Parley P. Pratt
Parley Parker Pratt (
12 April 1807–
13 May 1857) (commonly known as
Parley P. Pratt) was a leader in the
Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of
The Quorum of Twelve Apostles from 1835 until his murder in 1857. He served in the Quorum with his younger brother,
Orson Pratt. He was a productive missionary, poet, religious writer and longtime editor of the religious publication
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star.
Pratt was born in
Burlington, New York, the son of Jared and Charity Dickenson Pratt. He married Thankful Halsey in Canaan, New York on
9 September 1827. The young couple settled near
Cleveland, Ohio on a plot of "wilderness" where Parley had constructed a crude home. In Ohio, Pratt became a member of the Reformed Baptist Society, also called
Campbellites, through the preaching of
Sidney Rigdon. Pratt soon decided to take up the Campbellite ministry as a profession, and sold his property.
Church service
While traveling to visit family in western
New York, Pratt had the opportunity to read a copy of the
Book of Mormon owned by a Baptist
deacon. Convinced of its authenticity, he traveled to
Palmyra, New York and spoke to
Hyrum Smith at the Smith home. He was baptized in Seneca Lake by
Oliver Cowdery on or about
1 September 1830, formally joining the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (
Mormons). He was also ordained to the office of an Elder in the church. Continuing on to his family's home, he introduced his younger brother,
Orson Pratt, to Mormonism and baptized him on
19 September 1830.
Pratt then returned to
Fayette, New York in October 1830, where he met the Prophet
Joseph Smith and was asked to join a
missionary group assigned to preach to the
Native American (
Lamanite) tribes on the
Missouri frontier. During the trip west, he and his companions stopped to visit
Sidney Rigdon, and were instrumental in converting Rigdon and approximately 130 members of his congregation within two to three weeks.
Pratt was later assigned additional
missions to the
Eastern United States, the
Southern United States,
England, the
Pacific Islands, and to
South America. In addition to his brother,
Orson Pratt and Sidney Rigdon, he was instrumental in introducing the Mormon faith to a number of future LDS leaders, including
Frederick G. Williams,
John Taylor and his wife Leonora,
Isaac Morley and
Joseph Fielding and his sisters,
Mary and Mercy Fielding.
In addition to serving as an active missionary, Pratt entered the leadership of the early
Latter Day Saint movement acting as an original member of
The Quorum of Twelve Apostles under Joseph Smith. While on a mission to the British Isles in
1839, Pratt was editor of a newly created
periodical,
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star. While presiding over the church's branches and interests in New England and the mid-Atlantic states, Pratt published a periodical entitled
The Prophet from his headquarters in
New York City. He was also a noted religious
writer and
poet, producing, among other works, the lyrics of three popular LDS hymns and an autobiography.
After the death of Joseph Smith, Pratt and his family were among the church members who emigrated to
Utah under the direction of President
Brigham Young. Pratt was involved in establishing the refugee settlements and fields at both
Garden Grove and
Mt. Pisgah, Iowa and personally led a pioneer company along the
Mormon Trail to the Salt Lake Valley. Sometime in the mid 1850's, working with
George D. Watt, he helped develop the
Deseret alphabet.
On a preaching mission in
1857, Pratt was being tracked by
Hector McLean, the disgruntled ex-husband of a woman, Eleanor McLean, whom Pratt had recently married as a plural wife. McLean pressed charges, accusing Pratt of coming between him and the woman who was then his wife. Pratt managed to evade him and his charges, but was finally arrested in
Indian Territory (now
Oklahoma). He was tried before Judge
John B Ogden, acquitted and released. However, shortly afterward, on
13 May 1857, he was killed by Hector McLean and two other men on a farm northeast of
Van Buren, Arkansas.
*
A Voice of Warning (1837)
*
The Mellennium and Other Poems (1840)
*
Late Persecutions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: With a Sketch of Their Rise, Progress and Doctrine (1840)
*
Key to the Science of Theology (1855)
*
The Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt (1874, posthumous)
Pratt-Romney family* Allen, James B. and Leonard, Glen M.
The Story of the Latter-day Saints. Deseret Book Co., Salt Lake City, UT, 1976. ISBN 0-87747-594-6.
* Ludlow, Daniel H.,
A Companion to Your Study of the Doctrine and Covenants, Deseret Book Co., Salt Lake City, UT, 1978. ISBN 1-57345-224-6.
* Ludlow, Daniel H., Editor.
Church History, Selections From the Encyclopedia of Mormonism. Deseret Book Co., Salt Lake City, UT, 1992. ISBN 0-87579-924-8.
*
The Essential Parley P. Pratt; Signature Books; ISBN 0-941214-84-2
*
History of Parley P. Pratt*
Pratt Family Association{{succession box | title=
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles | years=
February 21,
1835–
May 13,
1857 | before=
William E. McLellin | after=
Luke S. Johnson |
