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Show Page 27 CHAPTER II IMMINENT KINGDOM An early tintype of Orson Pratt reveals a delicate almost handsome face, mouth set congenially, his nose twisting perceptibly rightward at the bridge, giving his eyes a vague, unfocused distance. Dark hair folding into tufts at the temples flows down into the sidewhiskers so popular in the 1830s. A high collar and cravat reveal the fastidious yeoman in Sunday dress, but the soft, professorial arch of the right brow tells of a different sort of gentility. His face, determined, contemplative, seems bent on building the Mormon kingdom with dignity, with a tenacity for truth. As the young Orson began his mission, this demeanor, this well-considered and orderly spirituality, would serve him well. Parley P. Pratt, who had brought the Mormon gospel to Orson, was far more the firebrand - thicker, more fierce, his full face lowering beneath his brows, a body built for the plow. The ministries of the two brothers, while equally far-reaching, contrasted in style. Parley preached with audacity, prayed bombastically in the face of harassing judges, and with his bulk fairly bellowed the message so the deaf would be left without excuse. The purity of the literal gospel served Orson as passion served Parley; the younger brother, sometimes perilously confused at the passions of others, preferred the way of reason. Where Parley found his outlet in heated ecstasies of spirituality, Orson's valves of feeling opened only in self-defense - whether of the kingdom, his family, or his own independence of thought. Soon after his baptism, Orson and his brother -both devoted now to |