeptic and dissident individuals.
Mormon studies is the interdisciplinary academic study of the beliefs, practices, history and culture of individuals and denominations belonging to the Latter Day Saint movement, a religious movement associated with the Book of Mormon, though not all churches and members of the Latter Day Saint movement identify with the terms Mormon or Mormonism. Denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement include the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by far the largest, as well as the Community of Christ (CoC) and other smaller groups, include some categorized under the umbrella term Mormon fundamentalism.
Richard P. Howard is an American historian emeritus of Community of Christ, having served as world church historian of that organization from 1966–1994. He was the first professionally trained scholar to occupy that position. Howard has frequently been compared to Leonard Arrington, his counterpart in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Both church historians are recognized as pioneering scholars of the New Mormon History. Howard's contributions include foundational work on Latter Day Saint scripture and the professionalization of the history of the Reorganization and the Community of Christ. His research into the origins of Mormon polygamy helped change his church's official stance on the subject.
The John Whitmer Historical Association (JWHA) is an independent, nonprofit organization promoting study, research, and publishing about the history and culture of the Latter Day Saint movement. It is especially focused on the Community of Christ, other midwestern Restoration traditions, and early Mormonism. The Community of Christ's approach to its own history was influenced, in part, by historical problems raised and explored through JWHA publications and conferences, and those of its sister organization, the Mormon History Association. JWHA membership numbers around 400 and is open to all, fostering cooperation with LDS and non-Mormon scholars.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and a topical guide to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Book of Mormon:
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the life and influence of Joseph Smith:
H. Michael Marquardt is an independent researcher of the Latter Day Saint movement.