John Taylor (1 November 1808 – 25 July 1887) was an English-born religious leader who served as the third
president of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ...
(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.
Early life
Taylor was born in
Milnthorpe
Milnthorpe is a small market town on the southern border of Cumbria, 7 miles south of Kendal, civil parish and electoral ward are in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. Historically in the county of Westmorland and on the A6, ...
,
Westmorland
Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...
(now part of
Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. ...
), England, the son of James and Agnes Taylor. He had formal schooling up to age fourteen, and then he served an initial apprenticeship to a
cooper
Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to:
* Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels
Arts and entertainment
* Cooper (producers), alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads
* Cooper (video game character), in ...
and later received training as a
woodturner
Woodturning is the craft of using a wood lathe with hand-held tools to cut a shape that is symmetrical around the axis of rotation. Like the potter's wheel, the wood lathe is a simple mechanism that can generate a variety of forms. The operator ...
and
cabinetmaker
A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves and/or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (so ...
. 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 the
angel Moroni
The Angel Moroni () is an angel whom Joseph Smith reported as having visited him on numerous occasions, beginning on September 21, 1823. According to Smith, the angel was the guardian of the golden plates, buried in the hill Cumorah near Smith's ...
.
He was
christened in the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church record ...
, but joined the
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
church at sixteen. He was appointed a
lay preacher
Lay preacher is a preacher or a religious proclaimer who is not a formally ordained cleric and who does not hold a formal university degree in theology. Lay preaching varies in importance between religions and their sects. Although lay preache ...
a year later, and felt a calling to preach in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the C ...
. Taylor's parents and siblings emigrated to
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of th ...
(present-day
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
) in 1830. Taylor stayed in England to dispose of the family property and joined his family in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anc ...
in 1832. He met
Leonora Cannon from the
Isle of Man
)
, anthem = "O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
while attending a Toronto Methodist Church and, although she initially rejected his proposal, married her on 28 January 1833.
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 included
Joseph Fielding and his sisters
Mary and Mercy, who later also became prominent in the
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by J ...
. While in Toronto, Taylor continued to work in his trade as a woodturner.
Early church service
Taylor and his wife first came in contact with the
Church of the Latter Day Saints in 1836 after meeting
Parley P. Pratt
Parley Parker Pratt Sr. (April 12, 1807 – May 13, 1857) was an early leader of the Latter Day Saint movement whose writings became a significant early nineteenth-century exposition of the Latter Day Saint faith. Named in 1835 as one of the first ...
, an
apostle
An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...
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 coordinating
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...
's visit to the Toronto area. They then moved to
Far 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 renamed
Nauvoo).
In 1839, Taylor and some of his fellow apostles served
missions in Britain. While there, Taylor preached in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
and was responsible for Mormon preaching in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
and the
Isle of Man
)
, anthem = "O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
.
Nauvoo
Taylor returned to
Nauvoo, Illinois, to serve as a city councilman, a chaplain, a colonel, a newspaper editor, and a judge advocate for the
Nauvoo Legion
The Nauvoo Legion was a state-authorized militia of the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, United States. With growing antagonism from surrounding settlements it came to have as its main function the defense of Nauvoo, and surrounding Latter Day Sain ...
. Taylor edited two newspapers in Nauvoo, ''
Times and Seasons'' and the ''
Nauvoo Neighbor
The ''Nauvoo Neighbor'' was a weekly newspaper edited and published by Latter Day Saint apostle John Taylor in Nauvoo, Illinois, from 1843 to 1845. While it was not an official publication of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, th ...
''. ''Times and Seasons'' was the official organ of the Latter Day Saint church; he was officially the assistant editor under
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...
, but due to Smith also being president of the church, Taylor made most of the editorial decisions. Taylor also edited the more politically concerned ''Nauvoo Neighbor''
and the ''
Wasp
A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborde ...
'', the predecessor of the ''Nauvoo Neighbor'', for about a year. Taylor was thus the editor of Nauvoo's two main papers from 1842 to 1846.
In 1842, Taylor was present at the organization of the
Relief Society
The Relief Society is a philanthropic and educational women's organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was founded in 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois, United States, and has more than 7 million members in over 18 ...
. He
set apart Sarah Cleveland and
Elizabeth Ann Whitney as counselors to
Emma Smith.
![JohnTaylorPocketWatch](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/JohnTaylorPocketWatch.jpg)
In 1844, Taylor was with church founder
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...
, his brother
Hyrum Smith, and fellow apostle
Willard Richards
Willard Richards (June 24, 1804 – March 11, 1854) was a physician and midwife/nurse trainer and an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. He served as second counselor to church president Brigham Young in the First Presidency of t ...
in the
Carthage, Illinois,
jail when the Smiths were
killed by a mob. Taylor was severely wounded in the conflict. His life may have been spared when a
musket ball
A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually di ...
directed towards his chest was stopped by a
pocket watch
A pocket watch (or pocketwatch) is a watch that is made to be carried in a pocket, as opposed to a wristwatch, which is strapped to the wrist.
They were the most common type of watch from their development in the 16th century until wristwatc ...
which he was carrying at the time. However, recent analysis shows the watch may instead have been damaged when Taylor fell against the windowsill.
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 and
Phineas Richards.
Migration to the Salt Lake Valley
In 1846–1847, most Latter-day Saints followed
Brigham Young
Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his death in 1877. During his time as ch ...
into Iowa then the
Salt Lake Valley
Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably Murray, Sandy, South Jordan, West Jordan, and West Valley City; its total ...
, 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 established
Great Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, the ...
.
Government positions
Taylor applied for and was granted United States citizenship in 1849. That same year he was appointed an associate judge in the provisional
State of Deseret
The State of Deseret (modern pronunciation , contemporaneously ) was a proposed state of the United States, proposed in 1849 by settlers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in Salt Lake City. The provisional stat ...
. He later served in the
Utah territorial legislature from 1853 to 1876. Taylor was elected
Speaker 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 of
Utah County, Utah
Utah County is the second-most populous county in the U.S. state of Utah. The county seat and largest city is Provo, which is the state's third-largest city, and the largest outside of Salt Lake County. As of the 2020 United States Census, the ...
. He also served as superintendent of schools for Utah Territory beginning in 1876.
Mission president
Taylor served as
president of two
missions of the LDS Church. In 1849, he began missionary work in France and was the first church mission president in the country. While in France, Taylor published a monthly newspaper called ''
L'Etoile du Deseret'' with the help of
Louis A. Bertrand. He also supervised missionary work in Germany, but did not himself go to any of the countries that would later form Germany.
In 1852, the
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the Americas, American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an inte ...
was published in French, with Taylor and Curtis E. Bolton credited as translators.
[Rachel Brutsch]
"Book of Mormon translation: French"
''Deseret News
The ''Deseret News'' () is the oldest continuously operating publication in the American west. Its multi-platform products feature journalism and commentary across the fields of politics, culture, family life, faith, sports, and entertainment. Th ...
'', 20 February 2012. Taylor supervised the translation, which was carried out by Bolton, Bertrand, Lazare Auge, and a "Mr. Wilhelm".
[
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 the ]Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The c ...
.
Utah economic development
While serving as mission president in France, Taylor was directed by church president Brigham Young
Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his death in 1877. During his time as ch ...
to prepare to establish a sugar industry in Utah Territory. This was done under the auspices of the Deseret Manufacturing Company. Taylor purchased sugar-making equipment in Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
while returning to the United States. These early attempts to produce sugar in Utah proved unsuccessful.
Musical ability
Taylor is reported to have had a marvelous singing voice. At the request of Hyrum Smith, he twice sang the song " A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief" in Carthage Jail
Carthage Jail is a historic building in Carthage, Illinois, listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). It was built in 1839 and is best known as the location of the 1844 killing of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint mo ...
just before the Smith brothers' murders.
Taylor wrote the lyrics to several hymn
A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn' ...
s, 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 1985 English-language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to th ...
edition of the LDS Church hymnal includes two hymns with lyrics by Taylor, "Go Ye Messengers of Glory" (no. 262) and "Go, Ye Messengers of Heaven" (no. 327).
Church president
Following Brigham Young's death in 1877, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to '' Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...
governed the church, with John Taylor as the quorum's president. Taylor became the third president of the church in 1880. He chose as his counselors Joseph F. Smith and George 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's Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal provinces and territo ...
(now in Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Terr ...
) and the Mexican state of Chihuahua; and the defense of plural marriage
Polygamy (called plural marriage by Latter-day Saints in the 19th century or the Principle by modern fundamentalist practitioners of polygamy) was practiced by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for more t ...
against increasing government opposition.
While he was church president, Taylor also established Zion's Central Board of Trade to coordinate local trade and production, which was done largely through the local stakes, on a wider basis.
In 1878, the Primary Association was founded by Aurelia Spencer Rogers in Farmington, Utah Territory. For a time, the organization was placed under the direction of Relief Society
The Relief Society is a philanthropic and educational women's organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was founded in 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois, United States, and has more than 7 million members in over 18 ...
General President Eliza R. Snow. In 1880, Taylor organized the churchwide adoption of the Primary Association and selected Louie B. Felt as its first general president. In October 1880, the Pearl of Great Price was canonized by the church.
Taylor also oversaw the issuance of a new edition of the Doctrine and Covenants. During his term as church president, the seventies quorums were also more fully and regularly organized.
In 1882, the United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washi ...
enacted the Edmunds Act
The Edmunds Act, also known as the Edmunds Anti-Polygamy Act of 1882,U.S.History.com is a United States federal statute, signed into law on March 23, 1882 by President Chester A. Arthur, declaring polygamy a felony in federal territories. The act ...
, which declared polygamy to be a felony
A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resul ...
. 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 the Gardo House alone with his sister, Agnes, to avoid prosecution and to avoid showing preference to any one of his families. 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."
Many viewed Mormon polygamy as religiously, socially, and politically threatening. In 1887, the US Congress passed the Edmunds–Tucker Act
The Edmunds–Tucker Act of 1887 was an Act of Congress that focused on restricting some practices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). An amendment to the earlier Edmunds Act, it was passed in response to the dispute ...
, which abolished women's suffrage in Utah Territory, forced wives to testify against their husbands, disincorporated the LDS Church, dismantled the Perpetual Emigrating Fund Company, abolished the Nauvoo Legion
The Nauvoo Legion was a state-authorized militia of the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, United States. With growing antagonism from surrounding settlements it came to have as its main function the defense of Nauvoo, and surrounding Latter Day Sain ...
, 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 the 1886 Revelation
In the Mormon fundamentalist movement, the 1886 Revelation is the text of a revelation said to have been received by John Taylor, third President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), on 27 September 1886, which restate ...
. Photographs of the original document exist. It restated the permanence of the "New and Everlasting Covenant", which these fundamentalist groups consider to be a direct reference to the practice of plural marriage
Polygamy (called plural marriage by Latter-day Saints in the 19th century or the Principle by modern fundamentalist practitioners of polygamy) was practiced by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for more t ...
. The validity of the revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities.
Background
Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on ...
is rejected by the LDS Church, which does not consider it to be authentic, but it is used by fundamentalist groups as justification for their continued practice of polygamy.
Death
Taylor died on 25 July 1887, from congestive heart failure
Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, an ...
in Kaysville, Utah Territory. Taylor was buried at the Salt Lake City Cemetery
The Salt Lake City Cemetery is a cemetery in northeastern Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, that is one of the largest city-operated cemeteries in the United States.
Description
The cemetery is located above 4th Avenue and east of N Street in ...
in The Avenues, Salt Lake City, Utah. For two years after his death, the church again was without a presidency. The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, with Wilford Woodruff
Wilford Woodruff Sr. (March 1, 1807September 2, 1898) was an American religious leader who served as the fourth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1889 until his death. He ended the public practice of ...
as president of the quorum, assumed leadership during this interim period. In the April 1889 church 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 Woodruff's vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Taylor's teachings as an apostle were the 2003 course of study in the LDS Church's Sunday Relief Society
The Relief Society is a philanthropic and educational women's organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was founded in 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois, United States, and has more than 7 million members in over 18 ...
and Melchizedek priesthood
The priesthood of Melchizedek is a role in Abrahamic religions, modelled on Melchizedek, combining the dual position of king and priest.
Hebrew Bible
Melchizedek is a king and priest appearing in the Book of Genesis. The name means "King of Right ...
classes.
Image:JohnTaylorGraveNorth.jpg,
Image:JohnTaylorGraveWestLower.jpg,
Image:JohnTaylorGraveWest.jpg,
Image:JohnTaylorGraveSouth.jpg,
Image:JohnTaylorGraveEast.jpg,
Family
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.[ B. H. Roberts, ''The Life of John Taylor'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: George Q. Cannon & Sons, 1897).] He was the father of 34 children.[ Richard L. Jensen]
"The John Taylor Family,"
'' Ensign'', February 1980, pp. 50–51.
Taylor's son, John W. Taylor, continued to serve in the church and in politics and helped to shepherd Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...
to statehood
A state is a centralized political organization that imposes and enforces rules over a population within a territory. There is no undisputed definition of a state. One widely used definition comes from the German sociologist Max Weber: a "sta ...
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 the Utah territorial legislature.
Taylor's wife Margaret Young Taylor was a member of the inaugural general presidency of what is today the church's Young Women organization. Taylor's daughter Annie Taylor Hyde was a leader in the Relief Society
The Relief Society is a philanthropic and educational women's organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was founded in 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois, United States, and has more than 7 million members in over 18 ...
general presidency and was the founder of Daughters of Utah Pioneers
The International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers (ISDUP, DUP) is a women's organization dedicated to preserving the history of the original settlers of the geographic area covered by the State of Deseret and Utah Territory, including Mormon pio ...
.
Wives
Works
*
*
*
*
*
*
* LDS Churc
publication number 35969
See also
* Cannon family
Notes and references
Sources
* Allen, James B.; Glen M. Leonard. '' The Story of the Latter-day Saints.'' Deseret Book Co., Salt Lake City, UT, 1976. .
* Krakauer, Jon. '' Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith'' ( Doubleday, New York, 2003). . The book takes its title from part of a speech given by Taylor on 4 January 1880 in defense of the Mormon practice of polygamy: "We believe in honesty, morality, and purity; but when they enact tyrannical laws, forbidding us the free exercise of our religion, we cannot submit. God is greater than the United States, and when the Government conflicts with heaven, we will be ranged under the banner of heaven and against the Government."
*
* Nibley, Preson. ''The Presidents of the Church.'' Deseret Book Company
Deseret Book () is an American publishing company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, that also operates a chain of bookstores throughout the western United States. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation (DMC), the ...
, Salt Lake City, UT, 1974. .
* Taylor, Mark H. Editor. ''Witness to the Martyrdom'' Deseret Book Company
Deseret Book () is an American publishing company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, that also operates a chain of bookstores throughout the western United States. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation (DMC), the ...
, Salt Lake City, UT, 1999. .
Further reading
*
External links
Links to texts
*
*
*
Other links
Grampa Bill's G.A. Pages: John Taylor
Biography
at Joseph Smith Papers Project website
Pictures of some of John Taylor's houses.
The Milo Andrus, Jr. Website includes the John Taylor family with ancestry and descendants.
*
John Taylor letters, MSS 677
a
L. Tom Perry Special Collections
Brigham Young University
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Writers from Toronto
British general authorities (LDS Church)
American general authorities (LDS Church)