Wells was born in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, to LDS Church leader Daniel H. Wells (1814–1891) and Louisa Free (1824–1886). In 1875, Wells travelled to Europe as a Mormon missionary and worked primarily in Germany and Switzerland. He returned to the United States in 1877. On January 18, 1883 he married Josephine Eliza Beatie (1857–1923).
In December 1898, Wells returned to Utah. In the United States election in 1900, Wells was elected to the Utah House of Representatives. He served as a member of the house for its 4th session, which lasted from January to March 1901. He did not stand for re-election in 1902.
Following the death of J. Golden Kimball in 1938, Wells became the senior president of the Seventy, a position he held until his own death in 1941.
Wells died in Salt Lake City from colon cancer;[1] he had been a general authority of the church for almost 50 years.
