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PRATT, Parley Parker, Mormon apostle, born in
Burlington, New York, 12 April, 1807; died near Van Buren, Arkansas, 13 May,
1857. He joined the Mormon Church in 1830, and was a member, in 1835, of the
first quorum of the twelve apostles. Mr. Pratt was one of the earliest Mormon
missionaries that traveled from the Atlantic seaboard to the western frontiers
of Missouri, and among his converts was John Taylor. In 1840 he was sent on a
mission to England, and again in 1846.
He was one of the pioneers to the valley of the Great
Salt Lake, and in 1847 explored Utah lake and valley; also Cedar and Tooede
valleys, and Parley's Canon and Parley's Peak, east of Salt Lake valley, were
named after him, as he explored them in 1849 and worked a road up the cañon. He
visited the Pacific coast in 1851 and 1854 on missions, and set out on a similar
expedition to the eastern states in September, 1856, but was assassinated while
passing through Arkansas.
Some of Mr. Pratt's writings were pronounced by Joseph
Smith to be standard works of the church. He established the "Millennial Star"
in Manchester, England, and was its editor during 1840. It was published until
1970 when it was discontinued. Mr. Pratt was the author of numerous pamphlets,
among which are "An Appeal to the State of New York." "Immortality of the Body,"
"Fountain of Knowledge," "Intelligence and Affection," "The Angel of the
Prairies," and was the author of "Voice of Warning and Instruction to all
People, or an Introduction to the Faith and Doctrine of the Latter-Day Saints"
(New York, 1837); "History of the Persecutions in Missouri" (Detroit, 1839) ;
and "Key to the Science of Theology" (Liverpool, 1854). His marked Hebraic
character and tone led to his being called the Isaiah of his people.
--His brother, Orson Pratt, Mormon apostle, born
in Hartford, New York, 19 September, 1811 ; died in Salt Lake City, 3 October,
1881. He was educated in common schools in Columbia County, and acquired an
extensive knowledge of Hebrew and the higher mathematics. In September, 1830, he
joined the Mormon Church, which he followed in its travels to Missouri, and
became an elder in 1831, a high-priest in 1832, and one of the twelve apostles
in 1835.
Soon after his connection with the church he was sent on
numerous preaching missions, extending from the New England and other eastern
states and Canada to western Missouri. He and Erastus Snow were the first
Mormons to enter the valley of the Great Salt Lake, and he was the first to
stand upon the site where Salt Lake City was afterward built. Mr. Pratt went on
successful missions to Great Britain in 1840, 1848, 1850, 1853, 1856, 1864,
1877, and 1878, and was twice president of the British and European missions,
and in 1865 he went on a mission to Austria. In 1852 he went on a mission to
Washington, D. C., where he edited and published "The Seer," eighteen monthly
numbers, at the same time presiding over the churches on the Atlantic slope and
in Canada.
He was a member of the legislative assembly of Utah
during the first session, and also of every other session when he was in the
territory, and was seven times its speaker. For some time he held the
professorship of mathematics in Deseret University and in 1874 was appointed
church historian and general church recorder. Mr. Pratt entered into theological
controversies in England, and in 1870 discussed polygamy with Dr. John P. Newman
before nearly 15,000 people in the great, tabernacle in Salt Lake City. These
discussions were published in pamphlet-form and in many papers in the United
States.
His mathematic knowledge was applied in his discovery of
the "Law of Planetary Rotation," showing that the cubic roots of the densities
of the planets are as the square roots of their periods of rotation, which he
announced in November, 1854. In 1845 he wrote and published "The Prophetic
Almanac," which he calculated for the latitude and meridian of Nauvoo and the
principal cities of the United States.
His publications include "Divine Authenticity of the
Book of Mormon" (6 parts); "Series of Pamphlets on Mormonism, with Two
Discussions" (Liverpool, 1851); "Patriarchal Order, or Plurality of Wives"
(1853); "Cubic and Biquadratic Equations" (London, 1866): "Key to the Universe"
(Liverpool, 1879); "The Great First Cause"; "The Absurdities of Immaterialism";
and several volumes of sermons. Mr. Pratt left in manuscript "Lectures on
Astronomy" and a treatise on "Differential Calculus."
Edited Appletons Encyclopedia, by John Looby Copyright © 2001 StanKlos.comTM
PRATT, Parley Parker, Mormon apostle, born in Burlington, New York, 12 April, 1807; died near Van Buren, Arkansas, 13 May, 1857. He joined the Mormon church in 1830, and was a member, in 1835, of the first quorum of the twelve apostles. Mr. Pratt was one of the earliest Mormon missionaries that travelled from the Atlantic seaboard to the western frontiers of Missouri, and among his converts was John Taylor. In 1840 he was sent on a mission to England, and again in 1846. He was one of the pioneers to the valley of the Great Salt Lake, and in 1847 explored Utah lake and valley; also Cedar and Tooede valleys, and Parley's Canon and Parley's Peak, east of Salt Lake valley, were named after him, as he explored them in 1849 and worked a road up the cation. He visited the Pacific coast in 1851 and 1854 on missions, and set out on a similar expedition to the eastern states in September, 1856, but was assassinated while passing through Arkansas. Some of Mr. Pratt's writings were pronounced by Joseph Smith to be standard works of the church. He established the "Millennial Star" in Manchester, England, and was its editor during 1840. It is still published. Mr. Pratt was the author of numerous pamphlets, among which are "An Appeal to the State of New York." "Immortality of the Body," " Fountain of Knowledge," "Intelligence and Affection," "The Angel of the Prairies," and was the author of " Voice of Warning and Instruction to all People, or an Introduction to the Faith and Doctrine of tile Latter-Day Saints" (New York, 1837) ; "History of the Persecutions in Missouri" (Detroit, 1839) ; and "Key to the Science of Theology" (Liverpool, 1854). His marked Hebraic character and tone led to his being called the Isaiah of his people. His brother, Orson, Mormon apostle, born in Hartford, New York, 19 September, 1811 ; died in Salt Lake City, 3 October, 1881. He was educated in common schools in Columbia county, and acquired an extensive knowledge of Hebrew and the higher mathematics. In September, 1830, he joined the Mormon church, which he followed in its travels to Missouri, and became an elder in 1831, a high-priest in 1832, and one of the twelve apostles in 1835. Soon after his connection with the church he was sent on numerous preaching missions, extending from the New England and other eastern states and Canada to western Missouri. He and Erastus Snow were the first Mormons to enter the valley of the Great Salt Lake, and he was the first to stand upon the site where Salt Lake City was afterward built. Mr. Pratt went on successful missions to Great Britain in 1840, 1848, 1850, 1853, 1856, 1864, 1877, and 1878, and was twice president of the British and European missions, and in 1865 he went on a mission to Austria. In 1852 he went on a mission to Washington, D. C., where he edited and published " The Seer," eighteen monthly numbers, at the same time presiding over the churches on the Atlantic slope and in Canada. He was a member of the legislative assembly of Utah during the first session, and also of every other session when he was in the territory, and was seven times its speaker. For some time he held the professorship of mathematics in Deseret university and in 1874 was appointed church historian and general church recorder. Mr. Pratt entered into theological controversies in England, and in 1870 discussed polygamy with Dr. John P. Newman before nearly 15,000 people in the great, tabernacle in Salt Lake City. These discussions were published in pamphlet-form and in many papers in the United States. His mathematic knowledge was applied in his discovery of the" Law of Planetary Rotation," showing that the cubic roots of the densities of the planets are as the square roots of their periods of rotation, which he announced in November, 1854. In 1845 he wrote and published "The Prophetic Almanac," which he calculated for the latitude and meridian of Nauvoo and the principal cities of the United States. His publications include "Divine Authenticity of the Book of Mormon" (6 parts); "Series of Pamphlets on Mormonism, with Two Discussions" (Liverpool, 1851); " Patriarchal Order, or Plurality of Wives" (1853) ; "Cubic and Biquadratic Equations" (London, 1866): "Key to the Universe" (Liverpool, 1879); " The Great First Cause"; "The Absurdities of Immaterialism"; and several volumes of sermons. Mr. Pratt left in manuscript "Lectures on Astronomy" and a treatise on " Differential Calculus."
