John Taylor (Mormon)

John Taylor (Mormon)
Name	John Taylor
Birth date	November 1, 1808
Birth place	Milnthorpe, Westmorland, England
Death date	July 25, 1887
Death place	Kaysville, Utah Territory, United States
Occupation	Religious leader, printer, missionary
Known for	Third President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

John Taylor (Mormon) was an English-born convert who became a leading missionary, apostle, and the third President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during a turbulent era of westward migration, doctrinal development, and legal confrontation. A former Methodist and Anglican-influenced youth, Taylor became a printer, polemicist, and prolific writer who shaped Latter-day Saint journalism, polity, and doctrines including the defense of plural marriage. His presidency followed the deaths of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young and was marked by persecution, exile, and debates with the United States Congress and the Supreme Court.

Early life and conversion

John Taylor was born in Milnthorpe, Westmorland (now Cumbria), England, into a working-class family during the reign of George III. He apprenticed as a printer and emigrated to Upper Canada (now Ontario) before moving to the United States, settling in Vermont and later New York. Influenced by Methodism circuits and the revivalism associated with the Second Great Awakening, Taylor encountered Latter Day Saint missionaries in the 1830s and was baptized into the church led by Joseph Smith in 1836. After baptism, he joined the printing operations of the church, aligning with figures such as Oliver Cowdery and John Whitmer.

Migration and missionary work

Following conversion, Taylor participated in the east-to-west migrations of the church, relocating to Kirtland and later to Nauvoo, where he served in the church press and as editor of the Times and Seasons. He embarked on missionary tours across the British Isles, engaging with contemporaries like Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde, and Parley P. Pratt in proselytizing campaigns that fostered large-scale conversions and emigration from England, Scotland, and Wales. Taylor’s work intersected with transatlantic migrations organized by emigration societies and with movements through Missouri where members faced conflict culminating in the Extermination Order and eventual resettlement in Illinois.

Church leadership and presidency

Taylor was ordained an apostle and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles during a period of succession crises after the assassination of Joseph Smith in 1844. He rose to prominence alongside leaders including Brigham Young, George A. Smith, and Wilford Woodruff. During the exodus from Nauvoo to the Salt Lake Valley, Taylor supervised church affairs, worked with the Perpetual Emigrating Fund, and coordinated with civic entities such as the Deseret Territory provisional government. After Young’s death in 1877, Taylor assumed the presidency of the church, leading through interactions with Rutherford B. Hayes-era federal officials, territorial governors, and members of the Republican Party who sought to enforce federal statutes in the Utah Territory.

Doctrinal contributions and teachings

As a theologian and editor, Taylor developed interpretations of revelations such as those in the Doctrine and Covenants and defended doctrines promoted by Joseph Smith, including the concept of continuing revelation, priesthood restoration, and temple ordinances practiced in Nauvoo and later in Salt Lake City. His writings and sermons addressed scripture exegesis, prophetic authority, and the role of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in administration. Taylor engaged with contemporary thinkers and controversies involving figures like Orson Pratt, Alexander H. Smith, and critics such as William Smith and secular journalists in publications across New York City, Boston, and Washington, D.C..

Polygamy and legal controversies

Taylor became an outspoken defender of plural marriage, a practice publicly tied to leaders including Brigham Young and earlier taught by Joseph Smith. His defense brought him into conflict with federal legislation such as the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act and later antipolygamy statutes. During his presidency, the church faced prosecutions, property seizures, and arrests under laws enforced by the U.S. Marshals and adjudicated in courts including the Supreme Court. Taylor and other leaders confronted issues involving Edmunds Act prosecutions, Edmunds–Tucker Act implications for church corporations, and disputes with attorneys and politicians in Washington, D.C., including debates with members of Congress and legal counsel in Chicago and Salt Lake City.

Later years, death, and legacy

In his later years, Taylor survived the 1880s federal crackdown, imprisonment threats, and internal debates as the church navigated sociopolitical pressures in the Gilded Age. He collaborated with church members such as George Q. Cannon and Heber J. Grant in maintaining ecclesiastical continuity and the operation of church institutions including presses, publishing houses, and the Deseret News. Taylor died in 1887 in Kaysville, leaving a contested legacy shaped by polemical defenses of plural marriage, contributions to Latter-day Saint journalism, and leadership during the church’s territorial period. His life intersected with broader currents involving migration, Anglo-American religious revival, and the legal evolution of church–state relations in the United States.

Category:Presidents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Category:English Latter Day Saint leaders