The largest annual gathering of historians and scholars examining the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is scheduled to convene downtown next weekend, as the Mormon History Association opens its annual conference at the Hilton Salt Lake City Center Thursday through Sunday, May 24-27.

"Crossroads and Confrontations" is the theme for the event, which will feature several sessions on both the Mountain Meadows massacre and the Utah War, each of which happened 150 years ago. In his greeting to conference attendees, MHA President Ronald Esplin said the sesquicentennial anniversary of federal troops being dispatched to quell what became known as the "Utah rebellion" has been a focal point for a committee of scholars, who have planned an in-depth examination of those events for several years.

A new book by three LDS historians examining the conditions surrounding the massacre of some 120 men, women and children at Mountain Meadows, south of Cedar City, on Sept. 11, 1857, will also be discussed by a panel of scholars.

A wide variety of other topics are also slated for discussion, spanning LDS history from the time of church founder Joseph Smith to the present day, including presentations on LDS Church history and culture in Latin America, Australia, Asia, Europe and the Pacific.

University of Utah President Michael Young will present the opening plenary session address Thursday. Other speakers include a host of historians from Brigham Young University and the LDS Church History department, as well as faculty from a wide variety of universities. The meetings end with a Sunday morning devotional.

The venue for annual MHA conference changes each year. In 2006, organizers hosted the event in Wyoming during the 150th anniversary year of the ill-fated Willie and Martin Handcart companies' rescue there. While the conference generally attracts hundreds of participants — more than 600 have already registered — organizers this year are bracing for a larger-than-usual crowd in Salt Lake City.

Pre-registration for the event is completed, but participants may register on-site. Membership in MHA is not required to attend, but members receive a substantial discount on registration fees. Cost is $90 for MHA members, $120 for nonmembers, $45 for students and $70 for a single day. For more information, see www.mhahome.org.

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