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John Whittaker Taylor ( May 15 , 1858 – October 10 , 1916 ) was the son of John Taylor (the third President of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints ) and Sophia Whittaker. He was born in Provo, Utah while his parents were taking shelter there along with other church members from the Church conflicts in northern Utah. Taylor married in 1883 and moved to Cassia County in Idaho , where he worked as a farmer and in his father's Sawmill . He also worked as a County Clerk , and a Newspaper Editor , among many other things. He died of cancer at his home in Forest Dale, Salt Lake County, Utah October 16 , 1916 , at 56 years of age. Samuel W. Taylor , a noted Mormon historian, is perhaps his most famous child. Samuel wrote a biography of his father called '' Family Kingdom .'' Samuel W. Taylor also wrote a number of teleplays and stories that were adapted to film, including the short story "A Situation of Gravity" on which the movies '' The Absent-Minded Professor '' and '' Flubber '' were based. CHURCH SERVICE AND CONFLICT The younger Taylor became a church leader in his own right. He was ordained as a Deacon circa 1872 and a Teacher in 1874 . He also served as missionary. Taylor was ordained an Apostle and member of the Quorum Of The Twelve Apostles of the church on May 15 , 1884 , on his 26th birthday. Taylor was a staunch believer in the doctrine of Plural Marriage , and had six wives and thirty-six children. He would not give up his plural wives when the Manifesto forbidding the practice was published. Taylor resigned from the quorum in April of 1905 , followed by the resignation of Elder Matthias F. Cowley in October of the same year. Early next February, Elder Marriner W. Merrill passed away. The three new vacancies were filled in the April General Conference of 1906 by George F. Richards , Orson F. Whitney , and David O. McKay . John Taylor disputed with the quorum often after his resignation. In 1911, the quorum excommunicated him from the church. However, he was not bitter with the church even up to his death. In August 1916, John W. Taylor was baptized and reinstated into the L.D.S. Church by two Stake Presidents. However, a year later the LDS Church First Presidency officially stated that the reinstatement was null and void. He was later officially reinstated and rebaptized into the L.D.S. Church under the direction of the Church President in 1965. REFERENCE
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