George Darling Watt (12 May 1812 – 24 October 1881)Ronald G. Watt wrote in 1977 that the birth was in December 1815 , though in a much later publication he claimed it was 12 May 1812 . Additionally Watt's grave ha
two tombstones
, which list bot
January 16 1815
an
May 18, 1812
as birth dates. was the first convert to

Mormonism Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects of ...

baptized in the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

. As a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church), Watt was a secretary to

Brigham Young Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his death in 1877. During his time as ch ...

, the primary editor of the ''

Journal of Discourses The ''Journal of Discourses'' (often abbreviated ''J.D.'') is a 26-volume collection of public sermons by early leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The first editions of the ''Journal'' were published in England ...

,'' and the primary inventor of the Deseret Alphabet. Watt was born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England. While living in Preston as a young man, Watt was a member of the Reverend James Fielding's congregation. Fielding's brother

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

had joined the Latter-day Saint church in

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of th ...

and had written to James about the new church. In 1837, Latter-day Saint missionaries

Heber C. Kimball Heber Chase Kimball (June 14, 1801 – June 22, 1868) was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement. He served as one of the original twelve apostles in the early Church of the Latter Day Saints, and as first counselor to Brigham Young ...

Orson Hyde Orson Hyde (January 8, 1805 – November 28, 1878) was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement and a member of the first Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He was the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus ...

Willard Richards Willard Richards (June 24, 1804 – March 11, 1854) was a physician and midwife/nurse trainer and an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. He served as second counselor to church president Brigham Young in the First Presidency of th ...

, 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 Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

on July 30, 1837, by

in the River Ribble. Watt won the right to be the first official British

convert by winning a footrace against eight others from Fielding's congregation that desired to join the Mormons. In 1840 and 1841 Watt served as a Mormon missionary in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. In 1842, Watt left England to join the gathering of the Latter-day Saints in Nauvoo, Illinois. In 1846,

sent Watt and his wife back to England as church missionaries. Watt used his skill at

Pitman shorthand Pitman shorthand is a system of shorthand for the English language developed by Englishman Sir Isaac Pitman (1813–1897), who first presented it in 1837. Like most systems of shorthand, it is a phonetic system; the symbols do not represent lett ...

in serving as a clerk to

mission president Mission president is a priesthood leadership position in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). A mission president presides over a geographic area known as a mission and the missionaries serving in the mission. Depending o ...

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 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, the 45th state ...

. 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 ''

''. 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 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 be ...

" and was disciplined by the

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...

. Although Watt was initially repentant and desired to return to full fellowship in the LDS Church, by 1874 he was a devoted

Godbeite 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 be ...

and was excommunicated from the LDS Church on May 3, 1874. Later, Watt 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. Upon his last visit to church president John Taylor, Watt said, "President Taylor, I want you to know that if anything happens to me before I am reinstated in the Church, it is your responsibility." Watt died in

Kaysville Kaysville is a city in Davis County, Utah, Davis County, Utah. It is part of the Ogden–Clearfield metropolitan area. The population was 27,300 at the time of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, with an estimated population of 32,390 in 2 ...

, at the age of 65, estranged from the LDS Church and its leaders. Watt's obituary describes him as "honest truthful and sincere although perhaps misguided being a

self-made man "Self-made man" is a classic phrase coined on February 2, 1842 by Henry Clay in the United States Senate, to describe individuals whose success lay within the individuals themselves, not with outside conditions. Benjamin Franklin, one of the Foun ...

of strong character and exercising vast influence there is not a little in his career which is remarkable."'' Salt Lake Herald'', 25 October 1881. Following his death, Taylor made a special trip to the home to say that he should be buried in his

temple robes Temple robes describe the ceremonial clothing worn in the performance of ordinances and ceremonies in a temple. Buddhist tradition Traditional robes, worn by monks both within and without Buddhist temples, appear in a variety of configuratio ...

. Like many early Latter-day Saints, Watt practiced plural marriage; he had six wives. One of his wives, Jane Brown, was his half sister—they shared a mother, Mary Ann Wood.

Notes

References

*. *. *. {{DEFAULTSORT:Watt, George D. 1812 births 1881 deaths 19th-century Mormon missionaries American Latter Day Saints British Latter Day Saints British emigrants to the United States Clergy from Manchester Converts to Mormonism Creators of writing systems Editors of Latter Day Saint publications English Latter Day Saints English Mormon missionaries English emigrants to the United States Godbeites Journalists from Utah Missionary linguists Mormon missionaries in Scotland Mormon pioneers People excommunicated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints