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|
End reason | Became President of the Church |
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles | |
December 19, 1838 | – October 10, 1880|
End reason | Became President of the Church |
LDS Church Apostle | |
December 19, 1838 | – July 25, 1887|
Reason | Replenishing Quorum of the Twelve |
Reorganization at end of term |
Marriner W. Merrill, Anthon H. Lund, and Abraham H. Cannon ordained |
Personal details | |
Born |
John Taylor November 1, 1808 Milnthorpe (Cumbria), England, United Kingdom |
Died | July 25, 1887 Kaysville, Utah Territory, 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 |
Children | 34 |
Signature | |
John Taylor (November 1, 1808 – July 25, 1887) was an English 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 only president of the LDS Church to have been born outside of the United States.
Taylor was born in Milnthorpe, Westmorland (now part of Cumbria), 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 and later received training as a woodturner and cabinetmaker. 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" - the angel Moroni. He was christened in the Church of England, but joined the Methodist church at sixteen. He was appointed a lay preacher a year later, and felt a calling to preach in America. Taylor's parents and siblings emigrated to Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) in 1830. Taylor stayed in England to dispose of the family property and joined his family in Toronto in 1832. He met Leonora Cannon from the Isle of Man while attending a Toronto Methodist Church and, although she initially rejected his proposal, married her on January 28, 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. While in Toronto Taylor continued to work in his trade as a woodturner.