Parley P. Pratt's memoirs impress with their vivid and eventful accounts of the author's life. Foremost however is the author's supreme devotion to the Mormon church and the Lord God.
Pratt begins by reminiscing on his youth. The early 19th century was an exciting but dangerous time to be alive; the United States was a fledgling nation, and its westward expansion was fraught with a variety of dangers and hardships. Some trusted only in what they believed they knew, but Pratt placed his trust in Jesus Christ's principles from an early age and was in youth part of the Baptist movement. However, he felt he could go further in God's name, and this led him to Joseph Smith and the Mormon church.
As one of the earliest members of the Latter Day Saints, Pratt enjoyed a good degree of influence at the forefront of the church's activity. He was present as the denomination grew from its roots as a small, regional group of frontier settlers to a national and international creed with its base in Utah. His part in the growth and spread of the Mormon movement was decisive: the energy with which he undertook missions to New York, Canada, and later in Europe and South America inspired many.
Pratt details his active assistance in the effort to grow and spread the message of the Latter Day Saints. He traveled to the United Kingdom to deliver lectures on subjects of Mormonism, and was met with a generally warm reception. An active author, he wrote many books and lectures on Mormon topics, the publication of which spread word of the faith far and wide. This autobiography, published a few years after Pratt's death, remains his best-regarded and most enduring work.
