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Orson Pratt is less famous than his older brother, apostle Parley P. Pratt. But it could be argued that he has had a bigger impact on the Church than Parley did. From polygamy to the First Vision to his theological arguments with Brigham Young, Orson Pratt is one of the unsung people who has shaped the modern LDS Church.
Casey: There is a good biography. Breck England, wrote a book called, The Life and Thought of Orson Pratt, that I think is great. Apparently, someone is writing a biography. Now, I can’t remember his name. But, maybe in a couple of years, we’ll get another good one. But I think Breck England’s is really good. He addresses a lot of the issues that a 19th century Church member would face, which Orson Pratt is a good example of. You’ve had podcasts on this before, I know. But Orson Pratt almost leaves the Church. Well, he does leave the church. He’s excommunicated, because of complications over plural marriage, because of his wife, Sarah Pratt. He may have tried to commit suicide. They were worried for a little while there. Ten years later, he’s the person that’s chosen to publicly announce the practice of plural marriage. Then, he becomes known as the most famous intellectual defender of plural marriage. That’s an interesting journey in 10 years. Breck, who you should get on this, and you should talk to him about it, goes through a couple questions. One of the big wrestles Orson Pratt often had to answer for people was, “If I don’t enter into plural marriage, does that mean I’m not going to go to the Celestial kingdom?” In the 19th century, some Church members wrestled with the question of, “Is it eternal marriage, or is it plural marriage that’s essential for salvation.” Orson Pratt was the person that mediated those questions. The conclusion he came to was, “It’s celestial marriage, it’s not plural marriage that’s essential for salvation,” which is really because most Church members weren’t practicing plural marriage.
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https://www.dialoguejournal.com/articles/the-orson-pratt-brigham-young-controversies-conflict-within-the-quorums-1853-to-1868/
I believe Casey missed the primary reason that Pratt was excommunicated. The attached Dialogue article from 1980 describes the battle between Pratt and Young with the Adam God Theory being central to the dispute. Yes, Pratt would have been President of the Church except for the fact that he believed in the nature of God similar to church teachings today.