Christopher Blythe wins the Best Anthology Award for his book.
As a master’s student, Associate Professor Christopher Blythe (Folklore, Latter-day Saint Literature) met archivist Jay Burton at the Church History Library. The two bonded over their fascination with scriptures canonized during the Latter Day Saint movement, and they decided to compile scholarly analyses of these scriptures into a book. On September 22, 2023, Blythe and Burton’s book, Open Canon: Scriptures of the Latter Day Saint Tradition, received the Best Anthology Award from the John Whitmer Historical Association based on the excellent “logical thematic approach to the articles within the volume, in addition to historiographical contribution.” Burton went to Fredericksburg, Texas, to receive the award at the annual JWHA conference.
Open Canon: Scriptures of the Latter Day Saint Tradition, co-edited by Blythe; his wife, Christine Blythe; and Burton, and published in 2023 by the University of Utah Press, examines the scriptural canons of many different Latter Day Saint denominations, from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the Strangites. Blythe says that Open Canon “talks about how some churches have removed scripture (like our own decanonization of the Lectures of Faith) and how some churches have developed their own unique editions of the Book of Mormon.”
On receiving the notification of the award, Blythe says, “It was definitely a cause for rejoicing. It feels pretty great when your work is recognized by your colleagues.”
Read more about Open Canon: Scriptures of the Latter Day Saint Tradition.