Nathan Eldon Tanner
Encyclopedia
Nathan Eldon Tanner was a teacher, business leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and a municipal and provincial politician from the Canadian
province
of Alberta
. He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah
, United States
, but his family soon moved to Aetna outside of Cardston, Alberta
, where he was raised.
Tanner served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
from 1935 to 1952 sitting with the Social Credit caucus in government. During his time in office he served as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly from 1936 to 1937 and as a cabinet minister in the governments of William Aberhart
and Ernest Manning
from 1937 to 1952, serving in various portfolios related to resource industries.
. His family had a farmstead just south of Cardston
, Alberta
. He grew up in southern Alberta, taking his grade school in the town of Aetna
, Alberta
. He went to high school at Knight Academy in Raymond and received some post-secondary 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
in 1919. He met his future wife, Sara Isabelle Merrill, at the school and married her on December 20, 1919.
In addition to teaching, Tanner established his own general store (which 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 in Cardston. He got his start in the political arena serving as a councillor on Cardston Town Council.
for the first time in the 1935 Alberta general election
. He ran as a Social Credit
candidate in the electoral district of Cardston. He won the three-way race, easily defeating incumbent United Farmers
MLA George Stringam
.
After the election, and despite his complete lack of parliamentary experience, Tanner was chosen to be Speaker of the Alberta Legislature when the first session of the 8th Alberta Legislative Assembly
began. He filled that role until 1937 when he was appointed as a cabinet minister.
Premier William Aberhart
appointed Tanner to the Executive Council of Alberta
(cabinet) as the Minister of Lands and Mines on January 5, 1937. He ran for a second term in office in the 1940 Alberta general election
with ministerial advantage. Tanner barely kept his seat, winning a hotly contested two-way race against Independent candidate S.H. Nelson.
Tanner ran for a third term in office in the 1944 Alberta general election
. He faced a three-way race and won easily despite his popular vote dropping slightly from the previous election. The popular vote of the opposition candidates collapsed.
The 1948 Alberta general election
would see Tanner run for his fourth term in office. He easily won a two-way race over Liberal candidate Briant Stringam to hold his seat.
A year after the 1948 election, Premier Manning changed Tanner's ministerial portfolio. Lands and Mines was changed to Lands and Forests and he was also given the Mines and Minerals portfolio. He served in both of those ministries until his retirement from the Legislature at dissolution in 1952.
and a full-time general authority
of the LDS church. In the church, he preferred to be referred to as "N. Eldon Tanner". In 1962, Apostle George Q. Morris's
passing opened up a vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, which Tanner was called to fill. Named to the Quorum of the Twelve in October 1962, he was its second most junior member one year later when he was called into the First Presidency
as second counselor to Church President David O. McKay
. Tanner remained in this position for the presidency of Joseph Fielding Smith
(1970-1972), and then became first counselor to Smith's successor Harold B. Lee
, remaining first counselor to Lee and Spencer W. Kimball
until his own death.
It was during Kimball's presidency that Tanner was called upon to read in church general conference the church's announcement that race was no longer to be a barrier to ordination to the priesthood.
Not long afterward, Tanner's health deteriorated and it became impossible for him to shoulder the burdens of his office. With Church President Kimball and second counselor Marion G. Romney
also ailing, the decision was made to add Gordon B. Hinckley
as an additional counselor to the First Presidency on July 23, 1981. Tanner remained first counselor until his death the following year at age 84.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
province
Provinces and territories of Canada
The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second-largest country by area. There are ten provinces and three territories...
of Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
. He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, but his family soon moved to Aetna outside of Cardston, Alberta
Cardston, Alberta
-Demographics:The population of the Town of Cardston according to its 2007 municipal census is 3,578.In 2006, it had a population of 3,452 living in 1,234 dwellings, a 0.7% decrease from 2001...
, where he was raised.
Tanner served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
Legislative Assembly of Alberta
The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is one of two components of the Legislature of Alberta, the other being the Queen, represented by the Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta. The Alberta legislature meets in the Alberta Legislature Building in the provincial capital, Edmonton...
from 1935 to 1952 sitting with the Social Credit caucus in government. During his time in office 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
William Aberhart , also known as Bible Bill for his outspoken Baptist views, was a Canadian politician and the seventh Premier of Alberta between 1935 and 1943. The Social Credit party believed the reason for the depression was that people did not have enough money to spend, so the government...
and Ernest Manning
Ernest Manning
Ernest Charles Manning, , a Canadian politician, was the eighth Premier of Alberta between 1943 and 1968 for the Social Credit Party of Alberta. He served longer than any premier in the province's history, and was the second longest serving provincial premier in Canadian history...
from 1937 to 1952, serving in various portfolios related to resource industries.
Early life
Nathan Eldon Tanner was born on May 9, 1898 in Salt Lake City, UtahUtah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. His family had a farmstead just south of Cardston
Cardston, Alberta
-Demographics:The population of the Town of Cardston according to its 2007 municipal census is 3,578.In 2006, it had a population of 3,452 living in 1,234 dwellings, a 0.7% decrease from 2001...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
. He grew up in southern Alberta, taking his grade school in the town of Aetna
Aetna, Alberta
Aetna is a hamlet in southern Alberta, Canada within Cardston County, located east of Highway 2, approximately southwest of Lethbridge.- References :...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
. He went to high school at Knight Academy in Raymond and received some post-secondary 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, Alberta
Hill Spring is a village in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located 32 km west of Cardston and 43 km south-east of Pincher Creek, in the Canadian Rockies foothills. It has often been misspelled Hillspring, including the Canada 2006 Census....
in 1919. He met his future wife, Sara Isabelle Merrill, at the school and married her on December 20, 1919.
In addition to teaching, Tanner established his own general store (which 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 in Cardston. He got his start in the political arena serving as a councillor on Cardston Town Council.
Political career
Tanner was drafted to run for a seat to the Legislative Assembly of AlbertaLegislative Assembly of Alberta
The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is one of two components of the Legislature of Alberta, the other being the Queen, represented by the Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta. The Alberta legislature meets in the Alberta Legislature Building in the provincial capital, Edmonton...
for the first time in the 1935 Alberta general election
Alberta general election, 1935
The Alberta general election of 1935 was the eighth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on August 22, 1935 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
. He ran as a Social Credit
Social Credit Party of Alberta
The Alberta Social Credit Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada, that was founded on the social credit monetary policy and conservative Christian social values....
candidate in the electoral district of Cardston. He won the three-way race, easily defeating incumbent United Farmers
Progressive Party of Canada
The Progressive Party of Canada was a political party in Canada in the 1920s and 1930s. It was linked with the provincial United Farmers parties in several provinces and, in Manitoba, ran candidates and formed governments as the Progressive Party of Manitoba...
MLA George Stringam
George Stringam
George Lewis Stringam was a provincial politician and cattle rancher from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1921 to 1935 sitting with the United Farmers caucus in government....
.
After the election, and despite his complete lack of parliamentary experience, Tanner was chosen to be Speaker of the Alberta Legislature when the first session of the 8th Alberta Legislative Assembly
8th Alberta Legislative Assembly
The 8th Alberta Legislative Assembly lasted from 1935 to 1940. The Social Credit party swept to power forming the third government of Alberta under the leadership of William Aberhart. The United Farmers of Alberta lost every seat.-Composition at election:...
began. He filled that role until 1937 when he was appointed as a cabinet minister.
Premier William Aberhart
William Aberhart
William Aberhart , also known as Bible Bill for his outspoken Baptist views, was a Canadian politician and the seventh Premier of Alberta between 1935 and 1943. The Social Credit party believed the reason for the depression was that people did not have enough money to spend, so the government...
appointed Tanner to the Executive Council of Alberta
Executive Council of Alberta
The Executive Council of Alberta is the cabinet of that Canadian province.Almost always made up of members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, the Cabinet is similar in structure and role to the Cabinet of Canada while being smaller in size...
(cabinet) as the Minister of Lands and Mines on January 5, 1937. He ran for a second term in office in the 1940 Alberta general election
Alberta general election, 1940
The Alberta general election of 1940 was the ninth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada, was held on March 21, 1940 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
with ministerial advantage. Tanner barely kept his seat, winning a hotly contested two-way race against Independent candidate S.H. Nelson.
Tanner ran for a third term in office in the 1944 Alberta general election
Alberta general election, 1944
The Alberta general election of 1944 was the tenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. The Assembly was dissolved on July 8, 1944 and the vote for was held on August 8, 1944 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
. He faced a three-way race and won easily despite his popular vote dropping slightly from the previous election. The popular vote of the opposition candidates collapsed.
The 1948 Alberta general election
Alberta general election, 1948
The Alberta general election of 1948 was the eleventh general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on August 17, 1948 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
would see Tanner run for his fourth term in office. He easily won a two-way race over Liberal candidate Briant Stringam to hold his seat.
A year after the 1948 election, Premier Manning changed Tanner's ministerial portfolio. Lands and Mines was changed to Lands and Forests and he was also given the Mines and Minerals portfolio. He served in both of those ministries until his retirement from the Legislature at dissolution in 1952.
Life in the Church
In 1960, Tanner was called to be an Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve ApostlesAssistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, commonly shortened to Assistant to the Twelve or Assistant to the Twelve Apostles, was a priesthood calling in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1941 and 1976...
and a full-time general authority
General authority
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , a general authority is a member of certain leadership organizations who are given administrative and ecclesiastical authority over the church...
of the LDS church. In the church, he preferred to be referred to as "N. Eldon Tanner". In 1962, Apostle George Q. Morris's
George Q. Morris
George Quayle Morris was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1954 until his death....
passing opened up a vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, which Tanner was called to fill. Named to the Quorum of the Twelve in October 1962, he was its second most junior member one year later when he was called into the First Presidency
First Presidency (LDS Church)
The First Presidency is the presiding or governing body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . It is composed of the President of the Church and his counselors. The First Presidency currently consists of President Thomas S. Monson and his two counselors, Henry B...
as second counselor to Church President David O. McKay
David O. McKay
David Oman McKay was the ninth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , serving from 1951 until his death. Ordained an apostle and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1906, McKay was a general authority for nearly 64 years, longer than anyone else in LDS Church...
. Tanner remained in this position for the presidency of Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith, Jr. was the tenth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1970 until his death. He was the son of Joseph F. Smith, who was the sixth president of the LDS Church...
(1970-1972), and then became first counselor to Smith's successor Harold B. Lee
Harold B. Lee
Harold Bingham Lee was eleventh president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from July 1972 until his death.- Early life :...
, remaining first counselor to Lee and Spencer W. Kimball
Spencer W. Kimball
Spencer Woolley Kimball was the twelfth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1973 until his death in 1985.-Ancestry:...
until his own death.
It was during Kimball's presidency that Tanner was called upon to read in church general conference the church's announcement that race was no longer to be a barrier to ordination to the priesthood.
Not long afterward, Tanner's health deteriorated and it became impossible for him to shoulder the burdens of his office. With Church President Kimball and second counselor Marion G. Romney
Marion G. Romney
Marion George Romney was an apostle and a member of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints .-Early life:...
also ailing, the decision was made to add Gordon B. Hinckley
Gordon B. Hinckley
Gordon Bitner Hinckley was an American religious leader and author who served as the 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from March 12, 1995 until his death...
as an additional counselor to the First Presidency on July 23, 1981. Tanner remained first counselor until his death the following year at age 84.
Death
Tanner was a member of the First Presidency when he died on November 27, 1982. No additional individuals were added to the First Presidency after his death, and therefore no apostles were ordained as a result of his death.External links
- Legislative Assembly of Alberta Members Listing
- Grampa Bill's G.A. Pages: N. Eldon Tanner
- BYU: Nathon Eldon Tanner
- Find-A-Grave biography