Boyhood friend of future fellow Apostle Matthias Cowley. They combined forces against the Presidency of the Church on the discontinuation of the practice of plural marriage. Even after the Manifesto on Polygamy, these two men continued the practice until President Wilford Woodruff discovered their deeds and torn down the Endowment House and they both resigned their positions in the Twelve and John was excommunicated. It is remembered that he held no bitterness towards the Church or its leaders.
