Parley P. Pratt

Parley P. Pratt

Parley Parker Pratt, Sr. (April 12, 1807 – May 13, 1857) was an early leader of the Latter Day Saint movement whose writings became a significant early nineteenth-century exposition of the Latter Day Saint faith. Named in 1835 as one of the first members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Pratt was part of the Quorum's successful mission to Great Britain, 1839 to 1841. Pratt has been called "the Apostle Paul of Mormonism" for his promotion of distinctive Mormon doctrines.

He explored, surveyed, and built and maintained the first road for public transportation in Parley's Canyon in Salt Lake City, Utah; the canyon was named in his honor. Practicing polygamy, Pratt was murdered in 1857 by the estranged husband of his twelfth wife. He had a total of 30 children, and his living descendants in 2011 were estimated to number 30,000–50,000. He was a great-great-grandfather of Willard Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican candidate for President of the United States.