When a Mormon missionary stopped by the Taylor home in 1836, Leonora was more interested than was John. However, John was the one who finally decided to move from Toronto to church headquarters in Ohio, and it was John's commitment that survived their temple worship experience there, when it was disrupted by several pistol- and bowie-knife-wielding apostles.

As half the church fell away in Ohio, the Taylors escaped to Missouri with the faithful, just in time for the 1838 Mormon War. John's role became that of an advocate with Congress--to convince them that it was the non-Mormons who had sacked the county seat and burned their own homes, for instance. As a literary experience, this was good preparation for later editorships of church newspapers in Illinois, New York, and Liverpool.

Samuel W. Taylor, grandson of John Taylor and son of Apostle John W. Taylor, was born in Provo, Utah, and studied at Brigham Young University. After serving in World War II, he and his family lived near San Francisco until he passed away in 1997 at the age of ninety. His works include Family Kingdom, Nightfall at Nauvoo, Rocky Mountain Empire, and Uranium Fever (histories); Heaven Knows Why, The Grinning Gismo, and The Man with My Face (novels); Take My Advice, Mr. President (short stories); Taylor-Made Tales (autobiography);The Absent-Minded Professor and Flubber (screenplays); and episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Bonanza (television).