John Tanner (August 15, 1778 – April 13, 1850) was a leading figure in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a chief financial backer of the

Kirtland Temple The Kirtland Temple is a National Historic Landmark in Kirtland, Ohio, United States, on the eastern edge of the Cleveland metropolitan area. Owned and operated by the Community of Christ, formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of La ...

. Tanner was a native of

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

. He moved to New York when fairly young. Of his 21 children from three successive wives (his first two wives died before he married his next wife), 14 lived to adulthood. Tanner was a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

until he joined

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

in 1832. He was baptized by Jared Carter. Ten of his 14 children who lived to adulthood affiliated with

and eventually moved to

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th state. ...

. In late 1834, Tanner sold his property in and around Lake George, New York which included a hotel. He then moved to

Kirtland, Ohio Kirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, United States. The population was 6,937 at the 2020 census. Kirtland is known for being the early headquarters of the Latter Day Saint movement from 1831 to 1837 and is the site of the movement's first t ...

where in early 1835 he lent money and assumed loans to keep the building of the Kirtland Temple moving forward. When

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...

tried to repay him he refused any payment saying they owed him nothing. Tanner moved with the main body of the Church to Missouri, where he was on one occasion attacked as a result of mob and government persecution that led to the Saints fleeing the state. He then moved to

Montrose, Iowa Montrose is a city in Lee County, Iowa, Lee County, Iowa. The population was 738 at the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town is located on the Mississippi River. It is part of the Fort Madison–Keokuk, IA-IL-MO Micropolitan ...

where he lived for six years. He then moved for a time to

Nauvoo, Illinois Nauvoo ( ; from the ) is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States, on the Mississippi River near Fort Madison, Iowa. The population of Nauvoo was 950 at the 2020 census. Nauvoo attracts visitors for its historic importance and its ...

. Tanner eventually went west with the pioneers. He led the large family of his son-in-law

Amasa Lyman Amasa Mason Lyman (March 30, 1813 – February 4, 1877) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and was an apostle. He was also a counselor in the First Presidency to Joseph Smith. Early life and conversion Lyman was born in Lyman, ...

west, since Lyman was in the advanced pioneer company. Two of Tanner's sons were in the

Mormon Battalion The Mormon Battalion was the only religious unit in United States military history in federal service, recruited solely from one religious body and having a religious title as the unit designation. The volunteers served from July 1846 to July ...

. He settled in Cottonwood, Utah Territory where he died in 1850.

Legacy and descendants

T. C. Christensen Thomas C. Christensen (born 1953) is an American cinematographer, film director, and writer best known for his work on films related to the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), including '' Joseph Smith: The ...

produced a short film based on Tanner's life, ''Treasure in Heaven: The John Tanner Story''. ;Children Sidney Tanner was involved in the

Battle of Crooked River The Battle of Crooked River was a skirmish between Latter Day Saints forces and a Missouri state militia unit from southeast of Elmira, Missouri, in Ray County; the militia was under the command of Samuel Bogart. The battle was one of the prin ...

. He then lived in Montrose. His wife and the three youngest of his five children all died at the time that they joined the body of the Mormons in heading west. He later served on the city council and the Mormon high council in

San Bernardino, California San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 cen ...

. In 1857 he moved to Utah, eventually settling in

Beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...

. He was a polygamist and had 22 children.George Shepherd Tanner, John Tanner and His Family, The John Tanner Family Association, Publishers Press, Salt Lake City, Utah (1974) John Joshua Tanner and Nathan Tanner were part of

Zion's Camp Zion's Camp was an expedition of Latter Day Saints led by Joseph Smith, from Kirtland, Ohio, to Clay County, Missouri, during May and June 1834 in an unsuccessful attempt to regain land from which the Saints had been expelled by non-Mormon settle ...

. Louisa Maria Tanner married

Amasa M. Lyman Amasa Mason Lyman (March 30, 1813 – February 4, 1877) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and was an apostle. He was also a counselor in the First Presidency to Joseph Smith. Early life and conversion Lyman was born in Lyman, ...

. Albert Tanner and Myron Tanner were in the

. ;Other descendants Among Tanner's grandchildren were Joseph M. Tanner and

Francis M. Lyman Francis Marion Lyman (January 12, 1840 – November 18, 1916) was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was the President of the Quorum of the Twelve from 1903 until his ...

(the son of his daughter Louisa Maria). His granddaughter Emily S. Tanner Richards was one of the main founders of the Utah Woman's Suffrage Association. Other prominent later descendants of John Tanner were

Hugh B. Brown Hugh Brown Brown (October 24, 1883 – December 2, 1975) was an American attorney, educator, author and leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was a member of the church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and First Presidency. ...

and

N. Eldon Tanner Nathan Eldon Tanner (May 9, 1898 – November 27, 1982) was a politician from Alberta, Canada, and a leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He served in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1935 to 1952 a ...

, members of the

First Presidency Among many churches in the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency (also known as the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church) is the highest presiding or governing body. Present-day denominations of the movement led by a First Presidency ...

of the LDS Church, Ronald M. Tanner product manager in charge of the creation of

FamilySearch FamilySearch is a nonprofit organization and website offering genealogical records, education, and software. It is operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and is closely connected with the church's Family Histo ...

FamilyTree, and several companion features & products,https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/speakers/ron-tanner/en and

John S. Tanner John Sumners Tanner (born September 22, 1944) is a former American politician who served as the U.S. representative for , serving from 1989 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Since his retirement, Tanner has served as the Vice ...

, a poet, literary scholar and academic vice president at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

. Radio talk show personality Martin Tanner, host of the Religion Today show on KSL Radio, a frequent defender of Mormonism, is a great-great-great-grandson of John Tanner. Jerald Tanner, a prominent critic of Mormonism, was John Tanner's great-great-grandson.

References

* Arrington, Leonard J.
"The John Tanner Family"
''

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

'' Mar 1979. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tanner, John 1778 births American Latter Day Saints Mormon pioneers Converts to Mormonism from Baptist denominations 1850 deaths Tanner family People from Beaver, Utah

Legacy and descendants

See also

References