Jerald and Sandra Tanner received an apostolic scolding by LeGrand Richards over the First Vision! By the early 1960s, Sandra and Jerald Tanner were deep into critical analysis of Mormon history, having transitioned from struggling Utah Mormons to committed followers of a Christ-focused faith centered on the Bible and the Book of Mormon. This new path led them to join Pauline Hancock’s “Basement Church” in Independence, Missouri, formally known as the Church of Christ (Bible & Book of Mormon).

https://youtu.be/uuMY1kq_k_M

0:00 Attending Pauline’s church
5:28 Pauline’s Cancer/Sandra’s baptism
17:02 Apostle LeGrand Richards

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

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While Jerald had previously traveled to Independence and was baptized, Sandra eventually went by train to meet the group. She was baptized by Pauline in the summer of 1960, making a profession of faith in Christ and affirming her belief in the Book of Mormon. Pauline, described as a lovely woman, was very convinced of her position and served as the preacher for the group, though she never claimed the title of prophet.

This period of adherence to the “Whitmerite” view—rejecting revelations past 1830 and scrapping “Aaronic & Melchizedek priesthood ideas”—was short-lived as the Tanners’ historical questions mounted. Their quest soon took a dramatic turn, involving a top church leader and a disputed document.

Letter to the Brethren

In June 1960, just before moving from California to Salt Lake, Sandra sent a formal letter to all the apostles announcing that she was leaving the LDS Church. Her letter detailed several critical issues, including problems with the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants changes, differences in the doctrine of God over time, and the evolving narrative of the First Vision. She noted that earlier references to the First Vision seemed to speak of an “angel” or “messenger”, not the Father and the Son, suggesting the latter was a later change.

Apostle LeGrand Richards responded to Sandra’s letter, attempting to prove her wrong. He claimed that his great-grandfather, Joseph Lee Robinson, wrote in his diary in 1841 that Joseph Smith had told him he saw the Father and the Son. Richards reasoned that such an early reference would undermine Sandra’s claim of a shifting narrative.

Confrontation over Microfilm & Apostolic Scolding

The Tanners arranged a meeting with Apostle Richards at the Church Office Building in Salt Lake City to see the original document. Richards was immediately “miffed” when Sandra brought Jerald, who he perceived as a “doubting Thomas.”

Instead of the original diary, Richards presented them with a typed extract containing the crucial two lines about the Father and Son. Jerald immediately pointed out that this was not the whole page and was not the actual diary. When Jerald asked to turn back the microfilm to check the date and context of the excerpt, Richards refused, accusing the Tanners of “questioning everything” he showed them.

The confrontation escalated dramatically in the genealogical building, where Richards had taken them to view the film. Richards seized the film from the reader, declaring to the staff: “These people are not to see this. If they come back in, you’re not to get this out to show it to them. They’re just troublemakers. They do not have authority to see this again.” Jerald and Richards stomped out of the room arguing, while everyone in the room watched the shocking spectacle of someone arguing with an apostle.

Unmasking the 1841 Diary

Richards’ efforts to suppress the film failed. After months of checking, Sandra eventually returned downtown. She filled out a call card using the film number she had previously written down. The girl at the desk noted the card had been pulled from the catalog but retrieved the film anyway, assuming Sandra was authorized since she had the number.

Sandra quickly turned to the relevant entry and discovered the truth: the document was not Joseph Lee Robinson’s 1841 diary, but rather his memoirs, written 40 years later in Utah in the 1880s. This discovery rendered the testimony unreliable as an early historical account, reinforcing the Tanners’ conclusion that the Church leadership was willing to suppress or misrepresent historical evidence to maintain the official narrative.

The End of the Church of Christ

Meanwhile, the faith community that had baptized Sandra was facing its own crisis.

Pauline Hancock had suffered from breast cancer. During a trip to Salt Lake, she had shown Jerald and Sandra the open wound under her arm to ensure they would be witnesses that she truly had cancer. She was praying for healing, but prepared for either outcome, stating that if she didn’t get healed, it would be due to her own “lack of faith”, not a mark against God.

Pauline Hancock died of her cancer in the summer of 1962.

Around the same time, the Tanners concluded they could no longer accept the Book of Mormon, based on their intensive studies of its internal structure, archaeology, and chronology, deciding that “historically it just doesn’t make it.” They ultimately set the book aside.

When the Tanners sent their material questioning the Book of Mormon to the Church of Christ leadership (the Wilcoxes had taken over after Pauline died), they did not realize Pauline had already passed away.

Following Pauline’s death, her “Basement Church” dissolved. Some families who wanted to hold onto the Book of Mormon joined other splinter groups, while others decided to “follow Christ and stick with the Bible.”

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

Copyright © 2025

Gospel Tangents

All Rights Reserved