John Taylor is born.

A Boyhood Centered in Faith


We live in God, we move in God, and from him we derive our being.

In Northwest England the green rolling hills of Westmorland (now Cumbria) were heavy with dew. It was November and rain clouds crept across the sky, sheltering and watering the land. A new baby was born, a second son to James and Agnes Taylor – November 1, 1808. The village folk of Milnthorpe bustled about their business, eager to get indoors out of the cold fall weather. Many did not notice there was a new baby in the village, but God knew. He watched John Taylor from the beginning for this child was to grow to be his prophet.

John’s godparents knew. They predicted that John would “renounce the devil and all his works . . . believe all the articles of the Christian faith . . . [and] keep God’s holy laws and commandments . . . all the days of his life.”