25,000 people pass by John Taylor's body as it lies in state in the Salt Lake Tabernacle. At the funeral a letter written a decade previously by Taylor is read: " "I have no desire for any particular formula, but I should wish my body to be washed clean, to be clothed in clean white linen garments and robes, with shoes, apron and cap, etc.; to be laid in a coffin sufficiently large to contain my body without pressure. Should I die here, let me be buried in my own lot in the grave yard. Let the coffin be neat and comely, but plain and strong, made of cedar or red wood, or of our own mountain pine; if of the latter, colored or stained, and placed in an outer strong box, with a light cotton or woolen mattress or bed and a convenient pillow for the head. . . . Should I die in Jackson County, Missouri, let the above directions be carried out as far as practicable." Taylor's former secretary, L. John Nuttall, describes the funeral procession: "There were 1 hurse, 7 bands of music and band carriages, 43 carriages, 31 buggies, 19 wagons and one cart. Total vehicles 101"
[On This Day in Mormon History, http://onthisdayinmormonhistory.blogspot.com]
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