This is a “classic in Mormon literature,” and I decided that it was time to read the whole thing. Anyone who has attended institute or seminary has heard parts of Parley’s autobiography, especially his description of Joseph Smith.
It’s a good read, especially if you know Joseph Smith’s history because Parley weaves in and out of Joseph’s sphere and gives a remarkable view of what was going on in the Church elsewhere. For instance, I didn’t know (or had forgotten) that while Joseph, Hyrum, and others were in Liberty Jail, Parley P. Pratt, W.W. Phelps, and King Follett were imprisoned in a different town.
It was touching to read a vision he had of his deceased wife, sent to comfort him in prison. I turned down the page to remember that part. Parley’s account of his escape was a lot of fun to read. I think he enjoyed writing it.
He gives a broader view of where Church members lived. Not everyone followed the saints to Ohio, Nauvoo, and Salt Lake City. Members lived throughout the eastern states and missionaries were continually sent back to strengthen these branches.
Parley’s autobiography is a big travel log. From England to San Francisco, Canada to Chile, he really got around, without purse or scrip. He was often sick, nearly froze to death, nearly died of thirst, and endured many ocean voyages and treks across the west. One of his principal duties, wherever he lived, was to write for the Church.
I liked that he included some of his sermons from his mission to Canada, which resulted in the baptism of Lorenzo Snow & Joseph Fielding. These were my favorite doctrinal chapters.
His autobiography is nearly silent about his 12 wives. Now and then he mentions a different one by name. Nowhere does he share the names of all of them. I’m not sure how I feel about that. Perhaps, given the opposition to polygamy, he doesn’t mention their names in order to protect them. He died at the hands of the estranged husband of his twelfth wife.
His posterity is enormous, and you may be interested to know that Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman are both descendants (great-great and great-great-great grandsons) of Parley P. Pratt.