50 for 50

The Israelites of Biblical history celebrated a Jubilee year at the end of seven cycles of Sabbaths. Scholars disagree over whether that Jubilee was held in the 49th year (end of the cycles) or 50th year (after the seven cycles). Regardless, the Jubilee was a year of renewal: property was returned to its owners, slaves were freed, and the Hebrews were supposed to refresh and renew their relationship with God.

In modernity, a Jubilee is still a time of celebration and renewal, whether it’s Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee in 2002 or the declaration of 2023 as a year of Christian Jubilee by the Bishop of Asaph in Wales. Many societies have found value in pausing every fifty years to acknowledge the wonders of the past and seek out a new and better future. Etymologically, Jubilee is derived from shout for joy.

MHA is kicking off a #50for50 campaign to honor the Jubilee year for The Journal of Mormon History, which celebrates its 50th year of publication in early 2024. For the next 18 months, we will showcase Journal research, spotlight luminary scholars and landmark articles, tell you about new initiatives such as multilingual translations, and ask for feedback to help steer the Journal’s future. Please consider honoring the Jubilee by submitting your own research to the Journal.

We also invite you to help make the Journal’s future stronger by donating $50 to the #50for50 campaign. With everybody’s help, we can add $50,000 to the MHA endowment before our June 2024 MHA Conference in Kirtland, Ohio where we will officially celebrate the Year of the Jubilee.

You can donate from the MHA Donation page or click wherever you see the #50for50 logo. Or call Christine Blythe at 801-793-4966. And if you side with scholars who think the Biblical Jubilee was in the 49th year not the 50th, please know that MHA will be happy with a $49 donation too. #49for50iscloseenough