41 Facts About Orson Pratt

Orson Pratt was born in Hartford, New York, the son of Jared Orson Pratt and Charity Dickenson.

Orson Pratt was the younger brother of Parley P Pratt, who introduced him to the LDS Church and baptized him on Orson's nineteenth birthday, September 19,1830, in Canaan, New York.

Orson Pratt was ordained an Elder several months later, on December 1,1830, by Joseph Smith and immediately set out for Colesville, New York, his first mission.

Orson Pratt was a member of the original Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, called in 1835 under the direction of Joseph Smith.

Orson Pratt was ordained to this position on April 26,1835.

Orson Pratt served as a member of the mission of the Twelve Apostles to the British Isles between 1839 and 1841.

On his return to America in 1841, Orson Pratt found the church membership in contention over several issues.

Rumors and gossip were rife in Nauvoo, Illinois, and Orson Pratt found the religious principle of plural marriage difficult to accept.

Orson Pratt rebelled against Joseph Smith when a report by disaffected Mormon John C Bennett accused Smith of proposing marriage to Pratt's wife, Sarah Pratt, which Smith denied.

Sarah claimed that Smith had proposed, and Orson Pratt believed his wife.

Orson Pratt reconciled with Smith a few months after their falling out and requested rebaptism.

Orson Pratt was reinstated in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on January 20,1843.

Young opposed Orson Pratt's teachings that the One God of the Bible was a matrix of attributes shared by many individuals who had achieved exaltation to godhood.

Orson Pratt did so by sending him away on numerous missions.

Orson Pratt managed to make contacts with people in Paris who were willing to do this translation.

In 1865, Orson Pratt was one of the first Mormon missionaries to work in Austria.

Orson Pratt made regular readings with the company's scientific instruments, took notes on geological formations and mineral resources, and recorded information on plants and animals.

Some sources agree that Orson Pratt married seven women and was the father of forty-five children, though other sources, including his first wife Sarah, claim that he married ten women.

At age 57 Orson Pratt married his tenth wife, sixteen-year-old Margaret Graham.

Still, Orson Pratt was able to support himself and his family by writing and publishing pamphlets on Mormon theology.

In June 1870, Pratt participated in a debate against John P Newman on whether or not the Bible supported polygamy.

Brigham Young, Heber C Kimball, and George A Smith spent several days trying to get Pratt to believe Smith, but Pratt continued to side with his wife.

Orson Pratt did not ever consider himself truly excommunicated, and neither, by one interpretation, did Smith.

Van Wagoner cites a letter written by Pratt's brother Parley P Pratt which said that Orson was a part of the church and that Bennett's book, The History of the Saints, was written solely to get vengeance on those who had excommunicated him and barely worth mentioning.

Smith and Orson Pratt directly discussed Orson Pratt's wife, with Smith stating to him, "She lied about me: I never made the offer which she said I did," after which Joseph suggested he divorce Sarah and start a new family.

Pratt did not divorce Sarah at that time, though one source does report that Orson came to believe that Sarah had lied about Smith's proposal.

In "Absurdities of Immaterialism", Orson Pratt defended the Mormon doctrine of materiality, with reference to science, philosophy, and theology.

At a special conference in Salt Lake City in August 1852, Orson Pratt publicly preached a sermon announcing the doctrine of plural marriage.

Orson Pratt later published an essay in defense of the practice in 12 monthly installments in the church periodical The Seer, which provides the most complete defense of the Mormon doctrine during this period.

Orson Pratt himself is considered one of the most influential early apologists for the LDS Church.

In 1869, Orson Pratt transliterated a portion of the Book of Mormon into the Deseret Alphabet.

Orson Pratt acted as Church Historian and Recorder from 1874 until his death.

Orson Pratt edited many church periodicals and helped divide editions of the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants into verses and provided footnoted cross references.

Orson Pratt served seven terms as Speaker of the House in the Utah legislature.

Orson Pratt was known as an accomplished mathematician and had a strong interest in astronomy.

Orson Pratt offered science-based lectures on these topics to early Mormon audiences in Utah and published two related books.

The former is claimed to have been used as a textbook in England, Germany, and France, as Orson Pratt was known as a talented mathematician even outside of Mormon circles.

In October 1851, Orson Pratt taught mathematics in the 'Parent School' of the University of Deseret.

At age 70, Orson Pratt died of complications from diabetes in Salt Lake City.

Orson Pratt was buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.

Orson Pratt continued to be a leading Mormon theologian and writer until his death.