George D. Watt
Encyclopedia
George Darling Watt was the first convert to Mormonism
baptized in the British Isles
. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), Watt was a secretary to Brigham Young
, the primary editor of the Journal of Discourses
and the primary inventor of the Deseret Alphabet
.
Watt was born in Manchester
, England
. While living in Preston as a young man, Watt was a member of the Reverend James Fielding's congregation. Fielding's brother Joseph
had joined the Latter Day Saint church in Upper Canada
and had written to James about the new church. In 1837, Latter Day Saint missionaries
Heber C. Kimball
, Orson Hyde
, Willard Richards
, and Joseph Fielding traveled to Preston and were given permission by James Fielding to preach in his chapel.
Watt was baptized a Latter Day Saint on July 30, 1837 by Heber C. Kimball
in the River Ribble
. Watt won the right to be the first official British Latter Day Saint convert by winning a footrace against eight others from Fielding's congregation that desired to join the Mormon
s. In 1840 and 1841 Watt served as a Mormon missionary in Scotland
. In 1842, Watt left England to join the gathering of the Latter Day Saints in Nauvoo, Illinois
.
In 1846, Brigham Young
sent Watt and his wife back to England as church missionaries. Watt used his skill at Pitman shorthand
in serving as a clerk to mission president
George Q. Cannon
. In late 1850, the Watts returned to America and joined the new gathering of Latter-day Saints in the Salt Lake Valley
in Utah Territory
.
In Utah, Watt worked as a reporter for the Deseret News and as a private clerk for Brigham Young. Using his skill as a stenographer, Watt began recording the sermons given by Young and other LDS Church leaders. Beginning in 1853, Watt published these sermons in a periodical known as the Journal of Discourses
. Watt remained the primary editor of the Journal until 1868.
In 1852, Watt was appointed by Young to a committee that was charged with creating a new phonetic alphabet that would assist non-English speaking Latter-day Saint immigrants learn English
. The result was the Deseret Alphabet
. Although the alphabet was largely a failure, Watt remained a strong promoter of the language system.
In 1869, Watt was disfellowshipped from the LDS Church for following the teachings of dissident William S. Godbe
. Watt was identified as one of the leaders of the "Godbeites
" and was disciplined by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Although Watt was initially repentant and desired to return to full fellowship in the LDS Church, by 1874 he was a devoted Godbeite and was excommunicated from the LDS Church on May 3, 1874.
Later, Watts tried to return to the LDS Church. Four times he attempted to rejoin the church but was denied because his beliefs differed from those of the LDS Church.
Watt died in Kaysville, Utah
at the age of 65, estranged from the LDS Church and its leaders. Watt's obituary describes him as
Like many early Latter Day Saints, Watt practiced plural marriage
and had six wives.
Mormonism
Mormonism is the religion practiced by Mormons, and is the predominant religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement. This movement was founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. beginning in the 1820s as a form of Christian primitivism. During the 1830s and 1840s, Mormonism gradually distinguished itself...
baptized in the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), Watt was a secretary to Brigham Young
Brigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
, the primary editor of the Journal of Discourses
Journal of Discourses
The Journal of Discourses is a 26-volume collection of public sermons by early leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . The first editions of the Journal were published in England by George D. Watt, the stenographer of Brigham Young...
and the primary inventor of the Deseret Alphabet
Deseret alphabet
The Deseret alphabet is a phonemic English spelling reform developed in the mid-19th century by the board of regents of the University of Deseret under the direction of Brigham Young, second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.In public statements, Young claimed the...
.
Watt was born in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. While living in Preston as a young man, Watt was a member of the Reverend James Fielding's congregation. Fielding's brother Joseph
Joseph Fielding
Joseph Fielding was an early leader of the Latter Day Saint movement. He served as the second president of the British Mission , coordinating the activities of missionaries in sections of the United Kingdom and parts of Europe. He was the brother of Mary Fielding, the second wife of Hyrum Smith,...
had joined the Latter Day Saint church in Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
and had written to James about the new church. In 1837, Latter Day Saint missionaries
Missionary (LDS Church)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work, with over 52,000 full-time missionaries worldwide, as of the end of 2010...
Heber C. Kimball
Heber C. Kimball
Heber Chase Kimball was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement. He served as one of the original twelve apostles in the early Latter Day Saint church, and as first counselor to Brigham Young in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his...
, Orson Hyde
Orson Hyde
Orson Hyde was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles...
, Willard Richards
Willard Richards
Willard Richards was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and served as Second Counselor in the First Presidency to church president Brigham Young in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death.Willard Richards was born in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, to...
, and Joseph Fielding traveled to Preston and were given permission by James Fielding to preach in his chapel.
Watt was baptized a Latter Day Saint on July 30, 1837 by Heber C. Kimball
Heber C. Kimball
Heber Chase Kimball was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement. He served as one of the original twelve apostles in the early Latter Day Saint church, and as first counselor to Brigham Young in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his...
in the River Ribble
River Ribble
The River Ribble is a river that runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire, in northern England. The river's drainage basin also includes parts of Greater Manchester around Wigan.-Geography:...
. Watt won the right to be the first official British Latter Day Saint convert by winning a footrace against eight others from Fielding's congregation that desired to join the Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
s. In 1840 and 1841 Watt served as a Mormon missionary in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. In 1842, Watt left England to join the gathering of the Latter Day Saints in Nauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. Although the population was just 1,063 at the 2000 census, and despite being difficult to reach due to its location in a remote corner of Illinois, Nauvoo attracts large numbers of visitors for its historic importance and its...
.
In 1846, Brigham Young
Brigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
sent Watt and his wife back to England as church missionaries. Watt used his skill at Pitman shorthand
Pitman Shorthand
Pitman shorthand is a system of shorthand for the English language developed by Englishman Sir Isaac Pitman , who first presented it in 1837. Like most systems of shorthand, it is a phonetic system; the symbols do not represent letters, but rather sounds, and words are, for the most part, written...
in serving as a clerk to mission president
Mission president
Mission president is a priesthood leadership position in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . A mission president presides over a mission and the missionaries serving in the mission...
George Q. Cannon
George Q. Cannon
George Quayle Cannon was an early member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and served in the First Presidency under four successive presidents of the church: Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, and Lorenzo Snow...
. In late 1850, the Watts returned to America and joined the new gathering of Latter-day Saints in the Salt Lake Valley
Salt Lake Valley
Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably West Valley City, Murray, Sandy, and West Jordan; its total population is 1,029,655 as of 2010...
in Utah Territory
Utah Territory
The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah....
.
In Utah, Watt worked as a reporter for the Deseret News and as a private clerk for Brigham Young. Using his skill as a stenographer, Watt began recording the sermons given by Young and other LDS Church leaders. Beginning in 1853, Watt published these sermons in a periodical known as the Journal of Discourses
Journal of Discourses
The Journal of Discourses is a 26-volume collection of public sermons by early leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . The first editions of the Journal were published in England by George D. Watt, the stenographer of Brigham Young...
. Watt remained the primary editor of the Journal until 1868.
In 1852, Watt was appointed by Young to a committee that was charged with creating a new phonetic alphabet that would assist non-English speaking Latter-day Saint immigrants learn English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. The result was the Deseret Alphabet
Deseret alphabet
The Deseret alphabet is a phonemic English spelling reform developed in the mid-19th century by the board of regents of the University of Deseret under the direction of Brigham Young, second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.In public statements, Young claimed the...
. Although the alphabet was largely a failure, Watt remained a strong promoter of the language system.
In 1869, Watt was disfellowshipped from the LDS Church for following the teachings of dissident William S. Godbe
William S. Godbe
William Samuel Godbe was a British convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
. Watt was identified as one of the leaders of the "Godbeites
Godbeites
The Godbeites were members of the Godbeite Church, officially called the Church of Zion, organized in 1870 by William S. Godbe. This dissident offshoot of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was aimed toward embracing all belief systems...
" and was disciplined by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Although Watt was initially repentant and desired to return to full fellowship in the LDS Church, by 1874 he was a devoted Godbeite and was excommunicated from the LDS Church on May 3, 1874.
Later, Watts tried to return to the LDS Church. Four times he attempted to rejoin the church but was denied because his beliefs differed from those of the LDS Church.
Watt died in Kaysville, Utah
Kaysville, Utah
Kaysville is a city in Davis County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Ogden–Clearfield, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 20,351 at the 2000 census, and 25,820 as of the 2008 estimates.-History:...
at the age of 65, estranged from the LDS Church and its leaders. Watt's obituary describes him as
Like many early Latter Day Saints, Watt practiced plural marriage
Plural marriage
Polygamy was taught by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890.The Church's practice of polygamy has been highly controversial, both within...
and had six wives.