Jacob Gates (9 March 1811 – 14 April 1892) was an early Mormon convert, missionary, and leader whose life story intersects with many significant events relating to the Latter Day Saint movement’s foundational history. He was baptized by Orson Pratt, met Joseph Smith as part of Zion’s Camp, was imprisoned in and subsequently expelled from Missouri, worked in the Nauvoo temple, preached throughout the United States, crossed the plains a total of five times, served two full-time missions in England, was called to the presidency of the Quorum of the Seventy, and figures prominently in Utah territorial history.
The journals of Jacob Gates furnish firsthand accounts of many events of interest to Mormon history, yet this primary source has been by-and-large underutilized due to its inaccessibility. The seven-volume collection of his handwritten journals is housed in the LDS Church History Library in Salt Lake City. This five-part facsimile edition is a verbatim transcription of these handwritten journals.