Jerald Tanner in Memoriam

October 4, 2006 Posted by Roger OvertoncloseAuthor: Roger Overton Name: Roger Overton
Email: rogeroverton@hotmail.com
Site: http://ateamblog.com
About: Roger Overton is currently pursuing a Masters degree at Talbot School of Theology. He has addressed various churches, schools and youth camps throughout the United States. Roger was co-editor of The New Media Frontier (Crossway, 2008) and God and Governing (Wipf & Stock, 2009). Roger can be emailed at rogeroverton@hotmail.com.See Authors Posts (570)

A member of the Tanner team has passed away. Jerald Tanner,
great-great-grandson of John Tanner (a financial supporter of Joseph Smith,
Jr.), died Sunday evening from the effects of Alzheimer’s disease.

Jerald was husband to Sandra Tanner, a fifth-generation
descendent of Brigham Young. They were both raised in the LDS Church, but early
in their lives (independently) they each found reasons to seriously question
their beliefs. Eventually they met, converted to Christianity, and were
married. The result has been, among other things, 40 years of dedicated
research critiquing the historicity and theology of the LDS Church.

The legacy of Jerald and Sandra Tanner cannot be
understated. Through their work countless lives have been impacted, both within
Mormonism and without. While they’re often the target of “anti-Mormon”
rejections by Mormons, the Tanners have marked their work with a high dose of
honesty and integrity. This is reflected in their early criticisms of the
Hofmann forgeries and their response to fellow-Christian Ed Decker’s misrepresentations
of Mormonism in The Godmakers.

No doubt, God will continue to effectively use their
ministry, The Utah Lighthouse Ministry, for His glory long after Jerald’s
passing.

Our friend Rob Sivulka is maintaining a list of links
related to Jerald’s passing:
MormonInfo.org: Jerald Tanner

Here is a thoughtful obituary written by Mormon David
King Landrith (some of the comments are not so thoughtful).

A few of the Tanner's many titles:

Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? (their most popular book)
Joseph Smith's Egyptian Alphabet and Grammar
Major Problems of Mormonism
Mormon Scriptures and the Bible
Mormonism, Magic, and Masonry
3,913 Changes in the Book of Mormon

Related posts:

1. This Week: Mormonism
2. What is "Official" Mormon Doctrine? (Part 2)
3. The Words of Joseph Smith, and a Little More Mouw
4. Of Visions and Stories: The Distinctive Problems with Joseph Smith’s First Vision
5. How Should Evangelicals Witness to Mormons?
6. Meet John Divito

Posted in Main Page, Mormonism, Roger's Posts