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59-515: Joseph Ridges, designer and builder of the original Salt Lake Tabernacle organ , and William H. Folsom , worked together to draw the plans and superintend the construction. Folsom, who had been LDS Church Architect from 1861 to 1867, had played a vital role in the design and construction of the Salt Lake Theatre , Salt Lake Tabernacle , St. George Tabernacle , Salt Lake Temple , Manti Temple , St. George Temple , and many private residences. He

118-500: A cooper and later received training as a woodturner and cabinetmaker . He claimed that as a young man, he had a vision of "an angel in the heavens, holding a trumpet to his mouth, sounding a message to the nations"—which he would later identify as the angel Moroni . He was christened in the Church of England , but joined the Methodist church at sixteen. He was appointed a lay preacher

177-646: A musket ball directed towards his chest was stopped by a pocket watch which he was carrying at the time. However, recent analysis shows the watch may instead have been damaged when Taylor fell against the windowsill. In 1845, Taylor became the president of the Nauvoo Tradesmen Association. This group worked to encourage local manufacturing of goods for both local use and export. Taylor had two assistants who aided him in running this group, Orson Spencer and Phineas Richards . In 1846–1847, most Latter-day Saints followed Brigham Young into Iowa then

236-512: A four-year period. The government then rented the home to the Keeley Institute . In 1894, the church's properties were returned, but church leaders decided not to use the house as an official residence. Instead they rented it to Isaac Trumbo and his wife, Emma. After the Trumbos returned to California, it was rented to Alfred W. McCune while he was having his own mansion built. In June 1899,

295-576: A loving father and not Brigham Young. John Taylor succeeded Young as church president. His counselor George Q. Cannon and other church leaders suggested that Taylor occupy the Gardo House after its completion, but he repeatedly refused. However, when church members unanimously voted on April 9, 1879, to make the Gardo House the official parsonage for LDS church presidents, President Taylor reluctantly accepted their decision. In March 1885, soon after John Taylor's final public appearance, federal marshals made

354-458: A massive raid on the mansion to capture him. This and subsequent raids were unsuccessful, and his "tough-minded sister ... often held raiding marshals and deputies at bay at the front door of the mansion, admitting no one unless he presented papers properly signed by a federal judge." After her brother's 1887 death, Agnes Taylor vacated the house. Some believed that the Gardo House was built too extravagantly for church leaders to live in, considering

413-524: A religious study group in Toronto. The group discussed problems and concerns with their Methodist faith, and quickly became known as the "Dissenters." Other members included Joseph Fielding and his sisters Mary and Mercy, who later also became prominent in the Latter Day Saint movement . While in Toronto, Taylor continued to work in his trade as a woodturner. Taylor and his wife first came in contact with

472-558: A similar idea under the name of the Mansion House . The Mansion House, along with the later Nauvoo House , was to act as a place for travelers to come and stay in Nauvoo with hospitality in mind. Young was fond of naming his homes; one source claims that he borrowed the name Gardo from a favorite Spanish novel. Progress on the mansion was slow. There were numerous delays in obtaining the necessary lumber, plaster, granite and glass. Young, who

531-694: A year later, and felt a calling to preach in North America . Taylor's parents and siblings emigrated to Upper Canada (present-day Ontario ) in 1830. Taylor stayed in England to dispose of the family property and joined his family in Toronto in 1832. He met Leonora Cannon from the Isle of Man while attending a Toronto Methodist Church and, although she initially rejected his proposal, married her on 28 January 1833. Between 1834 and 1836, John and Leonora Taylor participated in

590-671: Is reported to have had a marvelous singing voice. At the request of Hyrum Smith , he twice sang the song " A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief " in Carthage Jail just before the Smith brothers' murders . Taylor wrote the lyrics to several hymns , some of which are still used by the LDS Church. In 2005, Taylor's hymn "Joseph the Seer" was sung at the LDS Church's celebration of the 200th anniversary of Joseph Smith's birth. The 1985 English-language edition of

649-467: Is the president's duty] to take the lead in everything that is calculated to ... place Zion where she ought to be, first and foremost among the peoples." Both newspapers were correct in implying that the issue of the Gardo House was much broader than the mere occupation of the mansion by a Mormon leader. To Mormons, who had celebrated their church's jubilee in April 1880, the house was a symbol of achievement. It

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708-656: Is used by fundamentalist groups as justification for their continued practice of polygamy. Taylor died on 25 July 1887, from congestive heart failure in Kaysville, Utah Territory . Taylor was buried at the Salt Lake City Cemetery in The Avenues, Salt Lake City, Utah . For two years after his death, the church again was without a presidency. The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, with Wilford Woodruff as president of

767-543: The Church of the Latter Day Saints in 1836 after meeting Parley P. Pratt , an apostle in the church, in Toronto. Leonora was the first to join the church and she persuaded Taylor to continue his studies with Pratt. After the couple's baptism into the church, they were active in preaching and the organization of the church in Upper Canada. Taylor for a time presided over six branches in the Toronto area. In July 1837 he

826-647: 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 Brigham Young's teachings on polygamy and had at least seven wives. He is known to have fathered 34 children. Taylor moved into the Gardo House alone with his sister, Agnes , to avoid prosecution and to avoid showing preference to any one of his families. However, by 1885, he and his counselors were forced to withdraw from public view to live in

885-521: The LDS Church hymnal includes two hymns with lyrics by Taylor, "Go Ye Messengers of Glory" (no. 262) and "Go, Ye Messengers of Heaven" (no. 327). 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 ,

944-685: The Red Cross to temporarily use the home. The church purchased the mansion back from the Holmes in March 1920, and soon after opened the LDS School of Music and an art gallery in the home. In February 1921, the Federal Reserve 's Salt Lake City branch acquired the mansion from the church for $ 115,000 (equivalent to $ 1,964,440 in 2023). The bank wanted to construct a new building on the site, as its quarters in

1003-527: The Salt Lake Valley , 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 and established Great Salt Lake City . Taylor applied for and was granted United States citizenship in 1849. That same year he was appointed an associate judge in

1062-435: The "underground" and were frequently on the move to avoid arrest. In 1885, during his last public sermon, Taylor remarked, "I would like to obey and place myself in subjection to every law of man. What then? Am I to disobey the law of God? Has any man a right to control my conscience, or your conscience?... No man has a right to do it." Many viewed Mormon polygamy as religiously, socially, and politically threatening. In 1887,

1121-523: The Edmunds-Tucker Act. The government then rented the properties back to the church, and Taylor's successor as president, Wilford Woodruff , used the house as an office, for public and private gatherings, and occasionally spent the night. The church vacated the house in November 1891, after having paid more than $ 28,000 (equivalent to $ 949,511 in 2023) to rent the Gardo House (their own property) over

1180-511: The Gardo House the official parsonage for LDS Church presidents, Taylor reluctantly accepted their decision. Moses Thatcher , William Jennings , and Angus M. Cannon were appointed as a committee to oversee completion of the mansion. On December 27, 1881, the Deseret News published a letter from Taylor announcing a public reception and tour of the Gardo House on January 2, 1882, from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. More than two thousand people attended

1239-513: The Gardo House. In addition, it has been noted that the style of the woodwork in the Gardo was dissimilar to known examples of Ramsay's work. During the last years of his life, Brigham Young perceived a need for a place where he could receive official callers and entertain the dignitaries who traveled great distances to see him. This idea goes as far back as the Nauvoo Era, in which Joseph Smith proposed

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1298-462: The LDS Church for his opposition to the church's abandonment of plural marriage. His son, Samuel W. Taylor , became a writer, and the biographer of his father and grandfather. Another son, William W. Taylor , served as one of the first presidents of the seventy and also served in the Utah territorial legislature. Taylor's wife Margaret Young Taylor was a member of the inaugural general presidency of what

1357-506: The LDS Church one million dollars. As part of a settlement, the mansion was received by the Church, less a payment of $ 20,000 to the women, to help recapitulate the indebtedness. John Taylor succeeded Young as church president. His counselor George Q. Cannon and other church leaders suggested that Taylor occupy the Gardo House after its completion, but he repeatedly refused. However, when church members unanimously voted on April 9, 1879, to make

1416-560: The LDS Church. In 1849, he traveled east on his way to begin missionary work in France, stopping at various waypoints in the homes of Mormon pioneers still making their way to the Salt Lake Valley . Taylor was the first church mission president in France. While in France, Taylor published a monthly newspaper called L'Etoile du Deseret with the help of Louis A. Bertrand . He also supervised missionary work in Germany, but did not himself go to any of

1475-769: The US Congress passed the Edmunds–Tucker Act , which abolished women's suffrage in Utah Territory, forced wives to testify against their husbands, disincorporated the LDS Church, dismantled the Perpetual Emigrating Fund Company , abolished the Nauvoo Legion , and provided that LDS Church property in excess of $ 50,000 would be forfeited to the United States. For two-and-a-half years, Taylor presided over

1534-463: The adversity which he personally endured, he was with Joseph Smith the day he was killed back in 1844, and hoped to do so at a level that those in "Church and State elsewhere" were. Taylor himself also wrote a letter, published in the Deseret News , expressing his feelings about the situation. He reminded critics of his initial reluctance to move to the Gardo House and his concern that his occupancy of

1593-755: The affair and of the church in general. In an editorial published the day before the reception, the newspaper wrote, " The favored saints have received an invitation to call upon President John Taylor at the Amelia Palace tomorrow. ... We want the poor Mormons ... to mark the carpets, mirrors, the curtains and the rest, and then to go home and look at the squalor of their own homes, their unkempt wives, their miserable children growing up in despair and ignorance, and then to reflect how much better it would have been for them, instead of working hard for wages ... if they had only started out as did Uncle John, determined to serve God for nothing but hash." The Tribune went on to accuse

1652-481: The basement, with a tower on the northwest corner. The foundation and basement were made of granite. The exterior walls were of 2 x 6 studs infilled with adobe bricks, with lath and plaster on the inside and two layers of lath and stucco on the outside. The interior woodwork, which included a spiral staircase, paneling, and decorative trim, was carved in black walnut by local artists. Elegant furnishings, paintings by local artists, and mirrors imported from Europe graced all

1711-456: The church from exile. During this period, some Mormon fundamentalist groups claim that he received the 1886 Revelation . Photographs of the original document exist. It restated the permanence of the "New and Everlasting Covenant", which these fundamentalist groups consider to be a direct reference to the practice of plural marriage . The validity of the revelation is rejected by the LDS Church, which does not consider it to be authentic, but it

1770-602: The church of attempting "to build up an aristocracy in Utah, where the few are to rule in luxury, while the many, to support the luxury, are to toil and suffer." On January 5, 1882, the Deseret News published a rebuttal to the Tribune' s scathing editorial. The newspaper pointed out Taylor had taken up his residence in the Gardo House in response to the vote of the Mormon people and that he, as church president, should be taken care of considering

1829-499: The church purchased Young's Beehive House for use as the official residence of the president. No longer in need of the Gardo House, and heavily in debt, the church sold the home to Colonel Edward F. Holmes and his wife, Susanna Bransford Emery Holmes in 1901. They remodeled and redecorated the home, adding a west wing containing a garage on the first floor and a second floor that was used as an art gallery, ballroom and theater. The Holmes' left for California in 1917, after which they allowed

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1888-648: The churchwide adoption of the Primary Association and selected Louie B. Felt as its first general president. In October 1880, the Pearl of Great Price was canonized by the church. Taylor also oversaw the issuance of a new edition of the Doctrine and Covenants . During his term as church president, the seventies quorums were also more fully and regularly organized. In 1882, the United States Congress enacted

1947-401: The claim that the house was built solely for Amelia's pleasure, as an act of favoritism, is a misinterpretation, when it was actually a specific calling for her upon which the family apparently agreed. Since Harriet Folsom Young's father was the chief architect it is reasonable to insist that there was extra attention given to the detail of the home by her father, though this would be the act of

2006-637: The countries that would later form Germany. In 1852, the Book of Mormon was published in French, with Taylor and Curtis E. Bolton credited as translators. Taylor supervised the translation, which was carried out by Bolton, Bertrand, Lazare Auge, and a "Mr. Wilhelm". Taylor later served as president of the Eastern States Mission, based in New York City. In this capacity he published a newspaper that presented

2065-694: The latter being the nephew of his wife, Leonora. As church president, Taylor oversaw the expansion of the Salt Lake community; the further organization of the church hierarchy; the establishment of Mormon colonies in Wyoming, Colorado, and Arizona as well as in Canada's Northwest Territories (now in Alberta ) and the Mexican state of Chihuahua ; and the defense of plural marriage against increasing government opposition. While he

2124-411: The mansion was completed. In his will, Young had provided both Mary Ann Angell Young and Harriet Amelia Folsom Young a life tenancy in the Gardo House, and in order to secure their claims, the two women occupied the mansion briefly while it was still under construction. During probate of his estate, the home was credited to the two women at a value of $ 120,000, but it was also discovered that Young owed

2183-512: The mansion was dedicated as a "House unto the Lord" in a dedicatory prayer offered by Apostle Franklin D. Richards . Moses Thatcher, William Jennings, Angus M. Cannon, and their wives were particularly noted as being among the guests. Also noted were Joseph F. Smith , Francis M. Lyman , John H. Smith , and Daniel H. Wells . By the time Taylor had become church president, the Edmunds-Tucker Act

2242-489: The mansion would place an intolerable barrier between him and church members. Taylor acknowledged that his family had also been opposed to the move, preferring their own homes and familiar surroundings. He explained he had eventually been persuaded that "Zion should become the praise of the whole earth, and that we in this land should take a prominent and leading part in the arts, sciences, architecture, literature, and in everything that would tend to ... exalt and ennoble Zion. [It

2301-480: The nearby Deseret National Bank building were too small. The Gardo House was demolished starting in November 1921 and the new bank building opened on February 21, 1927. Since 1986, the World Trade Center at City Creek has sat on the former location of the Gardo House. There were widespread rumors that the Gardo House was built for Harriet Amelia Folsom Young; allegedly she was Brigham Young's favorite wife. It

2360-566: The organization of the Relief Society . He set apart Sarah Cleveland and Elizabeth Ann Whitney as counselors to Emma Smith . In 1844, Taylor was with church founder Joseph Smith , his brother Hyrum Smith , and fellow apostle Willard Richards in the Carthage, Illinois , jail when the Smiths were killed by a mob. Taylor was severely wounded in the conflict. His life may have been spared when

2419-485: The persecutions and generally humble origins of the church. For example, Rachel Emma Woolley Simmons recorded in her journal her personal discontent not with John Taylor moving into the home but citing the "... great expense to furnish it in the style it had to be ...". She also believed that Taylor was not pleased with moving or were his wives. Additionally, the Salt Lake Daily Tribune was extremely critical of

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2478-682: The poorest, Heber C. Kimball had boldly prophesied that Taylor would someday live in the largest and finest mansion in Salt Lake City. Salt Lake Tabernacle organ Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.151 via cp1112 cp1112, Varnish XID 390601932 Upstream caches: cp1112 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Fri, 29 Nov 2024 05:35:20 GMT John Taylor (Mormon) John Taylor (1 November 1808 – 25 July 1887)

2537-629: The position of the Latter-day Saints . While serving as mission president in France, Taylor was directed by church president Brigham Young to prepare to establish a sugar industry in Utah Territory. This was done under the auspices of the Deseret Manufacturing Company . Taylor purchased sugar-making equipment in Liverpool while returning to the United States. These early attempts to produce sugar in Utah proved unsuccessful. Taylor

2596-605: The provisional State of Deseret . He later served in the Utah territorial legislature from 1853 to 1876. Taylor was elected Speaker of the House for five consecutive sessions, beginning in 1857. In 1852, he wrote a small book, The Government of God , in which he compared and contrasted the secular and ecclesiastical political systems. From 1868 to 1870 Taylor served as a probate judge of Utah County, Utah . He also served as superintendent of schools for Utah Territory beginning in 1876. Taylor served as president of two missions of

2655-672: The quorum, assumed leadership during this interim period. In the April 1889 church general conference , the First Presidency was reorganized with Wilford Woodruff as the president. Six months later, in the October general conference, Anthon H. Lund was called to fill Taylor's vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Taylor's teachings as an apostle were the 2003 course of study in the LDS Church's Sunday Relief Society and Melchizedek priesthood classes. Taylor practiced plural marriage and

2714-515: The reception and toured the home. Taylor greeted all the visitors, who were entertained by two bands and several renditions by the Tabernacle Choir. An early visitor to the mansion was Oscar Wilde , whom Taylor introduced to the residence while showing Wilde around Salt Lake on April 10, 1882. Wilde spoke well of the house saying it "had a good deal of feeling in it in the pleasing works of art and good furniture." A year later, on February 22, 1883,

2773-585: The rooms. Several writers estimated that the church expended between $ 30,000 and $ 50,000 to finish the building and furnish its interior. Wilford Woodruff estimated the cost at $ 15,000. The Salt Lake Tribune claimed that Ralph Ramsay, a famous Utah woodcarver, did some of the woodwork in the Gardo. Ramsay had done woodwork in the Beehive House and Lion House and had carved the eagle on the original Eagle Gate . However, he moved from Salt Lake City to Richfield in 1874, which may have precluded him from working on

2832-513: The structures on the hill used to store gunpowder and explosives. The resulting explosion showered the city with 500 tons of boulders, concrete, and pebbles. Many persons were injured; some, including the hunters, were killed. The explosion also broke several of the glass windows in the Gardo House, and new glass had to be ordered from the East. By May 20, the windows were reinstalled and construction had resumed. Brigham Young died on August 29, 1877, before

2891-401: Was also the father of Harriet Amelia Folsom Young , making him Brigham Young 's father-in-law. Located in Salt Lake City at 70 East South Temple, the structure was built south of Young's Beehive House , and directly east of the 1855 LDS Church historian's office. Construction began in 1873; after completion, it was dedicated on February 22, 1883. The finished home had four levels, including

2950-524: Was an English-born religious leader who served as the third president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1880 to 1887. He is the first and so far only president of the LDS Church to have been born outside the United States. Taylor was born in Milnthorpe , Westmorland (now part of Cumbria ), England, the son of James and Agnes Taylor. He had formal schooling up to age fourteen, and then he served an initial apprenticeship to

3009-551: Was church president, Taylor also established Zion's Central Board of Trade to coordinate local trade and production, which was done largely through the local stakes, on a wider basis. In 1878, the Primary Association was founded by Aurelia Spencer Rogers in Farmington, Utah Territory . For a time, the organization was placed under the direction of Relief Society General President Eliza R. Snow . In 1880, Taylor organized

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3068-476: Was closely involved in coordinating Joseph Smith 's visit to the Toronto area. They then moved to Far West, Missouri , where Taylor was ordained an apostle on 19 December 1838. He assisted other church members as they fled frequent conflicts to Commerce, Illinois (soon after renamed Nauvoo ). In 1839, Taylor and some of his fellow apostles served missions in Britain. While there, Taylor preached in Liverpool and

3127-460: Was indeed Young's intent that Amelia would act as the official hostess for the building. According to his daughter Susa Young Gates , family members agreed that Amelia, who was young, childless, mannerly, and talented, was well suited to assume such a responsibility. Since the Gardo House's intent was to welcome visitors to and also to promote a positive perception of the Latter-day Saints. Thus

3186-405: Was married to eight wives: Leonora Cannon, Elizabeth Kaighin, Jane Ballantyne, Mary Ann Oakley, Sophia Whitaker, Harriet Whitaker, Margaret Young , and Josephine Elizabeth Roueche. He was the father of 34 children. Taylor's son, John W. Taylor , continued to serve in the church and in politics and helped to shepherd Utah to statehood in 1896. John W. Taylor was ultimately excommunicated from

3245-512: Was officially the assistant editor under Joseph Smith , but due to Smith also being president of the church, Taylor made most of the editorial decisions. Taylor also edited the more politically concerned Nauvoo Neighbor and the Wasp , the predecessor of the Nauvoo Neighbor , for about a year. Taylor was thus the editor of Nauvoo's two main papers from 1842 to 1846. In 1842, Taylor was present at

3304-493: Was often away on church business, was seldom available to sign requisitions or make important decisions. However, on one occasion, after returning to Salt Lake City from a visit to St. George, he expressed displeasure with the style of the home, calling it his "tabernacle organ." After three years of construction, the Gardo House was nearing completion when an accident occurred on nearby Arsenal Hill (now Capitol Hill ). On April 5, 1876, two young hunters fired their guns into one of

3363-410: Was putting intense pressure on him to observe this anti-bigamy law. He sought to comply with the law by moving into the Gardo House with his sister, Agnes Taylor . She took over management of the mansion while he continued his duties as president. Soon after Taylor's death in 1887, the federal government seized the Gardo House, along with other church properties, as part of the escheatment provisions of

3422-566: Was responsible for Mormon preaching in Ireland and the Isle of Man . Taylor returned to Nauvoo, Illinois , to serve as a city councilman, a chaplain, a colonel, a newspaper editor, and a judge advocate for the Nauvoo Legion . Taylor edited two newspapers in Nauvoo, Times and Seasons and the Nauvoo Neighbor . Times and Seasons was the official organ of the Latter Day Saint church; he

3481-457: Was tangible proof that the persecutions and hardships they had endured over the past fifty years were not in vain. On the other hand, many non-Mormons viewed Taylor's installation in the home as a threat in the continuing struggle for economic and political supremacy. John Taylor's move to the Gardo House was regarded by some Mormons as the fulfillment of a prophecy. Legend had it that some years before, when Taylor's financial circumstances had been

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