John Taylor (Mormon)
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John Taylor | |
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3rd President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | |
October 10, 1880 | – July 25, 1887|
Predecessor | Brigham Young |
Successor | Wilford Woodruff |
President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles | |
April 10, 1875 | – October 10, 1880|
Predecessor | Orson Hyde |
Successor | Wilford Woodruff |
End reason | Became President of the Church |
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles | |
December 19, 1838 | – October 10, 1880|
Called by | Joseph Smith |
End reason | Became President of the Church |
LDS Church Apostle | |
December 19, 1838 | – July 25, 1887|
Called by | Joseph Smith |
Reason | Replenishing Quorum of the Twelve[1] |
Reorganization at end of term | Marriner W. Merrill, Anthon H. Lund, and Abraham H. Cannon ordained[2] |
Personal details | |
Born | Milnthorpe, Westmorland, England | 1 November 1808
Died | 25 July 1887 Kaysville, Utah, United States | (aged 78)
Resting place | Salt Lake City Cemetery 40°46′37.92″N 111°51′28.8″W / 40.7772000°N 111.858000°W |
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 third president of the 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.
Early life
Taylor was born in
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. 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, an apostle 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's visit to the Toronto area.[4] 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
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. Taylor edited two newspapers in Nauvoo, Times and Seasons and the Nauvoo Neighbor. Times and Seasons was the official organ of the Latter Day Saint church; he was officially the assistant editor under Joseph Smith, 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[5] and the Wasp, the predecessor of the Nauvoo 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 the Relief Society. He set apart Sarah Cleveland and Elizabeth Ann Whitney as counselors to Emma Smith.[7]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/JohnTaylorPocketWatch.jpg/200px-JohnTaylorPocketWatch.jpg)
In 1844, Taylor was with church founder
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,
Migration to the Salt Lake Valley
In 1846–1847, most Latter-day Saints followed
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. 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. He also served as superintendent of schools for Utah Territory beginning in 1876.[11]
Mission president
Taylor served as
In 1852, the Book 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 the
Utah economic development
While serving as mission president in France, Taylor was directed by church president Brigham Young 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 while returning to the United States. These early attempts to produce sugar in Utah proved unsuccessful.[11]
Musical ability
Taylor is reported to have had a marvelous singing voice. At the request of
Taylor wrote the lyrics to several
Church president
Following Brigham Young's death in 1877, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles 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
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.[11]
In 1878, the
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.[14]
In 1882, the United States Congress enacted the Edmunds Act, which declared polygamy to be a felony. 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.[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.
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
Death
Taylor died on 25 July 1887, from
Taylor's teachings as an apostle were the 2003 course of study in the LDS Church's Sunday Relief Society and Melchizedek priesthood classes.
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North view of John Taylor's Grave monument.
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Lower portion of west side of monument.
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West view of monument
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South view of monument.
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East view of bottom portion of monument.
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.[23] He was the father of 34 children.[24]
Taylor's son,
Another son,
Taylor's wife Margaret Young Taylor was a member of the inaugural general presidency of what is today the church's
Wives
Wife | Born | Died |
---|---|---|
Leonora Cannon | 6 October 1796 | 9 December 1868 | (aged 72)
Elizabeth Kaighin | 11 September 1811 | 30 September 1895 | (aged 84)
Jane Ballantyne | 11 April 1813 | 26 December 1901 | (aged 88)
Mary Ann Oakley | 20 March 1826 | 30 August 1911 | (aged 85)
Sophia Whitaker | 21 April 1825 | 28 February 1887 | (aged 61)
Harriet Whitaker | 21 April 1825 | 16 July 1882 | (aged 57)
Margaret Young | 24 April 1837 | 3 May 1919 | (aged 82)
Josephine Elizabeth Roueche[25] | 3 March 1860 | 27 November 1943 | (aged 83)
Works
- Taylor, John (1852). The Government of God. S. W. Richards.
- — (1882). An Examination into and an Elucidation of the Great Principle of the Mediation and Atonement of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Deseret News.
- — (1943). The Gospel Kingdom: Selections from the Writings and Discourses of John Taylor. compiled by Bookcraft, Inc.
- — (1984). Samuel W. Taylor and Raymond W. Taylor. (ed.). The John Taylor Papers: Records of the Last Utah Pioneer, Vol I, 1836–1877, the Apostle. Taylor Trust.
- — (1985). Samuel W. Taylor and Raymond W. Taylor. (ed.). The John Taylor Papers: Records of the Last Utah Pioneer, Vol II, 1877–1887, the President. Taylor Trust.
- — (1996). Dean C. Jessee. (ed.). John Taylor Nauvoo Journal. Grandin Book.
- — (2001). Teachings of Presidents of the Church: John Taylor. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. LDS Church publication number 35969.
See also
Notes and references
- ^ The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles had not had twelve members since 3 September 1837, when Luke S. Johnson, John F. Boynton, and Lyman E. Johnson were disfellowshipped and removed from the Quorum. Since that time, William E. McLellin had been excommunicated and removed from the Quorum and David W. Patten had been killed. The ordinations of Taylor and John E. Page brought membership in the Quorum of the Twelve to nine members.
- ^ Merrill, Lund, and Cannon were ordained at the same time to fill three vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles that had been created by the excommunication of Albert Carrington; the death of Taylor and the reorganization of the First Presidency; and the death of Erastus Snow.
- ^ Pettit, Tom. "Moroni Appeared to 17 Different People!". Living Heritage Tours. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
- ^ Prete and others. Canaadian Mormons. p. 35
- ^ a b Smith 1992, p. 1438
- ^ "The Life and Ministry of John Taylor". ChurchofJesusChrist.org. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
- Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter DaysVol. 1. P. 450
- ^ Taylor, John. Witness to the Martyrdom. pp. 91, 114–115.
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.
- ^ Leonard, Glen (2002). A Place of Peace, a People of Promise. Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book.
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.
- ^ Leonard. Nauvoo. p. 483
- ^ a b c Smith 1992, p. 1439
- ^ a b Rachel Brutsch, "Book of Mormon translation: French", Deseret News, 20 February 2012.
- History of the Church, vol. 6, pp. 614–615; vol. 7, p. 101.
- ^ Clark, James R. "Messages of the First Presidency, vol. 2"
- ISBN 1-4286-0180-5.
- ISBN 0-02-616600-3.
- ^ Journal of Discourses 26:152.
- OCLC 6554937
- ^ Questions concerning the 1886 revelation Archived 10 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine, mormonfundamentalism.com, Retrieved 22 May 2008.
- ^ [2] Revelation to John Taylor. September 27, 1826]
- ^ "Official Statement". Deseret News, Church Section. 18 June 1933. Retrieved 22 July 2013.- Reads: "Furthermore, so far as the authorities of the Church are concerned and so far as the members of the Church are concerned, since this pretended revelation, if ever given, was never presented to and adopted by the Church or by any Council of the Church, and since to the contrary, an inspired rule of action, the Manifesto, was (subsequently to the pretended revelation) presented to and adopted by the Church, which inspired rule in its terms, purport, and effect was directly opposite to the interpretation given to the pretended revelation, the said pretended revelation could have no validity and no binding effect and force upon Church members, and action under it would be unauthorized, illegal, and void."
- ^ 1886 Revelation Archived 3 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine, fldstruth.org, Retrieved 9 May 2008.
- ^ B. H. Roberts, The Life of John Taylor (Salt Lake City, Utah: George Q. Cannon & Sons, 1897).
- ^ Richard L. Jensen, "The John Taylor Family," Ensign, February 1980, pp. 50–51.
- ISBN 1-56085-196-1.
Sources
- ISBN 978-0-87747-594-1.
- ISBN 978-1-4000-3280-8. 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."
- Smith, Paul Thomas (1992), "Taylor, John", in OCLC 24502140
- Nibley, Preson. The Presidents of the Church. ISBN 978-0-87747-414-2.
- Taylor, Mark H. Editor. Witness to the Martyrdom ISBN 978-1-57345-449-0.
Further reading
- Woodger, Mary (2009), Champion of Liberty: John Taylor, ISBN 978-0-8425-2736-1
External links
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Links to texts
- Works by John Taylor at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about John Taylor at Internet Archive
- Works by John Taylor at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
Other links
- Grampa Bill's G.A. Pages: John Taylor
- Biography at Joseph Smith Papers Project website
- Homes of John Taylor Pictures of some of John Taylor's houses.
- The Milo Andrus, Jr. Website includes the John Taylor family with ancestry and descendants.
- "Utah History To Go: Struggle for statehood". Archived from the original on 28 August 2005. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
- John Taylor letters, MSS 677 at L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University