Parley P. Pratt

On a book shelf in my parents' home while growing up there was a book called the Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt. I had never really known who he was other than that he had been an early LDS (Mormon) leader.

While serving as an LDS missionary we had a video we would show people called, "How Rare A Possession". In this video Parley Pratt sells all his land and other possessions and he and his wife set out on a quest for the truth. He comes across a copy of the Book of Mormon and reads it almost without stopping. He says that eating and sleeping became a burden to him.

I would later read this good man's autobiography and found that he had indeed sold all his possessions in search of truth and that when he found that book he would not set it down. I had picked up my own copy of his autobiography when I learned that my husband is a direct descendant of this Parley. Parley, I learned, eventually worked very closely with Joseph Smith. With his own limited resources he travelled to England to spread the word of the Book of Mormon. He sailed to Chile to do the same. He would serve many missions for the LDS Church. When he was 50 years old he was sent to head back to the Eastern United States from Utah to spread the word in the Southern States. He got as far as Arkansas before he was hunted down and killed.

Among his many contributions was his poetry. I grew up hearing the words to a hymn we often sang in church. I had never paid much attention to it because it just wasn't one of my favorites. But one day I noticed who wrote the words to that hymn...Parley P. Pratt. This time I read through the words without singing.

Jesus, once of humble birth,
Now in glory comes to earth.
Once he suffered grief and pain;
Now he comes on earth to reign.
Now he comes on earth to reign.

Once a meek and lowly Lamb,
Now the Lord, the great I Am.
Once upon the cross he bowed;
Now his chariot is the cloud.
Now his chariot is the cloud.

Once he groaned in blood and tears;
Now in glory he appears.
Once rejected by his own,
Now their King he shall be known.
Now their King he shall be known.

Once forsaken, left alone,
Now exalted to a throne.
Once all things he meekly bore,
But he now will bear no more.
But he now will bear no more.

http://paperclippings.com/stuff/humble.html

I absolutely love that song now.

And thank-you Parley for a great legacy you left for my children.