[1] He was trained as a carpenter and later operated a mill and a steamboat,[1] working in Ohio, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Virginia.

[1] On January 19, 1841, Joseph Smith received a revelation (now known as Doctrine and Covenants 124:20–34, 60, and 70) that stated that Miller should be made a bishop in the church and head the committee charged with organizing the construction of the Nauvoo House.

He traveled to the Black River in Wisconsin to obtain lumber for the construction of the Nauvoo House and acted as bishop of the church in the area.

[citation needed] He became a member of the Council of Fifty on March 11, 1844, and, later that year, was sent to Kentucky to campaign for the election of Joseph Smith to the office of President of the United States.

The majority of Latter Day Saints accepted the leadership of Brigham Young and the Quorum of the Twelve, and Miller provided lukewarm support for this decision.

[1] Miller arrived in Voree, Wisconsin, on September 4, 1850, and shortly thereafter moved with Strang and his followers to Beaver Island, Michigan.

In Beaver Island, he was an active member of Strang's Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Miller practiced plural marriage, and he was sealed to Elizabeth Bouton and Sophia Wallace on January 25, 1846.

There is debate as to whether Miller should today be accepted as a former presiding bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.