Happy 80th Birthday Sandra Tanner Part 1

When one examines the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from a biblical perspective view .1 limited sponsored by Mormonism research ministry since 1979 Mormonism research ministry has been dedicated to equipping the body of Christ with answers regarding the Christian faith in a manner that expresses gentleness and respect.

And now, your host for today's viewpoint on Mormonism welcome to this edition viewpoint on Mormonism on your host, Bill McKeever, founder and director Mormonism research ministry and with me today is Eric Johnson my colleague MRM but today we have not only a special person to be with us, that would be Sandra Tanner good friend for many years, but it's a special day for her because it's her 80th birthday.

Happy birthday Sandra happy birthday Sandra so we wanted to just just talk to her about her life and if you know anything about Sandra Tanner. You know that she and her husband Gerald founded the Utah lighthouse ministry and originally called modern microphone welcome to the show anyway say that the first modern microfilm. We had you on the show before and I want to say it again because if anybody knows anything about Mormonism.

You and Gerald probably had something to do with some of the things they know because you two were instrumental pioneers. You might say, and doing a lot of the heavy leg work in research and bringing out a lot of information regarding the past of Mormonism that I don't think years ago without the Internet.

Most of us would've had the time or even the knowledge to even know where to look, and I have often told people that I credit you and Gerald for a lot of my interest in and Mormonism many years ago and I again just want to thank you publicly for all that you've done and wish you again a happy birthday. Happy 80th birthday and we wanted to start off by just introducing you again to our listeners and tells a little bit about your background because you are related to Brigham Young the second profit, searing rebel leader of the Mormon church and I've heard you explain this before in and saying that you're not just related to Brigham Young by some distant plural wife that you are related to Brigham Young Junior, the son of Brigham Young, the second president of the LDS church to start with. I my great-great-grandfather Brigham Young and I dissent from his legal alliance Marianne Angel. Marianne was evidently real nice mother but she got dragged into polygamy, which I don't think she was happy with that.

Anyway, Dragon goes on to have 55 plural wives so that she was the first run, and he and Marianne Angel had a son Brigham Young Junior who is my great grandpa and I dissent from his third wife, Abby, Stephen, and was a nice old lady and Abby Stevens was 17 when she married Brigham Junior, who was also an apostle and he was 51 and she was 17 and they got married in 1887 so because she was so young when she married him.

She was still alive when I was a young girl and she was alive here in Salt Lake City until into the 50s. So I grew up knowing my great grandma Abby last living plural wife from apostle Brigham Young Junior and so there they had a son Walter who is my grandpa, my mom's maiden name was Jan so tell me, since she was alive. When you were young you recall any conversations that you had with her all you have great stories about how God protects the polygamists from being arrested because they were so faithful to let the law of God, God would help them escape the law and at the time it didn't dawn on me that right a minute.

You guys were breaking the law and people rob banks get arrested but I didn't put that together as a child. I just thought that you persecution against the true followers of Christ was a really nice lady. I mean III make talks about all this but she really was a nice person. The reason the reason I wonder about that statement is because I seen photographs of manned leaders in the church such as George q. Cannon sitting and posing in prison garb. What happened with old Georgia how did you escape that protection. I wonder that several of them were arrested and my great grandma about how she protected Junior from being arrested.

She said they got advance word. One day that the officers were coming looking for him and so she told him to quit getting her bedclothes and getting her bad and act like he was feverish and second stop and put her bed On telling the federal officer came to the door wanted to search the house for Brigham Junior my great grandma says all sure you get a minute search the house, but my mother is very sick and you also just don't disturb her, but you can search the whole house and so they searched the house they leave this. I called mother supposedly alone and go on their way.

They didn't find it Methodist with the big joke in the family of that wonderful how God tricks the evil Sheriff so that he couldn't find grandpa on my parent came from good Mormon homes and were married in the Salt Lake Temple.

My mother's first child was stillborn.

Then there was my sister who is three years older than me and then me. Then another child that died. And then my brother to my brothers eight years younger than me because the child in between us died so I got sister and brother sister and brother. What's your earliest childhood memory that you have my my earliest memory is a sad one that my mother having already lost a child. Her first pregnancy was. It wasn't easy for her to get pregnant and have children. Also when she was pregnant with the child when I was four and at the time that she went to deliver in Southern California. This would be in the 40s in Southern California. The law was that you couldn't deliver a baby in the hospital without a doctor being present and because she started to deliver the baby and the doctor hadn't got there yet.

The nurse held the baby in the birth canal.

Tell the doctor arrived and it killed the baby so my earliest memory is my dad sobbing kneeling at the couch in the front room with my sister and I as we prayed and asked God for strength during this great sorrow and to be with my mom that she dealt with this loss of this child that needlessly died. I heard different people talk about what your earliest memory. You know what mine is a sad one, and I don't know how much that marked my life but it certainly was a traumatic first memory Mormonism handled that situation because I know many latter-day Saints in the trial such as the tragedy. Certainly that is, but they always have this hope of being together in the next life and such. But while at the same time, the requirements for being together as a family are pretty high, and if you were to ask a latter-day St. Point blank.

You have the assurance that you were going to be with your family in the next life. Many of them are not that sure where you at that time with your Mormonism hot can you remember how you thought about that what what was going on in your and I know that's a while back but just kind of curious what your thoughts were at this time. Certainly seen your father green eyes he well Mormon courts we had the assurance that we would be together as a family because my parents have been married in the temple that the curious thing about all that is that where my mother first pregnancy was stillbirth because baby boy with full-term had not taken a breath. The church did not view him as having had his turn on earth and his spirit would go back to heavenly father to be redefined to somebody else later.

That was to be born and so he wasn't named on the church roles as being one of the family as a child on the genealogical records and there was no funeral but when Lorna the girl that died.

She was put on the record because she took a breath and so we had a funeral for her and I went to. I have pictures of me at the funeral sitting by the casket with my sister so we had in that sense we had to Mormon comfort that we would be with Lorna but I'm sure it had to grease my mother laying there realizing but she's not going to have a little boy that she first had now I think Mormonism is change that now. I think now Mormons can have the stillborn child listed on their temple records, but back in the 40s.

If they didn't take a breath, they weren't listed. If they took a breath. They were and so Lorna was seen as going to be part of our family birthdays you have a favorite one. I am so happy to be 80 dreams of being 80 when you're you never think I mean 80s.

I really get out on me when I was a kid I thought 27 was ancient. Strange that way is that as we get older. Seems like old cold" keeps going further and further years older than you write 19-year-old Gerald will you you'll be but Sandra, let me ask you this question.

80 you have your faculty. Still, you have a mind that's very sharp still so I think when we say 80. It sounds old but for you I think it you've aged very well so is that I think that's a blessing that God has allowed you to keep that memory going. Certainly you don't like George Burgess to say to live this long. I never taken better think it would probably also be safe to say that you have probably forgotten more than all of us put together. No comment to people if you want to know Mormon history Sandra Tanner is going to talk to and Sandra was was there ever a fit favorite present that you received for your birthday when I was about 40.

I think it was my kids, my teenagers and my husband decided to surprise me and give me a bird parakeet for my birthday. Well, I don't remember ever asking for upper so anyway. This pretty little parakeet while it turned out to be really Gerald Byrd said that cage by him where he worked every day and he taught that stupid parakeet to say I mean friends of different words and phrases stupid things. I'm thinking of you to talk your personal dates. This is something that's how Intelligent you know but this bird learn to say purple parents prefer pink pickles had told him that it was easier for parents to say words and started with the together all the stupid phrases for this bird are not my we been talking to Sandra Tanner.

Sandra and her husband Gerald were the founders of Utah lighthouse ministry if you want to check out the website you TOM.org once again Sandra we want to wish you a very happy 80th birthday and we want to continue this conversation in tomorrow show okay. Thank you for listening.

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