The JWHA and MHA fostered an interfaith dialogue that helped thaw relations between the LDS and RLDS. Each organization published research and reviewed books by members of both faiths. This complimented the trust developed in the 1960s between Richard Howard, the RLDS Church Historian, and Robert Matthews, an LDS researcher of Joseph Smith's Bible translation manuscript, held in the RLDS collections. From this goodwill, the RLDS Church approved Matthews' research for publication in the official LDS Edition of the Bible in 1979. While it is most often compared to the MHA, the role of the JWHA has also been compared to other organizations within the historical community. This includes the Sunstone Education Foundation, the Dialogue Foundation, Signature Books, the Utah State Historical Society (and other Utah history groups), the LDS Church History Department, and Brigham Young University institutions like the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute, the Charles Redd Center, the Religious Studies Center, and the BYU history department. Also compared are societies beyond Mormon studies, such as the American Historical Association, the American Academy of Religion, the Western History Association, and the Communal Studies Association. The JWHA began publishing the John Whitmer Historical Association Journal ("JWHA Journal") in 1981. It followed several Mormon studies journals founded in the 1960s and 1970s, including "Courage" and "Restoration Studies" by RLDS scholars. The "Journal of Mormon History" already provided a venue for historians, but there was room for another history journal in the wake of the New Mormon History and a proliferation of scholarly writing in the 1970s. For many years the "JWHA Journal" was published annually in October (but is now semiannual) with scholarly papers, book reviews, and other features. It often contains papers from the JWHA conferences, and sometimes articles are later reprinted in "Restoration Studies" for a more general audience. Subscriptions are included with all JWHA memberships. While maintaining a special focus on Community of Christ history, the "Journal" publishes on all areas of Mormon history, drawing interest from LDS historians. Although founded by Community of Christ scholars, a significant proportion of the articles and reviews are written by LDS or non-Mormon contributors. The "JWHA Journal" is peer-reviewed with a reputation for strong scholarship and as a major publication in its field. It is compared to Mormon studies journals, like "Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought", the "Journal of Mormon History", "Sunstone", "BYU Studies", the "Utah Historical Quarterly", "Exponent II" and the RLDS journals "Courage: A Journal of History, Thought and Action" and "Restoration Studies".