King Follett: The Early Convert Whose Death Prompted Joseph Smith's Greatest Theological Sermon

King Follett (July 26, 1788 – March 9, 1844) was an early convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, baptized in 1831 — just one year after the Church was founded. He was deeply faithful throughout the most turbulent years of the Restoration.

In 1838–1839, during the Missouri Extermination Order, Follett was imprisoned with other Saints. He is notably recorded as 'the last prisoner released in the 1838 Mormon War' — the final Saint held captive by Missouri authorities during that bitter persecution.

Follett gathered with the Saints in Nauvoo and became a respected community member, working as a builder. On March 9, 1844, while digging a well in Nauvoo, a tub of rock fell on him and he was killed instantly. He was 55 years old.

Joseph Smith, who had known Follett as a personal friend, was deeply affected by his death. On April 7, 1844 — at the April General Conference, just weeks before his own martyrdom — Joseph Smith preached what became known as the 'King Follett Discourse.' It is widely considered the most profound theological statement Joseph Smith ever delivered, addressing the nature of God, the eternal potential of man, and the resurrection of the dead.

Joseph began: 'The decease of our beloved brother, Elder King Follett, who was crushed in a well by the falling of a tub of rock has more immediately led me to this subject.'

King Follett did not die in obscurity. His death became the occasion for the greatest sermon of the dispensation — a gift, through tragedy, to all of humanity.