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The life of Parley P. Pratt is inextricably linked with the early history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Terryl L. Givens and Matthew J. Grow shed additional light on Pratt’s life and his influence on the early history of the LDS Church in their new biography, “Parley P. Pratt: The Apostle Paul of Mormonism.” The contents of the book, along with a recent lecture by the authors at Benchmark Books in Salt Lake City, provide answers to many questions about Pratt, including the following: SNIP What was the nature of Pratt’s relationship with Joseph Smith?Pratt revered...

Who communicated with our...Prophet, and revealed through him as a MEDIUM...Moroni, who had lived upon the earth fourteen hundred years before... How do the Saints expect the necessary information by which to complete the ministrations for the salvation and exaltation of their friends who have died? By one holding the keys of the oracles of God, AS A MEDIUM THROUGH WHICH THE LIVING CAN HEAR FROM THE DEAD. Shall we, then, deny the principle, the philosophy, the fact of communication between worlds? No! verily no! The spiritual philosophy of the present age was introduced to the modern world by Joseph...

Parley and Orson Pratt and Nineteenth-Century Mormon Thought Public Symposium at Brigham Young University Sponsored by the Mormon Scholars Foundation July 2, 2009 B092 of the Joseph F. Smith Building at BYU In the tradition of Richard Bushman’s summer seminars on Joseph Smith and early Mormonism, eight graduate students, under the direction of Terryl Givens and Matthew Grow, have studied the writings of Orson and Parley Pratt and will be presenting their research at this symposium. The seminar has been hosted by the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. 10:00 Terryl Givens, University of Richmond, Introduction 10:10 Ryan Tobler,...