Parley P. Pratt

Parley P. Pratt (1807-1857)

Parley P. Pratt was an apostle and "martyr." Photograph courtesy LDS Church Archives.

Convert

1830. Pratt was a member of Sidney Rigdon's Campbellite congregation in Ohio when he learned of the Book of Mormon. "I opened it with eagerness, and read its title page. I then read the testimony of several witnesses in relation to the manner of its being found and translated. After this I commenced its contents by course. I read all day; eating was a burden, I had no desire for food; sleep was a burden when the night came, for I preferred reading to sleep." He traveled to Palmyra, New York, to meet Joseph Smith, only to discover the Prophet had moved to Pennsylvania. After discussing the Book of Mormon with Hyrum Smith, Pratt requested baptism. The next day they walked to the Peter Whitmer home, twenty-five miles away, and on September 1, 1830, Oliver Cowdery baptized Parley P. Pratt in Seneca Lake. Except for Joseph Smith's younger brother William, Pratt was the first of the original Quorum of the Twelve to be baptized.

Missionary

1830. One month after his baptism, Pratt was called with Oliver Cowdery, Peter Whitmer, and Ziba Peterson on a mission "into the wilderness among the Lamanites" (D&C 32), some 1500 miles away in western Missouri. In Kirtland, Ohio, they gave a Book of Mormon to Pratt's former minister, Sidney Rigdon. Within three weeks they baptized Rigdon, Edward Partridge, and one hundred twenty-five more converts. Eventually, the number baptized in Kirtland reached a thousand.

The missionaries preached and distributed the Book of Mormon to the Catteraugua Indians near Buffalo, the Wyandots of Ohio, and the Shawnee and Delaware in western Missouri. "We traveled on foot for three hundred miles through vast prairies and through trackless wilds of snow—no beaten road; houses few and far between; and the bleak northwest wind always blowing in our faces with a keenness which would almost take the skin off the face. We traveled for whole days from morning till night without a house or fire, wading in snow to the knees at every step. … We often ate our frozen bread and pork by the way, when the bread would be so frozen that we could not bite or penetrate any part of it but the outside crust."

Missouri Persecutions

1833. Pratt and his family were among 1200 Saints driven from Jackson County into Clay County, Missouri. He later returned to Kirtland and served in Zion's Camp (1834).

1838. April: Pratt moved his family from Ohio to Far West, Missouri. In October he was imprisoned with other Mormon leaders on charges of "treason, murder, burglary, arson, robbery, and larceny," but was never brought to trial. After eight months of imprisonment, he was allowed to escape. In 1843 he "confessed he was wrong in one thing in Missouri; that is, he left alive, and left them alive; and asked forgiveness, and promised never to do so again."

Member of the Original Quorum of the Twelve

1835. Called to the original Quorum of the Twelve by the Three Witnesses, Pratt was ordained an apostle by Joseph Smith.

1837. Returning from a mission to Canada, Pratt was swept up in the "jarrings and discords" over the collapse of the Kirtland Safety Society. Charging that the "spirit of speculation" was "of the devil," he demanded Joseph Smith refund the $2000 he had paid for three lots that had not cost the Prophet more than $200. A Church court convened to excommunicate Pratt and several others, but the dissenters successfully challenged the jurisdiction of the court. Before another court could try them, Pratt had a change of heart and obtained Joseph Smith's forgiveness. His former companions were all excommunicated.

1840. While serving a mission in Great Britain with the Quorum of the Twelve, Pratt published the Millennial Star and in 1841 presided over all British conferences.

1845. Presided over the Church in New England and the Atlantic States.

Family Problems

1846. Pratt exchanged strong words in the Nauvoo Temple with his brother Orson over Parley's accusations that Orson's wife Sarah was "ruining and breaking up his family." Orson, expelled from the temple, complained to Brigham Young about Parley's alleged immorality: "If he feels at liberty to go into the city of New York or elsewhere and seduce girls or females and sleep and have connexion [sic] with them contrary to the law of God, and the sacred counsels of his brethren, it is something that does not concern me."

Orson was referring to Parley's relations with Belinda Marden, to whom he had been secretly sealed on November 20, 1844. At the time Belinda accompanied Pratt on a mission to New York, not even his wife, Mary Ann, was aware of the marriage. When Belinda gave birth to a son (1846), Mary Ann asked Belinda if the child were illegitimate. Told the truth, Mary Ann immediately severed her marital relationship with Pratt, though she did not divorce him until 1853, after coming to Utah.

July: Brigham Young sent Parley Pratt, Orson Hyde, and John Taylor to investigate the embezzlement of emigration funds in England.

Pioneer

1847. Pratt entered the Salt Lake Valley in September.

1849. Helped formulate a constitution for the provisional government of Deseret. When Utah became a territory in 1850, Pratt was elected to the territorial senate.

Author

Parley P. Pratt's Voice of Warning (1837) was the first published defense of Mormon doctrine. He also wrote Key to Theology History of Missouri Persecutions, and his Autobiography published posthumously in 1873.

The lyrics of many popular Mormon hymns were written by Parley P. Pratt, including "The Morning Breaks," "Come, O Thou King of Kings," "An Angel from on High," and "Jesus, Once of Humble Birth."

Two Left Feet

Orson Hyde related, "When dancing was first introduced in Nauvoo among the Saints, I observed Brother Parley standing in the figure and he was making no motion particularly, only up and down. Says I, 'Brother Parley, why don't you move forward?' Says he, 'When I think which way I am going, I forget the step and when I think of the step I forget which way to go.'"

"Martyr"

1857. May 13: Parley P. Pratt was murdered near Van Buren, Arkansas, at the age of fifty, by the legal husband of his twelfth wife, Elenore McComb McLean.

Pratt had met the McLeans in San Francisco. Her Church activity and Mr. McLean's alcoholism led to separation, she moving to Salt Lake City. Though she and McLean were never divorced, Elenore married Pratt November 14, 1855.

Mrs. McLean, who declared that a marriage performed by "sectarian priests… is no marriage at all," lost custody of her children to their father, who took them to Arkansas. When Pratt went to help her recover the children, he was arrested on a complaint sworn out by McLean for "alienating the affections of his wife and attempting to abduct the children." Both Pratt and Mrs. McLean—who had been arrested on grounds of stealing her children's clothes—were acquitted in Van Buren.

Immediately after the trial, Pratt headed for Missouri, where he planned to join an immigrant train west. A short distance out of town, he was overtaken by McLean, who, after missing with six pistol shots at the unarmed apostle, plunged a Bowie knife into his left side twice, then shot [p.223] him in the neck after he had fallen from his horse. Pratt survived for nearly three hours, long enough to tell passersby his name and the name of his assailant, and give instructions as to the disposition of his body and personal effects. Asked if he wanted a doctor, he replied, "I want no doctors for I will be dead in a few minutes."

Pratt was buried a mile from the murder site in the cemetery at Sterman (also known as Fine's Springs), near Van Buren, Arkansas. The first stanza of his hymn "The Morning Breaks, the Shadows Flee" is his epitaph.

Sources
Journal of Discourses, 6:15.
New York Herald, 23 November 1869.
Pratt, Parley P. Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1966.
Pratt, Steven. "Eleanor McLean and the Murder of Parley P. Pratt." Brigham Young University Studies 15 (Winter 1975):225-256.
Smith, Joseph Fielding. Essentials in Church History. 26th ed. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1973.
Stanley, Reva. Biography of Parley P. Pratt: The Archer of Paradise. Caldwell: Caxton Printers Ltd., 1937.

	A Book of Mormons Richard S. Van Wagoner and Steven C. Walker Copyright 1982, Signature Books Salt Lake City, Utah Contents


	Family Background 1807. April 12: Born Parley Parker Pratt in Burlington, New York. He married Thankful Halsey in 1827, and, six weeks after her death in 1837, married Mary Ann Frost. In 1843 he wed his first plural wife, Elizabeth Brotherton, and over the next twelve years married nine additional wives: Mary Wood (1844), Hannahette Snively (1844), Belinda Marden (1844), Sarah Huston (1845), Phoebe Sopher (1846), Martha Monks (1847), Ann Agatha Walker (1847), Keziah Downes (1853), and Eleanor J. McComb McLean (1855). He was the father of thirty children.



		Parley P. Pratt and wife Elizabeth Brotherton, courtesy LDS Church Archives.


	Convert 1830. Pratt was a member of Sidney Rigdon's Campbellite congregation in Ohio when he learned of the Book of Mormon. "I opened it with eagerness, and read its title page. I then read the testimony of several witnesses in relation to the manner of its being found and translated. After this I commenced its contents by course. I read all day; eating was a burden, I had no desire for food; sleep was a burden when the night came, for I preferred reading to sleep." He traveled to Palmyra, New York, to meet Joseph Smith, only to discover the Prophet had moved to Pennsylvania. After discussing the Book of Mormon with Hyrum Smith, Pratt requested baptism. The next day they walked to the Peter Whitmer home, twenty-five miles away, and on September 1, 1830, Oliver Cowdery baptized Parley P. Pratt in Seneca Lake. Except for Joseph Smith's younger brother William, Pratt was the first of the original Quorum of the Twelve to be baptized. Missionary 1830. One month after his baptism, Pratt was called with Oliver Cowdery, Peter Whitmer, and Ziba Peterson on a mission "into the wilderness among the Lamanites" (D&C 32), some 1500 miles away in western Missouri. In Kirtland, Ohio, they gave a Book of Mormon to Pratt's former minister, Sidney Rigdon. Within three weeks they baptized Rigdon, Edward Partridge, and one hundred twenty-five more converts. Eventually, the number baptized in Kirtland reached a thousand. The missionaries preached and distributed the Book of Mormon to the Catteraugua Indians near Buffalo, the Wyandots of Ohio, and the Shawnee and Delaware in western Missouri. "We traveled on foot for three hundred miles through vast prairies and through trackless wilds of snow—no beaten road; houses few and far between; and the bleak northwest wind always blowing in our faces with a keenness which would almost take the skin off the face. We traveled for whole days from morning till night without a house or fire, wading in snow to the knees at every step. … We often ate our frozen bread and pork by the way, when the bread would be so frozen that we could not bite or penetrate any part of it but the outside crust." Missouri Persecutions 1833. Pratt and his family were among 1200 Saints driven from Jackson County into Clay County, Missouri. He later returned to Kirtland and served in Zion's Camp (1834). 1838. April: Pratt moved his family from Ohio to Far West, Missouri. In October he was imprisoned with other Mormon leaders on charges of "treason, murder, burglary, arson, robbery, and larceny," but was never brought to trial. After eight months of imprisonment, he was allowed to escape. In 1843 he "confessed he was wrong in one thing in Missouri; that is, he left alive, and left them alive; and asked forgiveness, and promised never to do so again." Member of the Original Quorum of the Twelve 1835. Called to the original Quorum of the Twelve by the Three Witnesses, Pratt was ordained an apostle by Joseph Smith. 1837. Returning from a mission to Canada, Pratt was swept up in the "jarrings and discords" over the collapse of the Kirtland Safety Society. Charging that the "spirit of speculation" was "of the devil," he demanded Joseph Smith refund the $2000 he had paid for three lots that had not cost the Prophet more than $200. A Church court convened to excommunicate Pratt and several others, but the dissenters successfully challenged the jurisdiction of the court. Before another court could try them, Pratt had a change of heart and obtained Joseph Smith's forgiveness. His former companions were all excommunicated. 1840. While serving a mission in Great Britain with the Quorum of the Twelve, Pratt published the Millennial Star and in 1841 presided over all British conferences. 1845. Presided over the Church in New England and the Atlantic States. Family Problems 1846. Pratt exchanged strong words in the Nauvoo Temple with his brother Orson over Parley's accusations that Orson's wife Sarah was "ruining and breaking up his family." Orson, expelled from the temple, complained to Brigham Young about Parley's alleged immorality: "If he feels at liberty to go into the city of New York or elsewhere and seduce girls or females and sleep and have connexion [sic] with them contrary to the law of God, and the sacred counsels of his brethren, it is something that does not concern me." Orson was referring to Parley's relations with Belinda Marden, to whom he had been secretly sealed on November 20, 1844. At the time Belinda accompanied Pratt on a mission to New York, not even his wife, Mary Ann, was aware of the marriage. When Belinda gave birth to a son (1846), Mary Ann asked Belinda if the child were illegitimate. Told the truth, Mary Ann immediately severed her marital relationship with Pratt, though she did not divorce him until 1853, after coming to Utah. July: Brigham Young sent Parley Pratt, Orson Hyde, and John Taylor to investigate the embezzlement of emigration funds in England. Pioneer 1847. Pratt entered the Salt Lake Valley in September. 1849. Helped formulate a constitution for the provisional government of Deseret. When Utah became a territory in 1850, Pratt was elected to the territorial senate. Author Parley P. Pratt's Voice of Warning (1837) was the first published defense of Mormon doctrine. He also wrote Key to Theology History of Missouri Persecutions, and his Autobiography published posthumously in 1873. The lyrics of many popular Mormon hymns were written by Parley P. Pratt, including "The Morning Breaks," "Come, O Thou King of Kings," "An Angel from on High," and "Jesus, Once of Humble Birth." Two Left Feet Orson Hyde related, "When dancing was first introduced in Nauvoo among the Saints, I observed Brother Parley standing in the figure and he was making no motion particularly, only up and down. Says I, 'Brother Parley, why don't you move forward?' Says he, 'When I think which way I am going, I forget the step and when I think of the step I forget which way to go.'" "Martyr" 1857. May 13: Parley P. Pratt was murdered near Van Buren, Arkansas, at the age of fifty, by the legal husband of his twelfth wife, Elenore McComb McLean. Pratt had met the McLeans in San Francisco. Her Church activity and Mr. McLean's alcoholism led to separation, she moving to Salt Lake City. Though she and McLean were never divorced, Elenore married Pratt November 14, 1855. Mrs. McLean, who declared that a marriage performed by "sectarian priests… is no marriage at all," lost custody of her children to their father, who took them to Arkansas. When Pratt went to help her recover the children, he was arrested on a complaint sworn out by McLean for "alienating the affections of his wife and attempting to abduct the children." Both Pratt and Mrs. McLean—who had been arrested on grounds of stealing her children's clothes—were acquitted in Van Buren. Immediately after the trial, Pratt headed for Missouri, where he planned to join an immigrant train west. A short distance out of town, he was overtaken by McLean, who, after missing with six pistol shots at the unarmed apostle, plunged a Bowie knife into his left side twice, then shot [p.223] him in the neck after he had fallen from his horse. Pratt survived for nearly three hours, long enough to tell passersby his name and the name of his assailant, and give instructions as to the disposition of his body and personal effects. Asked if he wanted a doctor, he replied, "I want no doctors for I will be dead in a few minutes." Pratt was buried a mile from the murder site in the cemetery at Sterman (also known as Fine's Springs), near Van Buren, Arkansas. The first stanza of his hymn "The Morning Breaks, the Shadows Flee" is his epitaph. Sources Journal of Discourses, 6:15. New York Herald, 23 November 1869. Pratt, Parley P. Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1966. Pratt, Steven. "Eleanor McLean and the Murder of Parley P. Pratt." Brigham Young University Studies 15 (Winter 1975):225-256. Smith, Joseph Fielding. Essentials in Church History. 26th ed. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1973. Stanley, Reva. Biography of Parley P. Pratt: The Archer of Paradise. Caldwell: Caxton Printers Ltd., 1937.