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Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt (Revised and Enhanced)

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This is a first-hand account of the growth and history of the Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints, as seen through the eyes of one of its highest-ranking insiders (and Apostle), Parley P. Pratt.

Pratt, a traveling preacher, first heard of the Book of Mormon in late August, 1830, and was baptized on about Sept 1, 1830. From then on, his life was one of total committment and devotion to God's work on Earth.

Pratt served several missions for the Church and also suffered through many persecutions with the Prophet Joseph Smith himself, including several months in a filthy jail cell in 1838-1839. These experiences are told in fair detail so that it is easy for me to visualize them as if I had lived through them myself.

If you want to know what life was really like for early LDS Church members and leaders, you need to read this book.

--George Stancliffe

Parley P. Pratt along with his brother Orson was among the earliest leaders of the Mormon church. His historical significance alone makes this worth the read. Luckily not only is this work historically important is is also really entertaining. Of all the books I have read on the early church this was easily the most entertaining.

Parley Pratt is a master storyteller. Furthermore, he lead a fascinating life that makes for an engrossing read. My favorite was the story about the dogs. (You have to read it to find out what I mean) There is some inspirational talk here as would be expected from any work by a religious devotee. Really a fun read and worth your time.

A very vivid account of the early history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints written by man who lived it and contributed much to the LDS church. The book is written in flowing prose and interspersed with poetry, letters, etc. Parley Pratt joined the church after reading and accepting the Book of Mormon. His story follows the LDS church through their persecutions in Missouri, and Illinois and brings the church to its present location in Utah.

I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the LDS church as it is written by one of their early leaders.

Its been a long time since I read a book that impacted me as much as this one. This is an incredible autobiography full of true American adventure by one incredible human being. To endure the incredible hardships and torture, as described so eloquently and vividly by a great writer, at the hands of American citizens is a tale almost beyond belief.

I am not Mormon and have no particular feelings one way or the other but Mr. Pratt's incredible faith and endurance are truly awe-inspiring, and it would be difficult to comprehend how one could survive without a divine presence lending a hand.

I think those who read this book will come away with a very important message about religious tolerance and the horrors that occur when religious prejudice rules the law of the land.

While reading this book I found my breath quickening, my hands clenching, and my nose smelling the foul stench of the cruel prison conditions Mr. Pratt and others were forced to endure.

Probably Mr. Pratt got what he deserved in the end. Whether or not you accept the practice of polygamy - mess with another man's wife and you are liable to get hurt. Nevertheless I can't help but admire this man and wonder how he survived so many perilous adventures and even more difficult - 12 wives! God Bless you Parley P. Pratt - may you rest with the Saints in Heaven.

Parley P. Pratt was a great man who made a great impact on the people in his day. He was searching for truth and serving as a missionary when his life changed for the best. Parley came into contact with a book that would change his life forever. That book is The Book Of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ. When he read it, he decided that he needed to be baptized into the only true and living church upon the face of the land. When talking to his wife, Parley discovered that she had also come to find the Book of Mormon and had been baptized. Parley spent the rest of his life preaching the gospel to all the world up to the point that he was murdered by a jealous ex-husband of one of his converts. Parley was a great example of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. For more information about The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints, visit[...]or talk to your MORMON neighbor.

This is a great discovery. You have probably heard the stories of Parley P. Pratt. Now you need to read them, and please review the historical significance in the footnotes. Also, good photography to compliment and help establish a mental picture.

This autobiography is outstanding. The book chronicles the life of
Parley P. Pratt. The book if entertaining, inspiring, and motivating.
The book contains several enjoyable stories. We can learn alot from Pratt's life.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001VNCI6E/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_img

This is a book to treasure, to read over and over, to laugh with and cry with. Parley Pratt was a brilliant man and a brilliant writer, who is able to take his readers with him on the thoroughly (altogether too thoroughly) rocky road of missionary work in the early days of the LDS Church. I first read it twenty-eight years ago, and I still love it. You will too, whether you're a Mormon or whether you think Mormons have horns and pitch-fork tails. By the time you have read this book twice, you will feel that you know Parley Pratt, and he might knock on your door any time. But he's busy now on the other side of the veil, so you'll have to wait till you get there to meet him. Even then, you might have a bit of a wait. There are literally millions of people who want to meet him. In the meantime, you can meet him through this book.

I read the 1985 edition.

This book reads like an autobiography with brakes and jumps, expressions of hope, dreams, aspirations, labors, losses, etc. one would expect from a person attempt to describe their lives while living it and still not certain of the day to day outcome. It is a sincere recollection as best as one should expect. Some personal poetry and musical compositions is included making me believe that little or nothing of the authors original writings was left out.

I like the books historical perspectives. The religious tone was obvious but surprisingly not annoying or intrusive. Parely P. Pratt simple believed in his faith and seems destined to be a preacher. There are a lot of sympathetic figures in the stories told due to the many injustices the Mormon pioneers faced while settling westward in attempts to establish a colony. Perhaps other groups have faced similar prejudices, but I have never heard of such persecutions of Quakers, protestants, Baptists, Methodists, etc which could match the hardships these Mormon pioneers endured other than the persecutions which cause settlement of the Americas. But, religious settlement of America seemed as much politically motivated as a focused religious intolerance. This story was heart wrenching at times for the simple fact that the injustices seemed evident and unambiguous. The stories dispel the mythology of the free and endless frontier and reveal the harshness of society which compliments its environment.

The most vibrant and lengthy story told is a detail and exciting account of Parley P. Pratt's coordinated escape. The account is detail and exciting and full of moral dilemmas for which the author makes some attempt to discuss. The excitement of his jail brake is heightened by the facts that that a mob had planned to make a spectacle of him and his companions through and well publicized public murder which was pre-empted by the physical abuse of a dissenting and innocent woman bystander.

The story of mob rule caused me to imagine what might be the outcome of such a mob in my own neighborhood and the terror it must be to live in societies ruled without order. I was impressed with his ideas that good must be as adamant at preserving justice, good order, organization as a mob is at destroying good order and peace. Parley P. Pratt's descriptions of what I call "Frontier Justice" reminds me of volatile anarchist speak in the present society.

This could be an interesting volume to use for studying legal misconduct, political corruption, economics, psychology, government and other social studies. This book details firsthand cruelties extended to others due to social prejudices of the day, greed and lack of federal government control over individual states. A clear sequence of mob rule formation is inadvertent detailed explaining how simple means can be employed by a few people and rumors can be used to incite the most vile of human reactions such as rape, murder, abuse of children, destruction of social freedoms, gang rule, kangaroo courts, false jailing, state sanctioned murder, etc. Some effort is made to describe the manipulation of the general public through ignorance and use of emotional triggers such as fear, greed, jealously, power, religious intolerance, political intolerance, etc. This book has good firsthand renditions of the influence of false propaganda which is capable of leading communities into frenzied behavior leading up to gang murder and acceptance of misguided vigilantism.

The idea which most caught my attentions was a candid debate among equals regarding Polygamy. I have always found (accepted what I was taught) the idea of polygamy to be repulsive and have never before heard or read any reasonable explanation for supporting such a lifestyle. I have found most responses to be laughable, superficial, shallow or silly. Parley P. Pratt held some notable public debates regarding the constitutionality, legality and morality of polygamy. Most notably are his moral arguments (as a response to directed criticism). After some discourse, legally, the best California state lawyers admitted in public debate that polygamy was not illegal and that there was not constitutional basis to deny its practice. (i.e. Polygamy was legal). But, more interesting was a compelling moral defense of polygamy using a comparison between dedicated spouses and loving familial bonds to prostitutions which were highlighted by a public debate with notable preachers the culmination of which I site below.

..."(Mr. Briggs) to insinuate that there is no difference between Polygamy and adultery; between a house full of wives and children and a house full of harlots.

"He takes Polygamy, adultery, theft and murder, and compounds them all together as crime! And then seems to infer that a man would steal, commit adultery, etc. simply from the fact that he has a house full of wives and children! ... seemed to recognize no very clear distinction between Polygamy and adultery, or between a man having his own wife or wives, or robbing a neighbor of his wife.

"... What is the difference between a house full of wives and children or a house of "ill fame," or of "harlots?"

"... The one ... rightly conducted, ... multiplies, preserves and trains our species in the highest order of physical, moral and intellectual endowment; fills the world with cities ...; and has given to the world its principal rulers, kings, prophets, apostles, and, finally, its Messiah ...

"... (one) perverts the order of nature; prostitutes the most holy principles and affections to the vilest of purposes; checks the reproduction of our species; spreads disease and death as a sweeping pestilence through the world, degenerates the race; and if it fills the world at all, fills it with a mean, groveling, sickly, puny, lustful, deformed and miserable ... (people)

Ouch! Bringing up the Messiah's lineage as coming from a Polygamist background sure puts a nail in it; unless you want to be called a hypocrite!?. Besides it is legal! So, get over it! (or Get with it!) Yea! Marriage is hard enough. It is hypocritical to experience a great degree of public expectation and tolerance of infidelity, but have zero tolerance for multiple spouses. I would rank divorce as more a immoral than someone who can keep a polygamist relationship. The Cultish version marring children to adult men is not an option, but if adults want to face the legal consequences of multiple unions (seems riskier than having a single spouse to me!!!) then why protest polygamy so fiercely? I liked the point given and the comparison opened my eyes to see other people's relationships with more tolerance being reminded that (ceteris per ibis) I do not have to pay the consequences for their choices.

This book was about a man who had extraordinary faith and truly lived to serve the Lord. He has a very interesting life. This biography would make a great movie.