George D. Watt
George D. Watt was an early Church stenographer and reporter. He was the first convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints baptized in the British Isles.
He was part of James Fielding’s congregation that embraced the teachings of missionaries Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde, and Willard Richards. He won a foot race against eight others who wanted to be the first to enter the waters of baptism and was baptized in the River Ribble by Heber C. Kimball on July 30, 1837.
Before immigrating to Nauvoo, Illinois, he served as a missionary in Scotland in 1840 and 1841. In May 1845, he made a stenographic report of trial for those indicted for murdering Joseph and Hyrum Smith..
Beginning in 1846, he served as a missionary with his wife in England where he used his skill at Pitman shorthand in serving as a clerk to mission president George Q. Cannon.
After he returned to America in 1850, he joined the Saints in Utah Territory and became a reporter for the Deseret News and as a clerk for Brigham Young. Using his skill as a stenographer, he recorded the sermons of Church leaders and compiled these sermons into the Journal of Discourses. He was the primary editor until 1868. He also served in the Utah territorial legislature from 1852 to 1854.
As appointed by Brigham Young, Watt created the phonetic alphabet known as the Deseret Alphabet.
Watt began following the teachings of William S. Godbe and became a Godbeite. He was excommunicated on May 3, 1874. He later attempted a reconciliation with the Church four times, but he was denied because his beliefs still differed from the Church’s teachings.
He died in Kaysville, Utah, on October 24, 1881.
Watt practiced plural marriage and had six wives.
