He chose rather to deal with general principles, great truths and build on them such arguments, and draw thence such sound deductions as convinced the judgment, appealed to the feelings, increased the faith, reformed the wayward or more firmly established the convictions of those who believed. He was deliberate in speech, almost slow, but not more so than the great principles he was wont to treat of required. His voice was clear, strong, resonant, and of wonderful compass; and whether it sank, as it often did, to the tender tones which give expression to the deep pathos that sometimes moved his soul, or calmly reasoned upon some heavenly doctrine, or was raised to its grandest swell or thunder tones to denounce injustice or oppression, no one could grow weary of listening to it.
His eloquence was a majestic river full to the point of overflowing its banks, sweeping grandly through rich regions of thought. His discourse was mainly argumentative and abounding with occasional colloquialisms, not unfrequently of a humorous turn: for among his other qualities of mind he had a keen sense of the ridiculous. His gestures were few, but very significant. His manner was, in the main, calm and dispassionate, but when a train of thought more than ordinarily sublime stirred his emotions, he became more animated and impressive; the form dilated, the utterance was more rapid and the whole man was aglow with enthusiasm that it was impossible to resist.
If, as it often chanced, his theme was the wrongs of the Saints, or if he spoke in defense of the broad principles of liberty and the rights of man, he then had a theme which called forth all his powers. His denunciations of injustice and tyranny were terrible. At such times his brow, usually beaming with mingled intelligence and benevolence, grew dark as the coming storm approached. The form was drawn up to its full height, the gestures were majestic—the word suited the action, the action the word; eye and arm, voice and movement—the whole man, with the love of liberty burning like consuming fire in his bones, poured out impassioned utterances against tyranny in all its forms; and the demonstrations of the congregation as the climax was reached, is sufficient evidence that they were irresistibly borne along by that tempest of passion. Yet in these bursts of eloquence he never seemed to put forth all his strength. He always appeared to have still more force in reserve that he could have used had he so minded. Moreover, he had that rare faculty which in the very torrent, tempest and whirl-wind of passion exercised a temperance that gave it smoothness and never permitted it to become strained or incongruous.
These qualities in him sprang from nature, not from training. There was nothing of the schools, nor of the studied elocutionist in his manner. His style of speaking was peculiarly his own and was well suited to the man, and to him alone.
The great body of the Saints knew him principally as a public man; and so prominent was he as such that his private life and domestic virtues have attracted but little attention. Yet it is pleasant to know that his private life was in every sense as praiseworthy as his public career. The letters to his family published in this volume give all necessary evidence to the existence of deep solicitude for their welfare, comfort and happiness; as well as a true parental interest in the mental, moral and spiritual development of his children; an interest so intense that it was an anxiety, such as only generous, manly bosoms, big with hopes that reach beyond the grave, are capable of experiencing. While he was willing and did labor for the good of the human race, and possessed brilliant talents and a universal sympathy which eminently qualified him for that work, he looked upon his own family as being the nucleus of that kingdom over which he would reign as priest, as king, as God! He loved his family, but that love was sanctified and made devoid of all selfishness by the hopes and aspirations awakened in his breast by the glorious gospel of the Son of God. Love so sanctified could only result in making him a kind, noble father, a gentle and loving husband.
He possessed superb self-control, which, with his nice sense of justice and honor, enabled him to be remarkably successful in the patriarchal order of marriage. Each wife was treated as the equal of the others, and with her children shared equally in the blessings and material advantages he was able to bestow upon them.
The social circle offered him an opportunity for the exercise of all his generous impulses. He delighted in family gatherings, in neighborhood feasts, and the reunions of friends, especially of those tried and true. His genial manners, his delightful conversation, his powers as a vocalist, together with his great experience, and an inexhaustible fund of humor made him a central figure and often the very life of these social gatherings.
Such was the character of President John Taylor; such the qualities of his mind; such his public and domestic virtues: and if, as an old English writer hath it, the great man is he who chooses the right with invincible resolution; who resists the sorest temptations from within and without; who bears the heaviest burdens cheerfully; who is calmest in storms, and most fearless under menace and frowns; and whose reliance on truth, on virtue, and on God, is most unfaltering—the name of JOHN TAYLOR must be written high up on the column of fame where the names of the great are enshrined, for in all these things he was pre-eminent.
Footnotes
[1]. I John v., 7, 8.