Jerald Tanner’s obituary appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune today.

The memorial service for Jerald is planned for 10:30am this Saturday, October 7, 2006, at the Salt Lake Christian Center, 4300 South 700 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84107. In lieu of flowers the family has suggested that donations be made to Rescue Mission of Salt Lake, 463 South 400 West, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101-2202, (801) 355-1302. Condolences can be sent to condolences@utlm.org or directly to the Utah Light house bookstore at 1358 S. West Temple, SLC, UT 84115.

Jerald Tanner of Utah Light house Ministry died peacefully yesterday evening. Here is an excerpt of an e-mail from his wife, Sandra Tanner.

“Dear friends,
Jerald entered heaven’s gates today (10/01/06) at 7:20 pm….

He went into a coma last night and didn’t give any sign of knowing we were with him today.

A memorial service is being planned for Sat. but not sure where–mainly
because we aren’t sure what size facility we need.
Pray for us as we grieve.
In Christian Friendship,
Sandra Tanner”

Jerald and Sandra were both generations deep in Mormonism. God in His wonderful grace led them both out of Mormonism to start a ministry providing humanitarian outreach to the Community, and printing critical research and documentation on the LDS Church. For this, they are known world-wide and looked up to by countless Christians.

I am glad for Jerald, yet sad for his family and extended family- the counter-cult community. We invite you to join us in prayer during this difficult time for Sandra, the Tanner family, and those who knew Jerald best. If you would like to know more about the Tanners and their work, visit the Utah Lighthouse Ministry web site. Condolences can be sent to condolences@utlm.org. Rest in the joy of the Lord, Jerald.

Today at the breakfast table my four year old daughter said, “Daddy, do you want to hear the new words I learned how to sound out?” We have a marker board near the table and the kids are allowed to write, draw, or color on the board. Becky wrote down a couple of new words for our daughter so now she was proud to show me what she learned. “Sure, let’s hear them,” I replied.

She looked at the first new word and said, “But.” She then moved on to the second word and said “Top.”

Evidently she didn’t say them clearly enough because our 3 1/2 year old son started to copy what he thought the two new words were. He started bouncing in his seat as he rapidly repeated, “But-talk, but-talk, but-talk!”

If you don’t get it, repeat those two words out loud really, really fast. Those kids crack me up.

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Important note: We will not reveal the names of our children on this blog. Any comment that mentions our children’s names will be deleted. It is nothing personal, we just feel that it is an important safety measure for our family. If you would like to read the other FTJB entries, click on the “From the Jewel Box” link in the side bar on the right or on the Jewel Box icon at the end of this paragraph.