Wikipedia Biographical Summary:

"...John Taylor (November 1, 1808 – July 25, 1887) was the third president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1880 to 1887. Taylor was born in Milnthorpe, Westmorland (now part of Cumbria), England, the son of James and Agnes Taylor..."

"...Taylor and his wife first came in contact with the Latter Day Saint church in 1836 after meeting church apostle Parley P. Pratt in Toronto. Leonora was the first to join the church and she persuaded Taylor to continue his studies with Pratt..."

"...In 1839, Taylor and some of his fellow apostles served missions in Britain. While here, Taylor preached in Liverpool and was responsible for Mormon preaching in Ireland and the Isle of Man..."

"...In 1844, Taylor was with church founder Joseph Smith, Jr., Hyrum Smith and Willard Richards in the Carthage, Illinois jail when the Smiths were killed by a mob. Taylor was severely wounded in the conflict..."

"...In 1846, most Latter-day Saints followed Brigham Young into territory then controlled by Mexico, while Taylor went to England to resolve problems in church leadership there. On his return, he and Pratt led more Latter-day Saints, a group of about 1500, to the Salt Lake Valley, where Young and the others had settled..."

"...Taylor applied for United States citizenship in 1849. That same year he was appointed an associate judge in the provisional State of Deseret. He later served in the Utah territorial legislature from 1853 to 1876..."

"...Following Brigham Young's death in 1877, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles governed the church, with John Taylor as the quorum's president. Taylor became the third president of the church in 1880. He chose as his counselors Joseph F. Smith and George Q. Cannon, the latter being the nephew of his wife Leonora..."

"...In 1882, the United States Congress enacted the Edmunds Act, which declared polygamy to be a felony. Hundreds of Mormon men and women were arrested and imprisoned for continuing to practice plural marriage. Taylor had followed Joseph Smith's teachings on polygamy, and had at least seven wives. He is known to have fathered thirty-five children..."

"...Taylor died on July 25, 1887, from congestive heart failure in Kaysville, Utah..."

"...Taylor practiced plural marriage and was married to seven wives: Leonora Cannon, Elizabeth Kaighin, Jane Ballantyne, Mary Ann Oakley, Sophia Whitaker, Harriet Whitaker, and Margaret Young. He was the father of 34 children.."

SOURCE: Wikipedia contributors, 'John Taylor (Mormon)', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 27 January 2011, 21:49 UTC, [accessed 3 February 2011] SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Taylor_%28Mormon%29