A Voice of Warning – Parley P. Pratt
Title: A Voice
of Warning
Author: Parley
P. Pratt
Publisher: Various
Year: Original
1837 - Current
Rating: 3 Stars
Price and
Purchasing Options: This book has been in public domain for over a century,
and a crucial piece of the restoration. As
a result it has been published and republished a thousand times over. Because of that it is not only cheap and easy
to find – there are currently numerous editions printed and available – but you
can even invest a little bit, and get an older copy for relatively affordable
prices which is neat. You can buy a
print of demand from Amazon for anywhere from $6 to $20, or go hit your local LDS Book store
and you will find economical copies easily. 
Parley P. Pratt was one of the great minds of the
restoration. He was significant in his
contribution to helping form and convey LDS doctrine, and was regularly
encouraged by Joseph Smith to help participate in the process. Often times members of the Church focus only
on the Prophet and their contributions, but we neglect that much of what we
take for granted today was contributed by those around the Prophets. The Prophet would speak, and a great mind
next to the Prophet might see how it applied in various aspects and connected
to real world experiences. Joseph would
speak, and someone like Pratt would see how it related to current and future
circumstances – and help convey that in ways more people could relate to.
A Voice of Warning was probably the first great apologetic
work on the restoration, citing biblical verses and logic to help connect principles
of the restoration to the rest of the world.
It is within these pages that we find the first format for confronting
challenges on doctrine, and we will even see a familiar pattern of scripture
references that we still use today.
Pratt’s chain of thought when reading this book seems so familiar, in
fact, it becomes easy to realize how much of what we connect and speak of in
the church is taken for granted – where for Pratt he was one of the first to
defend the church in the formats that we consider common today.
After secluding himself in New York for three to four
months, he emerged with this work, feeling it was important to help combat the
challenges of missionary work. It
quickly became a tract for the church, in and of itself, and even became the
means by which people would join the church at time – finding it difficult not
to connect the logical arguments and biblical evidences Pratt relayed.
It also became a means for members of the church of
confirm their faith in a new way, beyond spirituality, but with biblical arguments
logically connected – and created a new standard for missionary work (to some
extent).
At one stage, a High Priest during a general conference
moved that A Voice of Warning be considered a standard work of the church. At this time Joseph Smith was in attendance,
and listened to the movement. Without a
word, he showed pride in Pratt’s work and allowed the conversation to continue –
this allowed those in attendance to debate the merits, not of the work (that
was undebatable), but of the definition of revelation. Ultimately, the work was not accepted as a
standard work, which was not a rejection of his work, but a proper positioning
for what “scripture” is. In all of this,
it is interesting to note Joseph’s support of Pratt’s work and his contribution
to the church.
I was encouraged by a local ward member before my mission
to read this book. It was helpful to set
a base standard for missionary work, but also for the church. It outlines the basics of where the church
fits in the history of the world, its relationship to the bible, revelation,
etc., in a concise format.
I highly recommend this book. It is not a book that everyone needs to read,
but anyone would find a great deal of enjoyment in reading the book, and they
will get in one spot a solid foundation on the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints and the world view position of the restoration of the gospel,
that is as relevant today as it was in 1837 when it was first published.
Suggestions: Go ahead and get the book… it is short and a
fairly quick read, and you will learn quickly to appreciate Parley, and his
contribution.
I hope you have enjoyed this review, and I encourage you
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Review #48
Tags: 5 Stars,
Historical, Restoration Parley P. Pratt, LDS Book Review, Ryan Daley
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