Nathan Eldon Tanner (May 9, 1898 – November 27, 1982) was a Canadian politician and a leader of

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 Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church). He served in the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. Since 2012 the Legislative Assembly has had 87 members, elected first past the post f ...

from 1935 to 1952 as a member of the

Social Credit Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed in the 1920s and 1930s by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made t ...

caucus in government. He served as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly from 1936 to 1937 and as a cabinet minister in the governments of

William Aberhart William Aberhart (December 30, 1878 – May 23, 1943), also known as "Bible Bill" for his radio sermons about the Bible, was a Canadian politician and the seventh premier of Alberta from 1935 to his death in 1943. He was the founder and first le ...

and

Ernest Manning Ernest Charles Manning (September 20, 1908 – February 19, 1996) was a Canadian politician and the eighth premier of Alberta between 1943 and 1968 for the Social Credit Party of Alberta. He served longer than any other premier in the province' ...

from 1937 to 1952, in various portfolios related to resource industries.

Early life

Tanner was born on May 9, 1898, in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, to Nathan William Tanner and Sarah Edna Brown Tanner. He had seven younger siblings. His family emigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and had a farmstead in

Aetna Aetna Inc. ( ) is an American managed health care company that sells traditional and consumer directed health care insurance and related services, such as medical, pharmaceutical, dental, behavioral health, long-term care, and disability plans, ...

, south of

Cardston, Alberta Cardston is a town in Alberta, Canada. It was first settled in 1887 by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who travelled from Utah, via the Macleod-Benton Trail, to present-day Alberta in one of the century ...

, where he grew up and attended grade school. He attended high school at Knight Academy in

Raymond Raymond is a male given name of Germanic origin. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷ� ...

and received some postsecondary education at Calgary Normal School. Tanner began his working life at a grocery store and butcher shop. He obtained a job teaching at a small school in

Hill Spring Hill Spring is a village in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located west of Cardston and southeast of Pincher Creek, in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. History Hill Spring was founded in 1910 by Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- ...

in 1919. He met Sara Isabelle Merrill at the school and married her on December 20, 1919 and they became the parents of five daughters. Along with teaching, Tanner also established his own general store, which later also became the local post office, to supplement his family income. The store was successful enough that he left his first teaching job in Hill Spring to run the store full-time. Tanner eventually became a high school teacher and school principal in Cardston. He got his start in politics as a councillor on the Cardston Town Council.

Political and business career

Tanner was drafted to run for a seat to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for the first time in the 1935 general election. He ran as a

candidate in the electoral district of Cardston and defeated the incumbent United Farmers MLA George Stringam. After the election and despite his complete lack of parliamentary experience, Tanner was chosen to be fifth-ever Speaker of the Alberta Legislature when the first session of the 8th Alberta Legislative Assembly began. He served in that role until January 5, 1937, when Premier

appointed Tanner the Minister of Lands and Mines. His time in this capacity and as legislator spanned 16 years. In the 1940 general election, Tanner defeated the independent candidate S.H. Nelson in a two-way race. In the 1944 general election, Tanner won a three-way race. In the

1948 Alberta general election The 1948 Alberta general election was held on August 17, 1948, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Ernest C. Manning led the Social Credit to a fourth term in government, increasing its share of the popular vote further ab ...

, Tanner easily won a two-way race over the Liberal candidate Briant Stringam to hold his seat. In 1949,

changed Tanner's ministerial portfolio from Lands and Mines to Lands and Forests. Tanner was also appointed Minister of Mines and Minerals and held both portfolios until his retirement from the Legislature at its dissolution in 1952. In 1952 Tanner left politics and became president of Merrill Petroleums in Calgary. In 1954 Manning and federal Minister of Trade and Industry C. D. Howe asked him to become president of

TransCanada PipeLines Limited TC Energy Corporation (formerly TransCanada Corporation) is a major North American energy company, based in the TC Energy Tower building in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, that develops and operates energy infrastructure in Canada, the United States, a ...

. During Tanner's contract of five years, the

TransCanada pipeline The TransCanada pipeline is a system of natural gas pipelines, up to in diameter, that carries gas through Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. It is maintained by TransCanada PipeLines, LP. It is the longest pipeline in Canad ...

was built from Alberta to Montreal.

LDS Church

In 1960, Tanner was called as an Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, a full-time LDS Church general authority. He had previous experience in church leadership, having served as a

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

branch president A branch president is a leader of a "branch" congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The calling of branch president is very similar to the calling of bishop, except that instead of presiding over a ward, th ...

, and

stake president A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in certain denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. The name "stake" derives from the Book of Isaiah: "enlarge the place of thy tent; stretch forth the curtains of thine ha ...

in Canada. In the church, he preferred to be referred to as "N. Eldon Tanner." In 1962, the death of George Q. Morris created a vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, which Tanner was called to fill in October 1962. He was still the quorum's junior member one year later when he was called into 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 ...

as second counselor to church

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

David O. McKay. Tanner remained in that position for the church presidency of

Joseph Fielding Smith Joseph Fielding Smith Jr. (July 19, 1876 – July 2, 1972) was an American religious leader and writer who served as the List of presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, tenth President of the Church (LDS Church), president ...

(1970–1972) and then became first counselor to Smith's successor,

Harold B. Lee Harold Bingham Lee (March 28, 1899 – December 26, 1973) was an American religious leader and educator who served as the List of presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 11th President of the Church (LDS Church), president o ...

and later to Spencer W. Kimball until Tanner's death. He thus served as counselor to four church presidents. While Tanner was a member of the First Presidency, the membership numbers of the church grew from 1.7 million to 5 million. Tanner was presented with the American Academy of Achievement’s Golden Plate Award at a ceremony in 1972 at Salt Lake City. As the First Presidency, Kimball, Tanner, and Marion G. Romney announced the reception of the Revelation on Priesthood in June 1978, which established that being of black African descent would no longer be a barrier to ordination to the church's priesthood. The announcement was canonized as " Official Declaration 2" in the church's

Doctrine and Covenants The Doctrine and Covenants (sometimes abbreviated and cited as D&C or D. and C.) is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. Originally published in 1835 as Doctrine and Covenants of the Chur ...

. Tanner formally presented the announcement for acceptance by the church at a general conference in October 1978.N. Eldon Tanner
"Revelation on Priesthood Accepted, Church Officers Sustained"
''

Ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

'', November 1978. Not long afterward, Tanner's health deteriorated, and it became impossible for him to continue the duties of his office. Kimball and Romney were also ailing, and the decision was made to add Gordon B. Hinckley as an additional counselor to the First Presidency on July 23, 1981, with Neal A. Maxwell ordained to take Hinckley's seat in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Tanner remained first counselor until his death on November 27, 1982, at the age of 84. Because of the appointments of Maxwell and Hinckley the prior year, no additional individuals were added to the First Presidency and no apostles were ordained as a result of his death. image:NEldonTannerGrave.jpg, Grave marker of N. Eldon Tanner

Notes

References

"President N. Eldon Tanner Dies"
''

'', January 1983.

External links

Legislative Assembly of Alberta Members ListingGeneral Authorities and General Officers: Elder Nathan Eldon Tanner

BYU: Nathan Eldon Tanner
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanner, N. Eldon 1898 births 1982 deaths 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta Alberta Social Credit Party MLAs American emigrants to Canada American general authorities (LDS Church) Apostles (LDS Church) Assistants to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Canadian general authorities (LDS Church) Counselors in the First Presidency (LDS Church) Doctrine and Covenants people Members of the Executive Council of Alberta People from Cardston County Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta Tanner family