In 1853, Parley P. Pratt mused that his personal history would be “far more strange” than “the thousand volumes of Modern Fiction.” He wrote, “I have been a farmer, a servant, a fisher, a digger, a beggar, a preacher, an author, an editor, a senator, a traveler, a merchant, an elder and an Apostle of Jesus Christ.” Pratt’s literary instincts were correct; the narrative of his life could have formed the basis of a gripping novel. After Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, no other figure so powerfully shaped early Mormon history, culture, and theology. Pratt’s life was not only foundational to early ... More

In 1853, Parley P. Pratt mused that his personal history would be “far more strange” than “the thousand volumes of Modern Fiction.” He wrote, “I have been a farmer, a servant, a fisher, a digger, a beggar, a preacher, an author, an editor, a senator, a traveler, a merchant, an elder and an Apostle of Jesus Christ.” Pratt’s literary instincts were correct; the narrative of his life could have formed the basis of a gripping novel. After Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, no other figure so powerfully shaped early Mormon history, culture, and theology. Pratt’s life was not only foundational to early Mormonism, but also serves as a window onto nineteenth-century American religious, cultural, and intellectual history. Pratt joined Mormon movement in 1830, six months after its founding. In 1835, Smith called Pratt as a member of the newly-formed Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, a position he served in for the remainder of his life. Pratt thus played a key leadership role for the Mormons in Missouri, Illinois, and the American West. He also contributed to the expansion and internationalization of early Mormonism, serving crucial missions for the Latter-day Saints throughout the United States, Canada, England, and Chile. He exerted his influence most powerfully through his writing, as he organized, popularized, and expanded upon Smith’s theology in widely read books and pamphlets. His widespread missionary travels and influential writings meant that Pratt played a similar role for early Mormonism as Paul in early Christianity. In 1857, to the cheers of the national media and the laments of the Latter-day Saints, Pratt was murdered in Arkansas by the estranged husband of his twelfth plural wife. Based on Pratt’s voluminous public and private writings, this biography narrates his compelling story and weaves a rich religious, intellectual, and cultural history of antebellum America.