Utah Lighthouse Ministry

Jerald Dee Tanner (June 1, 1938 — October 1, 2006) was an American writer and researcher who, with his wife Sandra McGee Tanner (born January 14, 1941), was noted for publishing archival and evidential materials about the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). They are both ex-Mormons. The Tanners founded the Utah Lighthouse Ministry, whose stated mission is "to document problems with the claims of Mormonism and compare LDS doctrines with Christianity". Sandra Tanner continues to operate it.

The Tanners printed original versions of early Mormon writings and scripture in which they annotated and highlighted doctrinal changes, such as the rejection of Brigham Young's "Adam–God theory". They jointly published more than 40 books about many aspects of the Church, but primarily its history.

Jerald Tanner was born in Provo, Utah, and was a fifth-generation Mormon. He studied at the University of Utah and received a degree from Salt Lake Trade Technical Institute. His great-great-grandfather, John Tanner, gave large donations to LDS founder Joseph Smith when the fledgling church was deeply in debt.

Like her husband, Sandra was a fifth-generation Mormon. She is a great-great-granddaughter of Brigham Young, the second president of the LDS church. Both families had longstanding ties to the Mormon community.

Soon after they were introduced, Tanner and Sandra began jointly researching the subject of Mormonism. Each had been raised in the LDS faith, but discovered that they each as a teenager had begun to question the church.

Jerald and Sandra Tanner were married in Mission Hills, California, on June 14, 1959. Soon afterward, both resigned from the LDS. In 1964, they began an outreach to Mormons at their house in Salt Lake City, which grew into Utah Lighthouse Ministry. They had two daughters and a son together. After 47 years of marriage, Jerald Tanner died in Salt Lake City on October 1, 2006, as a result of complications arising from Alzheimer's disease. He had retired a few months before his death.

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