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Mormonism : Shadow or Reality?
Jerald and Sandra Tanner's most comprehensive and revealing work on Mormonism. "Mormonism-Shadow or Reality?" covers such topics changes in Joseph Smith's revelations, Joseph Smith's 1826 arrest for 'glass looking,' proof that the Book of Mormon is a product of the 19th century, changes in the Book of Mormon, archaeology and the Book of Mormon, changes in Joseph Smith's History, the First Vision, the Godhead, the Adam-God doctrine, the Priesthood, the missionary system, false prophecy, Joseph Smith's doctrine of polygamy, polygamy after the Manifesto and in Utah today, changing the anti-black doctrine, the rediscovery of the Joseph Smith Papyri and the fall of the Book of Abraham, Mormon scriptures and the Bible, changes in the Pearl of Great Price, Blood Atonement among the early Mormons, the Word of Wisdom, Council of 50, the Danites, the temple ceremony, changes in the temple ceremony and garments, the Mountain Meadows Massacre, Mormonism and money, plus hundreds of other important subjects.
576 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1987
About the author
Jerald Tanner
50 books8 followersFormer mormon, researcher of the mormon religion and co-founder of the Utah Lighthouse Ministry.
Tanner was raised as a mormon. But converted to christianity and founded the Utah Lighthouse Ministry with his wife.
Tanner was raised as a mormon. But converted to christianity and founded the Utah Lighthouse Ministry with his wife.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 2, 2014
This book is widely acknowledged and referenced as one of the best (though critical)source books on the Mormon Religion. The book was compiled by Sandra Tanner and her late husband Jerald: I say compiled because a large part of the the book is quotation, though, of course, with commentary. Both Tanners were brought up in Mormonism (Sandra is a direct descendant of Brigham Young, the Second Prophet of the church), but they left it in their early 20s and were subsequently excommunicated.
The value lies of the book lies in the degree to which it provides references and quotations. These come from the basic texts (The Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price) as well as from the Journal of Discourses, the History of the Church, but from many, many other publications,documents, letters, and so on. It is not a book that I would recommend as an introductory text about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It is too detailed for that and, though the material is very clear, it does perhaps assume that the reader has some familiarity with the beginnings and development of Mormonism, as well as of its current practices. Nor is it a book that practising and committed members of the church would necessarily want to read, since it directly challenges the tenets of the religion and its history, and, in my view as well as many others,does so with devastating effectiveness
The edition I read is that re-published and updated in 1972 (I recently obtained it second-hand). The latest edition is 2008
The value lies of the book lies in the degree to which it provides references and quotations. These come from the basic texts (The Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price) as well as from the Journal of Discourses, the History of the Church, but from many, many other publications,documents, letters, and so on. It is not a book that I would recommend as an introductory text about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It is too detailed for that and, though the material is very clear, it does perhaps assume that the reader has some familiarity with the beginnings and development of Mormonism, as well as of its current practices. Nor is it a book that practising and committed members of the church would necessarily want to read, since it directly challenges the tenets of the religion and its history, and, in my view as well as many others,does so with devastating effectiveness
The edition I read is that re-published and updated in 1972 (I recently obtained it second-hand). The latest edition is 2008
December 4, 2015
First of all, this book is a hefty beast. Its 571 pages are anything but typical. They're printed on 8.5" x 11" paper with a tiny font and narrow margins. Each chapter typically has 3 or 4 pages of updated material which are not paginated with advancing numbers, so these pages are not technically a part of the book's 571 pages, though I read every last one of them. If you're wondering why it took me so long to read this thing, the answer is twofold: 1) I was very busy and 2) This is just a ridiculous amount of material. It's practically a bottomless pit. I was somewhat surprised to find that there was an end to the book.
Beyond its physical size, I simply have to stand in awe of this book and the tireless work it represents. Frankly, I stand in awe of anyone who was able to discover the fact that the church is not true in the pre-internet age. That being the case, Jerald and Sandra Tanner are simply amazing in my estimation. While their work bears all the marks of amateur research, the amount of material they have collected is staggering. They are nothing if not absolutely thorough.
In reading this book from cover to cover rather than topically, I couldn't help but notice that it does jump from topic to topic with seemingly no connections between its many chapters other than the general theme of exposing the flaws of Mormon truth claims. It does not necessarily make for a gripping cover-to-cover read, but it is an indispensable work. I am glad to have read it, though I will admit to being more than a little glad to have finished it.
Beyond its physical size, I simply have to stand in awe of this book and the tireless work it represents. Frankly, I stand in awe of anyone who was able to discover the fact that the church is not true in the pre-internet age. That being the case, Jerald and Sandra Tanner are simply amazing in my estimation. While their work bears all the marks of amateur research, the amount of material they have collected is staggering. They are nothing if not absolutely thorough.
In reading this book from cover to cover rather than topically, I couldn't help but notice that it does jump from topic to topic with seemingly no connections between its many chapters other than the general theme of exposing the flaws of Mormon truth claims. It does not necessarily make for a gripping cover-to-cover read, but it is an indispensable work. I am glad to have read it, though I will admit to being more than a little glad to have finished it.
March 26, 2026
Sheesh. Jerald and Sandra Tanner have no chill.
I bought this book back in 2011, a few months after I was converted. I was fascinated by Mormonism and was meeting with LDS missionaries at the time, trying to have evangelistic conversations etc. But I also just found the whole system to be super fascinating. Not long after that, I started teacher's college, which would turn out to be the first item on a long list of things (teaching, marriage, children, pastoring) that have meant I haven't been able to get into it like I did back in the day. And so, Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? has sat on my shelf for 15 years, unread. However, 2026 was the year to make 18 year old me proud.
This book is incredibly well done. I thought I knew a fair bit about Mormonism and its problems, but the Tanners really show you some stuff in this work. As I read, I was blown away by the scope of it: they have done the mahi. Using microfilm to give readers access to original sources, they demonstrate beyond a doubt that key Mormon documents have been intentionally changed to hide inconvenient information. People have gone to courthouses to find indictments from the early 19th century. I'm a person who likes to assume the best and yet the Tanners consistently blow any kind of plausible deniability out of the water. Information is being hidden because it is devastating.
I also appreciated their inclusion of Mormon defences of problems highlighted, and the Tanner's subsequent responses. A few layers of this kind of back and forth is really clarifying and helps readers see the real weaknesses. This was especially clear for example, in attempted scholarly defences of Joseph Smith's obvious lies about "translating" the Book of Abraham.
Particularly interesting to me were the chapters on the Book of Abraham, Joseph Smith's money digging, Smith's alleged counterfeit coin making, problems with the Book of Mormon (for example quoting a Biblical prophet before that book was written, Smith's dad's dream ending up in there, contemporary controversies of the day ending up in there, NT quotes KJV english in BC parts of the Book of Mormon, archeological problems), character issues with the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon, the Mountain Meadows massacre, the various "first visions," the Danites, the manifold problems with the teaching and character of Brigham Young, and the evolving attitude of Mormonism to Africans, the connection of Mormonism to Freemasonry, Joseph Smith's sexual ethics, and Smith's political aspirations.
A Problem of Accessibility
This book was heavy duty. I read the fifth edition, which apparently has 576 pages, but anytime the Tanner's wanted to expand on a point for the later edition, they just added new pages in and labelled them, for example, 454A, 454B, 454C, 454D etc. etc. You can be on page 454 for a long time! So the book is actually far longer than 576 pages.
Further, the pages are large, they use a small font, and when using direct quotes they use an even smaller font. For example, Grok reckons page 142-A has 1321 words on it.
The Tanners also love citing many lengthy primary sources, which is good for context, but often can be a lot to demand of your tired brain. They do put the key bit that demonstrates their point in bold, but I found that so many of the quotes had dense information that was only useful for context that my mind would wander if I wasn't working extra hard to stop it.
I chipped away at this book 10 pages a day, beginning on Jan 1st 2026, and it took until now to get it done. Each session took roughly 50 minutes. All of this is to say: like it or not, most people will not read this book. But mate, if someone wanted to make some TikTok account that brings the work in this book to light, let's just say you wouldn't run out of good material anytime soon. It's probably worth someone doing.
I bought this book back in 2011, a few months after I was converted. I was fascinated by Mormonism and was meeting with LDS missionaries at the time, trying to have evangelistic conversations etc. But I also just found the whole system to be super fascinating. Not long after that, I started teacher's college, which would turn out to be the first item on a long list of things (teaching, marriage, children, pastoring) that have meant I haven't been able to get into it like I did back in the day. And so, Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? has sat on my shelf for 15 years, unread. However, 2026 was the year to make 18 year old me proud.
This book is incredibly well done. I thought I knew a fair bit about Mormonism and its problems, but the Tanners really show you some stuff in this work. As I read, I was blown away by the scope of it: they have done the mahi. Using microfilm to give readers access to original sources, they demonstrate beyond a doubt that key Mormon documents have been intentionally changed to hide inconvenient information. People have gone to courthouses to find indictments from the early 19th century. I'm a person who likes to assume the best and yet the Tanners consistently blow any kind of plausible deniability out of the water. Information is being hidden because it is devastating.
I also appreciated their inclusion of Mormon defences of problems highlighted, and the Tanner's subsequent responses. A few layers of this kind of back and forth is really clarifying and helps readers see the real weaknesses. This was especially clear for example, in attempted scholarly defences of Joseph Smith's obvious lies about "translating" the Book of Abraham.
Particularly interesting to me were the chapters on the Book of Abraham, Joseph Smith's money digging, Smith's alleged counterfeit coin making, problems with the Book of Mormon (for example quoting a Biblical prophet before that book was written, Smith's dad's dream ending up in there, contemporary controversies of the day ending up in there, NT quotes KJV english in BC parts of the Book of Mormon, archeological problems), character issues with the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon, the Mountain Meadows massacre, the various "first visions," the Danites, the manifold problems with the teaching and character of Brigham Young, and the evolving attitude of Mormonism to Africans, the connection of Mormonism to Freemasonry, Joseph Smith's sexual ethics, and Smith's political aspirations.
A Problem of Accessibility
This book was heavy duty. I read the fifth edition, which apparently has 576 pages, but anytime the Tanner's wanted to expand on a point for the later edition, they just added new pages in and labelled them, for example, 454A, 454B, 454C, 454D etc. etc. You can be on page 454 for a long time! So the book is actually far longer than 576 pages.
Further, the pages are large, they use a small font, and when using direct quotes they use an even smaller font. For example, Grok reckons page 142-A has 1321 words on it.
The Tanners also love citing many lengthy primary sources, which is good for context, but often can be a lot to demand of your tired brain. They do put the key bit that demonstrates their point in bold, but I found that so many of the quotes had dense information that was only useful for context that my mind would wander if I wasn't working extra hard to stop it.
I chipped away at this book 10 pages a day, beginning on Jan 1st 2026, and it took until now to get it done. Each session took roughly 50 minutes. All of this is to say: like it or not, most people will not read this book. But mate, if someone wanted to make some TikTok account that brings the work in this book to light, let's just say you wouldn't run out of good material anytime soon. It's probably worth someone doing.
January 6, 2011
While this book has its flaws (it is especially given to conspiracy theorizing), it does contain a lot of useful information and analysis. I found the chapter on the Book of Abraham to be especially worthwhile. Whereas Charles Larson glossed over the relationship between the Kirtland Egyptian Papers and the Book of Abraham papyrus, the Tanners go into it in detail and provide plenty of (photocopied) illustrations to demonstrate their point. They also chronicle some of the antics of Book of Abraham apologists. This should probably be required reading for anyone who wants to discuss the Book of Abraham controversy.
October 11, 2013
Woot woot! Sandra will you be my adoptive grandmother? Love this book and the ministry. What a blessing!
May 6, 2025
Jerald and Sandra Tanner’s Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? stands as one of the most meticulously researched and detailed examinations of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) ever published. First released in the 1960s and revised several times since, this book has had a profound impact on the study of Mormon history and doctrine—both among critics and within the broader sphere of religious scholarship.
The Tanners, former members of the LDS Church, approach their work with a rigorous investigative lens. What makes this book especially valuable is its vast compilation of primary sources—official church documents, early LDS writings, and direct quotes from church leaders—many of which were previously inaccessible to the average reader. The authors present this material in a way that allows readers to compare early church teachings with modern doctrines, highlighting inconsistencies and changes that have occurred over time.
Despite the book’s controversial nature, it deserves recognition for its contribution to religious transparency and historical inquiry. The Tanners do not simply assert their critiques—they provide the documentation so that readers can see the evidence for themselves. This scholarly approach invites readers to engage critically with the material and draw their own conclusions.
While the tone can be confrontational at times, Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? is undeniably a landmark work in Mormon studies. For those interested in religious history, theological development, or the evolution of American new religious movements, this book offers an extensive and thought-provoking resource. It may challenge long-held beliefs, but it also opens the door to deeper understanding and dialogue.
The Tanners, former members of the LDS Church, approach their work with a rigorous investigative lens. What makes this book especially valuable is its vast compilation of primary sources—official church documents, early LDS writings, and direct quotes from church leaders—many of which were previously inaccessible to the average reader. The authors present this material in a way that allows readers to compare early church teachings with modern doctrines, highlighting inconsistencies and changes that have occurred over time.
Despite the book’s controversial nature, it deserves recognition for its contribution to religious transparency and historical inquiry. The Tanners do not simply assert their critiques—they provide the documentation so that readers can see the evidence for themselves. This scholarly approach invites readers to engage critically with the material and draw their own conclusions.
While the tone can be confrontational at times, Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? is undeniably a landmark work in Mormon studies. For those interested in religious history, theological development, or the evolution of American new religious movements, this book offers an extensive and thought-provoking resource. It may challenge long-held beliefs, but it also opens the door to deeper understanding and dialogue.
December 23, 2019
This book was an old typed compilation of Mormon historical extracts with comments in between. It was a difficult read so I skimmed for info that was pertinent to me. The format was yellowed typing with many errors (from using an old typewriter), but there was a wealth of information from the excerpts of Mormon archives. The historical data was very eye opening!
September 22, 2025
I own, and continue reading, the fifth edition, under licensing agreement 2013 with Utah Lighthouse Ministry. Devastating to the religion as a whole. Fascinating to read. "I no longer look to any organization as my source of moral authority, I have taken that on myself", attributed to Dr. Julie Hanks, is now my position, but not just because of this book.
July 23, 2023
Incredibly thorough, this tears apart the fundamental teaching of the LDS church from Joseph Smith's prophecies to the church's attempt to suppress information. Highly recommend for anyone researching Mormonism or who is a Mormon themselves.
September 27, 2023
A LOT of information. I mean SO MUCH INFORMATION it was nearly overwhelming. But I’m glad I read it. It’s important to know.
August 24, 2011
For anyone wanting a virtual encyclopaedia of the facts behind the lies that make up Mormonism - this is the ultimate reference book. It is not something most people would read through cover to cover - although I have. I also used it extensively to check my own facts when writing on this subject. An invaluable work and highly recommended.
November 22, 2009
Even though this is very biased against Mormonism it is is good source of historical material you cannot find anywhere else. Their quotes are usually accurate, but their conclusions are often warped.
September 23, 2011
Fascinating read. Comprised mainly of Mormonism's own historical documents and letters
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews