From Presidents of the Church: John Taylor

Strengthening Families

Look well to yourselves and to your

families, to your sons and to your daughters;

and let us seek to do right.1

From the Life of John Taylor

On 1 February 1885, John Taylor went into voluntary hiding to

avoid persecution by federal authorities. Although he hoped that

this exile would limit the oppression that the Church was experiencing

at that time, he also knew that his hiding would likely

separate him from most of his family for the remainder of his

earthly life. Nonetheless, throughout this time, he remained ever

concerned for their well-being. “Say unto them I remember

them always,” he told his nephew Angus M. Cannon just prior to

his death. “I love them individually, and never cease to plead

with God for them.”2

President Taylor was a loving and devoted husband and

father. Of him, his son Moses W. Taylor wrote the following: “He

had a strong desire to keep his children under the family influence

and provided play grounds for us. Even when he was past

seventy years of age he would join us in our games. He provided

a large sand pile for the little ones and if I have ever had

any better time in my life than I did digging in the sand, I have

failed to recognize it. . . .

“I have never heard him enter into any argument with any of

his family; I have never heard him and my mother contend or

disagree in the presence of the children. When talking about our

duties in the church, it was always in the spirit of counsel and he

would frequently say, ‘It would please me if you are a faithful

Latter-day Saint.’ He was held in such high esteem by his children

that to please him seemed to be their greatest desire.” 3

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President Taylor taught the Saints the importance of parents

setting a good example for their children. His son Frank Y. Taylor

once spoke of the great influence for good that the example of

his father had been in his life: “When I think of the careful training

that I had, of the wonderful example that was set before me,

in my youth, I feel that it would be inexcusable for me to do that

which was not right in my life, because I feel that I had a perfect

example to follow. As a boy, however, I have been tempted like

other boys; but my father’s life was so free and pure and clean

that whenever temptation was presented to me, it seemed like

my father rose up before me in majesty, like a monument, and

I could not do the wrong which I was tempted to do. I felt that I

would bring displeasure upon him, and I know there was nothing

in his life that would warrant me in taking a course that would

not be acceptable before our Father in heaven. I felt, as I thought

of his life, O, I would like to live that kind of a life myself, so that

I would be a light in the darkness to my boys and girls.”4

Teachings of John Taylor

Marriage and family relations are eternal.

The gospel that we preach is the everlasting gospel; it reaches

back into the eternities that are past; it exists in time and it

stretches forward into the eternities to come, and everything

connected with it is eternal. Our marriage relations, for instance,

are eternal. Go to the sects of the day and you will find that time

ends their marriage covenants; they have no idea of continuing

their relations hereafter; they do not believe in anything of the

kind. It is true there is a kind of natural principle in men that

leads them to hope it may be so; but they know nothing about

it. Our religion binds men and women for time and all eternity.

This is the religion that Jesus taught—it had power to bind on

earth and to bind in heaven, and it had power to loose on earth

and to loose in heaven [see Matthew 16:19]. We believe in the

same principles, and we expect, in the resurrection, that we shall

associate with our wives and have our children sealed to us by

the power of the holy priesthood, that they may be united with

us worlds without end.5

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The gospel, when introduced and preached to Adam after the

fall, through the atonement of Jesus Christ, placed him in a position

not only to have victory over death, but to have within his

reach and to possess the perpetuity, not only of earthly, but of

heavenly life; not only of earthly, but also of heavenly dominion;

and through the law of that gospel enabled him (and not him

alone, but all his posterity) to obtain, not only his first estate, but

a higher exaltation on earth and in the heavens, than he could

have enjoyed if he had not fallen; the powers and blessings associated

with the atonement being altogether in advance of and

superior to any enjoyment or privileges that he could have had in

his first estate. Hence, he and his partner became the father and

mother of lives—lives temporal, lives spiritual, and lives eternal,

and were placed in the position to become Gods, yea, the sons

and daughters of God, and to the increase and extent of their

dominion there was to be no limit; worlds without end.6

What is more amiable and pleasant than those pure, innocent,

endearing affections which God has placed in the hearts of the

male and female, who are united in lawful matrimony, with a

love and affection, pure as the love of God, because it springs

from him, and is his gift: with bodies chaste and virtuous, and an

offspring, lovely, healthy, pure, innocent, and uncontaminated:

confiding in each other, they live together in the fear of God,

enjoying nature’s gifts uncorrupted, and undefiled as the driven

snow, or the crystal stream. But how would this enjoyment be

enhanced if they understood their destiny, could unravel the

designs of God, and contemplate an eternal union in another

state of existence, a connection with this offspring, commenced

here, to endure for ever, and all their ties, relationships, and

affections strengthened.

A mother feels great delight in beholding her child, and gazing

on its lovely infant form; how would her bosom swell with

delight at the contemplation of that child being with her for ever.

And if we only understood our position, this was the object for

which we came into the world. And the object of the kingdom of

God, on which I have written at length, is to reestablish all these

holy principles.7

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The gospel, when introduced and preached to Adam after the

fall, through the atonement of Jesus Christ, placed him in a position

not only to have victory over death, but to have within his

reach and to possess the perpetuity, not only of earthly, but of

heavenly life; not only of earthly, but also of heavenly dominion;

and through the law of that gospel enabled him (and not him

alone, but all his posterity) to obtain, not only his first estate, but

a higher exaltation on earth and in the heavens, than he could

have enjoyed if he had not fallen; the powers and blessings associated

with the atonement being altogether in advance of and

superior to any enjoyment or privileges that he could have had in

his first estate. Hence, he and his partner became the father and

mother of lives—lives temporal, lives spiritual, and lives eternal,

and were placed in the position to become Gods, yea, the sons

and daughters of God, and to the increase and extent of their

dominion there was to be no limit; worlds without end.6

What is more amiable and pleasant than those pure, innocent,

endearing affections which God has placed in the hearts of the

male and female, who are united in lawful matrimony, with a

love and affection, pure as the love of God, because it springs

from him, and is his gift: with bodies chaste and virtuous, and an

offspring, lovely, healthy, pure, innocent, and uncontaminated:

confiding in each other, they live together in the fear of God,

enjoying nature’s gifts uncorrupted, and undefiled as the driven

snow, or the crystal stream. But how would this enjoyment be

enhanced if they understood their destiny, could unravel the

designs of God, and contemplate an eternal union in another

state of existence, a connection with this offspring, commenced

here, to endure for ever, and all their ties, relationships, and

affections strengthened.

A mother feels great delight in beholding her child, and gazing

on its lovely infant form; how would her bosom swell with

delight at the contemplation of that child being with her for ever.

And if we only understood our position, this was the object for

which we came into the world. And the object of the kingdom of

God, on which I have written at length, is to reestablish all these

holy principles.7

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God (those whom he has selected from the nations of the earth),

and the Gods in the eternal world. Therefore, every morning, as

head of my family, I should dedicate myself and my family to God.10

We should avoid unkind or harsh words

and actions in our families.

You should never say a word or do an act which you would not

want your children to copy after. The idea of men who profess

to fear God, and some of them Elders in Israel, being addicted to

swearing, . . . is a shame and a disgrace to high heaven, and this

is sometimes done before their families; it is a shame. And then

some men give way and say they have a bad temper: I would sell

it for nothing, and give something to boot to get rid of it. I would

be careful that all my acts and doings were right. . . .

We will treat our wives right. He is a mean man who would

abuse a woman. . . . Have you not made covenants with your

wives for time and eternity? Yes, you have. Would you not like,

when you get through, to be able to say, Mary, Jane, Ann, or

whatever the name may be, I never injured you in my life. And if

you are wives, would you not like to be able to say, Thomas, or

William, I never injured you in all my life. And, then, to spend an

eternity together hereafter.11

Husbands, do you love your wives and treat them right, or do

you think that you yourselves are some great moguls who have

a right to crowd upon them? . . . You ought to treat them with all

kindness, with mercy and long suffering, and not be harsh and

bitter, or in any way desirous to display your authority. Then, you

wives, treat your husbands right, and try to make them happy

and comfortable. Endeavor to make your homes a little heaven,

and try to cherish the good Spirit of God. Then let us as parents

train up our children in the fear of God and teach them the laws

of life. If you do, we will have peace in our bosoms, peace in our

families, and peace in our surroundings.12

Do away with unkind or harsh words, and do not allow hard

feelings to exist in your hearts, or find place in your habitations.

Love one another, and by each trying to enhance the welfare of

the other, that element will characterize the family circle, and

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your children will partake of the same feeling, and they in turn

will imitate your good example, and perpetuate the things they

learn at home.13

We should teach and practice principles

of godliness in our families.

Parents, be truthful; let your children have confidence in your

word, so that if father or mother says anything, they might say,

“if father or mother says such and such a thing, I know it is right,

because father or mother said it, and they never prevaricate or

tell a falsehood.” That is the kind of feeling we want to cultivate

among ourselves and with our families.

And again we want to be cleanly in our persons, in our houses

and in everything. And mothers, you ought to cultivate in your

hearts the spirit of peace; you ought to be like angels of God, full

of every virtue. And the father ought to treat the mother right.

Has she her infirmities? Yes. And so has he. . . . Make your homes

joyous. And let your children see that you love one another, that

they may grow up with the same feeling, and be led from principle

to honor their father and mother. These are the kind of

feelings that will elevate us.14

Do you have prayers in your family? . . . And when you do, do

you go through the operation like the grinding of a piece of

machinery, or do you bow in meekness and with a sincere desire

to seek the blessing of God upon you and your household? That

is the way that we ought to do, and cultivate a spirit of devotion

and trust in God, dedicating ourselves to him, and seeking his

blessings.15

We have been commanded of the Lord to set our households

in order. Apostles, Presidents of Stakes and Bishops, have you

done this with your own households? Have you also seen that

the Saints have done the same? Have you impressed upon the

people under your charge the absolute necessity of purity if they

desire the blessing and protection of the Most High? Wolves

never watched with greater cunning and more ravenous hunger

a flock of sheep and lambs than the people of your wards and

stakes are now being watched by those who are ready to devour

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them. Are you awake to this danger, and do you take every

precaution against it?

Parents, are you full of fidelity yourselves to every principle of

godliness, and do you surround your sons and daughters with

every safeguard to shield them from the arts of the vile? Do you

teach them that chastity in both man and woman should be

more highly esteemed than life itself? Or do you leave them in

their ignorance and inexperience to mix with any society they

may choose, at any hour that may be convenient to them, and to

be exposed to the wiles of the seducer and the corrupt? These

are questions you will all have to answer either to your shame

and condemnation or to your joy and eternal happiness. Know

this, that God, in giving us the precious blessings we possess,

demands from us a suitable return. By receiving them we are

placed under obligations. If these are not discharged, condemnation

inevitably follows.16

Parents, treat your children aright; train them up in the fear of

the Lord; they are of more importance to you than many things

that you give your attention to.

And you, children, obey your parents; respect your fathers

and mothers. Your mothers have watched over you, and your

fathers are desirous for your welfare, and their hearts and feelings

and affections are drawn out towards you. Do not give them

pain by departing from correct principles; but walk in the paths

of life. And parents, and children, husbands and wives and all

people, fear God and put your trust in him and carry out the

principles of your holy religion which God has revealed to us.17