John Whittaker Taylor
John W. Taylor
- Apostle number: 41
- Quorum of the Twelve number: 34
- Date of birth: May 15, 1858
- Place of birth: Provo, Utah County, Utah
- Date of apostolic ordination: May 15, 1884
- Age when ordained apostle: 26 years 00 months
- End of apostolic service: March 28, 1911
- Total apostolic years: 26 years 10 months
- Date called into the Quorum of the Twelve: October 16, 1882
- End of service in the Quorum of the Twelve: April 1, 1905
- Tenure in the Quorum of the Twelve: 20 years 10 months
- Date of death: October 10, 1916
- Age at death: 58 years 4 months
- Place of death: Forest Dale, Salt Lake County, Utah (Salt Lake City)
- Remarks: Son of John Taylor (president of the Church), he resigned from the Quorum of the Twelve in October of 1905 and was excommunicated from the Church in 1911. This action was due to his stance against the Church’s discontinuation of the practice of plural marriage. Elder Taylor had disputes with the Quorum of the Twelve often after his resignation. He was finally excommunicated on March 28, 1911 for continued opposition to the Second Manifesto. However, he remained a believer in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints until his death. He died of stomach cancer at his home in Forest Dale, Salt Lake County, Utah, at age 58. He was buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery. In August 1916, Taylor was posthumously baptized by proxy and reinstated into the church by two stake presidents. However, a year later, the First Presidency officially stated that the reinstatement was null and void. He was later officially rebaptized and on May 21, 1965, received the ordinance of Restoration of Blessings by proxy under the hands of Joseph Fielding Smith, president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, with the unanimous approval of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
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