Duncan Posted July 9, 2015 Posted July 9, 2015 As we know Elder John W. Taylor resigned from the Twelve in 1905 and later was excommunicated but he was reinstated in 1965, does anyone know how that came about? did the family call on the First Presidency? anyone know?
Calm Posted July 9, 2015 Posted July 9, 2015 Found this: In 1951 Samuel W. Taylor, a native of Provo and perhaps Mormondom's most success/ul writer from the standpoint of acceptance by national markets, wrote a book called "Family Kingdom." It was the delightful, perceptive story of his father, John W. Taylor, once a member of the.IDS Quorum of Twelve, and the father's six polygamous wives. John W. Taylor was the son of John Taylor, third president of the Mormon Church. He, the son, was eventually excommunicated because he, refused to abandon polygamy after President Wilford Woodruff issued the Manifesto in 1890, banning further practice of the controversial principle John W. Taylor died in 1916. "Family Kingdom" has now been reissued in a second edition, published by Western Epics, Inc., of Salt Lake City, the owner of which is Sam Weller of Zions Book Store in that city. " The new edition has a supplement which the previous one did not have — a supplement which should be worth obtaining the book even for those who have the first edition. It reveals, for the first time publicly, the details of the reinstatement of John W. Taylor in the LDS Church after negotiation with the First Presidency consisting of the late David 0. McKay and his counselors, Hugh B. Brown and Nathan Eldon Tanner. It was done May 21,1965, with his son, the"late Raymond W. Taylor, standing proxy in the Salt Lake Temple. Raymond, Sam's full brother, was perhaps the leading factor in securing the reinstatement. The new edition is dedicated to him probably in recognition of this and also because the brothers were always very close. Much of Sam's writing on LDS Church matters was made possible by meticulous research done in http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/15016661/ 4
Jeanne Posted July 9, 2015 Posted July 9, 2015 i want this book! I did not know about the reinstatement. Sounds so interesting. Thanks!
Jeanne Posted July 9, 2015 Posted July 9, 2015 (edited) i want this book! I did not know about the reinstatement. Sounds so interesting. Thanks! Edit: sorry again about the double post..my computer is giving me fits!! Edited July 9, 2015 by Jeanne
Coreyb Posted July 9, 2015 Posted July 9, 2015 (edited) I recall listening to an old Sunstone session wherein Sam Taylor tells the story of writing Family Kingdom and of his fathers reinstatement. I will try to find it. And Jeanne, I would highly recommend the book. I read it with my wife because she wanted to read one of my mormon books that "isn't way boring", and so I chose that one. It is interesting and funny, and it takes you back to a time in mormon history that is in many ways very far removed from the present. I wouldn't consider it good history though, as Sam was much more of a storyteller than a historian. Edited July 9, 2015 by Coreyb 1
rongo Posted July 9, 2015 Posted July 9, 2015 You can say that again, Corey. John Farkas, a New York anti-Mormon (evangelical type), once sent me an excerpt from "The Kingdom or Nothing" that was supposed to prove some things about John Taylor. The writing style was, and I'm not making this up, like this: "John Taylor swirled his wine in his glass and looked bitterly at it. He was getting too old for this sort of thing. He sighed, and said, 'We've got to keep this hushed up.' " No, it's not anything like real history --- it's historical fiction with wide reins to say a lot through dialogue and third person omniscient viewpoint that cannot be claimed from documents. Sam had an agenda against the Church, and I would be hesitant to believe anything he represented about "negotiations" between his extended family and the Church about John W. Taylor's reinstatement. 1
Recommended Posts