| John W. Taylor | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Quorum of the Twelve Apostles | |
| May 15, 1884 (1884-05-15) – April 1905 | |
| End reason | Resigned from Quorum in opposition to church's stance againstplural marriage |
| LDS ChurchApostle | |
| May 15, 1884 (1884-05-15) – March 28, 1911 (1911-03-28)[1] | |
| Reason | Death ofCharles C. Rich |
| End reason | Excommunicated for opposition to church's stance againstplural marriage |
| Reorganization at end of term | No apostles ordained[2] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Whittaker Taylor (1858-05-15)May 15, 1858 Provo,Utah Territory, United States |
| Died | October 10, 1916(1916-10-10) (aged 58) Forest Dale,Utah, United States |
| Cause of death | Stomach cancer |
| 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) | 6 |
| Parents | John Taylor Sophia Whitaker |
John Whittaker Taylor (May 15, 1858 – October 10, 1916) was a member of theQuorum of the Twelve Apostles ofthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and was the son ofJohn Taylor, the church's thirdpresident. While he was an apostle, Taylor was excommunicated from the LDS Church for opposing the church's abandonment ofplural marriage. He was subsequently posthumously re-baptized in 1965. He was also reinstated to his position in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
John W. Taylor was born inProvo,Utah Territory, while his parents, John Taylor and Sophia Whitaker, were taking shelter there, along with other church members, during theUtah War. He married May Leona Rich (daughter of John Taylor Rich and Agnes Young) on October 19, 1882, and moved toCassia County, Idaho, to ranch. As a practitioner of plural marriage, Taylor later married Nellie Todd, Janet Maria Wooley, Eliza Roxie Welling, Rhoda Welling, and Ellen Georgina Sandberg. He also worked as acounty clerk and anewspaper editor.
Taylor's son,Samuel, became his biographer and a prolific writer of fiction and non-fiction.
In the LDS Church, Taylor was ordained as adeacon around 1872 and as ateacher in 1874. He also served asmissionary in the United States,Canada, andEngland. Taylor wascalled as anapostle and member of the church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles by his father. He was ordained on May 15, 1884, his 26th birthday.
Taylor was a staunch believer in the doctrine of plural marriage, and had in total six wives and 36 children. Although the church officially forbade new plural marriages with the1890 Manifesto, when Taylor had three wives, he continued to privately marry additional wives. Under pressure, he submitted his resignation from the Quorum of the Twelve on October 28, 1905.[3]Matthias F. Cowley also resigned from the Quorum at the same time over the plural marriage dispute.[3] The following February,Marriner W. Merrill died. In the Aprilgeneral conference of 1906, the resignations of Cowley and Taylor were presented to and accepted by the general church membership.[3] As a result, three new apostles were called to replace them and Merrill:George F. Richards,Orson F. Whitney, andDavid O. McKay.
Taylor disputed with the Quorum of the Twelve often after his resignation. He was finallyexcommunicated on March 28, 1911 for continued opposition to theSecond Manifesto.[4][5] However, he remained a believer inMormonism until his death. He died ofstomach cancer at his home in Forest Dale,Salt Lake County, Utah, at age 58.[6] He was buried in theSalt Lake City Cemetery.
Taylor was posthumously officiallyrebaptized by proxy and reinstated into the church and on May 21, 1965, received the ordinance of Restoration of Blessings by proxy under the hands ofJoseph Fielding Smith,president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, with the unanimous approval of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.[7][8][9]
The TaylorStake of the LDS Church, which was headquartered inRaymond, Alberta, was named in Taylor's honor. As an apostle, Taylor had made considerable efforts to assist the Latter-day Saint settlers inCanada. The Taylor Stake was renamed the Raymond Alberta Stake in the 1970s.
In the 2000s, the town of Raymond built a street named Taylor Street in his honor. An LDS Church chapel was built on the street, and it is named the Taylor Street Chapel.
Media related toJohn W. Taylor (Mormon) at Wikimedia Commons
| Religious titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Quorum of the Twelve Apostles May 15, 1884 – April 1905 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
