In this bicentennial anniversary year of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, an eclectic gathering of Mormon history enthusiasts is meeting today in Springfield, Lincoln's hometown and the capital of Illinois, for the annual four-day conference of the Mormon History Association.

More than 100 speakers will explore a variety of topics pertaining to the history of Mormonism, some of which will focus on the conference theme, "Mormonism and the Land of Lincoln: Intersections, Crosscurrents and Dispersions."

An organizer and key presenter at the conference is Bryon C. Andreasen, research historian at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield and the bishop of the LDS Springfield 1st Ward.

"We're delighted here in Springfield that the Mormon History Association has chosen to come here in this bicentennial year," Andreasen said, "especially since Abraham Lincoln's world was also part of the world of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young."

As the Friday luncheon speaker at the conference, Andreasen will address the topic "Mormon Connections to Lincoln-Era Springfield." In addition, he will lead a pre-conference and a post-conference bus tour. The first tour is today and features stops at historic sites in Springfield and beyond associated with the 16th U.S. president's rise to national prominence. The post-conference tour on Sunday through Tuesday will visit Illinois sites familiar to both Lincoln and Joseph Smith and includes such important Mormon history locations as Nauvoo, Carthage and Quincy.

Andreasen said it is significant that some of the people who helped Lincoln rise to prominence in the 1840s and 1850s had prominent roles 15 years earlier in the story of Mormonism.

One of these, he said, is Orville Hickman Browning, a confidant and fellow Whig Party lawyer with Lincoln. Browning was an attorney for Joseph Smith, and when the Mormon prophet was jailed at Carthage, where he was eventually killed by a mob, he requested that Browning be one of his defense attorneys. Ironically, Browning later defended some of the men accused in Joseph Smith's murder.

Other figures in both the Lincoln and Mormon sagas, Andreasen said, were John J. Hardin and Edward D. Baker, close associates and fellow Whig politicians of Lincoln. They were in the militia called out by the Illinois governor to try to keep peace during the mob uprisings against the Mormons in Nauvoo.

Founded in 1965, the Mormon History Association is a non-denominational group that endeavors to promote understanding, scholarly research and publication in the field of Mormon history.

It includes participation from management and staff in the Church History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But prominent non-Mormon scholars such as Jan Shipps have been in the association's leadership. The current president is Kathryn M. Daynes, associate professor of history at Brigham Young University, and the president-elect is Ronald E. Romig, archivist for the Community of Christ (formerly the RLDS Church) headquartered in Independence, Mo.

E-mail: rscott@desnews.com