Sandra Tanner Discusses Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon – Part One

Published June 23, 2025 By admin

How could a young, relatively uneducated farm boy from upstate New York in the late 1820s have written something like The Book of Mormon? Was it inspired by God or is it merely the product of Joseph Smith’s vivid imagination and storytelling?

This week and next on the Profile we will be featuring our conversation with Sandra Tanner from this past April, recorded on General Conference Weekend in Utah. Watchman staff apologist Daniel Ray had the privilege of talking to Sandra about Smith, The Book of Mormon, and several other challenges facing the LDS Church today.

Sandra Tanner and her late husband Jerald were raised in the LDS faith, both with a strong Mormon family history. Jerald was the great-great-grandson of John Tanner, well known for his sizeable financial contributions to Joseph Smith and the LDS church in 1835 when the church was deeply in debt. Sandra Tanner is a great-great-granddaughter of Brigham Young, the second president of the Mormon Church.

As teenagers, before they met, Jerald and Sandra were challenged by different people and events to examine the origins of Mormonism. Soon after their introduction, they jointly began researching Mormonism and became engaged. Both accepted Christ during these early years of study and have left the Mormon church. Sandra remains today a Christian.

The Tanners are authors of over forty books on the subject of Mormonism. They are well known for their extensive research into Mormon history and doctrine. Utah Lighthouse™ Ministry provides these books and research, as well as photocopies and reprints of original Mormon documents to the public. https://www.utlm.org/navaboutus.htm

Content retrieved from: https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/jwalker55293/episodes/2025-06-22T23_00_00-07_00.