John Taylor

By Kellene Ricks

1 England was a busy place in the early 1800s, but John Taylor liked the hustle and bustle of the country where his family had their farm.

2 John worked many hours on the farm, and he also learned the skill of wood turning.

3 When he was twenty-four years old, John had the opportunity to migrate to Canada to join his family, who had moved there two years before.

4 Before John’s ship left the English Channel, however, there was a horrible storm. Many people on the ship got sick as the storm tossed the ship from side to side.

5 Ships all around John’s were being destroyed by the storm, and the officers and crew of his ship prepared for the worst.

6 But John wasn’t worried. He even walked calmly around the deck at midnight during the raging storm! He knew that he had a work to do in Canada, and he trusted Heavenly Father to protect him so that he could do that work.

7 After John reached Toronto, Canada, he located the Methodist Church, where he became a member and a preacher. In May of 1836, Parley P. Pratt taught him the gospel of Jesus Christ, and John was baptized into the Church.

8 John Taylor continued to trust in the Lord, and he became the third President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Illustrated by Paul Mann