John Tanner and his family

Page 86

John the Generous 75 On Christmas day he commenced his journey with all his earthly and in the dead of winter traveled the distance of five hun­ effects, dred miles to Kirtland where he arrived about the 20th of January, 1835, the Sabbath." on On his arrival in Kirtland he learned that at the time he received his impression that he must move immediately to the Church, the Pro­ phet and some of the brethren had met in prayer-meeting and asked the Lord to send them a brother or some brethren with means to assist them to lift the mortgage on the farm upon which the temple was being built. The day after his arrival in Kirtland, by invitation from the he and his son, Sidney, met with the High Council, and prophet, in­ formed that the mortgage on the before mentioned farm was about to be foreclosed. Whereupon he loaned the prophet two thousand dollars and took his note on interest, with which the farm was re­ were deemed. He loaned the Temple Committee, Hyrum Smith, Reynolds Cahoon and Jared Carter, thirteen thousand dollars in merchandise at cost prices in New York, and took their note for the same. This amount and that loaned to the prophet, were not included in his liberal donations to the building of the temple, from time to time. He also signed a note with the Prophet Joseph Smith and others thirty thousand dollars for goods purchased in New York, in which he had no pecuniary interest. for 9 It is extremely difficult at this late date to know how much Mormonism cost John Tanner in Kirtland, Ohio, but it was a sizeable amount. Nathan tells us that he came to Kirtland with $10,000 in hard money which probably meant silver or gold. In addition he was carrying $13,000 in merchandise which he signed over to the Temple Committee. It is doubtful that any of the loans were ever repaid. Some part of the $10,000 may have been spent on some land he acquired near Kirtland which was left in the hands of a daughter, Matilda and her family, but this is speculative. It is known, however, that he purchased land there and that his descendants were in Kirtland as Another as late project the donations The as on the tum of the century. in Kirtland which may have cost him as much temple, was the Kirtland Safety Society Bank. the prophet, Sidney Rigdon and others decided to establish a bank part of the boom which was going on there. An attempt was made to obtain a charter for the bank which the state of Ohio re­ fused to grant, but the leaders went ahead with it any way. "Failing as