LDS Pres. Taylor remembered as 'champion of right'

Before a gathering of several hundred John Taylor descendants, family and friends who were commemorating the 200th anniversary of the birth of the third LDS Church president, an apostle of the church extolled him as a "champion of right" and challenged them to carry on his legacy.

Born Nov. 1, 1808, President Taylor embraced Mormonism in eastern Canada in 1836 and became an apostle within two years, ultimately succeeding Brigham Young as church president in 1880 and serving until his death in 1887.

Elder L. Tom Perry of the LDS Church's Quorum of the Twelve was the featured speaker at the program in the Assembly Hall on Temple Square in Salt Lake City.

Some 1,100 descendants were sent invitations, a number that is only "a drop in the bucket" of the Taylor posterity through seven of his plural wives, according to J. Lewis Taylor, family association president who conducted the program.

"John Taylor's legacy lives today in the history of the church as a champion of right," Elder Perry said, using a term that was applied to the church president in his lifetime. "I challenge this family to come forth and carry out that vision that he established and that name that he was given by the saints."

Elder Perry said President Taylor embodied three characteristics of a prophet: courage, communication skill and strong faith.

He told of President Taylor being in Columbus, Ohio, as a missionary, where his sermon was interrupted by a group of troublemakers. British by birth, he spoke of the American heritage of freedom and valor of forefathers who fought for freedom.

"I'm informed some of you want to tar and feather me for my religious opinions," Taylor said. "Is this a boon you've inherited from your fathers? Is this liberty? Gentlemen, come with your tar and feathers; your victim is ready." They sat in their seats and listened to him preach for the next three hours.

Later, Elder Perry said, John Taylor, while serving as an apostle in Salt Lake City, was sent to New York to establish a pro-Mormon newspaper. He selected for his office a location between the New York Herald and the New York Tribune, at the time two vitriolic anti-Mormon newspapers.

Also speaking at the event was Elder Perry's wife, Barbara, a great-great-granddaughter of President Taylor, and KSL-TV newscaster Duane Cardall. Cardall gave a brief sketch of the church president's life, including being with Joseph Smith at Carthage Jail, when the founder of Mormonism and his brother, Hyrum, were murdered by a mob. Taylor himself was seriously wounded in the attack and later gave a detailed eyewitness account of it.

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