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| John Taylor | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 3rdPresident ofthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | |
| 10 October 1880 (1880-10-10) – 25 July 1887 (1887-07-25) | |
| Predecessor | Brigham Young |
| Successor | Wilford Woodruff |
| President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles | |
| 10 April 1875 (1875-04-10) – 10 October 1880 (1880-10-10) | |
| Predecessor | Orson Hyde |
| Successor | Wilford Woodruff |
| End reason | Became President of the Church |
| Quorum of the Twelve Apostles | |
| 19 December 1838 (1838-12-19) – 10 October 1880 (1880-10-10) | |
| Called by | Joseph Smith |
| End reason | Became President of the Church |
| LDS ChurchApostle | |
| 19 December 1838 (1838-12-19) – 25 July 1887 (1887-07-25) | |
| Called by | Joseph Smith |
| Reason | Replenishing Quorum of the Twelve[1] |
| Reorganization at end of term | Marriner W. Merrill,Anthon H. Lund, andAbraham H. Cannon ordained[2] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1808-11-01)1 November 1808 Milnthorpe,Westmorland, England |
| Died | 25 July 1887(1887-07-25) (aged 78) Kaysville, Utah, United States |
| Resting place | Salt Lake City Cemetery 40°46′37.92″N111°51′28.8″W / 40.7772000°N 111.858000°W /40.7772000; -111.858000 |
| Spouse(s) | Leonora Cannon Elizabeth Kaighin Jane Ballantyne Mary Ann Oakley Sophia Whitaker Harriet Whitaker Margaret Young Josephine Elizabeth Roueche |
| Children | 34 |
| Signature | |
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John Taylor (1 November 1808 – 25 July 1887) was an English-born religious leader who served as the thirdpresident ofthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1880 to 1887. He is the first and so far only president of the LDS Church to have been born outside the United States.
Taylor was born inMilnthorpe,Westmorland (now part ofCumbria), England, the son of James and Agnes Taylor. He had formal schooling up to age fourteen, and then he served an initial apprenticeship to acooper and later received training as awoodturner andcabinetmaker. He claimed that as a young man, he had a vision of "an angel in the heavens, holding a trumpet to his mouth, sounding a message to the nations"—which he would later identify as theangel Moroni.[3] He waschristened in theChurch of England, but joined theMethodist church at sixteen. He was appointed alay preacher a year later, and felt a calling to preach inNorth America. Taylor's parents and siblings emigrated toUpper Canada (present-dayOntario) in 1830. Taylor stayed in England to dispose of the family property and joined his family inToronto in 1832. He metLeonora Cannon from theIsle of Man while attending a Toronto Methodist Church and, although she initially rejected his proposal, married her on 28 January 1833.[citation needed]
Between 1834 and 1836, John and Leonora Taylor participated in a religious study group in Toronto. The group discussed problems and concerns with their Methodist faith, and quickly became known as the "Dissenters." Other members includedJoseph Fielding and his sistersMary and Mercy, who later also became prominent in theLatter Day Saint movement. While in Toronto, Taylor continued to work in his trade as a woodturner.[citation needed]
Taylor and his wife first came in contact with theChurch of the Latter Day Saints in 1836 after meetingParley P. Pratt, anapostle in the church, in Toronto. Leonora was the first to join the church and she persuaded Taylor to continue his studies with Pratt. After the couple's baptism into the church, they were active in preaching and the organization of the church in Upper Canada. Taylor for a time presided over six branches in the Toronto area. In July 1837 he was closely involved in coordinatingJoseph Smith's visit to the Toronto area.[4] They then moved toFar West, Missouri, where Taylor was ordained an apostle on 19 December 1838. He assisted other church members as they fled frequent conflicts to Commerce, Illinois (soon after renamedNauvoo).
In 1839, Taylor and some of his fellow apostles servedmissions in Britain. While there, Taylor preached inLiverpool and was responsible for Mormon preaching inIreland and theIsle of Man.
Taylor returned toNauvoo, Illinois, to serve as a city councilman, a chaplain, a colonel, a newspaper editor, and a judge advocate for theNauvoo Legion. Taylor edited two newspapers in Nauvoo,Times and Seasons and theNauvoo Neighbor.Times and Seasons was the official organ of the Latter Day Saint church; he was officially the assistant editor underJoseph Smith, but due to Smith also being president of the church, Taylor made most of the editorial decisions. Taylor also edited the more politically concernedNauvoo Neighbor[5] and theWasp, the predecessor of theNauvoo Neighbor, for about a year.[6] Taylor was thus the editor of Nauvoo's two main papers from 1842 to 1846.
In 1842, Taylor was present at the organization of theRelief Society. Heset apart Sarah Cleveland andElizabeth Ann Whitney as counselors toEmma Smith.[7]
In 1844, Taylor was with church founderJoseph Smith, his brotherHyrum Smith, and fellow apostleWillard Richards in theCarthage, Illinois,jail when the Smiths werekilled by a mob. Taylor was severely wounded in the conflict. His life may have been spared when amusket ball directed towards his chest was stopped by apocket watch which he was carrying at the time.[8] However, recent analysis shows the watch may instead have been damaged when Taylor fell against the windowsill.[9]
In 1845, Taylor became the president of the Nauvoo Tradesmen Association. This group worked to encourage local manufacturing of goods for both local use and export. Taylor had two assistants who aided him in running this group,Orson Spencer andPhineas Richards.[10]
In 1846–1847, most Latter-day Saints followedBrigham Young into Iowa then theSalt Lake Valley, while Taylor went to England to resolve problems in church leadership there. On his return, he and Pratt led more Latter-day Saints, a group of about 1500, to the Salt Lake Valley, where Young and the others had settled and establishedGreat Salt Lake City.
Taylor applied for and was granted United States citizenship in 1849. That same year he was appointed an associate judge in the provisionalState of Deseret. He later served in theUtah territorial legislature from 1853 to 1876. Taylor was electedSpeaker of the House for five consecutive sessions, beginning in 1857. In 1852, he wrote a small book,The Government of God, in which he compared and contrasted the secular and ecclesiastical political systems.
From 1868 to 1870 Taylor served as a probate judge ofUtah County, Utah. He also served as superintendent of schools for Utah Territory beginning in 1876.[11]
Taylor served aspresident of twomissions of the LDS Church. In 1849, he traveled east on his way to begin missionary work in France, stopping at various waypointsin the homes of Mormon pioneers still making their way to the Salt Lake Valley. Taylor was the first church mission president in France. While in France, Taylor published a monthly newspaper calledL'Etoile du Deseret with the help ofLouis A. Bertrand. He also supervised missionary work in Germany, but did not himself go to any of the countries that would later form Germany.[5]
In 1852, theBook of Mormon was published in French, with Taylor and Curtis E. Bolton credited as translators.[12] Taylor supervised the translation, which was carried out by Bolton, Bertrand, Lazare Auge, and a "Mr. Wilhelm".[12]
Taylor later served as president of the Eastern States Mission, based in New York City. In this capacity he published a newspaper that presented the position of theLatter-day Saints.
While serving as mission president in France, Taylor was directed by church presidentBrigham Young to prepare to establish a sugar industry in Utah Territory. This was done under the auspices of theDeseret Manufacturing Company. Taylor purchased sugar-making equipment inLiverpool while returning to the United States. These early attempts to produce sugar in Utah proved unsuccessful.[11]
Taylor is reported to have had a marvelous singing voice. At the request ofHyrum Smith, he twice sang the song "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief" inCarthage Jail just before theSmith brothers' murders.[13]
Taylor wrote the lyrics to severalhymns, some of which are still used by the LDS Church. In 2005, Taylor's hymn "Joseph the Seer" was sung at the LDS Church's celebration of the 200th anniversary of Joseph Smith's birth. The 1985English-language edition of theLDS Church hymnal includes two hymns with lyrics by Taylor, "Go Ye Messengers of Glory" (no. 262) and "Go, Ye Messengers of Heaven" (no. 327).
Following Brigham Young's death in 1877, theQuorum of the Twelve Apostles governed the church, with John Taylor as thequorum's president. Taylor became the third president of the church in 1880. He chose as his counselorsJoseph F. Smith andGeorge Q. Cannon, the latter being the nephew of his wife, Leonora.
As church president, Taylor oversaw the expansion of the Salt Lake community; the further organization of the church hierarchy; the establishment of Mormon colonies in Wyoming, Colorado, and Arizona as well as in Canada'sNorthwest Territories (now inAlberta) and the Mexican state ofChihuahua; and the defense ofplural marriage against increasing government opposition.
While he was church president, Taylor also establishedZion's Central Board of Trade to coordinate local trade and production, which was done largely through the local stakes, on a wider basis.[11]
In 1878, thePrimary Association was founded byAurelia Spencer Rogers inFarmington, Utah Territory. For a time, the organization was placed under the direction ofRelief Society General PresidentEliza R. Snow. In 1880, Taylor organized the churchwide adoption of the Primary Association and selectedLouie B. Felt as its first general president. In October 1880, thePearl of Great Price was canonized by the church.
Taylor also oversaw the issuance of a new edition of theDoctrine and Covenants. During his term as church president, theseventies quorums were also more fully and regularly organized.[14]
In 1882, theUnited States Congress enacted theEdmunds Act, which declared polygamy to be afelony. Hundreds of Mormon men and women were arrested and imprisoned for continuing to practice plural marriage. Taylor had followed Brigham Young's teachings on polygamy and had at least seven wives. He is known to have fathered 34 children.
Taylor moved into theGardo House alone with his sister,Agnes, to avoid prosecution and to avoid showing preference to any one of his families.[15][16] However, by 1885, he and his counselors were forced to withdraw from public view to live in the "underground" and were frequently on the move to avoid arrest. In 1885, during his last public sermon, Taylor remarked, "I would like to obey and place myself in subjection to every law of man. What then? Am I to disobey the law of God? Has any man a right to control my conscience, or your conscience?... No man has a right to do it."[17]
Many viewed Mormon polygamy as religiously, socially, and politically threatening.[18] In 1887, the US Congress passed theEdmunds–Tucker Act, which abolished women's suffrage in Utah Territory, forced wives to testify against their husbands, disincorporated the LDS Church, dismantled thePerpetual Emigrating Fund Company, abolished theNauvoo Legion, and provided that LDS Church property in excess of $50,000 would be forfeited to the United States.
For two-and-a-half years, Taylor presided over the church from exile. During this period, some Mormon fundamentalist groups claim that he received the1886 Revelation.[19] Photographs of the original document exist.[20] It restated the permanence of the "New and Everlasting Covenant", which these fundamentalist groups consider to be a direct reference to the practice ofplural marriage. The validity of therevelation is rejected by the LDS Church, which does not consider it to be authentic,[21] but it is used byfundamentalist groups as justification for their continued practice of polygamy.[22]
Taylor died on 25 July 1887, fromcongestive heart failure inKaysville, Utah Territory. Taylor was buried at theSalt Lake City Cemetery inThe Avenues, Salt Lake City, Utah. For two years after his death, the church again was without a presidency. The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, withWilford Woodruff as president of the quorum, assumed leadership during this interim period. In the April 1889church general conference, the First Presidency was reorganized with Wilford Woodruff as the president. Six months later, in the October general conference,Anthon H. Lund was called to fill Taylor's vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Taylor'steachings as an apostle were the 2003 course of study in the LDS Church's SundayRelief Society andMelchizedek priesthood classes.
Taylor practiced plural marriage and was married to eight wives: Leonora Cannon, Elizabeth Kaighin, Jane Ballantyne, Mary Ann Oakley, Sophia Whitaker, Harriet Whitaker,Margaret Young, and Josephine Elizabeth Roueche.[23] He was the father of 34 children.[24]
Taylor's son,John W. Taylor, continued to serve in the church and in politics and helped to shepherdUtah tostatehood in 1896. John W. Taylor was ultimately excommunicated from the LDS Church for his opposition to the church's abandonment of plural marriage. His son,Samuel W. Taylor, became a writer, and the biographer of his father and grandfather.
Another son,William W. Taylor, served as one of the first presidents of the seventy and also served in theUtah territorial legislature.
Taylor's wife Margaret Young Taylor was a member of the inaugural general presidency of what is today the church'sYoung Women organization. Taylor's daughterAnnie Taylor Hyde was a leader in theRelief Society general presidency and was the founder ofDaughters of Utah Pioneers.
| Wife | Born | Died |
|---|---|---|
| Leonora Cannon | (1796-10-06)6 October 1796 | 9 December 1868(1868-12-09) (aged 72) |
| Elizabeth Kaighin | (1811-09-11)11 September 1811 | 30 September 1895(1895-09-30) (aged 84) |
| Jane Ballantyne | (1813-04-11)11 April 1813 | 26 December 1901(1901-12-26) (aged 88) |
| Mary Ann Oakley | (1826-03-20)20 March 1826 | 30 August 1911(1911-08-30) (aged 85) |
| Sophia Whitaker | (1825-04-21)21 April 1825 | 28 February 1887(1887-02-28) (aged 61) |
| Harriet Whitaker | (1825-04-21)21 April 1825 | 16 July 1882(1882-07-16) (aged 57) |
| Margaret Young | (1837-04-24)24 April 1837 | 3 May 1919(1919-05-03) (aged 82) |
| Josephine Elizabeth Roueche[25] | (1860-03-03)3 March 1860 | 27 November 1943(1943-11-27) (aged 83) |
I think some prominent nerve must have been severed or injured for, as soon as the ball struck me, I fell like a bird when shot, or an ox when struck by a butcher, and lost entirely and instantaneously all power of action or locomotion. I fell upon the windowsill and cried out, "I am shot!" Not possessing any power to move, I felt myself falling outside the window, but immediately I fell inside, from some, at that time, unknown cause. ...The doctor [Willard Richards] had taken my pantaloon's pocket, and put the watch in it with the purse, cut off the pocket, and tied a string around the top; it was in this position when brought home. My family, however, were not a little startled to find that my watch had been struck with a ball. I sent for my vest, and, upon examination it was found that there was a cut as if with a knife, in the vest pocket which had contained my watch. In the pocket the fragments of the glass were found literally ground to powder. It then occurred to me that a ball had struck me at the time I felt myself falling out of the window, and that it was this force that threw me inside.
Taylor, close behind the Prophet, had been using Markham's 'rascal-beater' to knock against the muskets and bayonets thrusting into the room. Richards waited behind Taylor, beyond striking distance. Without any way to shoot back, and certain death threatening from the landing, Taylor suddenly dashed toward the east window, intending to jump. A ball from the landing behind him struck Taylor in the left thigh, grazed the bone, and pushed within half an inch of the other side. He collapsed on the wide sill, denting the back of his vest pocket watch. The force shattered the glass cover of the timepiece against his ribs and pushed the internal gear pins against the enamel face, popping out a small segment later mistakenly identified as a bullet hole.
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| The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | President of the Church 10 October 1880–25 July 1887 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles June 1875–10 October 1880 | |
| Preceded by | Quorum of the Twelve Apostles 19 December 1838–10 October 1880 | |
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