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Show 46 John Tanner and His differences, and Mormons and Family would find Baptists plenty to argue about. John Tanner, like most people of his time, was a fundamentalist who based his religious beliefs on the King James version of the Bible. It is doubtful if he enjoyed the luxury of a ready reference, but his Bible was well read and well marked and he was eager to do battle with any who might wish to challenge his position. The contact of the Mormon missionaries with the John Tanner family is of double significance as it not only resulted in the con version of most of his family, but in what most of them considered a notable healing as well. The story of the healing of John Tanner, sore leg, is one of the best known miracles in well as in the immediate family. Since there are early so many different stories of the event, and since they are so important in the Tanner story, we will produce a number of them here. who had the a painfully church as In 1883 the tenth book in the Faith Promoting Series was pub lished in the Office of the Juvenile Instructor and given the title Scraps of Biography. The first two chapters are devoted to a nar rative of Father Tanner. The following are pertinent parts: At this of time, notwithstanding all the raising his come a man care, labor and expenditure acquired wealth, and had be extensively known and univer he had family, influence, numerous of much His name sally respected. integrity. was was synonymous with benevolence and In the mysterious dispensation of Providence, a terrible calamity appointed him in the form of a painful disease, which according to the most consummate skill, was incurable, and entirely unknown to the medical facility. His left leg from the thigh down was covered with black sores, through which the muscles of the limb, having formed into hollow tubes, or pipes, projected outward to the surface, was out of which matter was He had constantly oozing. of the most eminent physicians in the were unavailing; the last one, Dr. Black, frankly told him that he could run up a heavy bill for medical at tendance; "but" said he, "you are beyond the reach of medicine and I can do you no good." employed seven country, but all their efforts , For six months Mr. Tanner had neither let his diseased limb hang down nor let his foot touch the floor, but was obliged to keep the |
