Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} The Government of God by John Taylor Gagigone. Download The Government of God (Classic Reprint), by John Taylor. As understood, experience and experience concerning driving lesson, enjoyment, and knowledge can be obtained by only checking out a publication The Government Of God (Classic Reprint), By John Taylor Also it is not straight done, you could know even more about this life, regarding the world. We offer you this correct and very easy method to gain those all. We offer The Government Of God (Classic Reprint), By John Taylor and lots of book collections from fictions to science at all. Among them is this The Government Of God (Classic Reprint), By John Taylor that can be your companion. The Government of God (Classic Reprint), by John Taylor. Download The Government of God (Classic Reprint), by John Taylor. Suggestion in choosing the very best book The Government Of God (Classic Reprint), By John Taylor to read this day can be gained by reading this web page. You could locate the most effective book The Government Of God (Classic Reprint), By John Taylor that is marketed in this globe. Not only had actually guides published from this country, but additionally the various other nations. And currently, we intend you to check out The Government Of God (Classic Reprint), By John Taylor as one of the reading products. This is just one of the best books to collect in this website. Consider the resource and also browse the books The Government Of God (Classic Reprint), By John Taylor You could find bunches of titles of guides supplied. As we mentioned in the past, the innovation helps us to consistently identify that life will be always much easier. Reading publication The Government Of God (Classic Reprint), By John Taylor routine is also one of the perks to obtain today. Why? Innovation can be used to provide the book The Government Of God (Classic Reprint), By John Taylor in only soft data system that could be opened every time you want and all over you need without bringing this The Government Of God (Classic Reprint), By John Taylor prints in your hand. Those are a few of the advantages to take when getting this The Government Of God (Classic Reprint), By John Taylor by on the internet. But, just how is the method to obtain the soft data? It's really appropriate for you to visit this page since you can obtain the web link web page to download the publication The Government Of God (Classic Reprint), By John Taylor Just click the link offered in this short article and goes downloading. It will certainly not take significantly time to obtain this publication The Government Of God (Classic Reprint), By John Taylor , like when you should go for book shop. This is also one of the reasons by obtaining the soft documents of this The Government Of God (Classic Reprint), By John Taylor by online. You might not need even more times to spend to see the publication establishment and hunt for them. In some cases, you additionally do not locate the publication The Government Of God (Classic Reprint), By John Taylor that you are searching for. It will throw away the time. Yet right here, when you see this page, it will be so simple to obtain as well as download the publication The Government Of God (Classic Reprint), By John Taylor It will not take often times as we mention in the past. You can do it while doing another thing in your home or even in your workplace. So easy! So, are you doubt? Merely practice what we provide here and also review The Government Of God (Classic Reprint), By John Taylor what you enjoy to read! Excerpt from The Government of God. It was Elder Taylor's intention to superintend the publishing of "The Government of God" in person, previous to his departure for Great Salt Lake City last spring; but the numerous cares attending the French and German Missions, of which he was President; the translation of the Book of Mormon into the French and German languages; the establishment of L'Etiole du D�s�ret at Paris, and Zions Panier at Hamburg; together with a multitude of other business connected with the welfare of the Kingdom of God, rendered it impossible. The manuscript was therefore handed to me by Elder Taylor, with a request to superintend the printing of the work, which I have done to the best of my ability. Considering the disadvantages arising from the Author's absence during the reading of the proofs, I believe it is as correctly rendered as was possible from a manuscript copy. The Work is now before the Public, and from one portion at least it will meet with a cordial reception, treating as it does upon the theme most dear to their hearts - the Reign of Righteousness and Peace. About the Publisher. Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com. This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works. Sales Rank: #4496048 in Books Published on: 2015-11-26 Original language: English Number of items: 1 Dimensions: 9.02" h x .28" w x 5.98" l, .40 pounds Binding: Paperback 130 pages. About the Author John Taylor is a literary critic and the translator of many books. He is also the author of seven books of stories, short prose, and poetry, the latest of which is "If Night is Falling". Most helpful customer reviews. 3 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Despicable plagiarism AND misattribution By Tom Nysetvold This edition is an exact reproduction of the Project Gutenberg edition - they were too lazy to even strip off the Project Gutenberg license. (If they had stripped the license, that would be legal, but since they haven't they owe PG royalties. I doubt these are being paid.) Get the PG Kindle edition yourself for free at gutenberg.org. To make this just a bit more pathetic, this edition lists the name of the author incorrectly (was just John Taylor, not John M. Taylor), reflecting a glitch in the PG system (that PG is aware of and is going to fix). It's an excellent book, but this edition is shameful. 0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. I am not quite finished with the Book but I . By james I am not quite finished with the Book but I am learning a lot about man's obvious imperfections. I will add later when I finish book. Jim Sheehan. 0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Excellent By wallace shiverdecker Excellent book. A must read for everyone who cares about the world we live in. This is one place where it all makes sense. See all 7 customer reviews. The Government of God (Classic Reprint), by John Taylor PDF The Government of God (Classic Reprint), by John Taylor EPub The Government of God (Classic Reprint), by John Taylor Doc The Government of God (Classic Reprint), by John Taylor iBooks The Government of God (Classic Reprint), by John Taylor rtf The Government of God (Classic Reprint), by John Taylor Mobipocket The Government of God (Classic Reprint), by John Taylor Kindle. The Government of God by John Taylor (2018, Trade Paperback) С самой низкой ценой, совершенно новый, неиспользованный, неоткрытый, неповрежденный товар в оригинальной упаковке (если товар поставляется в упаковке). Упаковка должна быть такой же, как упаковка этого товара в розничных магазинах, за исключением тех случаев, когда товар является изделием ручной работы или был упакован производителем в упаковку не для розничной продажи, например в коробку без маркировки или в пластиковый пакет. См. подробные сведения с дополнительным описанием товара. Mormon Texts Project. Free, high-quality e-books of early works related to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: we’ve made them, we like them. B. H. Roberts reviews John Taylor’s “The Government of God” B. H. Roberts’ The Life of John Taylor discusses Taylor’s “masterpiece” The Government of God (available on PG). The rest of this post consists of an extract from Chapter 26 of the former. It was while he [Taylor] was on this French and German mission, too, that he wrote his admirable work “The Government of God,” a book of some two hundred pages. The author defines the kingdom of God to be the government of God, on the earth, or in the heavens; and then in his first two chapters proceeds to place the magnificence, harmony, beauty and strength of the government of God, as seen throughout the universe, in contrast with the meanness, confusion and weakness of the government of men. It is a bold picture he draws in each case; one displaying the intelligence, the light, the glory, the beneficence and power of God; the other the ignorance, the folly, the littleness and imbecility of man. The great evils, both national and individual which He depicts with such vividness, the author maintains are beyond the power of human agency to correct. “They are diseases,” he remarks, “that have been generating for centuries; that have entered into the vitals of all institutions, religious and political, that have prostrated the powers and energies of all bodies politic, and left the world to groan under them, for they are evils that exist in church and state, at home and abroad; among Jew and Gentile, Christian, Pagan and Mahometan; king, prince, courtier and peasant; like the deadly simoon, they have paralyzed the energies, broken the spirits, damped the enterprise, corrupted the morals and crushed the hopes of the world. * * * No power on this side of heaven can correct this evil. It is a world that is degenerated, and it requires a God to put it right.” The author then rather hurriedly reviews the incompetency of the means made use of by man to regenerate the world; showing that neither the Roman Catholic nor Greek churches, though having full sway in some countries, and backed by national and even international power, have been able to make happy, prosperous, unselfish and righteous those countries whose destinies they have directed; and being unable to accomplish these desirable objects in the nations where their power has been supreme, the author argues that they would be unsuccessful in regenerating the world should their dominion be universal. Nor is our author more hopeful that the reformed churches, the Protestants, would be any more successful than the Greek and Roman churches have been. So far Protestantism has but increased division, and multiplied strife without changing materially the moral and spiritual condition of the world. Turning from those who would regenerate the world through the medium of Christianity–a false, a corrupted Christianity, for such is the so-called Christian religion of the churches above mentioned–turning from these to those who would take their destiny into their own hands, and who, either denying the existence of God or ignoring His right to direct in the affairs of men, seek by their own wisdom to establish institutions for the amelioration of mankind, our author remarks: “If skepticism is to be the basis of the happiness of man, we shall be in a poor situation to improve the world. It is practical infidelity that has placed the world in its present condition; how far the unblushing profession of it will lead to restoration and happiness, I must leave my readers to judge. It is our departure from God that has brought upon us all our misery. It is not a very reasonable way to alleviate it by confirming mankind is skepticism.” Neither has man been able to devise any form of government that is a panacea for the numerous ills with which the world is cursed. Poverty, iniquity, crime, injustice, greed, pride, lust, oppression, exist in republics as well as in kingdoms or empires; in limited monarchies as well as in those that are absolute. Our author maintains that neither religion nor philosophy, the church nor the state, nor education nor all of these combined, as they exist among men, are sufficient to regenerate the world; “our past failures,” he writes, “make it evident that any future effort, with the same means, would be useless.” The author then proceeds to discuss the questions–What is man? What his destiny and relationship to God? The object of his existence on the earth, his relationship thereto; and his accountability to God. To say that Elder Taylor treats these grave questions with marked ability is unnecessary. He then deals with God’s course in the moral government of the world; and then of the question–“Whose right is it to govern the world?” He clearly proves that it is God’s right, basing that right on the fact that God created it–that it is His; and He, and they to whom He delegates His power are the only ones who have legitimate authority to govern it. But men have usurped authority; they have taken the management of affairs, so far as they have the power into their own hands; they have rejected God and his counsels; and, as a consequence, the evils and corruptions of which all nations and peoples are sick follow. This leads him to the question: Will man always be permitted to usurp authority over his fellow-men, and over the works of God? He answers in the negative. It would be unreasonable, unjust, unscriptural–contrary to the promises of God–and would frustrate His designs in the creation of the world. No, the time must come when the moral world, like the physical universe, shall be under the direction of the Almighty, and God’s will be done on earth as it is done in heaven. The manner in which this is to be brought about, the peace, prosperity, happiness and general blessedness which are to follow the establishment of the government of God on earth, are the subjects of his concluding chapters. Such, in brief, is an outline of this fine work–Elder Taylor’s masterpiece! A work which is sufficient at once to establish both his literary ability and his power as a moral philosopher. One can only regret that in the later years of his life he did not find time to enlarge it. The flight is splendid, but one wishes he had remained longer on the wing. He wrote this work, as he tells us in his foot-note on the first page, to believers in the Bible. I regret that he did not so add to it that its sublime truths would appeal with equal force to those who reject the Jewish Scriptures. No writer in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has yet, in any manner worth mentioning, undertaken to establish the divinity of the Jewish Scriptures, or made answer to the indictments brought against the Bible by infidels; but no one can read the “Government of God” without being convinced that its author was pre-eminently qualified for such an undertaking. Priesthood, the Government and Power of God. To John Taylor, the priesthood, in addition to being the authority to act in God’s name, was also a powerful force by which great things could be accomplished. He taught that priesthood bearers should be active in using the priesthood to serve others and to bring to pass God’s righteous purposes. He encouraged all priesthood holders to attend to their duties and magnify their callings, stating that “the teacher or deacon who fulfils his duties is a great deal more honorable than a president or any of the twelve who does not.” 2. President Taylor also recognized and appreciated the authority of those who used their priesthood to serve him and his family. His humble respect for priesthood authority was exemplified by a story that his son Moses W. Taylor once related regarding an evening in the Taylor home when the family was visited by the home teachers. “One of the two was a boy sixteen years of age,” the younger Taylor recalled, “and that night it was his turn to preside. Father called the family together and informed the teachers that we were all there and said: ‘We are in your hands and await your instructions.’” The boy then asked President Taylor if they prayed as a family and privately, if they treated their neighbors well, attended church regularly, and supported the authorities of the Church. “These questions were answered one after another by my father just as humbly as the youngest member of the family would have answered them. After the teachers had concluded their labors, they then requested my father to give them some instructions. “He told them that he was pleased with them for their faithfulness and thanked them for calling and urged them to call on the family as often as they could for he realized the great good that a man holding the priesthood—which is the power of God—could do his family, and told them that there was no office in the church where greater good could be done than in that of a teacher. He told them to pay particular attention to his children and counsel them as a father. “‘I am not often home,’ said he, ‘for my church duties call me away so much and I fear if my children do not frequently get good counsel, they may be led astray.’” 3. Teachings of John Taylor. Priesthood is the power of God. What is priesthood? … I shall briefly answer that it is the government of God, whether on the earth or in the heavens, for it is by that power, agency, or principle that all things are governed on the earth and in the heavens, and by that power that all things are upheld and sustained. It governs all things—it directs all things—it sustains all things—and has to do with all things that God and truth are associated with. It is the power of God delegated to intelligences in the heavens and to men on the earth; and when we arrive in the celestial kingdom of God, we shall find the most perfect order and harmony existing, because there is the perfect pattern, the most perfect order of government carried out, and when or wherever those principles have been developed in the earth, in proportion as they have spread and been acted upon, just in that proportion have they produced blessings and salvation to the human family. And when the government of God shall be more extensively adopted, and when Jesus’ prayer, that he taught his disciples, is answered, and God’s kingdom comes on the earth, and his will is done here as in heaven [see Matthew 6:10], then, and not till then, will universal love, peace, harmony, and union prevail. 4. [Priesthood] is … the principle and power by which [God] regulates, controls, dictates and manages His affairs, His worlds, His kingdoms, His principalities, His powers, His intelligences, and all things that are underneath Him and above Him, and with which He has to do. 5. The power manifested by the priesthood is simply the power of God, for he is the head of the priesthood … ; and it is upon this principle that all the works of God have been accomplished, whether on the earth or in the heavens; and any manifestation of power through the priesthood on the earth is simply a delegated power from the priesthood in the heavens, and the more the priesthood on the earth becomes assimilated with and subject to the priesthood in the heavens the more of this power shall we possess. 6. Bearers of the priesthood must remember the source of all priesthood power. As President Taylor taught, “If we have any honor proceeding from or through the priesthood, it comes from God.” The living priesthood on earth is directed from heaven. God has organized a priesthood, and that priesthood bears rule in all things pertaining to the earth and the heavens; one part of it exists in the heavens, another part on the earth; they both co-operate together for the building up of Zion, the redemption of the dead and the living, and the bringing to pass the “times of the restitution of all things;” [see Acts 3:21] and as they are thus closely united, it is necessary that there should be a communication between the one and the other, and that those on the earth should receive instructions from those in the heavens, who are acquainted with earthly as well as heavenly things, having had the experience of both, as they once officiated in the same priesthood on the earth. 7. It is the intercourse and communication of the priesthood in heaven, that gives power, life, and efficacy to the living priesthood on the earth, and without which they would be as dead and withered branches: and if any man has life, or power, it is the power and life of the priesthood, the gift and power of God communicated through the regular channels of the priesthood, both in heaven and on earth; and to seek it without, would be like a stream seeking to be supplied with water when its fountain was dried up, or like a branch seeking to obtain virtue when the trunk of the tree was cut off by the root: and to talk of a church without this is to talk of a thing of naught—a dried fountain, a dead and withered tree. 8. No man [can] guide this kingdom. He cannot unless God be with him and on the side of the elders of Israel. But with him on their side, all things will move on aright, and the intelligence and the revelations of God will be poured out. His law will be made known and the principles of truth be developed; or it is not the kingdom of God. And we all of us ought to humble ourselves before God, and seek for the guidance of the Almighty. … There is a principle associated with the kingdom of God that recognizes God in all things, and that recognizes the priesthood in all things, and those who do not do it had better repent or they will come to a stand very quickly; I tell you that in the name of the Lord. Do not think you are wise and that you can manage and manipulate the priesthood, for you cannot do it. God must manage, regulate, dictate, and stand at the head, and every man in his place. The ark of God does not need steadying [see 2 Samuel 6:3, 6–7], especially by incompetent men without revelation and without knowledge of the kingdom of God and its laws. It is a great work that we are engaged in, and it is for us to prepare ourselves for the labor before us, and to acknowledge God, his authority, his law and his priesthood in all things. 9. We want to minister for God in time and throughout the eternities that are to come. We have started in, and we will try by the help of God and the light of His Holy Spirit, and the revelations that He will give to us from time to time—we will try and operate and co-operate with the Priesthood in the eternal worlds either on this earth or in the heavens. We shall operate until the work that God has designed pertaining to this earth shall be accomplished, and the living and the dead saved so far as they are capable of being saved according to eternal laws that exist in the heavens, and according to the decrees of the Almighty. … I say continually, “O God, lead me in the right path: O God, preserve me from all error; O God, I am a poor, feeble, weak, erring human creature, surrounded with infirmities. I need Thy help all the day long. O God, help me.” That is my feeling, and the feeling of my brethren of the First Presidency, and of the Twelve and others. We feel that we need the help of the Almighty. We will try and be humble, and be faithful and true to our covenants. And if we listen to counsel and obey the laws of God, and do the things that He requires at our hands, He will help us and bless us, and He will bless Zion and preserve Israel. 10. Priesthood is given to enable us to build up Zion. What is this priesthood given us for? That we may be enabled to build up the Zion of our God. What for? To put down wrong and corruption, lasciviousness, lying, thieving, dishonesty, and covetousness, with every kind of evil, and also to encourage faith, meekness, charity, purity, brotherly kindness, truthfulness, integrity, honesty, and everything that is calculated to exalt and ennoble mankind, that we may be the true and proper representatives of God our Father here upon the earth, that we may learn to know his will and do it; that his will may be done on earth as in heaven. 11. To bring about this desirable end—to restore creation to its pristine excellency and to fulfil the object of creation—to redeem, save, exalt, and glorify man—to save and redeem the dead and the living, and all that shall live according to its laws, is the design and object of the establishment of the priesthood on the earth in the last days. It is for the purpose of fulfilling what has not heretofore been done—that God’s works may be perfected—that the times of the restitution of all things may be brought about, and that, in conjunction with the eternal priesthood in the heavens (who without us, nor we without them, could not be made perfect), we may bring to pass all things which have been in the mind of God, or spoken of by the Spirit of God, through the mouth of all the holy prophets since the world was. … The priesthood in the heavens are uniting with us to bring about these purposes, and as they are governed by the same principle, that our works may agree—that there may be a reciprocity of action, and that God’s will (so far as we are concerned) may be done on the earth as it is in heaven. It is this which we have to learn, and this which we must do to fulfil our calling, and render our works acceptable in the sight of God and of the holy angels, and also in the sight of our brethren, who are associated with us in the priesthood in the kingdom of God on the earth. 12. The priesthood is placed in the church for this purpose, to dig, to plant, to nourish, to teach correct principles, and to develop the order of the kingdom of God, to fight the devils, and maintain and support the authorities of the church of Christ upon the earth. It is our duty all to act together to form one great unit—one great united phalanx [or organized body], having sworn allegiance to the kingdom of God; then everything will move on quietly, peaceably, and easily, and then there will be very little trouble. 13. Priesthood is given for the blessing of the human family. The Priesthood always was given for the blessing of the human family. People talk about it as though it was for the special benefit of individuals. What was said of Abraham? “In thee and in thy seed”—what? I will confer blessings upon thee. O, that is all right so far as it goes. But “in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” [See Abraham 2:11.] Let us act in the capacity of benefactors, and if we are descended of Abraham, let us walk in his footsteps and make ourselves worthy of the promises, let us extend our feelings wide as eternity, and seek to bless and benefit, lift up and ennoble all around us; that we may all rejoice together and be exalted by the same principles which have been revealed for the benefit of all men. … If I were a Bishop—I do not know what I would do, but I know what I should do. I should feel like saying, Father, thou hast committed a number of souls to my care; help me to look after their temporal interests and also to promote their spiritual welfare, and see that they are properly instructed in the laws of life: help me also to teach the teachers that go among the people, that they may go full of the Holy Spirit to bless and benefit the people, that with the aid of my brethren I may be a Savior among them. That is the way I ought to feel and to do if I were a Bishop; and that is the way you Bishops ought to feel and to act, and do it humbly with a desire to do good. And then, if I were a Priest, Teacher or Deacon, and was going around as an instructor among the people, I would want to watch over their welfare. 14. [Jesus said], “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.” If you love me, if you are my friend and my disciple, “Feed my Lambs.” That was not very hard to do; he had been called for that purpose. “He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He said unto him, Feed my Sheep.” And the third time the Savior put the same question to Peter, and which on being answered as before, he said to him, “Feed my Sheep.” [See John 21:15–17.] What is the duty of the Apostles; the Presidents of Stakes, the High Priests, and Seventies, especially of those that are generally presiding? If Jesus was here, he would tell you to lay aside your nonsense, your follies and weaknesses, and act more like men and Saints and go to work and “Feed my Sheep.” 15. God gives power to those who magnify the priesthood. If we understand ourselves and our position, it ought to be with us, the kingdom of God first and ourselves afterwards. If we can learn to accomplish a little thing, the Lord will probably tell us to do a greater, because we are prepared to do it. … If we are the people of God, and he is trusting to us to accomplish these great purposes, we have got to do a little more than we have done, and we have got to be willing and obedient to the dictation of the Spirit of the Lord and his servants whom he had placed over us. If we do this, every labor we engage in will be joyous and pleasant to us, peace will reign in our bosoms and the peace of God will abide in our habitations; the Spirit of the Lord will brood over us, and we shall be full of joy and rejoicing all the day long, and so it will be to the end of the chapter. I know of no other way to accomplish all this work, only to be taught of the Lord, and for that purpose he has organized his holy priesthood. 16. There is as much devolving upon the priests, the teachers, and the deacons, and those of the lesser priesthood as there is upon any other members of the church. When they do not fulfil their duties, what is the result? People go to the twelve, or to the First Presidency; they pass the more immediate authorities; and confusion and disorder exist; and valuable time is occupied almost needlessly; … and all this for the want of men’s knowing their duties and doing them. But while we are contending over little things what becomes of us? We are losing sight of our callings; we forget that this kingdom was established upon the earth for the purpose of introducing righteousness and the laws of heaven upon the earth, and of blessing mankind and of saving the living and the dead. We forget what we are here for, and what the kingdom of God is established for. It is not for you or for me or anybody else alone; it is for the interests of the world and the salvation of mankind. We are expected, every one of us, to perform the various duties and responsibilities devolving upon us. If we neglect them, are we not guilty before God? Whence come the difficulties that we have in our midst? Because as I have said in many instances the priesthood do not perform their duties, are not vigilant and faithful. 17. I have noticed some in my travels, those, who, like the disciples of Jesus of old, evince a great desire for power, and manifest a very anxious disposition to know who among them shall be greatest. This is folly, for honor proceeds not from office, but by a person magnifying his office and calling. If we have any honor proceeding from or through the priesthood, it comes from God, and we certainly should be vain to boast of a gift when we have no hand in the gift, only in receiving it. If it comes from God, he ought to have the glory and not us, and our magnifying our calling is the only way or medium through which we can obtain honor or influence. 18. Suggestions for Study and Discussion. What is the priesthood of God? What blessings are available to us through the priesthood? How do you feel when you consider that God has entrusted to man the power of the priesthood? What can each family member do to strengthen the power of the priesthood in the home? Why is it important that priesthood holders receive continual guidance from the Lord? How does the priesthood help to “redeem, save, exalt, and glorify man”? How have you and your loved ones been blessed through the righteous use of the priesthood? How can women share in the blessings of the priesthood? What are some opportunities for priesthood service in your area? What can priesthood holders do to help strengthen homes where there is no priesthood bearer? Read D&C 84:33–34. What does it mean to magnify a priesthood calling? What does it mean to magnify any calling in the Church? In what ways can we help those in our ward or branch who are attempting to magnify their callings? Taylor, John. John Taylor (1808-1887), the third President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was born in Milnthorpe, Westmorland (now Cumbria), England, a son of James and Agnes Taylor. After John's formal schooling ended at the age of fourteen, he became a skilled woodturner and cabinetmaker. Much of his youth was spent in a picturesque region that inspired many of England's finest artists, poets, and writers. John himself would later be recognized for his cultural refinement and literary ability. Although John was christened in the Church of England, he thought little of its creeds and at the age of sixteen joined the Methodist church. He was appointed a lay preacher a year later. He later remembered having a "strong impression on my mind" that he must "go to America to preach the gospel!" (Roberts, p. 28). He followed his parents to Canada in 1832, where he met and married Leonora Cannon, a refined and intelligent young woman from the Isle of Man. In Toronto he preached for the Methodists, but told his wife that "this is not the work; it is something of more importance" (Roberts, p. 30). The Taylors belonged to a religious-studies group that prayed for the restoration of New Testament Christianity. They embraced Mormonism as the answer to their prayers and were baptized in 1836. Afterward, serving the Church became Taylor's life work. In 1837 the Taylors moved to Far West, Missouri, where Taylor was ordained an apostle on December 19, 1838. He played a prominent role in assisting the Saints as they fled from mob persecutions to a new gathering place at Commerce, Illinois. In 1839 he accompanied a number of his fellow apostles to the British Isles, where he opened Ireland and the Isle of Man for preaching the gospel and gained a reputation as a powerful debater (see Missions of the Twelve to the British Isles). A bold advocate of the Church and the Prophet Joseph Smith, John Taylor was called a "defender of the faith." In Nauvoo he began a lifetime of community service. He served as a Nauvoo city councilman, a chaplain, a colonel, and a judge advocate for the Nauvoo Legion, the city's militia. As a newspaper editor, he published the times and seasons (1842-1846) and the Nauvoo neighbor (1843- 1846). John Taylor was with Joseph and Hyrum Smith in the Carthage Jail when the Smiths were martyred as they awaited a hearing regarding the destruction of an anti-Mormon newspaper. Severely wounded himself, Taylor became known as a living martyr. His tribute to the fallen brothers was later canonized as Section 135 of the Doctrine and Covenants. Two years after the death of Joseph Smith, the Church moved westward from Nauvoo under the direction of Brigham Young. While in Winter Quarters, Nebraska, Taylor was sent on a short-term mission to England to resolve problems in Church leadership there. Upon his return, he and Parley P. Pratt led 1,500 Saints to the Salt Lake Valley, arriving in the fall of 1847. Taylor applied for U.S. citizenship in 1849, and in that year was appointed an associate judge under the provisional state of Deseret (1849). Serving in the territorial legislature from 1853 to 1876, he was elected Speaker of the House for five consecutive sessions, beginning in 1857. For two years (1868-1870), he served as probate judge of Utah County, and in 1876 he was elected territorial superintendent of schools. In all of his offices, he felt dependent on the inspiration of God. "No man or set of men," he once declared, "of their own wisdom and by their own talents, are capable of governing the human family aright" ( JD 9:10). In 1849, Taylor returned to Europe, where he presided over missionary work in France and Germany and directed the translation and publication of a French-German edition of the Book of Mormon. He also wrote a short book, The Government of God (1852), in which he compared and contrasted the systems of God and man: "In God's government there is perfect order, harmony, beauty, magnificence, and grandeur; in the government of man, confusion, disorder, instability, misery, discord, and death" (p. 2). He described numerous examples of earthly societies that failed to resolve the problems of mankind, concluding that the only solution is "for his servants, to draw nigh to their Father,…throw themselves upon his guardianship, seek his wisdom and government, and claim a father's benediction" (p. 31). While in Europe he founded the Deseret Manufacturing Company at the request of Brigham Young and purchased expensive sugar-processing equipment in Liverpool, that was shipped to Salt Lake City. It was his most notable failure. Lacking retorts, a key component, the assembled machinery produced only a good-quality molasses. Following the death of Brigham Young in 1877, the Council of the Twelve governed the Church, with John Taylor as the senior apostle, presiding until he was set apart as the Church's third President in 1880. His motto as president was The Kingdom of God or Nothing. Although his most notable achievement was to hold the Church together under the intensifying pressure of the antipolygamy campaign, much else was achieved during his administration, especially in the early years. Under his direction, four new missions were organized; Mormon settlements were established in Colorado, Wyoming, and Arizona; construction continued on the Salt Lake and Manti temples; and the Logan Temple was dedicated. To encourage the Saints' economic independence, President Taylor established Zion's Central Board of Trade, a coordinating agency that encouraged cooperative economic activity in the Church's stakes. On April 6, 1880, the fiftieth anniversary of the Church, President Taylor proclaimed a jubilee year, as observed in the Old Testament. "It occurred to me," he said, "that we ought to do something, as they did in former times, to relieve those that are oppressed with debt, to assist those that are needy,…and to make it a time of general rejoicing" (Roberts, p. 333). One-half of the debts owed by the Saints to the Perpetual Emigrating Fund, borrowed on migrating to Utah, was forgiven ($802,000), and one thousand cows and five thousand sheep were distributed to the poor, replacing many animals that had been lost in severe winter storms. In October 1880, during President Taylor's administration, the Pearl of Great Price, a collection of ancient and modern scriptures, was canonized. A new edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, incorporating extensive cross-references and explanatory notes, was also published. The Primary Association, a children's auxiliary, and the Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Association (see Young Women), an organization for girls twelve through seventeen, were adopted Churchwide. During the first years of his administration, while still President of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, President Taylor continued work begun under Brigham Young in changing significant priesthood functions and defining important relationships. Members of the seventy, one of the offices of the Melchizedek Priesthood, were organized into stake quorums. The relationship of the ward bishop to the priesthood and that of the Aaronic Priesthood to the Melchizedek Priesthood were clarified. Weekly bishopric meetings and monthly general stake priesthood meetings were inaugurated. Stake presidents were instructed to hold quarterly conferences under the direction of the First Presidency. President Taylor wrote a short work entitled Items on Priesthood (1881) to help the priesthood serve more effectively. He also wrote The Mediation and Atonement of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (1882) as his witness of the preeminent role of the Son of God in the salvation of humankind; in it, he assembled scriptural passages pertaining to Christ's Atonement and offered a commentary on their meaning. Although he knew that obedience to authority brought strength and unity to the Church, President Taylor also stressed the importance of common consent: "The government of God is not…where one man dictates and everybody obeys without having a voice in it. We have our voice and agency, and act with the most perfect freedom" (1987, p. 321). A frequent theme expressed throughout his life was his love of liberty and hatred of slavery. "I'm God's free man," he said. "I cannot, will not be a slave!" (Roberts, p. 424). For such forthright determination he was called the "Champion of Liberty." President Taylor was about six feet tall and weighed 180 pounds. He had large hands, an oval face, a high forehead, and deep-set gray eyes. As a young man, he had curly brown hair, which turned silver white in middle age. Erect in posture and fastidious in dress, he was polite, dignified, gracious, affable, and friendly. His speech was calm and deliberate, delivered in a voice that was clear, strong, and resonant. He enjoyed telling stories and had a keen sense of humor and a hearty laugh that shook his entire body. He generally did not prepare sermons ahead of time but depended upon inspiration as he spoke. He used gestures sparingly but with effect. An accomplished poet, his lyrics were used for several hymns published in the Church's hymnal. In his private life, President Taylor was a kind and loving husband and father. He entered into Plural Marriage, as counseled by Joseph Smith, and fathered thirty-five children by his seven wives. He went to great lengths to be fair and impartial with each of his families. The names and number of his wives are in dispute, but the women who were certainly married to him were Leonora Cannon, Elizabeth Haigham, Jane Ballantyne, Mary Ann Oakley, Sophia Whitaker, Harriet Whitaker, and Margaret Young. During President Taylor's ministry, persecution of the Church grew in intensity. Three missionaries were killed in the southern states; and the U.S. secretary of state attempted to prevent Mormon immigrants from entering the United States, citing them as potential lawbreakers because of the Church's practice of polygamy. Congress passed the Edmunds Act in 1882, declaring polygamy to be a felony. Under its provisions, polygamists could not vote, hold public office, or serve on juries. The General Authorities discussed the Church's course of action as well as their hopes for achieving statehood. Wilford Woodruff later wrote that "President Taylor with the rest of us came to the conclusion that we could not swap of[f] the Kingdom of God or any of its Laws or Principles for a state government" (Wilford Woodruff Journal, Nov. 27, 1882). Mounting antipolygamy prosecution, known as "the Crusade," led to the arrest and imprisonment of hundreds of men and women. President Taylor instructed polygamous Saints to establish places of refuge in Mexico and Canada, and he and his counselors withdrew from public view to live in the "Underground." During his last public sermon he 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" ( JD 26:152). Persecution intensified in 1887 with the passage of the Edmunds-Tucker Act, which abolished women's suffrage, forced wives to testify against their husbands, disincorporated the Church, and escheated much of its property to the United States. For two and a half years, President Taylor presided over the Church in exile. The strain took a great toll on his health. He died on July 25, 1887, from congestive heart failure while living in seclusion at the farm home of Thomas F. Roueche in Kaysville, Utah. He was eulogized as a "double martyr" for his near-fatal wounds in Carthage Jail and for his sacrifice for religious principles.