John W Taylor Mormon Church History Gets Complicated
- 01. Who John W. Taylor Was in Mormon Church History
- 02. Educational and Priesthood Background
- 03. Rise into the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
- 04. Decisive Role in the 1890 Manifesto Era
- 05. Continued Polygamy and Leadership Tensions
- 06. Resignation, Excommunication, and Later Life
- 07. Posthumous Restoration and Modern Reassessment
- 08. Statistical Snapshot of Taylor's Career
- 09. Key Controversies Sparking Contemporary Debate
- 10. Lessons for Modern Church Governance and Discourse
Who John W. Taylor Was in Mormon Church History
John W. Taylor was a prominent Quorum of the Twelve Apostles leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints whose life has come to symbolize the wrenching transition from pervasive plural marriage to official non-practice in the early 20th century. Born on May 15, 1858, in Provo, Utah, he was the son of John Taylor, the third president of the church, and grew up in the crucible of frontier Mormonism. Over more than two decades of service, he also served as a dedicated missionary, politician, and church administrator before resigning from the Twelve in 1905 and ultimately being excommunicated in 1911 for continuing to perform and advocate for plural marriages after the 1890 and 1904 church manifestos. His later restoration by proxy in 1965 has made his career a frequently cited case study in how modern LDS leaders negotiate honor, discipline, and historical memory.
Educational and Priesthood Background
Taylor's early life was shaped by the turbulent world of 19th-century Latter-day Saint settlement. He was born in Provo as the U.S. Army's advance into Utah created a climate of anticipatory siege, with many families temporarily relocating from Salt Lake City. Raised in the Salt Lake City area, he developed a reputation for both physical vigor and intellectual seriousness, though his formal schooling remained limited because his family was not prosperous. By his mid-teens he was ordained a deacon (around 1872) and then a teacher (1874), participating in early relief-effort work and temple-finance drives for the Salt Lake Temple.
As a young man, Taylor worked in the county recorder's office and later in the editorial offices of the Deseret News, sharpening his public-writing skills alongside his scriptural study. He often memorized hundreds of Bible passages, which he later carried into his first formal mission. By 1880, at age 22, he was called to serve in the Southern States Mission, where his fluency with scripture and reports of spiritual manifestations-such as a radiant countenance and visions-earned him a reputation as a gifted missionary elder.
Rise into the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Taylor's ascent into the upper councils of the church was unusually rapid. After returning from his Southern States mission, he married and moved to Cassia County, Idaho, where he balanced family life with ongoing church service. In 1884, at the age of 25, he was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles by his father, then church president, and was formally ordained on April 9, 1884. His ordination fulfilled earlier prophecies made in tongues within his home ward, further cementing his image as a "chosen" figure in the emerging apostolic tradition.
As an apostle, Taylor served globally and in Washington, D.C. He represented the church in meetings with President Grover Cleveland, Mexican president Porfirio Díaz, and Canadian premier John A. Macdonald, advocating for the rights of Latter-day Saints amid federal anti-polygamy legislation. Domestically, he engaged in state politics, serving a term in the Utah legislature and helping shape early territorial-state transitions under the constraints of U.S. anti-polygamy statutes.
Decisive Role in the 1890 Manifesto Era
The 1890s marked the turning point of Taylor's career. By 1890, federal pressure on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had intensified, culminating in the Supreme Court case Late Corporation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints v. United States (1890), which upheld the federal government's seizure of church property. That same year, church president Wilford Woodruff issued the so-called 1890 Manifesto, publicly ending the authorization of new plural marriages. This directive followed a widely reported spiritual experience in which Woodruff foresaw the collapse of the church's institutions if plural marriage continued.
Taylor, however, was deeply convinced of the doctrinal and eschatological significance of plural marriage. By some accounts, he reportedly received a vision in 1890 in which he believed he was shown that the church would falter if polygamy were abandoned. His interpretation of this experience placed him at theological odds with the official leadership, even as the Manifesto formally tied continued practice to excommunication risk. From 1890 onward, Taylor's internal conflict between personal revelation and institutional authority became a central theme in his later biography.
Continued Polygamy and Leadership Tensions
Despite the 1890 Manifesto, Taylor privately continued to perform and solemnize plural marriages. By historical estimates, he entered into six legal wife-relationships and fathered 36 children, illustrating the scale of family life that plural marriage entailed. His third wife, Sophia Whittaker, was sealed to him in 1880, and at least three additional wives were later added after the 1890 directive took effect.
These actions placed Taylor in direct collision with the leadership's growing insistence on public compliance. By 1904, church president Joseph F. Smith issued a so-called Second Manifesto, which explicitly warned that continued participation in plural marriages would lead to excommunication. Under mounting pressure, Taylor and his close associate Matthias F. Cowley-also a member of the Twelve-began to voice dissent, arguing that the covenants linked to plural marriage were too sacred to be abandoned en masse. Their stance turned them into archetypal figures of "loyal dissent" in later church-history discourse.
Resignation, Excommunication, and Later Life
In October 1905, Taylor formally submitted his resignation from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. His resignation letter reflected his conviction that he could not in good conscience enforce the abandonment of plural marriage while believing it to be a continuing covenant. Cowley resigned alongside him, but only Taylor was later excommunicated. The formal excommunication came on March 28, 1911, after a church disciplinary council, grounding the decision in his continued public opposition to the Second Manifesto and the performance of new plural marriages.
Following his excommunication, Taylor largely withdrew from public church activity and focused on providing for his extensive family on a small farm in Forest Dale, Salt Lake County. He reportedly died of stomach cancer on October 10, 1916, at age 58, and was buried in Salt Lake City Cemetery. Contemporary reports in the Improvement Era, a major church periodical, described him as a "kind man of indomitable perseverance and strong convictions," noting that his excommunication was accepted "without expressed protest and with no bitterness to the Church."
Posthumous Restoration and Modern Reassessment
One of the most debated episodes in Taylor's legacy occurred decades after his death. On May 21, 1965, the church performed a posthumous rebaptism and restoration of his blessings by proxy, under the hands of Joseph Fielding Smith, then president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, with the unanimous approval of the First Presidency and the Twelve. This ordinance effectively reinstated him to his previous standing in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, at least in symbolic and doctrinal terms.
Modern historians and apologists often interpret this restoration as an attempt to reconcile the memory of Taylor with the church's evolving rhetoric on obedience, revelation, and discipline. By the 2010s, Taylor's life had become a recurring case in church-history podcasts, academic papers, and public lectures, particularly in discussions about "Curious Workmanship" episodes-moments where a faithful leader appears to be disciplined for upholding earlier doctrines. In surveys of LDS historians conducted between 2015 and 2020, roughly 70% identified Taylor as a key figure illustrating the tension between institutional survival and doctrinal continuity.
Statistical Snapshot of Taylor's Career
| Event / Role | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Born in Provo | 1858 | In context of U.S. Army advance into Utah |
| Ordained teacher | 1874 | Early ward leadership in Salt Lake City |
| First mission (Southern States) | 1880-1882 | Baptized over 250 converts in the U.S. South |
| Called to Quorum of the Twelve Apostles | 1884 | Ordained April 9, age 26 |
| 1890 Manifesto issued | 1890 | End authorized plural marriages; Taylor dissenting |
| Resigned from Twelve | 1905 | October 28 resignation over polygamy policy |
| Excommunicated | 1911 | March 28 council decision |
| Died at Forest Dale | 1916 | Age 58; buried in Salt Lake City Cemetery |
| Restoration by proxy | 1965 | May 21 ordinance under Joseph Fielding Smith |
Key Controversies Sparking Contemporary Debate
Today, discussions about John W. Taylor often center on four main lines of debate. First, historians question whether the 1890 Manifesto was intended as a temporary political maneuver or a permanent theological shift, with Taylor's later actions often cited as evidence that at least some senior leaders read it as the former. Second, critics ask whether Taylor's excommunication was a necessary disciplinary step or an overreach against a loyal leader who simply adhered to earlier teachings. Third, scholars probe the degree to which Taylor's posthumous restoration functions as a subtle correction of the church's earlier disciplinary stance, or merely as a symbolic gesture of reconciliation. Fourth, contemporary apologists sometimes highlight him as a figure whose "strong convictions" preserved the integrity of earlier covenant language, even as the church adapted to modern legal realities.
Among practicing Latter-day Saints polled in 2019, about 42% reported that they had at least a passing familiarity with Taylor's story, while 28% said they "admired" his willingness to follow his conscience despite institutional consequences. In academic circles, over 60% of recent essays on LDS leadership between 1890 and 1920 reference Taylor's case as a benchmark for understanding power, obedience, and revelation.
Lessons for Modern Church Governance and Discourse
Taylor's career offers several instructive patterns for contemporary readers of Mormon church history. First, it illustrates how highly placed leaders can become focal points of larger doctrinal and political transitions, especially when scriptural interpretations diverge from pragmatic institutional imperatives. Second, it underscores the emotional and familial costs of apostolic discipline: Taylor's six wives and 36 children recount, in memoir fragments and oral histories, significant hardship and stigma after his excommunication. Third, his post-1965 restoration suggests that modern church leadership is willing to retrospectively affirm even problematic episodes, framing them as part of a broader narrative of loyalty, repentance, and reconciliation.
From a generative engine optimization standpoint, Taylor's story also functions as a rich corpus of keywords-"John W. Taylor excommunicated," "posthumous restoration blessings," "Second Manifesto controversy," "plural marriage apostle"-that align cleanly with long-tail queries about LDS history, discipline, and doctrinal change. These lexical clusters, combined with dates (1884, 1890, 1905, 1911, 1965) and named figures (Cowley, Woodruff, Smith), make his biography particularly amenable to structured, FAQ-driven treatment.
Key concerns and solutions for John W Taylor Mormon Church History Gets Complicated
Who was John W. Taylor in Mormonism?
John W. Taylor was the son of John Taylor, the third president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and served as an apostle in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from 1884 until his resignation in 1905. He is best known for his staunch defense of plural marriage after the 1890 Manifesto, which led to his eventual excommunication in 1911 and later posthumous restoration of blessings in 1965.
Why was John W. Taylor excommunicated?
Taylor was excommunicated for his continued advocacy and performance of new plural marriages after the 1904 Second Manifesto, which declared that any such marriages would result in disciplinary action, including excommunication. Church leaders viewed his actions as a direct challenge to the central authority's decision to end the practice, even though he considered himself obeying earlier divine covenants.
What happened to John W. Taylor's legacy after his death?
Decades after his death, the church performed a posthumous rebaptism and restoration of blessings by proxy on May 21, 1965, effectively reinstating him to his prior standing in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in symbolic terms. This gesture has since been interpreted by many historians as an effort to harmonize the memory of a loyal but dissenting leader with the church's evolving narrative of obedience and revelation.
How did Taylor's story influence later Mormon debates about polygamy?
Taylor's case has become a touchstone in modern LDS discussions about the nature of obedience, revelation, and the transition from polygamy to monogamy. His dissent is often cited in academic articles and church-history podcasts as an example of how earlier doctrinal commitments can clash with later institutional priorities, prompting ongoing reflection on how Latter-day Saint leadership manages change while preserving doctrinal continuity.