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Show In traduction The research and writing of this volume have been a never ending enjoyment. To put flesh on the bones of the shadowy John Tanner and to get acquainted with members of his family have been a pleasure quite out of the ordinary. Like most members of the Tanner family, the author had heard and read a few of the stories, but they were not well anchored in time and place, and a serious student of history wishes to know something about their reliability. Would the John Tanner the author's father source of had related stories about, become less a hero when the facts were well known? What about the healing of his lame leg and his conver sion to Mormonism? Was John Tanner of sober history the generous open-handed Saint depicted in Scraps of Biography and the folklore of the family? To answer these queries before proceeding with the proof, the author will say that John Tanner has held up well and has gained along the way. This is not to suggest that all the old stories have been verified, and that he has come out like a newly minted coin. Not so. But the qualities that make for character the things that matter most have not only held up well, but have been en stature - - hanced by greater knowledge. After writing the chapter "What Price Mormonism," the author placed copies in the hands of a number of historians as well as perhaps two hundred family members. Reactions to the article were most interesting. A Ph.D. from Princeton University wanted to know what mo tives could have induced John Tanner to have gone through what he did. It just did not make sense." A Brigham Young University historian noted that we seldom hear of such sacrifices coming from the well-to-do; usually the strug1 |
