nov 1, 1879 - Arthur Bruce Taylor (President John Taylor's Son) suspected of being a Homosexual [Part 19]

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In 1879 John Taylor was the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His presidency consisted of George Q. Cannon as his first counselor and Joseph F. Smith as his second counselor. As had become customary, early Latter-day Saint leaders generally handled the punishments of same-sex relationships with discretion. Often a person accused of faggotry, buggery, or sodomy was exiled or ostracized from the Mormon community. Because the Church doesn’t hold public records on such discipline, we are left with the personal journal entries of how Latter-day leaders exercised their authority over queer Latter-day Saints.

The second counselor to President John Taylor was Joseph F. Smith. President Smith served his mission in what is now the island state of Hawai’i. Smith developed a habit of using Hawai’ian words in his writings—especially when it came to sensitive subjects.

In November 1879, President Joseph F. Smith held a “long discussion” with 26-year-old Arthur Bruce Taylor, the eldest son of President John Taylor, prophet of the Church.

At the conclusion of the meeting, President Smith wrote detailed notes about the conversation in his personal journal. Among the writings was the acknowledgement that [Arthur] Bruce Taylor was admittedly “acane!”

Aikāne refers to: ai or intimate sexual male relationship; and kāne or male/husband. Among men, the sexual relationships usually begin when the partners are teens and continue throughout their lives. One who is labeled aikane is unashamed of their sexuality or experience. In Hawai’ian culture, there is no stigma attached to those who are aikāine.

The relationships were official and in no way hidden. The sexual relationship was considered natural by the Hawaiians of that time.

Hawaiians had created a social structure that maximized harmonious living by embracing all ohana (family) and sanctioning many types of relationships, including aikāne (same-sex love), māhū (transgender people), hānai (adoption), and punalua (multiple lovers).

Shortly after A. Bruce Taylor’s meeting with Joseph F. Smith, he moved away from Salt Lake City and relocated to Baker City, Oregon where he practiced law.

Bruce Taylor died in 1934 at the age of 80. He never married.

-Joseph F. Smith
2nd Counselor in the First Presidency
Joseph F. Smith Family Papers 1860-1944
November 19, 1879

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