Jerald and Sandra Tanner

Jerald and Sandra Tanner live long in the state of Utah, USA and the best-known critics of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints include ( Mormons). They are sometimes referred to as professional anti- Mormons. The Tanners were born into the church and grew accordingly on within the church. Your ancestors for several generations, members of the Church. Sandra Tanner is a descendant of Brigham Young.

As a teenager, even before they knew each other, they both began to investigate the origin of the church. When they met later, they sat continue this work together. One result of this investigation was that they both left the church and ( in her own words ) " converted to Christianity ".

The Tanners founded the " Modern Microfilm Co. " in 1983, a non-profit organization called " Utah Lighthouse Ministry " converted, as their task they see it, show inconsistencies of the doctrine of Mormonism and compare the Mormon theology with that of conventional Christianity. Since the disease and the death of Jerald Sandra Tanner, the company operates alone. Both of scholars within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as by outsiders is the Tanners credited as the greatest merit, that they have made ​​available numerous, difficult to access documents from the early days of the public church. To this end, her company has launched numerous reprints and photographic reproductions on the market.

For example, they were already in the year 1966, the first copies of Joseph Smith, " an Egyptian Alphabet and Grammar" published. These are now known as " Joseph Smith Egyptian Papers". Until the publication of these documents by the Tanners only a small part of Latter-day Saints were informed that these documents exist at all, and even less has been discussed at all within the church about it. However, the publications of the Tanners has triggered a debate within the church.

Other valuable photo mechanical reproductions include complete editions of early LDS publications or journal collections such as " Messenger and Advocate ", " Times and Seasons ," and "The Millennial Star". Also noteworthy is the reproduction of the edition of the work of 1825 "A View of the Hebrews " by Ethan Smith, ( which was earlier considered by critics as the source for the Book of Mormon ) together with marginal notes by Elder BH Roberts, Mormon is a defense of the book wrote under the titles " A Book of Mormon Study " and "A parallel".

Controversial, however, the Tanners are in terms of their own numerous works, of which the book " Mormonism: Shadow or Reality " is probably the best known. It is in the anti-Mormon scene is a standard work and is quoted there often.

From Mormon view numerous funded reviews just this work were written. Critics accuse the authors of the book to rip quotes out of context and often by omission ( ellipses) to pervert the meaning of quotations into their opposite. In addition, they are accused to represent statements of church leaders who were private opinions as official, canonized church doctrine. Changes that the Church has done in the canonical writings are, however, understood by the Tanners as significant changes in the teaching of apologists usually marginal formal or grammatical variants.