Joseph Marion "Jay" Tanner (March 26, 1859 – August 19, 1927) was an American educator and a leader in

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 has been described as "one of the most gifted teachers and writers in the DSChurch in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries". Tanner was born in Payson,

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 st ...

, in a

Latter-day Saint The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded b ...

family. He attended

Brigham Young Academy Brigham Young University (BYU) is a private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsored by the Church of ...

Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Utah County, Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front, and lies between the cities of Orem, Utah, Orem to the north and Springville, Utah, Springville to the south ...

before departing the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

for the LDS Church. From 1884 to 1887, he preached

Mormonism Mormonism is the theology and religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationism, Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to va ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. Along with

Jacob Spori Jacob Spori (March 26, 1847 – September 27, 1903) was the first principal of the Bannock Stake Academy, an institution that would eventually become Brigham Young University–Idaho. A native of Switzerland, Spori was a high school principal and g ...

, he was the first LDS Church missionary to preach in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

—where they baptized

Mischa Markow Mischa Markow (21 October 1854 – 19 January 1934) was the first missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) to preach in present-day Romania,Richard O. Cowan, "Mischa Markow: Mormon Missionary to the Balkans", ''BYU ...

—and was the organizer of the first

branch A branch, also called a ramus in botany, is a stem that grows off from another stem, or when structures like veins in leaves are divided into smaller veins. History and etymology In Old English, there are numerous words for branch, includ ...

of the LDS Church in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. From 1887 to 1891, Tanner was the principal of

Brigham Young College Brigham Young College was a college and high school in Logan, Utah. It was founded by Brigham Young on 6 August 1877, 23 days before his death. He deeded several acres of land to a board of trustees for the development of a college. This was j ...

Logan, Utah Logan is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. The 2020 United States Census, 2020 census recorded the population at 52,778. Logan is the county seat of Cache County and the principal city of the Logan metropolitan area, which includes Ca ...

. In 1891, he became the leader of the first group of Latter-day Saints to enroll at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. Tanner studied law at

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

until 1894, when his ill health prompted him to return to Utah. From 1896 to 1900, Tanner was president of

Utah Agricultural College Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public university, public land grant colleges, land-grant research university with its main campus in Logan, Utah, United States. Founded in 1888 under the Morrill Land-Grant Acts as Utah's federal ...

, which is today

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public university, public land grant colleges, land-grant research university with its main campus in Logan, Utah, United States. Founded in 1888 under the Morrill Land-Grant Acts as Utah's federal ...

. In 1901, Tanner succeeded Karl G. Maeser and became the second

Commissioner of Church Education The Church Educational System (CES) of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) consists of several institutions that provide religious and secular education for both Latter-day Saint and non–Latter-day Saint elementary, sec ...

for the LDS Church. At the same time, he became the second assistant to

Lorenzo Snow Lorenzo Snow (April 3, 1814 – October 10, 1901) was an American religious leader who served as the List of presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, fifth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS C ...

in the general superintendency of the church's

Deseret Sunday School Union Sunday School (formerly the Deseret Sunday School Union) is an organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). All members of the church and any interested nonmembers, age 11 and older, are encouraged to participate i ...

. When Snow died and was succeeded by

Joseph F. Smith Joseph Fielding Smith Sr. (November 13, 1838 – November 19, 1918) was an American religious leader who served as the sixth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was a nephew of Joseph Smith, founder of ...

, Tanner became Smith's second assistant in the church's Sunday School. Tanner retired in 1906 and emigrated to

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, Canada, where he farmed in the

Cardston 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 ...

area. From 1906 to 1921 Tanner wrote extensively for the ''

Improvement Era The ''Improvement Era'' (often shortened to ''The Era'') was an official magazine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) between 1897 and 1970. History The ''Improvement Era'' was first published in 1897 as a replacement ...

'', an official periodical of the LDS Church. He wrote a number of books, including manuals for the church's Sunday School and a biography of John R. Murdock. Tanner was a practitioner of

plural marriage Polygamy (called plural marriage by Latter-day Saints in the 19th century or the Principle by modern fundamentalist practitioners of polygamy) was practiced by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for more ...

and had six wives. His second wife, Annie Clark Tanner, reported his abandoning her and their children.Jeffrey Nichols (2002). ''Prostitution, Polygamy, and Power: Salt Lake City, 1847-1918'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books) p. 17. Tanner died in

Lethbridge, Alberta Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 106,550 in the 2023 Alberta municipal censuses, 2023 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...

, and was buried in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

Notes

References

* Arnold K. Garr, Donald Q. Cannon & Richard O. Cowan (eds.) (2000). ''Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History'' (Salt Lake City, Utah:

Deseret Book Deseret Book () is an American publishing company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, that also operates a chain of bookstores throughout the western United States. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation (DMC), th ...

) * Margery W. Ward (1980). ''A Life Divided: The Biography of Joseph Marion Tanner, 1859–1927'' (Shepherdsville, Ken.: Publishers Press) {{DEFAULTSORT:Tanner, Joseph M. 1859 births 1927 deaths 19th-century Mormon missionaries American Latter Day Saint writers American Mormon missionaries in Palestine (region) American emigrants to Canada American expatriates in the Ottoman Empire American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Brigham Young College faculty Canadian Latter Day Saint writers Canadian Latter Day Saints Canadian leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Commissioners of Church Education (LDS Church) Counselors in the General Presidency of the Sunday School (LDS Church) Harvard Law School alumni Latter Day Saints from Massachusetts Latter Day Saints from Utah Mormon missionaries in Europe Mormon missionaries in the Ottoman Empire People from Cardston County People from Payson, Utah Presidents of Utah State University Tanner family Utah State University faculty Writers from Logan, Utah

See also

Notes

References