John Taylor (Mormon) - Nauvoo

Nauvoo

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, the Times and Seasons which was the official organ of the LDS Church and on which he officially was the assistant editor under Joseph Smith, but due to Smith also being president of the Church, Taylor made most of the actual editorial decisions. He also edited the more politically concerned Nauvoo Neighbor. Taylor was also the editor of the Wasp, the predecessor of the Nauvoo Neighbor for about a year. Thus Taylor was the editor of Nauvoo's two main papers from 1842-1846.

In 1844, Taylor was with church founder Joseph Smith, Jr., his brother Hyrum Smith, and fellow LDS leader 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 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.