John W Taylor Excommunication Reasons: What Happened?
- 01. John W Taylor Excommunication Reasons Still Stir Debate
- 02. Historical Setting and Positions
- 03. Formal Proceedings and Charges
- 04. Core Reasons for Excommunication
- 05. Timeline and Key Dates
- 06. Statistical and Institutional Context
- 07. The 1886 Revelation and Its Legacy
- 08. Later Re-baptism and Ongoing Debate
John W Taylor Excommunication Reasons Still Stir Debate
John W. Taylor, a former member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was excommunicated in 1911 primarily for continued advocacy and solemnization of plural marriage after the Church had publicly abandoned the practice and for being judged insubordinate to Church leadership and discipline. His case was intertwined with decades-long tensions over the authority of revelations, the validity of covert polygamous unions, and the shifting legal and political landscape surrounding the federal fight against polygamy.
Historical Setting and Positions
John W. Taylor was born in 1858, the son of Church President John Taylor, a central figure in the 1880s conflict over federal anti-polygamy enforcement. By 1884 he joined the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, serving during a period when the U.S. government aggressively prosecuted Latter-day Saints for polygamy and Church leaders retreated into hiding.
After the 1890 Manifesto publicly ended new plural marriages, the Church increasingly distanced itself from post-Manifesto unions, but some leaders, including Taylor and his close associate Matthias F. Cowley, continued to solemnize marriages secretly. By 1905-1906 both men resigned from the Twelve over disputes concerning the Church's retreat from plural marriage; Taylor's resignation marked the beginning of a protracted, semi-public standoff with Church authorities.
Formal Proceedings and Charges
The official record of Taylor's 1911 excommunication framed the action as a response to "insubordination to the government and discipline of the church," as reported in the Salt Lake Tribune and later carried in church-aligned publications. This language effectively labeled his behavior as a refusal to accept Church authority and its disciplinary decisions, even though the underlying issue remained post-Manifesto polygamy.
At his trial before the Quorum of the Twelve, Taylor reportedly presented as evidence the controversial 1886 revelation attributed to his father, President John Taylor, which framed polygamy as an "everlasting covenant" that could not be revoked. Church leaders, however, rejected the document's standing and insisted that the 1890 Manifesto and subsequent directives under Presidents Wilford Woodruff and Joseph F. Smith had conclusively ended the practice.
Core Reasons for Excommunication
- Continued solemnization of plural marriages after the 1890 Manifesto and the Second Manifesto, including arranging unions for himself and others.
- Public opposition to Church leaders' decisions to abandon new plural marriages, which was treated as defiance of the church hierarchy and its priesthood authority.
- Repeated confrontation with the Quorum of the Twelve and the First Presidency, leading to a formal judgment of "insubordination" rather than mere doctrinal disagreement.
- Insistence on the binding authority of the 1886 revelation, which created a direct conflict with the Church's official narrative about the cessation of polygamy.
In 1911, the Quorum of the Twelve voted to excommunicate Taylor for these combined charges, formally declaring that he was no longer in fellowship with the Church "unless rebaptized." His excommunication dealt specifically with his refusal to submit to Church discipline and his ongoing role in blessing post-Manifesto marriages, especially in the inter-mountain West where local ecclesiastical courts handled such cases.
Timeline and Key Dates
- 1884: John W. Taylor is called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, entering leadership during federal prosecutions of polygamy.
- 1886: His father, President John Taylor, allegedly receives a revelation declaring polygamy an "everlasting covenant," a document later known informally as the "1886 revelation."
- 1890: Church leaders issue the 1890 Manifesto, officially ending new plural marriages; Taylor continues to advocate the practice privately.
- 1905-1906: Taylor and Matthias F. Cowley resign from the Twelve over disputes about the Church's abandonment of polygamy.
- 1911: After repeated clashes with Church authorities, Taylor is excommunicated on March 28 for "insubordination" and continued opposition to the disciplinary stance against post-Manifesto polygamy.
This seven-year arc from resignation to excommunication illustrates how the Church moved from internal debate over continuing polygamy to enforcing formal discipline against former apostles who would not comply. By 1911, the institutional posture of the Church had shifted toward prioritizing legal survival and integration with the United States over the maintenance of earlier commitments to plural marriage.
Statistical and Institutional Context
During the early 20th century, the Church disciplined hundreds of members for post-Manifesto polygamy, with sociological studies of the era estimating that fewer than 1 percent of practicing members openly defied the Second Manifesto. However, because these actions often involved high-profile leaders-such as Taylor and Cowley-their excommunications had outsized symbolic weight, signaling to both members and the American public that the Church would enforce a clear boundary.
| Event | Year | Impact on John W. Taylor |
|---|---|---|
| Ordination to Quorum of the Twelve Apostles | 1884 | Elevated Taylor to top leadership tier during the polygamy crisis. |
| 1890 Manifesto issued | 1890 | Forced Taylor into a position of private dissent while still in leadership. |
| Resignation from the Twelve | 1905-1906 | Marked Taylor's formal break with quorum leadership over plural marriage policy. |
| Excommunication trial and verdict | 1911 | Finalized his separation from the Church for insubordination and continued polygamy. |
| Posthumous re-baptism by proxy | 1965 | Symbolic reconciliation that later fed debate among historians and fundamentalists. |
These milestones show that Taylor's excommunication was neither an isolated incident nor a sudden disciplinary impulse, but part of a broader institutional consolidation around the abandonment of plural marriage as a living practice. The 1965 proxy re-baptism and his later symbolic re-ordination as an apostle in LDS memory further complicated the narrative of his case, blurring the line between formal censure and historical rehabilitation.
The 1886 Revelation and Its Legacy
The 1886 revelation, long denied by Church authorities but quietly held in the Church History Library, became a focal point in Taylor's defense and in later debates about whether the Church "strayed" from its earlier commitments. When Taylor produced the document at his 1911 trial, it was intended to prove that plural marriage had been declared eternal and unchangeable by his father's prophetic authority.
Church leaders, however, dismissed the revelation as a "pretended revelation" or argued that it had been superseded by later guidance, effectively privileging the 1890 Manifesto and subsequent interpretations over the older text. This tension helped fuel the rise of fundamentalist groups that saw Taylor as a martyr for doctrinal fidelity, while mainstream Latter-day Saints increasingly emphasized the Church's right to adapt practice in response to both divine and political pressures.
Later Re-baptism and Ongoing Debate
In 1965, the Church performed a proxy re-baptism for John W. Taylor, effectively restoring him to membership status in the eyes of the institution. Some historians read this as a quiet acknowledgment that the earlier disciplinary environment was shaped by intense political and legal pressures, while others view it as a symbolic attempt to close a chapter of institutional conflict without fully revisiting the doctrinal questions.
Among scholars and observant Latter-day Saints, Taylor's case remains a touchstone for discussions about the limits of prophetic authority, the interpretation of plural marriage covenants, and the balance between obedience and conscience. The 2025 publication of the 1886 revelation in the Church History Library catalog has reignited interest in whether Taylor's excommunication was justified, or whether it was, in part, a product of institutional survival in the early 20th century American state-church dynamic.
Key concerns and solutions for John W Taylor Excommunication Reasons What Happened
What were the main reasons for John W. Taylor's excommunication?
John W. Taylor's excommunication was formally grounded in charges of insubordination to Church government and discipline, but the underlying issue was his continued solemnization of plural marriages and his public opposition to the Church's abandonment of the practice after the 1890 and Second Manifestos.
Was John W. Taylor excommunicated just for practicing polygamy?
No; the disciplinary structure treated his excommunication as a response to his refusal to submit to Church authority, rather than polygamy alone. However, his ongoing role in performing post-Manifesto plural marriages and his use of the 1886 revelation against leadership decisions made polygamy the central factual issue behind the charge of insubordination.
Did the Church later reverse John W. Taylor's excommunication?
The Church did not formally lift his excommunication during his lifetime, but in 1965 it performed a proxy re-baptism, symbolically restoring him to membership and later re-ordaining him as an apostle in memorial and devotional contexts. This has led to mixed interpretations, with some viewing the 1965 act as a partial rehabilitation and others seeing it as a ritual gesture that does not fully re-examine the original 1911 decision.
Why does John W Taylor's excommunication still matter today?
John W. Taylor's excommunication matters because it sits at the intersection of contested revelation, institutional authority, and the political history of plural marriage in the American West. As historians uncover texts like the 1886 revelation and reassess how the Church navigated anti-polygamy laws, his case continues to shape debates about the relationship between doctrine, obedience, and leadership in modern Mormonism.