King Follett (or Follet;[1] July 26, 1788 – March 9, 1844) was a Mormon elder and a close friend of Joseph Smith.
An early convert to the Church of Christ in 1831, he was a police constable and was notably the last prisoner released in the 1838 Mormon War.
[2] His parents were John Follett IV and Hannah (née Oakes) Alexander.
[2] He was ordained a Mormon elder on January 28, 1836, in Kirtland, Geauga County, Ohio.
[2] There, he worked as a police constable for Hancock County,[2] and according to family lore, as a personal bodyguard for Joseph Smith.
[5][6] Follett was building the walls of the well, and while other men were lowering the tub of rocks, the rope snapped.
The discourse was delivered on April 7, 1844 by Joseph Smith as a commemorative sermon for Follett.
[1][7] Follett was also known for being the last Mormon prisoner released in Missouri, and for his friendship with Joseph Smith, but these distinctions are less prominent than his association with the famous discourse.