Before Stassi Cramm became the first woman to lead the Community of Christ, Pauline Hancock led the Church of Christ. Sandra Tanner was baptized in about 1960 into Pauline Hancock’s Church of Christ. We’ll discuss Pauline’s church, Sandra’s conversion and de-conversion, and more in this amazing conversation. Check it out!

https://youtu.be/3V-7stAyZ9w

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Gospel Tangents

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0:00 Updating Sandra Tanner
5:15 (In)Famous Sandra
9:39 Is Sandra Tanner Anti-Mormon?
12:05 Pauline Hancock’s Origins
24:48 How Jerald Joined Pauline
32:43 Book of Mormon Has Trinitarian Roots
34:22 Jerald Visits Pauline

Pioneers of Criticism: Sandra Tanner, Pauline Hancock, & Quest for the Original Church of Christ

Sandra Tanner is well-known today as a staunch critic and historian of Mormonism, chronicled recently in the biography Lighthouse: Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Despised and Beloved Mormon Critics of Mormonism. While Sandra is now enjoying life in a condominium in Sandy, Utah, having retired from the stresses of her old neighborhood in Salt Lake City, her journey as a critic began in the late 1950s alongside her husband, Jerald Tanner56.

This period of questioning led the newlywed Tanners to explore various splinter groups, resulting in Sandra becoming a temporary convert to a unique movement led by one of the earliest known female leaders in the Restoration: Pauline Hancock’s Church of Christ.

Critic, Not Anti-Mormon

Before diving into her early faith experience, Sandra is careful to distinguish her identity. She notes that she is comfortable being labeled a “Mormon critic,” but strongly rejects the term “anti-Mormon.” This is because the “anti-Mormon” label often implies an animosity toward the people, which she does not feel. She condemns any violence against Mormon people. She sees herself as a critic of Mormonism—its doctrines and history—not its followers.

Jerald Tanner’s Search for the “Start”

The Tanners’ joint investigation into Mormonism began around 1959. Jerald’s personal crisis was spurred around age 18 when his bishop suggested he go on a mission. Jerald began reading critical works, notably Fawn Brodie’s book (written in 1945), which was the standard critical source at the time.

His investigation led him to seek out local splinter groups, first visiting the Reorganized Church in Salt Lake City. There, he met a barber named James Wardle, who operated a shop that housed one of the largest collections of historic books on early Mormonism. Wardle provided Jerald with a key text that shaped his direction: David Whitmer’s pamphlet, An Address to All Believers in Christ (1887).

Whitmer’s position was that the Book of Mormon was the main thing and that Joseph Smith “got a big head, invented all this other stuff.” This idea became Jerald’s litmus test: if there was any truth to Mormonism, it had to be at the start, centered on the Book of Mormon. Jerald even took a trip to Independence, Missouri, to verify Whitmer’s claims that the revelations had been changed, specifically noting discrepancies between the current version of the Doctrine and Covenants and the early Book of Commandments.

Pauline Hancock and the “Luke-ite” Church of Christ

James Wardle also informed Jerald about Pauline Hancock’s small Church of Christ group, noting that they aligned more closely with David Whitmer’s views than other splinter groups.

Pauline Hancock was raised in the Reorganized (RLDS) Church, where her father had served as a pastor in Salt Lake City. She became disillusioned with both the RLDS and the Temple Lot Church. She, her husband, and others who went through similar struggles were deeply impacted by Whitmer’s pamphlet.

This group, sometimes referred to as “the Luke-ites” because they first met in the home of a Mr. Luke, established their own theological foundation:

• Book of Mormon Fundamentalism: They adopted the Book of Mormon and the Bible as their core scriptures.
• Rejection of Later Revelation: Crucially, they did not accept revelations past 1830. They threw out the Doctrine and Covenants, the Book of Commandments, and the associated priesthood ideas, believing Joseph Smith was only called to bring forth the Book of Mormon, not to set up a church.
• Worship Space: They built a small “basement church” at the corner of Crysler and Lyndon in Independence, Missouri. The interior reportedly featured used movie theater chairs.

Jerald visited Pauline’s small group in Independence multiple times in the mid-1950s, staying for weeks at a time. He was deeply influenced by Pauline’s message that “all you really need is Jesus” and that they should scrap the institutional “stuff.” Jerald found a new personal relationship with Christ through reading the Bible and the Book of Mormon, moving away from institutional religion.

While Pauline’s church eventually folded, she was highly influential. The sources note that while she never claimed the title of prophet for her movement, she did claim to have had a vision of Christ before the group formally started meeting as a church.

 

Don’t miss our other conversations with Sandra: https://gospeltangents.com/people/sandra-tanner

Copyright © 2025

Gospel Tangents

All Rights Reserved