Six Things You Did NOT Know About John Taylor The Third Prophet

Within the Church, we talk a lot about Joseph Smith as the prophet of the restoration and a lot about the current prophet of the Church. But what about the other prophets? What about Lorenzo Snow? Heber J. Grant? Or John Taylor? The more I learn the histories of these spiritual giants the more I am shocked that I have not heard their stories! I want to share six amazing things about John Taylor that you probably have not heard before.

John Taylor was the first non-American apostle and only Prophet!

All the original twelve apostles of this dispensation were from the United States, most coming from New England states. John Taylor, the 14th man to be an apostle in the dispensation was the first to not be from America, he was born in England. And he was living in Canada when he met the missionaries. John Tayor was also the first and only President and Prophet of the Church not to be an American.

John Taylor helped prevent Parley P. Pratt’s apostasy.

This story is AMAZING! In 1836 Parley P. Pratt in response to a prophecy by Heber C. Kimball went on a mission to Toronto Canada. While there he found, taught, and baptized John Taylor and his family on May 9th, 1836. John Taylor was shortly thereafter set apart as an Elder and led the Church in Toronto Canada.

THIS IS WHERE IT GETS GOOD. Recent convert John Taylor visits Kirtland less than a year after his baptism and while there he finds his missionary, Parley P. Pratt starting to falter in his faithfulness. And what does John Taylor do? He testifies to Parley and calls him to repentance, he said: “If the word was true six months ago, it is true today; if Joseph Smith was then a prophet, he is now a prophet.”

Not only was he testifying to his missionary, but Parley P. Pratt was also an apostle at the time too! And it is important to note, that during the three-year period of 1836-1839 SEVEN of the original Twelve apostles were excommunicated for apostasy, including the President of the Quorum Thomas B. Marsh! (An Eighth apostle was excommunicated in 1842, and another died in 1838).

Shortly after John Taylor’s admonishing, Parley P. Pratt reconciled himself with the prophet Joseph and stayed true and faithful in his calling until his martyrdom in Arkansas on May 13th, 1857. Interesting fact, some of the Baker–Fancher party, the group of Arkansas Pioneers killed in the Mountain Meadows Massacre, bragged that they had participated in the martyrdom of Pratt. The Mountain Meadows Massacre took place less than four months after Pratt was murdered.

John Taylor’s son started FHE.

This one is not necessarily about John Taylor himself, but rather his son Frank Young Taylor. Frank Young Taylor was the Stake President of the Salt Lake City’s Granite Stake. In 1909 after taking concerns about what he could do for the families in his Stake to the Lord, he felt prompted to set aside one night a week for “home worship.” President Taylor introduced this concept of a night free from Church activities and the Stake Presidency and High Council agreed it would help their stake. A committee headed by Edward H. Anderson prepared the first booklet with ideas on how to handle these ‘home worship’ nights, and it suggested a format that included prayer, singing, a gospel lesson, an activity, and… refreshments!

The idea for this “home evening” was then presented to the Stake at Stake Conference, where Joseph F. Smith, the prophet, addressed the stake and forcefully endorsed the program. He went so far as to say that the inspiration that President Taylor had received was “the greatest importance to the Latter-day Saints.” With the endorsement of the Prophet, Tuesday nights in the Granite Stake became Family Home Evening. They then switched it to Monday nights. Family Home Evening was officially adopted by the Church and endorsed Churchwide in 1915.

John Taylor told a mob to tar and feather him, they backed off.

This is one of my favorite stories about John Taylor. John Taylor was ordained an apostle on December 19th, 1838. But he was called as an apostle in July 1838 in Doctrine and Covenants 118:6. He was in Canada at the time still and needed to journey to Far West to be ordained. On his journey to Far West, John Taylor stayed in a town near Columbus, Ohio.

Some brethren, who lived in town, wanted him to preach a sermon to the town, so they arranged an open-air meeting for him to speak. Shortly before the meeting was to start, the brethren came running to John Taylor to inform him that the whole town had gathered to hear him preach, but that a mob was forming and they had plans to tar and feather him if he spoke. They encouraged him to call off the meeting as they were outnumbered and could not stop the mob. John Taylor stopped for a moment, then decided he would still preach the sermon. The brethren insisted, that the tar and feathers were prepared and he could not escape. He replied that he had made up his mind to go; they could go with him if they chose, if not, he would go alone.

The meeting place was full of townspeople when John Taylor arrived. He started his sermon off by informing them he was not from America, and that he had just arrived from Canada, a land ruled by kings. And that standing among them he felt a peculiar sensation, freedom! Elder B. H. Roberts details the words of John Taylor’s sermon as follows:

“Gentlemen, I now stand among men whose fathers fought for and obtained one of the greatest blessings ever conferred upon the human family—the right to think, to speak, to write; the right to say who shall govern them, and the right to worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences—all of them sacred, human rights, and now guaranteed by the American Constitution. I see around me the sons of those noble sires, who, rather than bow to the behests of a tyrant, pledged their lives, fortunes and sacred honors to burst those fetters, enjoy freedom themselves, bequeath it to their posterity, or die in the attempt.’

‘They nobly fought and nobly conquered; and now the cap of liberty is elevated on the tops of your liberty poles throughout the land, and the flag of freedom waves.… Not only so, but your vessels—foremost in the world—sail over oceans, seas and bays; visiting every nation, and wherever those vessels go your flag flutters in the breeze, a hope is inspired among the down-trodden millions, that they, perchance, if they cannot find liberty in their own land, may find it with you.… Gentlemen, with you liberty is more than a name; it is incorporated in your system; it is proclaimed by your senators; thundered by your cannon; lisped by your infants; taught to your school-boys; it echoes from mountain to mountain; reverberates though your valleys, and is whispered by every breeze. Is it any wonder, gentlemen, under these circumstances—having lately emerged from a monarchical government, that I should experience peculiar sensations in rising to address you?

‘But, by the by, I have been informed that you purpose to tar and feather me, for my religious opinions. Is this the boon you have inherited from your fathers? Is this the blessing they purchased with their dearest hearts’ blood—this your liberty? If so, you now have a victim, and we will have an offering to the goddess of liberty.’ Here he tore open his vest and said: ‘Gentlemen come on with your tar and feathers, your victim is ready; and ye shades of the venerable patriots, gaze upon the deeds of your degenerate sons! Come on, gentlemen! Come on, I say, I am ready!’

No one moved, no one spoke. He stood there drawn to his full height calm but defiant—the master of the situation. After a pulse of some moments he continued his remarks and preached with great boldness and power for some three hours.” (B. H. Roberts, The Life of John Taylor (1963), 53–55.)

John Taylor held the first Jubilee in the Church.

During the Presidency of Brigham Young, all converts were encouraged to migrate to Utah. The problem many faced was, simply put, they were too poor. They did not have enough money to follow the prophet. The solution was the Perpetual Immigration Fund that enabled thousands of poor Latter-day Saint converts to migrate to Utah from Europe (and elsewhere, but mainly Europe). The way the program worked was the converts were lent money to pay for their migration to Utah and then, once in Utah, they were expected to pay back that money to help others immigrate, hence, the perpetual part of the name. This is the same setup as the current Perpetual Education Fund.

Anyway, this system enabled thousands to migrate to Utah, but it also left thousands in debt to the Church. After the death of Brigham Young, John Taylor was leading the Church when it celebrated its 50th anniversary. President Taylor announced that it would be a Jubilee year. At the time total Church membership was merely 133,000. But following the ancient Hebrew custom to celebrate a Jubilee by forgiving debt, John Taylor announced that for the “worthy poor” they were canceling half of all the debt owed to the Perpetual Immigration Fund. Over $800,000 (over $21 million dollars today) of debt to the Fund was canceled as bishops and stake presidents recommended the ‘worthy poor’ under their stewardships for relief during the Jubilee.

John Taylor was as a musical missionary.

Whereas many know that John Taylor was musically gifted, he was the one that sang A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief in Carthage at the request of Hyrum right before the martyrdom. Fewer people know that John Taylor’s singing actually helped convert Marjorie P. Hinckley’s great-grandfather, William Minshall Evans! Here is Sister Hinckley’s retelling of his conversion as detailed in the July 1981 Ensign:

On a beautiful Sunday morning in the fall of 1841, my great-grandfather, William Minshall Evans, then sixteen years of age, was walking down the streets of Liverpool, England, on his way to church. Suddenly he heard singing that thrilled him beyond anything he had ever heard before. He followed the sound down an alley and up some rickety stairs into a room where a few people were holding a meeting. John Taylor, who later became president of the Church and who had a beautiful tenor voice, was the singer. The song he sang was so beautiful that William remained to hear the sermon.

Upon returning home, William was reprimanded by his elder brother, David, for being absent from his accustomed place in the choir. Asked to give an account of himself, William replied, “I have been where you should have been, and I shall not be satisfied until you all hear the wonderful truth I have heard this morning.”

Before long, William and David were converted to the gospel, and then helped convert other members of their family. Three of the brothers and their parents emigrated to Utah between 1848 and 1850…I never sing the hymns of the Church without remembering that it was the singing of a hymn that opened the door to the gospel for my family and made it possible for me to enjoy all the blessings that have followed.

BONUS: John Taylor was a prolfic writer and denounced redistribution of wealth.

Not only did John Taylor have an amazing voice, but he was also a talented editor and writer! Beyond writing hymns, in Nauvoo, Elder Taylor edited the Times & Seasons and the Nauvoo Neighbor. While serving as the Mission President in Europe, he published monthly Church papers Etoile du Deseret (French) and Zion’s Panier (German). Helped to translate and publish the Book of Mormon in French and German, AND he wrote an amazing book entitled the Government of God. Later while serving as the President of the Eastern States Mission he published a newspaper advocating the positions of the Church.

His book, The Government of God, could legit be regiven in General Conference today it is so applicable! It amazes me how prophetic his warnings are and how we have failed to listen! In this discourse, he dives into the differing ideas of worldly government (socialism, republics, democracy, monarchy, and communism) but then he delivers this stunning rebuke of politicians who seek the redistribution of wealth.

“There is also another political party, who desire, through the influence of legislation and coercion, to level the world. To say the least, it is a species of robbery; to some it may appear an honorable one, but, nevertheless, it is robbery. What right has any private man to take by force the property of another? The laws of all nations would punish such a man as a thief. Would thousands of men engaged in the same business make it more honorable? Certainly not. And if a nation were to do it, would a nation’s act sanctify a wrong deed? No; the Algerine pirates, or Arabian hordes, were never considered honorable, on account of their numbers; and a nation, or nations, engaging in this would only augment the banditti, but could never sanctify the deed.

I shall not, here, enter into the various manners of obtaining wealth; but would merely state, that any unjust acquisition of it ought to be punished by law. Wealth is generally the representation of labour, industry, and talent. If one man is industrious, enterprising, diligent, careful, and saves property, and his children follow in his steps, and accumulate wealth; and another man is careless, prodigal, and lazy, and his children inherit his poverty, I cannot conceive upon what principles of justice, the children of the idle and profligate have a right to put their hands into the pockets of those who are diligent and careful, and rob them of their purse. Let this principle exist, and all energy and enterprise would be crushed. Men would be afraid of again accumulating, lest they should again be robbed. Industry and talent would have no stimulant, and confusion and ruin would inevitably follow.

Again, if you took men’s property without their consent, the natural consequence would be that they would seek to retake it the first opportunity; and this state of things would only deluge the world in blood. So that let any of these measures be carried out, even according to the most sanguine hopes of the parties, they would not only bring distress upon others, but also upon themselves; certainly they would not bring about the peace of the world.” (an excerpt from chapter three from The Government of God, by John Taylor)

John Taylor: A Prophet of God.

I hope these stories/factoids helped give a glimpse into the life of John Taylor, the third Prophet of this dispensation. I want to leave you with my testimony that as I have studied the life of John Taylor I have had the Spirit testify to my soul of his prophetic call. John Taylor was a man of God, even a prophet of God! I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

For more resources on John Taylor see the following sources where these six points were gleaned from:
The John Taylor Family in the February 1980 Ensign.
Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: John Taylor. Chapter 24 The Kingdom of God.
John Taylor The Courageous in the January 1972 New Era.
The Life of John Taylor by B. H. Roberts (1963)
The Third Chapter of The Government of God By John Taylor (1808–1887) as Reprinted in the August 1971 Ensign.
The Government of God full text.
Church History: John Taylor

If you liked this article, you will love these ones too!