John Rex Winder (; December 11, 1821 – March 27, 1910) was a leader and general authority of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church). He was Second Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric from 1887 to 1901, and First Counselor in the First Presidency to church

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Joseph F. Smith Joseph Fielding Smith Sr. (November 13, 1838 – November 19, 1918) was an American religious leader who served as the sixth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was the nephew of Joseph Smith, the founde ...

from 1901 until his death. He was well known for his business abilities, and influenced Heber J. Grant. He was also active in politics and the militia, participating in the Utah War and the Black Hawk War (Utah). When the church came under heavy government pressure for its practice of

plural marriage Polygamy (called plural marriage by Latter-day Saints in the 19th century or the Principle by modern fundamentalist practitioners of polygamy) was practiced by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for more tha ...

, Winder held the church's assets to keep them from being seized by the federal government. He was a polygamist and had four wives and 20 children.

Early life

Winder was born to Richard and Sophia Collins Winder in

Biddenden Biddenden is a large, mostly agricultural and wooded village and civil parish in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. The village lies on the Weald of Kent, some north of Tenterden. It was a centre for the Wealden iron industry and also of ...

, England. He worked in several trades as a youth, settling into a position as a shoe and leather man in his twenties in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. There he married Ellen Walters in 1845. There also he was recruited to manage a shoe store in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. In the shoe store, he discovered the LDS Church and joined as a member. In February 1853, he and his wife set out to Utah to join the church there. He traveled across the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, nearly succumbing to

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

on the way. He then traveled via steamboat up the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, where he caught another boat leading up to

Keokuk, Iowa Keokuk is a city in and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States, along with Fort Madison. It is Iowa's southernmost city. The population was 9,900 at the time of the 2020 census. The city is named after the Sauk chief Keokuk, who is ...

. From there he traveled with a company of members heading towards Utah Territory under Joseph W. Young. They arrived on October 10, 1853.

Utah life

Engaged in leather work, Winder was quite successful in several ventures. His business sense became recognized and eventually he found seats on several corporate boards. Of his ventures, one remains today:

Winder Dairy Winder Farms is an American dairy company. It offers milk and chocolate milk and other products, formerly delivering to households in Utah, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada and Orange County, California. History In 1863, the Winder family built the f ...

. Winder was generous with his wealth: The poor, orphans, and widows benefited greatly from his efforts. Winder also became a figure in politics and the militia in the territory. He led the Nauvoo Legion to stop the advance of Johnston's Army in the Utah War of 1857. In the Black Hawk War (Utah), he fought as Adjutant General. He was the chief aid to General

Daniel H. Wells Daniel Hanmer Wells (October 27, 1814 – March 24, 1891) was an American apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and the 3rd mayor of Salt Lake City. Biography Early life Wells was born in Trenton, New Yor ...

, and wrote up the expense report submitted to congress at the conclusion of the conflict. Winder also served as chairman of the People's Party. His efforts to modernize the exercise of politics in the territory led from the church-dominated system to a

two-party system A two-party system is a political party system in which two major political parties consistently dominate the political landscape. At any point in time, one of the two parties typically holds a majority in the legislature and is usually referre ...

much like the national political system. Serving as a delegate to several state constitutional conventions, he was an instrument in Utah Territory achieving

statehood A state is a centralized political organization that imposes and enforces rules over a population within a territory. There is no undisputed definition of a state. One widely used definition comes from the German sociologist Max Weber: a "sta ...

General authority

LDS Church

John Taylor John Taylor, Johnny Taylor or similar may refer to: Academics *John Taylor (Oxford), Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, 1486–1487 *John Taylor (classical scholar) (1704–1766), English classical scholar *John Taylor (English publisher) (178 ...

called Winder to serve as Second Counselor to Presiding Bishop William B. Preston on April 8, 1887. During this time, the federal government began to put more pressure on the church for its practice of

. After the passage of the

Edmunds–Tucker Act The Edmunds–Tucker Act of 1887 was an Act of Congress that focused on restricting some practices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). An amendment to the earlier Edmunds Act, it was passed in response to the dispute ...

in 1887, church leaders went into hiding and church assets were distributed to be kept from being seized. Winder assisted many people on the run from the federal government, by helping to hide them or to post bail. His poplar farm on the south of the city served as a temporary church headquarters for Taylor. In 1890, church president Wilford Woodruff approached Winder, Charles W. Penrose, and George Reynolds to review and edit the manuscript of the

Manifesto A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...

. With the publication and announcement of the Manifesto, federal pressure was alleviated. Another significant contribution of Winder during his tenure as Second Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric was his work on the interior of the Salt Lake Temple. He managed the interior work to be done, and completed it much ahead of schedule. That earned him praise from leaders of the church. After the dedication, Winder served as First Assistant to temple president Lorenzo Snow. Winder remained in the presidency of the temple until his death. Winder was called to the First Presidency as First Counselor to church president

on October 17, 1901. One of the notable efforts of that administration was the legal fight to get

Reed Smoot Reed Smoot (January 10, 1862February 9, 1941) was an American politician, businessman, and apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). First elected by the Utah State Legislature to the U.S. Senate in 1902, he served ...

seated as a U.S. senator in the

Smoot Hearings The Reed Smoot hearings, also called Smoot hearings or the Smoot Case, were a series of Congressional hearings on whether the United States Senate should seat U.S. Senator Reed Smoot, who was elected by the Utah legislature in 1903. Smoot was an ...

. In 1909, the First Presidency published a proclamation called "The Origin of Man", which clarified the church's position on human evolution and reaffirmed that men are the children of God and were created by him.

Apostle?

Having never been a member of the

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...

prior to his call to the First Presidency, a situation which is a rarity in the LDS Church, there has been some dispute as to whether or not Winder was ordained an apostle at the time of his appointment to the First Presidency. The LDS Church has no record of Winder being ordained to the priesthood office of apostle.

Family life

Winder married Ellen Walters in London in 1845. A practitioner of plural marriage, Winder married Hannah Thompson in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

in 1855, Elizabeth Parker in 1857, and later, Maria Burnham in 1893. Through the first three women he fathered 23 children. Maria Burnham was from Fruitland,

New Mexico Territory The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of ''Santa Fe de Nuevo México ...

, where the LDS Church congregation was named the Burnham Ward because of her family's prominence in the early history of the area.

Death

Winder died in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

.State of Utah Death Certificate
/ref> He was buried at Salt Lake City Cemetery.

Anthon H. Lund Anthon Henrik Lund (15 May 1844 – 2 March 1921) was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Church), Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the First Presidency (LDS Church), First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Sa ...

succeeded him as First Counselor in the First Presidency. File:JohnRWinderHeadstone.jpg, Headstone of John R. Winder. File:JohnRWinderMonument.jpg, Family monument of John R. Winder.

Bibliography

Notes

External links

Grampa Bill's G.A. Pages
*John Rex Winder 200th Birthday Celebratio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winder, John Rex 1821 births 1910 deaths Burials at Salt Lake City Cemetery Converts to Mormonism Counselors in the First Presidency (LDS Church) Counselors in the Presiding Bishopric (LDS Church) English emigrants to the United States Deaths from pneumonia in Utah Mormon pioneers People from Biddenden People's Party (Utah) politicians Temple presidents and matrons (LDS Church) English general authorities (LDS Church)