Latter-day Saints believe in and wholeheartedly accept the doctrine that we are the spirit children of Heavenly Parents, but the teachings of the New Testament, Book of Mormon, and the Doctrine and Covenants also call people to a new spiritual birth that makes them the sons and daughters of Jesus Christ. The Apostle John declared of Jesus Christ that “as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12).

The Book of Mormon prophet Alma the Younger likewise taught that “all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters” (Mosiah 27:25). King Benjamin gave his people a new name, declaring that they “shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold this day he hath spiritually begotten you” (Mosiah 5:7). The promises given to Orson Pratt apply to all righteous men who qualify to become the sons of God, and a similar promise was given to Emma Smith, whom the Savior addressed as his daughter. The Savior further explained that “all those who receive my gospel are sons and daughters in my kingdom” (D&C 25:1).

Orson Pratt spent the rest of his life acting on the Lord’s commandment to “lift up your voice as with the sound of a trump, both long and loud, and cry repentance” (D&C 34:6). In 1835 he was called as a member of the original Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in this dispensation. He served at least eleven missions to the Eastern States and traveled to Europe another sixteen times as part of his missionary service. He wrote numerous books and pamphlets on Church teachings; the publications include The Kingdom of God (1848), Divine Authority, or the Question, Was Joseph Smith Sent of God? (1849), Divine Authenticity of the Book of Mormon (1850), The Holy Spirit (1856), Discourses on Celestial Marriage (1869), The Bible and Polygamy (1877), and Key to the Universe, or a New Theory of its Mechanism (1879). In 1840 he wrote the first published account of Joseph Smith’s First Vision in a pamphlet entitled A[n] Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions.

Despite his dedication to the Church, Orson struggled mightily during the trying times in Nauvoo and was excommunicated on August 20, 1842. A few months later, on January 20, 1843, he was rebaptized and resumed his place in the Quorum of the Twelve (“Orson Pratt,” JSP). In 1852 Orson was chosen to give the address publicly announcing the practice of plural marriage by members of the Church (Journal of Discourses, 1:53–54). Orson’s theological writings sometimes strained his relationship with Brigham Young and other Church leaders, though none of these leaders ever questioned the power or sincerity of his testimony. Brigham Young once remarked, “If Brother Orson were chopped up in inch pieces, each piece would cry out Mormonism was true” (Black, Who’s Who in the Doctrine and Covenants, 1997, 229).

Orson lived longer than any member of the original Quorum of the Twelve called in 1835. However, he was never called to serve as Church President because in 1875 Brigham Young reorganized seniority in the Quorum of the Twelve based on continuous service. Because of his 1842 excommunication, Orson was moved from second in seniority to fifth, and John Taylor became President of the Church when Brigham Young died in 1877. Orson unreservedly endorsed President Taylor as leader of the Church. Before Orson passed away in 1884, he left instructions for the inscription on his tombstone to read, “My body sleeps for a moment, but my testimony lives and shall endure forever” (Black, 230).

In a discourse given in 1875, Orson shared the story of his conversion and recounted how he traveled to meet with Joseph Smith to receive the revelation that became Doctrine and Covenants 34. Orson said,

I have often reflected upon this revelation, and have oftentimes inquired in my heart—“Have I fulfilled that commandment as I ought to have done? Have I sought as earnestly as I ought to obtain the gift of prophecy, so as to fulfill the requirement of heaven?” And I have felt sometimes to condemn myself because of my slothfulness, and because of the little progress that I have made in relation to this great, heavenly, and divine gift. . . . But still, notwithstanding all this, there is one thing that I have endeavored to do, and that is, to inform my mind as far as I could by reading what God has revealed to both ancient and modern Prophets, in relation to the future, and if I have not had many important prophecies and revelations given directly to myself, I certainly have derived great advantage and great edification from reading and studying that which God has revealed to others; and hence most of my prophesying throughout my life, so far, has been founded upon the revelations given to others. (Journal of Discourses, 17:290–91).