ONE OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OFLATTER-DAY SAINTS,
EMBRACING THE LIFE, MINISTRY AND TRAVELS, WITH EXTRACTS, INPROSE AND VERSE, FROM HIS MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS.
EDITED BY HIS SON, PARLEY P. PRATT.
"Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth;Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; andtheir works do follow them."—Rev. xiv. 13.
Chicago: Published for Pratt Bros. by Law, King & Law
1888
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, ByParley P. Pratt, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress atWashington.
In publishing this volume I am discharging a duty solemnlyimposed upon me by my lamented father, just before his departure onhis last mission to the United States.
It affords me great pleasure to present the Autobiography of thelate Author to his relatives, his numerous friends, and to thegeneral reader.
The writer is well and favorably known through his "Voice ofWarning," his "Key to Theology," and other productions of his pen,as well as through his personal labors. He was one of the firstApostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, havingbeen called by revelation and ordained to that office by theProphet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. He was intimatelyassociated with the martyrs Joseph and Hyrum, with Presidents B.Young and H. C. Kimball, and other leading men, almost from thefirst rise of the Church: his history, therefore, was so interwovenwith that of the Church, that many of the most interesting sketchesof Church history will be found therein.
The following pages, which embrace his life, ministry andtravels, and some of his best miscellaneous writings in prose andverse, are the productions of his own pen.
He spared no pains to make the work a reliable record, and onethat would be acceptable to all lovers of truth. It is written inthe author's happiest style. He was an early pioneer of the GreatWest, and travelled extensively in different countries.
His life was one of indefatigable labor, varied and complicated,crowded with public labors and responsibilities, and full ofstrange and extraordinary events—a life mingled with the extremesof joy and sorrow—or, in the writer's own words, "a truly eventfulone."
With confidence and satisfaction I submit this work to thereader, feeling assured that it will stand upon its own merits. Ialso have an earnest and sincere desire that it may be the means,through the blessing of God, of accomplishing much good.
In editing the work I have been kindly assisted by the author'spersonal friend, Elder John Taylor, to whom I feel deeply indebted.
The work embraces a period of history of fifty years—from theauthor's boyhood to the time of his betrayal, by apostates, intothe hands of his enemies, and martyrdom.
The writer, in his second preface to his "Voice of Warning," in1846, gave expression to the following sentiment: "Should theauthor be called to sacrifice his life for the cause of truth, hewill have the consolation that it will be said of him, as it wassaid of Abel, 'He being dead yet speaketh.'"
Editor.
Salt Lake City, Dec., 1873
The circumstances attending the death of our beloved and muchesteemed Apostle, Parley Parker Pratt, rendered it impossible forhim to complete and prepare for publication the work in which hehad for many years been engaged, which is now presented to thepublic.
The general history and incidents were recorded in various formsof manuscript, some in book form,