Sylvester Q. Cannon
Born: 10 June 1877
Called as Presiding Bishop: 4 June 1925
Called as Associate to the Quorum of the Twelve: 6 April 1938
Called to Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: 6 October 1939
Died: 29 April 1943
Called as Presiding Bishop: 4 June 1925
Called as Associate to the Quorum of the Twelve: 6 April 1938
Called to Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: 6 October 1939
Died: 29 April 1943
Biographical Articles
Biographical Encyclopedia, Volume 4
Improvement Era, July 1925, Bishop Sylvester Q. Cannon
Instructor, May 1938, Sylvester Q. Cannon
Relief Society Magazine, May 1938, Sylvester Quayle Cannon
Improvement Era, November 1939, Sylvester Q. Cannon Added to Council of Twelve
Improvement Era, November 1939, Sylvester Q. Cannon
Instructor, May 1943, Boyhood Experiences
Relief Society Magazine, June 1943, Elder Sylvester Q. Cannon
Improvement Era, July 1943, Sylvester Q. Cannon
Improvement Era, August 1943, Sylvester Q. Cannon
My own research and opinion
Improvement Era, July 1925, Bishop Sylvester Q. Cannon
Instructor, May 1938, Sylvester Q. Cannon
Relief Society Magazine, May 1938, Sylvester Quayle Cannon
Improvement Era, November 1939, Sylvester Q. Cannon Added to Council of Twelve
Improvement Era, November 1939, Sylvester Q. Cannon
Instructor, May 1943, Boyhood Experiences
Relief Society Magazine, June 1943, Elder Sylvester Q. Cannon
Improvement Era, July 1943, Sylvester Q. Cannon
Improvement Era, August 1943, Sylvester Q. Cannon
My own research and opinion
Jenson, Andrew. "Cannon, Sylvester Quayle." Biographical Encyclopedia. Volume 4. pg. 351, 726, 736.
CANNON, Sylvester Quayle, president of the Netherlands Mission from 1900 to 1902 and from 1907 to 1909, was born June 10, 1877, in Salt Lake City, Utah, a son of George Q. Cannon and Elizabeth Hoagland. He was baptized June 10, 1885, by his father, who also ordained him a Seventy, Sept. 1, 1899. On the latter date he was set apart for his first mission to the Netherlands and arrived in Rotterdam Sept. 28, 1899. He labored in the Liege conference till August, 1900, when he was appointed to succeed mission president Alfred L. Farrell. In the spring of 1902 he accompanied Pres. Francis M. Lyman of the European Mission on a trip to Turkey and Palestine, and on Oct. 8, of the same year, he was succeeded in the mission presidency by his brother Willard T. Cannon. On May 19, 1907, he arrived in Rotterdam for a second mission, accompanied by his wife, Winnifred S., and two children: Julian and Elinor. This time Elder Cannon succeeded Alex. Nibley as president of the mission. Prior to his first mission, in 1899, Elder Cannon graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering after pursuing a four-year course at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at Boston. He presided over the Pioneer Stake in 1917-1925, and on June 4, 1925, was chosen to succeed Chas. W. Nibley as Presiding Bishop of the Church. (See also Improvement Era, Vol. 28, p. 887.)
CANNON, Sylvester Q., chairman of the Old Folks Central Committee since 1925, was born June 10, 1877, in Salt Lake City, Utah, a son of George Q. Cannon and Elizabeth Hoagland. (See Bio. Ency., Vol. 4, p. 351.)
CANNON, Sylvester Quayle, Presiding Bishop of the Church since 1925, was born June 10, 1877, in Salt Lake City, Utah, a son of George Quayle Cannon and Elizabeth Hoagland. He was the youngest of eleven children born to this couple. When an infant he was taken by his parents to Washington, D. C, where his father was in Congress as a delegate from Utah. His childhood was spent on the Cannon Farm southwest of Salt Lake City, where he attended a private school maintained by his father. From 1889 to 1892 he attended the Latter-day Saints College, and, having qualified in stenography, he accompanied his father as secretary on a trip to the Eastern States and England. In 1894- 1895 he pursued special studies at the University of Utah, and thereafter attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, Mass., for a period of four years, graduating therefrom as a Bachelor of Science in June, 1899, having majored in Mining Engineering and Metallurgy. In September, 1899, Elder Cannon left home for a mission to Holland and Belgium and was assigned to labor in the Liege district in Belgium. Having studied French and German quite extensively, he was, in three months, placed in charge of the Seraing-Ougree Branch, Belgium. In 1900 he was appointed to preside over the Netherlands-Belgium Mission, where he had to learn the Dutch language. In February, 1902, he was called by Pres. Francis M. Lyman to visit with him the Turkish Mission as "guide and interpreter". On that three-months journey he visited Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Turkey, Greece, Italy and France and prepared a series of articles in reference to the trip for the "Millennial Star". After an absence of three years. Elder Cannon returned home and was engaged professionally by the State of Utah in a survey of irrigated lands and water from the Weber River.
In March, 1904, at the organization of the Pioneer Stake, he was appointed first counselor in the stake presidency. On June 15, 1904, he married Winnifred Saville in the Salt Lake Temple. Four sons and three daughters have been born of this union. In 1907 Elder Cannon was again appointed to preside over the Netherlands-Belgium Mission and to supervise the publication of the Doctrine and Covenants in the Dutch language. He also published a new and improved edition of the Book of Mormon in the Netherlands, and new editions of the French and Dutch hymn books, with many additions and improvements. On this mission he was accompanied by his wife and two little children.
From 1917 to 1925 Elder Cannon presided over the Pioneer Stake of Zion, and has been a member of the Board of Control of the Deseret Gymnasium since 1910 and, since 1923, president of the Board of Trustees of the L. D. S. Business College. For one year he acted as president of the Utah Society of Engineers and in 1915 was accepted as a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
On June 4, 1925, he was ordained and set apart by Pres. Heber J. Grant as Presiding Bishop of the Church, in which capacity he has general supervision of the following activities: Presidency of the Aaronic Priesthood, the temporal affairs of the various wards with the ward bishoprics; receiving and accounting for the tithes, offerings, and other donations; preparation of all financial and statistical reports; the Church relief work and the design and construction of all Church buildings. In 1930-1931 he was appointed chairman of the Governor's State Flood Commission and in 1931-32 he acted as chairman of the State Advisory Council for Unemployment.
CANNON, Sylvester Quayle, president of the Netherlands Mission from 1900 to 1902 and from 1907 to 1909, was born June 10, 1877, in Salt Lake City, Utah, a son of George Q. Cannon and Elizabeth Hoagland. He was baptized June 10, 1885, by his father, who also ordained him a Seventy, Sept. 1, 1899. On the latter date he was set apart for his first mission to the Netherlands and arrived in Rotterdam Sept. 28, 1899. He labored in the Liege conference till August, 1900, when he was appointed to succeed mission president Alfred L. Farrell. In the spring of 1902 he accompanied Pres. Francis M. Lyman of the European Mission on a trip to Turkey and Palestine, and on Oct. 8, of the same year, he was succeeded in the mission presidency by his brother Willard T. Cannon. On May 19, 1907, he arrived in Rotterdam for a second mission, accompanied by his wife, Winnifred S., and two children: Julian and Elinor. This time Elder Cannon succeeded Alex. Nibley as president of the mission. Prior to his first mission, in 1899, Elder Cannon graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering after pursuing a four-year course at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at Boston. He presided over the Pioneer Stake in 1917-1925, and on June 4, 1925, was chosen to succeed Chas. W. Nibley as Presiding Bishop of the Church. (See also Improvement Era, Vol. 28, p. 887.)
CANNON, Sylvester Q., chairman of the Old Folks Central Committee since 1925, was born June 10, 1877, in Salt Lake City, Utah, a son of George Q. Cannon and Elizabeth Hoagland. (See Bio. Ency., Vol. 4, p. 351.)
CANNON, Sylvester Quayle, Presiding Bishop of the Church since 1925, was born June 10, 1877, in Salt Lake City, Utah, a son of George Quayle Cannon and Elizabeth Hoagland. He was the youngest of eleven children born to this couple. When an infant he was taken by his parents to Washington, D. C, where his father was in Congress as a delegate from Utah. His childhood was spent on the Cannon Farm southwest of Salt Lake City, where he attended a private school maintained by his father. From 1889 to 1892 he attended the Latter-day Saints College, and, having qualified in stenography, he accompanied his father as secretary on a trip to the Eastern States and England. In 1894- 1895 he pursued special studies at the University of Utah, and thereafter attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, Mass., for a period of four years, graduating therefrom as a Bachelor of Science in June, 1899, having majored in Mining Engineering and Metallurgy. In September, 1899, Elder Cannon left home for a mission to Holland and Belgium and was assigned to labor in the Liege district in Belgium. Having studied French and German quite extensively, he was, in three months, placed in charge of the Seraing-Ougree Branch, Belgium. In 1900 he was appointed to preside over the Netherlands-Belgium Mission, where he had to learn the Dutch language. In February, 1902, he was called by Pres. Francis M. Lyman to visit with him the Turkish Mission as "guide and interpreter". On that three-months journey he visited Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Turkey, Greece, Italy and France and prepared a series of articles in reference to the trip for the "Millennial Star". After an absence of three years. Elder Cannon returned home and was engaged professionally by the State of Utah in a survey of irrigated lands and water from the Weber River.
In March, 1904, at the organization of the Pioneer Stake, he was appointed first counselor in the stake presidency. On June 15, 1904, he married Winnifred Saville in the Salt Lake Temple. Four sons and three daughters have been born of this union. In 1907 Elder Cannon was again appointed to preside over the Netherlands-Belgium Mission and to supervise the publication of the Doctrine and Covenants in the Dutch language. He also published a new and improved edition of the Book of Mormon in the Netherlands, and new editions of the French and Dutch hymn books, with many additions and improvements. On this mission he was accompanied by his wife and two little children.
From 1917 to 1925 Elder Cannon presided over the Pioneer Stake of Zion, and has been a member of the Board of Control of the Deseret Gymnasium since 1910 and, since 1923, president of the Board of Trustees of the L. D. S. Business College. For one year he acted as president of the Utah Society of Engineers and in 1915 was accepted as a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
On June 4, 1925, he was ordained and set apart by Pres. Heber J. Grant as Presiding Bishop of the Church, in which capacity he has general supervision of the following activities: Presidency of the Aaronic Priesthood, the temporal affairs of the various wards with the ward bishoprics; receiving and accounting for the tithes, offerings, and other donations; preparation of all financial and statistical reports; the Church relief work and the design and construction of all Church buildings. In 1930-1931 he was appointed chairman of the Governor's State Flood Commission and in 1931-32 he acted as chairman of the State Advisory Council for Unemployment.
"Bishop Sylvester Q. Cannon." Improvement Era. July 1925. pg. 886-888.
BISHOP SYLVESTER Q. CANNON
On the 4th of June, 1925, Elder Sylvester Q. Cannon, who has acted as president of the Pioneer stake of Zion since January, 1917, was chosen Presiding Bishop of the Church to succeed Bishop Charles W. Nibley who was chosen Second Counselor in the First Presidency on the 28th of May, 1925. The choice of President Cannon for the position of Bishop is highly approved by all, since he is especially qualified for the work that will devolve upon him, both by temperament, education and experience. He is a man also of lovable character, sociable and kind. He chose for his counselors Bishops David A. Smith and John Wells, who had faithfully acted as counselors to Bishop Nibley for many years.
Sylvester's father, President George Q. Cannon, and his mother, Elizabeth Hoagland Cannon, came to Utah in 1847, and he was born in Salt Lake City on the 10th of June, 1877. He was brought up on the Cannon farm southwest of the city. His education began in a private school maintained by his father. Later he attended the Latter-day Saints' college in the old Social Hall, and took special subjects a year later at the University of Utah, following which he pursued a four-year course at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, graduating in 1899 with the degree of Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering.
In religious work he filled a mission to the Netherlands and Belgium in the fall of 1899, where he was engaged in missionary work near Liege for ten months, speaking both the French and German languages. Called to Rotterdam in 1900 to preside over the mission, he was compelled to learn the Dutch language also. Elder Francis M. Lyman, then president of the European mission, called him while thus engaged to visit the Turkish mission with Elder Lyman, and on a three months' journey, they visited Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Turkey, Greece, Italy and France. He was released to return home, three years to the day after his arrival in Liverpool.
On returning home he engaged in the engineering profession, and when the Pioneer stake was organized, in May, 1904, he was appointed first counselor in the presidency. He was married to Winnifred Saville in June of that year. They have seven children, four sons and three daughters. In May, 1907, he left with his family for the Netherlands- Belgian mission, following a call to preside over that field, and especially to publish the first edition of the Doctrine and Covenants in the Dutch language, the translation of which he had previously supervised. His labors included likewise the publication of new improved editions of the Book of Mormon, French and Dutch song books, and extensive successful missionary work.
Returning home in 1909 he engaged in general engineering work, and was in 1912 appointed water supply engineer of Salt Lake City. In 1913 he was appointed city engineer and has occupied that position since that time, covering the longest period for any engineer of this city. Among his positions he is chairman of the Board of Presidents of the Associated Canals, Director of the East Jordan Irrigation Company, Supervisor of Salt Lake Drainage District No. 2, and Trustee of Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District, and represents the city in all these positions. During his incumbency as city engineer the public improvements, such as water supply, paving, sewage, special lighting, etc., in the city have been vastly increased and improved. Also the smoke abatement and mosquito abatement campaigns and the city planning work have all been initiated. Under his administration over $11,000,000 have been expended. He is President of the Cannon Investment Company, member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and of the American Society for Municipal Improvements, and oi the National Conference of City Planning.
In January, 1917, following the death of President William Mc- Lachlan, he was selected president of the Pioneer stake. He has also been a member of the Board of Control of the Deseret Gymnasium since its organization; and since 1923, president of the Board of Trustees of the Latter-day Saints University.
The Church may confidently look for an efficient administration of the financial and spiritual affairs of the Presiding Bishop's Office under his direction. — A.
BISHOP SYLVESTER Q. CANNON
On the 4th of June, 1925, Elder Sylvester Q. Cannon, who has acted as president of the Pioneer stake of Zion since January, 1917, was chosen Presiding Bishop of the Church to succeed Bishop Charles W. Nibley who was chosen Second Counselor in the First Presidency on the 28th of May, 1925. The choice of President Cannon for the position of Bishop is highly approved by all, since he is especially qualified for the work that will devolve upon him, both by temperament, education and experience. He is a man also of lovable character, sociable and kind. He chose for his counselors Bishops David A. Smith and John Wells, who had faithfully acted as counselors to Bishop Nibley for many years.
Sylvester's father, President George Q. Cannon, and his mother, Elizabeth Hoagland Cannon, came to Utah in 1847, and he was born in Salt Lake City on the 10th of June, 1877. He was brought up on the Cannon farm southwest of the city. His education began in a private school maintained by his father. Later he attended the Latter-day Saints' college in the old Social Hall, and took special subjects a year later at the University of Utah, following which he pursued a four-year course at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, graduating in 1899 with the degree of Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering.
In religious work he filled a mission to the Netherlands and Belgium in the fall of 1899, where he was engaged in missionary work near Liege for ten months, speaking both the French and German languages. Called to Rotterdam in 1900 to preside over the mission, he was compelled to learn the Dutch language also. Elder Francis M. Lyman, then president of the European mission, called him while thus engaged to visit the Turkish mission with Elder Lyman, and on a three months' journey, they visited Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Turkey, Greece, Italy and France. He was released to return home, three years to the day after his arrival in Liverpool.
On returning home he engaged in the engineering profession, and when the Pioneer stake was organized, in May, 1904, he was appointed first counselor in the presidency. He was married to Winnifred Saville in June of that year. They have seven children, four sons and three daughters. In May, 1907, he left with his family for the Netherlands- Belgian mission, following a call to preside over that field, and especially to publish the first edition of the Doctrine and Covenants in the Dutch language, the translation of which he had previously supervised. His labors included likewise the publication of new improved editions of the Book of Mormon, French and Dutch song books, and extensive successful missionary work.
Returning home in 1909 he engaged in general engineering work, and was in 1912 appointed water supply engineer of Salt Lake City. In 1913 he was appointed city engineer and has occupied that position since that time, covering the longest period for any engineer of this city. Among his positions he is chairman of the Board of Presidents of the Associated Canals, Director of the East Jordan Irrigation Company, Supervisor of Salt Lake Drainage District No. 2, and Trustee of Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District, and represents the city in all these positions. During his incumbency as city engineer the public improvements, such as water supply, paving, sewage, special lighting, etc., in the city have been vastly increased and improved. Also the smoke abatement and mosquito abatement campaigns and the city planning work have all been initiated. Under his administration over $11,000,000 have been expended. He is President of the Cannon Investment Company, member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and of the American Society for Municipal Improvements, and oi the National Conference of City Planning.
In January, 1917, following the death of President William Mc- Lachlan, he was selected president of the Pioneer stake. He has also been a member of the Board of Control of the Deseret Gymnasium since its organization; and since 1923, president of the Board of Trustees of the Latter-day Saints University.
The Church may confidently look for an efficient administration of the financial and spiritual affairs of the Presiding Bishop's Office under his direction. — A.
"Sylvester Q. Cannon." Instructor. May 1938. pg. 225.
SYLVESTER Q. CANNON
On April 6th, Bishop Sylvester Q. Cannon, by vote of the General Conference, was elevated from the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to the Apostleship.
Bishop Cannon, by the dignity and efficiency with which he met the great responsibilities of Presiding Bishop, won the love and respect of the Church membership. He was always a friend of the Deseret Sunday School Union, of which his beloved father, the late President George Q. Cannon, was its first General Superintendent.
May the grace of God and the continued joy of service be with him in his new and holy appointment.
SYLVESTER Q. CANNON
On April 6th, Bishop Sylvester Q. Cannon, by vote of the General Conference, was elevated from the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to the Apostleship.
Bishop Cannon, by the dignity and efficiency with which he met the great responsibilities of Presiding Bishop, won the love and respect of the Church membership. He was always a friend of the Deseret Sunday School Union, of which his beloved father, the late President George Q. Cannon, was its first General Superintendent.
May the grace of God and the continued joy of service be with him in his new and holy appointment.
Lund, Julia A. F. "Sylvester Quayle Cannon." Relief Society Magazine. May 1938. pg. 299-300.
Sylvester Quayle Cannon
By Julia A. F. Lund
"By their fruits ye shall know them."
IT would be difficult to find a subject more thoroughly a "fruit" of our Church in its ideals and its standards, than is Sylvester Quayle Cannon. He was born on a farm just outside Salt Lake City at a time when the sturdy spirit of the Pioneers was still strongly reflected, for June 10, 1877 is not too far removed from July, 1847. His was the immense advantage of coming from parents who are in every sense "goodly parents." His mother, Elizabeth Hoaglund Cannon, was descended from those who laid the foundation of our American nation, achieved its independence, and established its government. His father was George Quayle Cannon, one of the ''pillars of our Church," gifted, scholarly, staunch of faith. Their influence was a powerful factor in the life of their son.
His educational training began in a private school when he was only four years of age. He later attended the L. D. S. High School and Junior College and University of Utah. When only 18 he entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at Boston, being graduated in 1899 with the degree of Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering and Metallurgy.
As a child, Bishop Cannon enjoyed unusual advantages of travel. While still a boy he acted as private secretary to his father on a trip to England. The year of his graduation he was sent to examine an irrigation project in Alberta, Canada. This was followed by extensive travel in many foreign countries. He has visited every part of the United States.
He has been given wide recognition in his chosen profession of Engineering. He had charge of Weber River Land and Irrigation Surveys for the State Engineer of Utah, from 1905 to 1907. He was Water Supply Engineer for Salt Lake City from 1913 to 1925—the longest term of any City Engineer of this city. He was in charge of all engineering and construction work, including supervision of all public improvements. Three storage reservoirs were constructed during this period. A new sewer outfall system and sewage pumping plant were built and the first special lighting systems were installed during his incumbency as City Engineer.
A very important event in his life was his marriage to Winnifred Saville, June 15, 1904. Four fine sons and three lovely daughters have blessed this union.
Outstanding as Bishop Cannon has been in his professional and business fields, his greatest devotion has been evidenced in his service to the Church. His service as a missionary in Europe from 1899 to 1902 was of such high quality that in 1900 he was given the honor of presiding over the Netherlands-Belgium Mission comprising Holland and Belgium. In March, 1904, he was appointed First Counselor in the Stake Presidency of Pioneer Stake in Salt Lake City, a geographical division of the Church comprising about ten thousand members. In 1907 he was again appointed President of the Netherlands-Belgium Mission, spending two years (until 1909) with his family in that mission and traveling in Europe. In 1917 he was appointed President of the Stake in which he had served as counselor. His service to his Church received distinct recognition by his appointment in 1925 as Presiding Bishop of the Church. The Presiding Bishopric have supervision of about 96,700 members of the Aaronic Priesthood, are in charge of compilation of all ward, stake, mission and Priesthood reports, membership transfers, receiving of tithes, supervision of Church building construction, as well as many other details. This is a broad and fine preparation for the higher calling of apostleship which has now come to him.
The General Presidency and Board of Relief Society work under the direction of the Presiding Bishopric. For many years this association has been very close, always on a basis of clear understanding and broad sympathy. The Relief Society feels greatly indebted to Bishop Cannon and the willing, capable advisers who have done so much to further the health and welfare projects and the general educational and cultural programs of the organization.
Sylvester Quayle Cannon
By Julia A. F. Lund
"By their fruits ye shall know them."
IT would be difficult to find a subject more thoroughly a "fruit" of our Church in its ideals and its standards, than is Sylvester Quayle Cannon. He was born on a farm just outside Salt Lake City at a time when the sturdy spirit of the Pioneers was still strongly reflected, for June 10, 1877 is not too far removed from July, 1847. His was the immense advantage of coming from parents who are in every sense "goodly parents." His mother, Elizabeth Hoaglund Cannon, was descended from those who laid the foundation of our American nation, achieved its independence, and established its government. His father was George Quayle Cannon, one of the ''pillars of our Church," gifted, scholarly, staunch of faith. Their influence was a powerful factor in the life of their son.
His educational training began in a private school when he was only four years of age. He later attended the L. D. S. High School and Junior College and University of Utah. When only 18 he entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at Boston, being graduated in 1899 with the degree of Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering and Metallurgy.
As a child, Bishop Cannon enjoyed unusual advantages of travel. While still a boy he acted as private secretary to his father on a trip to England. The year of his graduation he was sent to examine an irrigation project in Alberta, Canada. This was followed by extensive travel in many foreign countries. He has visited every part of the United States.
He has been given wide recognition in his chosen profession of Engineering. He had charge of Weber River Land and Irrigation Surveys for the State Engineer of Utah, from 1905 to 1907. He was Water Supply Engineer for Salt Lake City from 1913 to 1925—the longest term of any City Engineer of this city. He was in charge of all engineering and construction work, including supervision of all public improvements. Three storage reservoirs were constructed during this period. A new sewer outfall system and sewage pumping plant were built and the first special lighting systems were installed during his incumbency as City Engineer.
A very important event in his life was his marriage to Winnifred Saville, June 15, 1904. Four fine sons and three lovely daughters have blessed this union.
Outstanding as Bishop Cannon has been in his professional and business fields, his greatest devotion has been evidenced in his service to the Church. His service as a missionary in Europe from 1899 to 1902 was of such high quality that in 1900 he was given the honor of presiding over the Netherlands-Belgium Mission comprising Holland and Belgium. In March, 1904, he was appointed First Counselor in the Stake Presidency of Pioneer Stake in Salt Lake City, a geographical division of the Church comprising about ten thousand members. In 1907 he was again appointed President of the Netherlands-Belgium Mission, spending two years (until 1909) with his family in that mission and traveling in Europe. In 1917 he was appointed President of the Stake in which he had served as counselor. His service to his Church received distinct recognition by his appointment in 1925 as Presiding Bishop of the Church. The Presiding Bishopric have supervision of about 96,700 members of the Aaronic Priesthood, are in charge of compilation of all ward, stake, mission and Priesthood reports, membership transfers, receiving of tithes, supervision of Church building construction, as well as many other details. This is a broad and fine preparation for the higher calling of apostleship which has now come to him.
The General Presidency and Board of Relief Society work under the direction of the Presiding Bishopric. For many years this association has been very close, always on a basis of clear understanding and broad sympathy. The Relief Society feels greatly indebted to Bishop Cannon and the willing, capable advisers who have done so much to further the health and welfare projects and the general educational and cultural programs of the organization.
"Sylvester Q. Cannon Added to Council of Twelve." Improvement Era. November 1939. pg. 670.
SYLVESTER Q. CANNON ADDED TO COUNCIL OF TWELVE
Elder Sylvester Q. Cannon, 62, for the past year an associate of the Council of the Twelve, was named at the October General Conference as a member of the Council to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Elder Melvin J. Ballard.
Sylvester Quayle Cannon was born in Salt Lake City, June 10, 1877, a son of George Quayle and Elizabeth Hoagland Cannon. By reason of his previous service as Presiding Bishop and associate to the Twelve, his biography is well known, but briefly high-lighted here:
In 1899, following graduation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, Mass., with a Bachelor of Science degree in mining engineering and metallurgy, he left for a mission to Holland and Belgium, where he began an almost continuous period of Church service. While on this mission he became president of the Netherlands- Belgium Mission in 1 900, serving until 1902. In that year he accompanied President Francis M. Lyman to the Turkish Mission, visiting Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Turkey, Greece, Italy, and France.
He served in this capacity until 1917, during which time he was again president of the Netherlands Mission from 1907 to 1909.
In 1917 he was appointed as the second president of Pioneer Stake. He held this position until 1925, when he succeeded President Charles W. Nibley as Presiding Bishop of the Church. His administration was characterized by an extensive program of chapel construction. At the April conference of 1938, he was chosen an Apostle and named an associate of the Council of the Twelve.
His leadership and ability have been recognized in a number of civic appointments. In 1930-31 he was chairman of the Governor's State Flood Control Commission, and in 1931-32 he acted as chairman of the State Advisory Council for Unemployment.
Elder Cannon was married in the Salt Lake Temple on June 15, 1904, to Winnifred Saville.
The new member of the Council of the Twelve is the father of seven children, four sons and three daughters.
SYLVESTER Q. CANNON ADDED TO COUNCIL OF TWELVE
Elder Sylvester Q. Cannon, 62, for the past year an associate of the Council of the Twelve, was named at the October General Conference as a member of the Council to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Elder Melvin J. Ballard.
Sylvester Quayle Cannon was born in Salt Lake City, June 10, 1877, a son of George Quayle and Elizabeth Hoagland Cannon. By reason of his previous service as Presiding Bishop and associate to the Twelve, his biography is well known, but briefly high-lighted here:
In 1899, following graduation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, Mass., with a Bachelor of Science degree in mining engineering and metallurgy, he left for a mission to Holland and Belgium, where he began an almost continuous period of Church service. While on this mission he became president of the Netherlands- Belgium Mission in 1 900, serving until 1902. In that year he accompanied President Francis M. Lyman to the Turkish Mission, visiting Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Turkey, Greece, Italy, and France.
He served in this capacity until 1917, during which time he was again president of the Netherlands Mission from 1907 to 1909.
In 1917 he was appointed as the second president of Pioneer Stake. He held this position until 1925, when he succeeded President Charles W. Nibley as Presiding Bishop of the Church. His administration was characterized by an extensive program of chapel construction. At the April conference of 1938, he was chosen an Apostle and named an associate of the Council of the Twelve.
His leadership and ability have been recognized in a number of civic appointments. In 1930-31 he was chairman of the Governor's State Flood Control Commission, and in 1931-32 he acted as chairman of the State Advisory Council for Unemployment.
Elder Cannon was married in the Salt Lake Temple on June 15, 1904, to Winnifred Saville.
The new member of the Council of the Twelve is the father of seven children, four sons and three daughters.
"Sylvester Q. Cannon." Improvement Era. November 1939. pg. 672.
Sylvester Q. Cannon
The Church welcomes Sylvester Q, Cannon, already an Apostle, as a member of the Council of the Twelve. He is so well and favorably known in every corner of the Church that all recognize his fitness for the high office to which he has been called.
He comes well qualified to serve in his new calling. In the technical field of engineering, in business, and in many civic affairs he has been a capable servant of the community. His official experience in the Church, long and varied, includes service as mission president, stake president, Presiding Bishop, and Associate to the Twelve.
Brother Cannon is devoted to the Latter-day cause; faithful in the discharge of his duties; intelligent in all his dealings; kind and charitable to all—a lover of the Gospel.
The Saints everywhere will support him with their faith and prayers. May he be greatly blessed in his ministry!—J. A. W.
Sylvester Q. Cannon
The Church welcomes Sylvester Q, Cannon, already an Apostle, as a member of the Council of the Twelve. He is so well and favorably known in every corner of the Church that all recognize his fitness for the high office to which he has been called.
He comes well qualified to serve in his new calling. In the technical field of engineering, in business, and in many civic affairs he has been a capable servant of the community. His official experience in the Church, long and varied, includes service as mission president, stake president, Presiding Bishop, and Associate to the Twelve.
Brother Cannon is devoted to the Latter-day cause; faithful in the discharge of his duties; intelligent in all his dealings; kind and charitable to all—a lover of the Gospel.
The Saints everywhere will support him with their faith and prayers. May he be greatly blessed in his ministry!—J. A. W.
Cannon, Sylvester Q. "Boyhood Experiences." Instructor. May 1943. pg. 241.
BOYHOOD EXPERIENCES
By Sylvester Q. Cannon
(Editor's Note: For Enrichment of Lesson 43, First Intermediate)
A "private" swimming "hole" in the summer, a skating rink in the winter, a pet Nanny goat, a fast Arabian riding horse, cows to milk, books to read, a day school especially for the family, a merry score or more of brothers and sisters, a growing boy's perpetual hunger, are associated with many delightful memories of his childhood, Elder Sylvester Q. Cannon of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, explained when asked to tell about his boyhood.
Sylvester Cannon lived at the Cannon farm home established by President George Q. Cannon on the east bank of the Jordan River, two or three miles south of Salt Lake City.
This farm was an interesting family community center. It was provided with its own school for the children of the Cannon families, which was attended by some neighbor children as well.
The boys harvested ice from the pond in winter time and stored it for summer use in the farm's ice house.
Sylvester's mother died when he was four and a half years old. Sister Davey became the housekeeper for the family. She was interested in Sylvester because he missed his mother so keenly and seemed so disconsolate and forlorn. She won him when she discovered his insatiable hunger. He was a lanky boy, who could never seem to get enough to eat.
Sylvester remembers the full sized cake, baked as are angel food cakes, with a large hole through the middle, which Sister Davey made for him. She tied the cake around the hungry boy's neck and bade him eat to his stomach's content. One cake was not enough. Sylvester remembers to this day the comfortable feeling he enjoyed from having that cake and eating it, too.
The Jordan River, a favorite place for baptisms of Cannon children, was the place of Sylvester's baptism.
The children walked two miles to Sunday School in Farmers' Ward. Here Sylvester became president of the deacons' quorum at 12 years of age. The boys took their work very seriously and accepted their duties with a sense of responsibility of adults.
The Nanny goat pet was a gentle and useful animal. She pulled a small wagon with ease and speed, much to the delight of the boys. She was a quiet, peace-loving, well-behaved animal until the boys began to tease her.
Thereafter she was a battle-ax of first quality. Anyone who appeared in her path was in danger of attack.
Nanny, like Mary's little lamb, went to school one day, which was against the rule. She made the children run and hide. She'd knock down any fool, who failed to get out of sight. She saw some children run into the school house and close the door. She bunted the door with such force that she broke it in before she had had enough, and went home.
Sister Davey came out of the house one day to be threatened by Nanny, who bounded up the steps and would have come through the door, had not Sister Davey stopped her with a stroke of a hot flat iron on the nose.
Another family community enterprise in which Sylvester participated was as butcher for the family. Animals were raised for meat and slaughter and one of Sylvester's jobs was to prepare the cuts of meat for the families.
He had the usual experiences of a farmer boy, including milking cows. He started milking two cows when he was seven. Each year as he grew older, more cows to milk were added, until he was 13, when he was graduated from milking cows.
At about this time he was riding a strikingly marked Arabian pony, named Zebra, to the L. D. S. College in Salt Lake City. This beautiful horse was a gray roan, with large black and white markings on his hind quarters.
He was famous for his ability to start in a race by leaping forward with unusual grace and speed.
The Cannon family observed the Sabbath day with strictness. The children walked to Sunday School. Frequently in the afternoon Sylvester drove his father to the services in the Tabernacle.
Sylvester from boyhood has been a lover of good books. As a child he formed the habit of writing in his books his name and the name of a kind friend or relative who had given him the book.
BOYHOOD EXPERIENCES
By Sylvester Q. Cannon
(Editor's Note: For Enrichment of Lesson 43, First Intermediate)
A "private" swimming "hole" in the summer, a skating rink in the winter, a pet Nanny goat, a fast Arabian riding horse, cows to milk, books to read, a day school especially for the family, a merry score or more of brothers and sisters, a growing boy's perpetual hunger, are associated with many delightful memories of his childhood, Elder Sylvester Q. Cannon of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, explained when asked to tell about his boyhood.
Sylvester Cannon lived at the Cannon farm home established by President George Q. Cannon on the east bank of the Jordan River, two or three miles south of Salt Lake City.
This farm was an interesting family community center. It was provided with its own school for the children of the Cannon families, which was attended by some neighbor children as well.
The boys harvested ice from the pond in winter time and stored it for summer use in the farm's ice house.
Sylvester's mother died when he was four and a half years old. Sister Davey became the housekeeper for the family. She was interested in Sylvester because he missed his mother so keenly and seemed so disconsolate and forlorn. She won him when she discovered his insatiable hunger. He was a lanky boy, who could never seem to get enough to eat.
Sylvester remembers the full sized cake, baked as are angel food cakes, with a large hole through the middle, which Sister Davey made for him. She tied the cake around the hungry boy's neck and bade him eat to his stomach's content. One cake was not enough. Sylvester remembers to this day the comfortable feeling he enjoyed from having that cake and eating it, too.
The Jordan River, a favorite place for baptisms of Cannon children, was the place of Sylvester's baptism.
The children walked two miles to Sunday School in Farmers' Ward. Here Sylvester became president of the deacons' quorum at 12 years of age. The boys took their work very seriously and accepted their duties with a sense of responsibility of adults.
The Nanny goat pet was a gentle and useful animal. She pulled a small wagon with ease and speed, much to the delight of the boys. She was a quiet, peace-loving, well-behaved animal until the boys began to tease her.
Thereafter she was a battle-ax of first quality. Anyone who appeared in her path was in danger of attack.
Nanny, like Mary's little lamb, went to school one day, which was against the rule. She made the children run and hide. She'd knock down any fool, who failed to get out of sight. She saw some children run into the school house and close the door. She bunted the door with such force that she broke it in before she had had enough, and went home.
Sister Davey came out of the house one day to be threatened by Nanny, who bounded up the steps and would have come through the door, had not Sister Davey stopped her with a stroke of a hot flat iron on the nose.
Another family community enterprise in which Sylvester participated was as butcher for the family. Animals were raised for meat and slaughter and one of Sylvester's jobs was to prepare the cuts of meat for the families.
He had the usual experiences of a farmer boy, including milking cows. He started milking two cows when he was seven. Each year as he grew older, more cows to milk were added, until he was 13, when he was graduated from milking cows.
At about this time he was riding a strikingly marked Arabian pony, named Zebra, to the L. D. S. College in Salt Lake City. This beautiful horse was a gray roan, with large black and white markings on his hind quarters.
He was famous for his ability to start in a race by leaping forward with unusual grace and speed.
The Cannon family observed the Sabbath day with strictness. The children walked to Sunday School. Frequently in the afternoon Sylvester drove his father to the services in the Tabernacle.
Sylvester from boyhood has been a lover of good books. As a child he formed the habit of writing in his books his name and the name of a kind friend or relative who had given him the book.
Smith, Joseph Fielding. "Elder Sylvester Q. Cannon." Relief Society Magazine. June 1943. pg. 379.
Elder Sylvester Q. Cannon
Elder Joseph Fielding Smith
Member of the Council of the Twelve
THE ancient Psalmist said most truly: ''Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
“For his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
"And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."
I became acquainted with Elder Sylvester Q. Cannon in the days of our youth when we were students together, first in the Salt Lake Stake Academy, and then in the Latter-day Saints College which was the continuation of the former school. He was always sober-minded, thoughtful, and studious, giving attention to every detail of the lessons before him, a most excellent student. In all of his training the outstanding thing was his integrity and loyalty to the Church. Even in those early days his faith in the Gospel was manifest, and his willingness to give service for the Church and for his fellows was his keen delight.
In his early youth he filled his first mission and through his faithfulness, ability, and sober-mindedness was called to take the presidency of the mission where he labored. From that day until the time of his passing his time was faithfully given to service in the Church. Besides serving in the mission field he served as a stake president, then in the office of Presiding Bishop of the Church, and in his later years as a member of the Council of the Twelve Apostles. He was loved by all of his associates because of his faithfulness and his kindly spirit. He was calm and deliberate in his judgment, accurate in his deductions, and humble in every duty assigned to him. His passing on Saturday, May 29, 1943, is keenly felt by all of his associates and friends, but they have cause to rejoice in the purity of his life and his worthy example.
Elder Sylvester Q. Cannon
Elder Joseph Fielding Smith
Member of the Council of the Twelve
THE ancient Psalmist said most truly: ''Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
“For his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
"And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."
I became acquainted with Elder Sylvester Q. Cannon in the days of our youth when we were students together, first in the Salt Lake Stake Academy, and then in the Latter-day Saints College which was the continuation of the former school. He was always sober-minded, thoughtful, and studious, giving attention to every detail of the lessons before him, a most excellent student. In all of his training the outstanding thing was his integrity and loyalty to the Church. Even in those early days his faith in the Gospel was manifest, and his willingness to give service for the Church and for his fellows was his keen delight.
In his early youth he filled his first mission and through his faithfulness, ability, and sober-mindedness was called to take the presidency of the mission where he labored. From that day until the time of his passing his time was faithfully given to service in the Church. Besides serving in the mission field he served as a stake president, then in the office of Presiding Bishop of the Church, and in his later years as a member of the Council of the Twelve Apostles. He was loved by all of his associates because of his faithfulness and his kindly spirit. He was calm and deliberate in his judgment, accurate in his deductions, and humble in every duty assigned to him. His passing on Saturday, May 29, 1943, is keenly felt by all of his associates and friends, but they have cause to rejoice in the purity of his life and his worthy example.
"Sylvester Q. Cannon." Improvement Era. July 1943. pg. 416.
Sylvester Q. Cannon
Sylvester Q. Cannon lived a full life. That mitigates the grief of his apparently untimely passing.
He was of noble pioneer stock. His clear and vigorous intellect, operating in many fields, was highly trained. His capacity and devotion were exemplified by his superior work in engineering, in business, and in Church work.
With his capable, devoted wife, and their sons and daughters, he lived an ideal family life. The children were taught high ideals, and were trained for worthy, effective living.
The record of his Church service is enviable. As missionary, mission president, stake president, presiding bishop, and apostle, he was dependable, progressive, always conscious of the great spiritual possessions and the divine destiny of the restored Church of Christ.
He touched life at many points and always well.
The Church will miss his wise counsels, his steady pointing to the right, his fearless defense of truth, his kindly guidance of the helpless.
Why he was taken now we do not understand. We must not question the ways of God.
We pray that his. wife and children may find the comfort that alone can come from the Lord.
Sylvester Q. Cannon, in that nearby world, still lives and labors.
Blessed be his memory!—J. A. W.
Sylvester Q. Cannon
Sylvester Q. Cannon lived a full life. That mitigates the grief of his apparently untimely passing.
He was of noble pioneer stock. His clear and vigorous intellect, operating in many fields, was highly trained. His capacity and devotion were exemplified by his superior work in engineering, in business, and in Church work.
With his capable, devoted wife, and their sons and daughters, he lived an ideal family life. The children were taught high ideals, and were trained for worthy, effective living.
The record of his Church service is enviable. As missionary, mission president, stake president, presiding bishop, and apostle, he was dependable, progressive, always conscious of the great spiritual possessions and the divine destiny of the restored Church of Christ.
He touched life at many points and always well.
The Church will miss his wise counsels, his steady pointing to the right, his fearless defense of truth, his kindly guidance of the helpless.
Why he was taken now we do not understand. We must not question the ways of God.
We pray that his. wife and children may find the comfort that alone can come from the Lord.
Sylvester Q. Cannon, in that nearby world, still lives and labors.
Blessed be his memory!—J. A. W.
McKay, David O. "Sylvester Q. Cannon." Improvement Era. August 1943. pg. 465, 509.
SYLVESTER Q. CANNON
By DAVID O. McKAY
Of the First Presidency
Remarks at the funeral services, June 2, 1943, in the Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City
When the Savior was about to pass through the gate of physical death, He found comfort in the fact that John His beloved disciple stood by the side of the sorrowing mother. Your presence here today indicates your desire to stand by the side of Sister Cannon and these sons and daughters and other loved ones. I am sure that you give them comfort by your presence this noon hour.
When John the Revelator was on the Isle of Patmos, he saw in a vision "the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works." (Rev. 20:12.)
I have quoted that passage because: first, it contains the immortal truth that men live after physical death; and, secondly, that I should like to say a few words about the Book of Life as written by my esteemed friend and fellow worker, Sylvester Q. Cannon.
The earthly chapter in Elder Cannon's Book of Life closed Saturday, May 29, 1943, at 1:25 in the afternoon. The first chapter of his life's journey ended at his birth, in Salt Lake City, June 10, 1877. "Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting." So was his birth, and his pre-existent state ended as he came to Salt Lake City that day in 1877. The mortal span of his life, therefore, covered sixty-six years, lacking twelve days. For several months prior to that departure, Brother Cannon had sensed the approach of the chilling hand of death, but his face did not blanch, nor did his hand tremble at that approach, nor did his heart falter; for --
What is death
To him who meets it with an upright heart?
A quiet haven, where his shattered bark
Harbours secure, till the rough storm is past,
Perhaps a passage overhung with clouds
But at its entrance a few leagues beyond
Opening to kinder skies and milder suns
And seas pacific as the soul that seeks them.
Elder Cannon died as he had lived, uncomplainingly, modestly, peacefully.
Now, as yours and mine will some day be, his Book of Life is open before the judgment of Christ. In that Book of Life will be two great summaries: first, a summary of what he was intrinsically, and, second, what he accomplished.
Pertaining to the first I am going to quote what Sister Cannon said on the day of her husband's passing. Her remark gives a glimpse into Bishop Cannon's inner life, a clear and intimate picture of his soul. Said she: "I have lived with him thirty-nine years, and I have been unable to pick a flaw."
A man that merits such tribute first of all must possess kindness, gentleness, consideration of others' feelings. He must be a man of self-control. He must be a man who strives to realize the higher virtues—justice, love, truth, liberty, moral power in his daily activities whatever they may be. He must be a man who is willing to give of himself in order to make others happier and better. These are some of the dominant traits in the character of our friend and associate, Elder Sylvester Q. Cannon.
He lived virtuously; he met his end patiently; he was a partaker of God's holiness.
It has been truly said that there is one responsibility in this life which no man can evade, and that is personal influence.
Man's unconscious influence, the silent, subtle radiation of his personality, the effect of his words and acts—these are tremendous. Every moment of life he is changing to a degree the life of the whole world. Every man has an atmosphere which is affecting every other. Into the hands of every individual is given a marvelous power for good or for evil, the silent, unconscious, unseen influence of his life. This is simply the constant radiation of what a man really is, not what he pretends to be. Every man by his mere living is radiating sympathy, or sorrow, or morbidness, or cynicism, or happiness, or hope, or any of a hundred other qualities. Life is a state of constant radiation and absorption; to exist is to radiate; to exist is to be the recipient of radiation. Man cannot escape this responsibility for one moment.
The radiation of this good man in his home and in society has been such as to bring forth from one who knows him best that beautiful tribute of a devoted life. The hardest battles of life are fought within the chambers of the soul. A victory on the inside of a man's heart is of far more worth in character building than a dozen conquests in the everyday battle of business, political, and social life. Brother Cannon was master of himself because he fought victoriously those inner battles. He was temperate in his habits, he was willing to do God's will.
When I say he was temperate, I should make one qualification. He was not temperate when he was working for the Church. He actually lived what Van Dyke has put into words:
Let me but do my work from day to day,
* * *
Let me but find it in my heart to say,
* * *
"This is my work; my blessing, not my doom.
Of all who live, I am the one by whom
This work can best be done in the right way."
Then shall I see it not too great nor small,
To suit my spirit and to prove my powers;
Then shall I cheerful greet the laboring hours,
And cheerful turn when the long shadows fall
At eventide, to play and love and rest,
Because I know for me my work is best.
If we wish to determine what Brother Cannon is, if we would know what God will find when He opens the Book of Life, we must add to the virtues I have named, two other qualities—diligence and energy.
Now what has he accomplished? When Sylvester Q. Cannon's father, President George Q. Cannon, was baptized as a boy of thirteen years of age in Liverpool, and a year or so later met the Prophet Joseph Smith in Nauvoo, Brother George Q. Cannon little realized that out of a great posterity, two of his sons would be chosen and ordained apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. One of those sons was Sylvester Q. Cannon; the other was Abraham H. That in itself is an achievement not only for George Q. Cannon, but for those two sons who were chosen to represent the Lord Jesus Christ.
A glimpse of what Brother Cannon has accomplished in addition to his rise in the Church may be obtained by just naming positions he has held in Church, civic, educational, and business fields of endeavor. I have them here listed. May I just name them, having in mind an accomplishment of one life and passing over his young boyhood service:
In 1899 he accepted a mission to Holland, and while he was on this mission he was chosen to preside over the Holland- Belgium Mission.
Returning he was chosen in the presidency of the Pioneer Stake.
Later, he was chosen as president of that stake.
He was sent back to Holland to preside over the mission.
While on his first mission he was chosen to accompany President Lyman to the Holy Land through Egypt and Syria.
In 1925 he was Presiding Bishop of the Church.
In 1938 he was ordained an apostle in the Church.
In civic affairs, in 1930 and 1931, he was chairman of the Governor's State Flood Committee.
In 1931 and 1932 he was chairman of the State Advisory Council for Unemployment.
In 1935 he supervised in Salt Lake City all engineering projects.
He was president of the Board of Trustees of the L.D.S. College, president of the McCune School of Music and Art, a member of the Board of Control of the Deseret Gymnasium.
In business, as we have heard today, he was director in Zion's Securities Corporation, Z.C.M.I., Hotel Utah, Amalgamated Sugar Company, United States Fuel Company.
In educational circles he succeeded; he attended the L.D.S. College, the University of Utah, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a degree of bachelor of science in mining, engineering, and metallurgy.
What he has accomplished! Some men die in youth, though they live to be fourscore and ten. Others die young "who live to a good old age, because of their accomplishments.
But as has already been said today, the crowning glory of achievement in this life I claim is Brother Cannon's lovely family. In this success, as in all others, there was by his side his loving wife and helpful companion. We first knew of her helpfulness and devotedness when Elder Cannon was carrying the responsibility of Presiding Bishop. Often at closing hours I would meet her there with the automobile ready to take him home, knowing he would be weary after a heavy day's work. Almost invariably Sister Cannon would find the office closed, but Bishop Cannon worked on. She felt that her waiting there and his knowing she was waiting might impel him to cut his work short, for she knew as a dutiful wife that he was overworking himself day after day, year after year. She stood by his side during the time he carried the responsibility of that great office.
Sister Cannon was equally considerate and loyal when she had to say goodbye to him when he traveled from one part of this Church to the other— I should say as he continued to travel from one part of this Church to the other, for in addition to his work as Presiding Bishop, he also filled appointments to the various stakes and wards. When I think of her devotion in that respect and in other ways, I apply to her the tribute to a good wife expressed as follows:
A good wife is Heaven's best gift to man.
His gem of many virtues,
His casket of jewels;
Her voice his sweet music,
Her smiles his brightest day,
Her kiss the guardian of his innocence,
Her arms the pale of his safety,
Her industry his surest wealth,
Her economy his safest steward,
Her love the solace and comfort of his life.
And in that accomplishment, the greatest, his family, we can today, as friends, name with pride his choice sons and daughters. I do not know the grandchildren, but I will include them because I know the blood that flows in their veins. It is said that "he only half dies who leaves an image of himself in his sons." Death can silence a man's physical heartbeats, but he cannot touch the echoes of the love and kindly deeds that reverberate in the lives of men; neither can he touch the virtues that the father transmits to his sons and his daughters. He lives again in his children. You handsome sons, you beautiful daughters, grandsons, and granddaughters, are the rich heritage Sylvester Q. Cannon has left to mankind. Each of you can truly say:
I follow a noble father, his honor is mine to wear,
He gave me a name that was free from shame.
A name he was proud to bear.
He lived in the morning sunlight and marched
In the ranks of right.
He was always true to the best he knew, and
The shield that he wore was bright.
Living in the memory of friends, or having virtues perpetuated for generations in the lives of children cannot be counted as immortality. Immortality is to be found in the persistence of personality after death; in the virtues and characteristics that make up the individual spirit of man; it is in the existence of the spirit that moves in the eternal realm while the body sleeps in the earth; it is in the reuniting of that spirit and resurrected body that will constitute the soul of man. Its entity will then be beyond the power of death, and progress will be eternal in the realm of celestial beings. When the ten apostles told Thomas that their beloved Lord and Master so lived, Thomas, as many do today, doubted it, and said: "Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, . . . and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe." So difficult is it for the human mind to comprehend the reality of life in that spiritual world!
Well, you know what happened eight days later when the ten were again gathered on the first day of the week note, commemorating the resurrection of their Lord. Jesus stood in their midst and addressed Thomas and said, "Thomas, reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side; and be not faithless, but believing."
Thomas did not need those physical demonstrations, for he bowed his head and said: "My Lord and my God!"
No husband can kneel at the side of a departed wife, no wife at the side of a beloved husband, no child can part with a loving parent without being filled with an ardent desire to meet that loved one again somewhere in a better world where the pangs of parting are unknown. I am speaking to every heart that is listening, and I ask you in the words, I think, of Dryden:
Else whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire,
This longing for immortality?
Or whence this secret dread, and inward horror,
Of falling into naught? Why shrinks the soul
Back on herself, and startles at destruction?
'Tis the divinity that stirs within us;
'Tis heaven itself, that points out an Hereafter,
And intimates eternity to man.
* * *
The stars may fade away,
The sun himself grow dim with age,
And nature sink in years,
Man shall flourish in immortal youth,
Unheard in the midst of war of elements,
The wreck of matter, and the crash of worlds.
When Jesus was about to say goodbye to His apostles, and He knew that the parting was nearer than they, He said; "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."
Sister Cannon, you brothers and sisters and loved ones here, you boys and girls, your husband and father and brother has overcome the world; he has peace; and here with our hearts as one we pray God that peace will be in your hearts, the peace that comes from the assurance that death was not victorious when he silenced the heart beats of your loved one, our friend and associate. He lives as surely as the Savior, whose disciple he is, lived after they placed His body in the tomb. God bless you with this assurance, and be with you when you go back home, that peace may be in your home and in your hearts, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
SYLVESTER Q. CANNON
By DAVID O. McKAY
Of the First Presidency
Remarks at the funeral services, June 2, 1943, in the Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City
When the Savior was about to pass through the gate of physical death, He found comfort in the fact that John His beloved disciple stood by the side of the sorrowing mother. Your presence here today indicates your desire to stand by the side of Sister Cannon and these sons and daughters and other loved ones. I am sure that you give them comfort by your presence this noon hour.
When John the Revelator was on the Isle of Patmos, he saw in a vision "the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works." (Rev. 20:12.)
I have quoted that passage because: first, it contains the immortal truth that men live after physical death; and, secondly, that I should like to say a few words about the Book of Life as written by my esteemed friend and fellow worker, Sylvester Q. Cannon.
The earthly chapter in Elder Cannon's Book of Life closed Saturday, May 29, 1943, at 1:25 in the afternoon. The first chapter of his life's journey ended at his birth, in Salt Lake City, June 10, 1877. "Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting." So was his birth, and his pre-existent state ended as he came to Salt Lake City that day in 1877. The mortal span of his life, therefore, covered sixty-six years, lacking twelve days. For several months prior to that departure, Brother Cannon had sensed the approach of the chilling hand of death, but his face did not blanch, nor did his hand tremble at that approach, nor did his heart falter; for --
What is death
To him who meets it with an upright heart?
A quiet haven, where his shattered bark
Harbours secure, till the rough storm is past,
Perhaps a passage overhung with clouds
But at its entrance a few leagues beyond
Opening to kinder skies and milder suns
And seas pacific as the soul that seeks them.
Elder Cannon died as he had lived, uncomplainingly, modestly, peacefully.
Now, as yours and mine will some day be, his Book of Life is open before the judgment of Christ. In that Book of Life will be two great summaries: first, a summary of what he was intrinsically, and, second, what he accomplished.
Pertaining to the first I am going to quote what Sister Cannon said on the day of her husband's passing. Her remark gives a glimpse into Bishop Cannon's inner life, a clear and intimate picture of his soul. Said she: "I have lived with him thirty-nine years, and I have been unable to pick a flaw."
A man that merits such tribute first of all must possess kindness, gentleness, consideration of others' feelings. He must be a man of self-control. He must be a man who strives to realize the higher virtues—justice, love, truth, liberty, moral power in his daily activities whatever they may be. He must be a man who is willing to give of himself in order to make others happier and better. These are some of the dominant traits in the character of our friend and associate, Elder Sylvester Q. Cannon.
He lived virtuously; he met his end patiently; he was a partaker of God's holiness.
It has been truly said that there is one responsibility in this life which no man can evade, and that is personal influence.
Man's unconscious influence, the silent, subtle radiation of his personality, the effect of his words and acts—these are tremendous. Every moment of life he is changing to a degree the life of the whole world. Every man has an atmosphere which is affecting every other. Into the hands of every individual is given a marvelous power for good or for evil, the silent, unconscious, unseen influence of his life. This is simply the constant radiation of what a man really is, not what he pretends to be. Every man by his mere living is radiating sympathy, or sorrow, or morbidness, or cynicism, or happiness, or hope, or any of a hundred other qualities. Life is a state of constant radiation and absorption; to exist is to radiate; to exist is to be the recipient of radiation. Man cannot escape this responsibility for one moment.
The radiation of this good man in his home and in society has been such as to bring forth from one who knows him best that beautiful tribute of a devoted life. The hardest battles of life are fought within the chambers of the soul. A victory on the inside of a man's heart is of far more worth in character building than a dozen conquests in the everyday battle of business, political, and social life. Brother Cannon was master of himself because he fought victoriously those inner battles. He was temperate in his habits, he was willing to do God's will.
When I say he was temperate, I should make one qualification. He was not temperate when he was working for the Church. He actually lived what Van Dyke has put into words:
Let me but do my work from day to day,
* * *
Let me but find it in my heart to say,
* * *
"This is my work; my blessing, not my doom.
Of all who live, I am the one by whom
This work can best be done in the right way."
Then shall I see it not too great nor small,
To suit my spirit and to prove my powers;
Then shall I cheerful greet the laboring hours,
And cheerful turn when the long shadows fall
At eventide, to play and love and rest,
Because I know for me my work is best.
If we wish to determine what Brother Cannon is, if we would know what God will find when He opens the Book of Life, we must add to the virtues I have named, two other qualities—diligence and energy.
Now what has he accomplished? When Sylvester Q. Cannon's father, President George Q. Cannon, was baptized as a boy of thirteen years of age in Liverpool, and a year or so later met the Prophet Joseph Smith in Nauvoo, Brother George Q. Cannon little realized that out of a great posterity, two of his sons would be chosen and ordained apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. One of those sons was Sylvester Q. Cannon; the other was Abraham H. That in itself is an achievement not only for George Q. Cannon, but for those two sons who were chosen to represent the Lord Jesus Christ.
A glimpse of what Brother Cannon has accomplished in addition to his rise in the Church may be obtained by just naming positions he has held in Church, civic, educational, and business fields of endeavor. I have them here listed. May I just name them, having in mind an accomplishment of one life and passing over his young boyhood service:
In 1899 he accepted a mission to Holland, and while he was on this mission he was chosen to preside over the Holland- Belgium Mission.
Returning he was chosen in the presidency of the Pioneer Stake.
Later, he was chosen as president of that stake.
He was sent back to Holland to preside over the mission.
While on his first mission he was chosen to accompany President Lyman to the Holy Land through Egypt and Syria.
In 1925 he was Presiding Bishop of the Church.
In 1938 he was ordained an apostle in the Church.
In civic affairs, in 1930 and 1931, he was chairman of the Governor's State Flood Committee.
In 1931 and 1932 he was chairman of the State Advisory Council for Unemployment.
In 1935 he supervised in Salt Lake City all engineering projects.
He was president of the Board of Trustees of the L.D.S. College, president of the McCune School of Music and Art, a member of the Board of Control of the Deseret Gymnasium.
In business, as we have heard today, he was director in Zion's Securities Corporation, Z.C.M.I., Hotel Utah, Amalgamated Sugar Company, United States Fuel Company.
In educational circles he succeeded; he attended the L.D.S. College, the University of Utah, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a degree of bachelor of science in mining, engineering, and metallurgy.
What he has accomplished! Some men die in youth, though they live to be fourscore and ten. Others die young "who live to a good old age, because of their accomplishments.
But as has already been said today, the crowning glory of achievement in this life I claim is Brother Cannon's lovely family. In this success, as in all others, there was by his side his loving wife and helpful companion. We first knew of her helpfulness and devotedness when Elder Cannon was carrying the responsibility of Presiding Bishop. Often at closing hours I would meet her there with the automobile ready to take him home, knowing he would be weary after a heavy day's work. Almost invariably Sister Cannon would find the office closed, but Bishop Cannon worked on. She felt that her waiting there and his knowing she was waiting might impel him to cut his work short, for she knew as a dutiful wife that he was overworking himself day after day, year after year. She stood by his side during the time he carried the responsibility of that great office.
Sister Cannon was equally considerate and loyal when she had to say goodbye to him when he traveled from one part of this Church to the other— I should say as he continued to travel from one part of this Church to the other, for in addition to his work as Presiding Bishop, he also filled appointments to the various stakes and wards. When I think of her devotion in that respect and in other ways, I apply to her the tribute to a good wife expressed as follows:
A good wife is Heaven's best gift to man.
His gem of many virtues,
His casket of jewels;
Her voice his sweet music,
Her smiles his brightest day,
Her kiss the guardian of his innocence,
Her arms the pale of his safety,
Her industry his surest wealth,
Her economy his safest steward,
Her love the solace and comfort of his life.
And in that accomplishment, the greatest, his family, we can today, as friends, name with pride his choice sons and daughters. I do not know the grandchildren, but I will include them because I know the blood that flows in their veins. It is said that "he only half dies who leaves an image of himself in his sons." Death can silence a man's physical heartbeats, but he cannot touch the echoes of the love and kindly deeds that reverberate in the lives of men; neither can he touch the virtues that the father transmits to his sons and his daughters. He lives again in his children. You handsome sons, you beautiful daughters, grandsons, and granddaughters, are the rich heritage Sylvester Q. Cannon has left to mankind. Each of you can truly say:
I follow a noble father, his honor is mine to wear,
He gave me a name that was free from shame.
A name he was proud to bear.
He lived in the morning sunlight and marched
In the ranks of right.
He was always true to the best he knew, and
The shield that he wore was bright.
Living in the memory of friends, or having virtues perpetuated for generations in the lives of children cannot be counted as immortality. Immortality is to be found in the persistence of personality after death; in the virtues and characteristics that make up the individual spirit of man; it is in the existence of the spirit that moves in the eternal realm while the body sleeps in the earth; it is in the reuniting of that spirit and resurrected body that will constitute the soul of man. Its entity will then be beyond the power of death, and progress will be eternal in the realm of celestial beings. When the ten apostles told Thomas that their beloved Lord and Master so lived, Thomas, as many do today, doubted it, and said: "Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, . . . and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe." So difficult is it for the human mind to comprehend the reality of life in that spiritual world!
Well, you know what happened eight days later when the ten were again gathered on the first day of the week note, commemorating the resurrection of their Lord. Jesus stood in their midst and addressed Thomas and said, "Thomas, reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side; and be not faithless, but believing."
Thomas did not need those physical demonstrations, for he bowed his head and said: "My Lord and my God!"
No husband can kneel at the side of a departed wife, no wife at the side of a beloved husband, no child can part with a loving parent without being filled with an ardent desire to meet that loved one again somewhere in a better world where the pangs of parting are unknown. I am speaking to every heart that is listening, and I ask you in the words, I think, of Dryden:
Else whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire,
This longing for immortality?
Or whence this secret dread, and inward horror,
Of falling into naught? Why shrinks the soul
Back on herself, and startles at destruction?
'Tis the divinity that stirs within us;
'Tis heaven itself, that points out an Hereafter,
And intimates eternity to man.
* * *
The stars may fade away,
The sun himself grow dim with age,
And nature sink in years,
Man shall flourish in immortal youth,
Unheard in the midst of war of elements,
The wreck of matter, and the crash of worlds.
When Jesus was about to say goodbye to His apostles, and He knew that the parting was nearer than they, He said; "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."
Sister Cannon, you brothers and sisters and loved ones here, you boys and girls, your husband and father and brother has overcome the world; he has peace; and here with our hearts as one we pray God that peace will be in your hearts, the peace that comes from the assurance that death was not victorious when he silenced the heart beats of your loved one, our friend and associate. He lives as surely as the Savior, whose disciple he is, lived after they placed His body in the tomb. God bless you with this assurance, and be with you when you go back home, that peace may be in your home and in your hearts, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Sylvester Q. Cannon
“…for the office of a bishop is in administering
all temporal things;” –D&C 107:68
all temporal things;” –D&C 107:68
Ordained: 14 April 1938 at age 60 by Heber J. Grant
Biography
Sylvester Quayle Cannon was born 10 June 1877 in Salt Lake City, Utah, to President George Q. Cannon of the First Presidency and Elizabeth Hoagland. He was the younger brother of Apostle Abraham H. Cannon. His mother died when Sylvester was only four years old. His father filled the roles of father and mother to his young son.
He attributed his testimony to his upbringing. He said:
I rejoice in the testimony I have, because I know this work is true. I was born of parents who were members of this Church, and I have been taught from my youth up to seek the Lord in prayer. I have received testimonies in praying to the Lord, evidences of the divinity of this work. I have received answer to prayer in accordance with the faith that I have exercised. I have been taught by my parents to be pure and virtuous… (Cannon 1912, 120)
As a child he attended a private school maintained by his father, which later became the Latter-day Saints’ college. He served as president of his Deacon's Quorum when he was 12 and worked on the family farm milking the cows until he was 13 when he graduated to family butcher, preparing all the cuts of meat for the family. He loved to read and had the habit of writing his name and the name of the person who gave him the book in the front of all his books.
While still in his youth, he accompanied his father as a private secretary on a trip to England. He then decided to pursue a four-year degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering and Metallurgy in 1899. That year, he was sent to examine an irrigation project in Alberta, Canada.
Following his graduation, he was called to serve a three-year mission to the Netherlands and Belgium. He served the first year of his mission in Liège, Belgium, teaching the gospel in French and German. In 1900, he was called to Rotterdam to preside over the mission and subsequently learned Dutch as well.
He told the following story about his transfer to the Netherlands:
One of the memorable incidents of my mission occurred … in 1901. … At a large meeting in Amsterdam there were many strangers present. The opening exercises seemed to be lacking in warmth. I had been presiding in the mission only a few months. Previously, for the first 10 months of my mission I had been in Eastern Belgium among the French-speaking people. I had only started to learn the Dutch language when I was appointed President. At that meeting I had expected that President [Francis M.] Lyman would occupy the time. I explained that I had not had much experience in that tongue. But he requested that I speak first, and promised that I should not lack for words. I stood up, expecting to have to express myself in halting language. But to my surprise the language came to me so fluently that I had not the least difficulty to find words. I was carried along for one-half hour by a power that led me to testify of the Gospel truths. When I was through I could scarcely tell what I had said. But President Lyman thrilled me when he said, "That was a powerful demonstration of the influence of the Holy Spirit." (Cannon, How Teachers Influence Our Lives 1935, 243)
In 1902, Elder Cannon accompanied Apostle Francis M. Lyman on his visit of the Turkish Mission. He served as his secretary on that trip and wrote a series of articles describing their travels for the Millennial Star. The following is his summary of their travels:
Our eighty-five day's journey together has been most agreeable. 8,000 miles have been covered by sea and by land. The opportunity has been afforded us of seeing the heads of two of the most widely extended religious organizations of the world—the sultan of Turkey and the pope of Rome—as, also, the Roman patriarch of Jerusalem. Our itinerary has included travels in the lands of the great powers of antiquity—Egypt, the Babylonian Empire and Assyria, the Byzantine Empire, the Turkish Empire, Greece and Rome—and almost in the order of their civilization and supremacy. … I consider it a great privilege to have had the opportunity of accompanying President Lyman upon this important trip, which under any circumstances is of great profit and under these circumstances especially so. (Cannon, President Lyman's Tour 1902, 304)
Sylvester later said that "The man who, next to my father, had the greatest influence for spiritual progress and stability in my life, was President Francis M. Lyman… His confidence in me stimulated me to greater faith and activity." (Cannon, How Teachers Influence Our Lives 1935, 243)
Sylvester's father, George Q. Cannon, passed away while he was still on his mission.
Upon his return, he was asked to address the Church in general conference as the recently released President of the Netherlands Mission. He had this to say to the congregation:
…I rejoice to be privileged to meet with the Saints in general conference. It is the first time in eight years that I have been able to meet with the Saints in this capacity. For over three years past I have been in the mission field, and previous to that I was absent studying. Therefore, I appreciate probably greater than I otherwise would what a grand opportunity it is to meet with the Saints, to partake of the spirit of conference, and to receive the instructions which are given. (Cannon 1903, 17)
After his return from Europe, he took up his engineering profession. At the organization of the Pioneer Stake in May 1904, Sylvester was called to serve as first counselor in the stake presidency. The following month he married Winnifred Saville. The two were blessed with seven children.
Then, in May of 1907, he was called to serve again as President of the Netherlands-Belgium Mission. He took his family with him this time. His first task was to supervise the publication of the first edition of the Doctrine and Covenants in Dutch. He also supervised the publication of new editions of the Book of Mormon and French and Dutch song books in addition to the extensive missionary work that took place in the mission. The Cannons third child was born in Holland.
The family returned in 1909 and Sylvester resumed his work in engineering. In 1912, he was appointed water supply engineer of Salt Lake City. The following year he was appointed city engineer, a position he occupied for 13 years, longer than anyone else up until that time. Because of his extensive engineering knowledge, Sylvester served on multiple supervisory boards of various drainage and irrigation organizations. He worked hard to improve the conditions of the water supply, paving, sewage and special lighting of Salt Lake City during his stint as city engineer.
In January of 1917, he was called to serve as President of the Pioneer Stake following the death of the previous stake president.
He also served on several boards in various different companies. He was President of the Cannon Investment Company, a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, a member of the American Society for Municipal Improvements, a member of the National Conference of City Planning, a member of the Board of Control of the Deseret Gymnasium, and president of the Board of Trustees of the Latter-day Saints University.
On 4 June 1925, President Sylvester Q. Cannon was chosen Presiding Bishop of the Church to replace Bishop Charles W. Nibley, who had been called to serve in the First Presidency.
He was very humbled by his calling and told the Saints the following:
In the important responsibility that has come to me I am sensible of the consideration of my brethren. I cannot express to you the appreciation I feel of their confidence and the confidence which I feel the Lord has in me. My only desire is that I may be worthy of that confidence and the confidence of all of you, my brethren and sisters, and of all the members of this Church. In accepting the place that has been assigned to me I realize the high standard which has been set by Bishop Nibley and his counsellors. I am glad to have the privilege of working with his associates, Bishops David A. Smith and John Wells, and all of the members of the department to which I have been assigned. I realize the great work that is there to do. I appreciate what has been done, the care and attention and the accuracy of the work, temporal largely as it is, that is assigned to that important department of the Church.
I desire with all my heart to do my part, to give the very best that is in me to advance this work, and if it were possible to even increase the care and the efficiency in looking after every interest that shall be intrusted [sic] to us in that department, to magnify the callings that come to us, and in every way to promote sympathy, kindliness, love and good will among all the members and officers of the Church. That is my only desire. I have never sought any office in this Church. I have always desired, since the years of my maturity, to endeavor to help in the building up of the work of the Lord. Since I have been able to appreciate the responsibilities of life and of the Church I have endeavored to labor and to live constantly with this expression in view contained in this revelation given by the Lord, through the Prophet Joseph, to his father—to labor "with an eye single to the glory of God." (Cannon 1925, 132)
As presiding bishop, Bishop Cannon was responsible for priesthood reports of all wards, stakes, and missions, membership transfers, receiving of tithes and supervision of Church building construction, among other things. The General Relief Society leadership also served under the leadership of the Presiding Bishopric.
Bishop Cannon expressed this regarding his duties as Presiding Bishop:
I desire briefly to report to you my stewardship in the position that I fill, as a servant of this people and as one of the servants of the Lord. The labors and duties of the Presiding Bishopric are varied and extensive. I desire to state to you that we are doing our best to fulfil the duties and responsibilities thereof, to exercise judgment, accuracy and economy in all the matters entrusted to our care; and to see that honesty and integrity are maintained in every department of the work. While the duties and labors are many and diverse, we are endeavoring to so organize and systematize the affairs that you may be assured that every phase of the work with which we have to do is being carried forward promptly and thoroughly, and the most effective results possible obtained in every division thereof. I rejoice in this duty. I may say to you that I have never worked so hard in my life as during the time that I have been in this place; and I have never enjoyed work so greatly as I have in this department. I realize that the Lord has blessed me more than I have been justified in receiving. I desire to carry on under the direction of my brethren of the First Presidency, and to do my best to advance the purposes of the Lord. (Cannon 1934, 71)
Despite his busy church schedule, he still found time to serve on various engineering-related committees. He served as chairman of the Governor’s State Flood Committee, chairman of the State Advisory Council for Unemployment, director in Zion’s Securities Corporation, ZCMI, Hotel Utah, Amalgamated Sugar Company and United States Fuel Company.
On 6 April 1938, it was voted in general conference that Sylvester Q. Cannon be “elevated” to the apostleship. He was ordained the 14th of that month. However, since there were no vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, he was not sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve at that time. He was called an “associate to the Twelve” until he was sustained as a member of that Quorum on 6 October 1939.
At the time of his calling to the apostleship, he said this:
I sense the sacredness of the important calling that has come to me in the past six months. You may realize that this call was as unexpected to me as it was to you. It was farthest from my thoughts. A large part of my life has been spent, so far as church work has been concerned, in the practical and temporal affairs of the Church; and it means quite a change to devote myself primarily to spiritual and Gospel advancement, and, more directly, to the preaching of the Gospel. (Cannon 1938, 94)
Perhaps appropriately for a former Presiding Bishop and his background as an engineer, one of his first duties as Apostle was to travel to Europe to assess the needs for new meeting houses there.
As you realize, I have just returned, with Sister Cannon, after a trip of some nine weeks abroad in visiting the ten missions in Europe. I was called, under instructions of the First Presidency, to examine into the condition of the buildings in the various missions, and building problems, and so I spent the time largely in doing that work. There are some difficult but important building problems that need prompt solution. (Cannon 1938, 95)
Elder Sylvester Q. Cannon died on 29 May 1943, 12 days short of his 66th birthday, from softening of the brain. A year or two before this, Elder Cannon had been diagnosed with high blood pressure, which undoubtedly contributed to his early death.
In April 1942, his last conference address, he said the following:
As some of you may know I have been "under the weather" and have suffered trouble with high blood pressure. My doctor advised me some time ago to observe certain rules to enable me to enjoy greater health and strength. The Presidency were very kind and considerate. They allowed me to leave and go to California. I have been there for about six weeks recently, and I have greatly improved in my condition. I feel greatly improved now. I think I ought to take up my part of the work that devolves upon me and measure up to my responsibility. (Cannon 1942, 44)
Quotes
Elder Cannon’s conference addresses were typically focused on his own calling of the time. He spoke twice as President of the Netherlands Mission, twice as Stake President of the Pioneer Stake, many years as Presiding Bishop and the last five years as Apostle. Consequently, his talks tend to strongly reflect the temporal well-being of the people. His service as Presiding Bishop was during the great depression and he spoke many times about financial conditions. He urged the people to pay their tithing and they would be blessed with the work they needed. He strongly believed in the value of work and reliance on the blessings of heaven, believing that the blessings would come with the work.
His style of speaking tended to focus on one or two main ideas and he repeated these main ideas until he had expounded on them thoroughly. He used few quotes and scriptures, preferring instead to simply explain a principle, although he would occasionally use experiences from his own life to illustrate his point. His talks were easy to understand and apply in one’s own life. However, his style began to change his last year or two of life. Suddenly, he used extensive quotes from the scriptures and his topics didn’t seem as unified and well-thought-out as they once had.
Elder Cannon had a strong testimony which he loved to bear.
My father has expressed himself on one or two occasions publicly, I believe, that he would rather that his children should die than that they should depart from the church; and I desire to bear my testimony to this effect, that I would rather die than lose the testimony of the gospel; I would rather die than become so affected in any way that I would lose the spirit of this work, because I know that it is true. I know this work is true, and that it means the salvation of every human being who will remain true and faithful, who will covenant that he will, in humility and faith, endeavor to live up to the commandments of the Lord and the revelations that He has given, and comply with the instructions and counsels of those who have been placed to lead the people. (Cannon 1910, 97)
My testimony has increased from day to day and from year to year. I have seen many evidences of the blessings of the Lord upon me and upon the people of this Church. I have had many answers to prayer. I have seen manifestations of the power of the Priesthood. I know that this work is divine. I testify to you that the Gospel has been restored through the revelation of our Eternal Father and his beloved Son Jesus Christ to Joseph Smith, followed by other divine revelations, and the restoration of the Holy Priesthood to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. I know that this divine authority to direct all the work of the Church, to perform all the ordinances of the Gospel, and to lead the Church in righteousness, has been given to men upon the earth, and that the men who have been called to preside over this Church from the beginning have been and are the Lord's anointed. (Cannon 1938, 94-95)
His final address gave him again the opportunity to share his testimony and express the hope of more years to come despite his high blood pressure.
I know the gospel is true. I have a testimony of the divinity of this cause. I am as sure of the divinity of this work as I am that I live. I desire so to live every day that I will be worthy to enjoy the blessings of the Lord. I realize the fact that I have received many blessings. The First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve have been very kind. Many things have happened in which I have received many blessings, and advantages. I can assure you that in every way I rejoice in these things, and I am very happy to be in a position to go forward and do the work that I expect to do. Of course, I will have to exercise care for the time-being till I regain my strength, so as to be able to carry forward the work devolving upon me. (Cannon 1942, 44)
Elder Cannon spent several years in the Netherlands Mission as missionary and mission president. He gave extensive and detailed reports of the state of the mission while he was serving. The following is a review of his life from his mission to the time he spoke.
I have spent five years of my life in the preaching of the Gospel abroad, and I may say to you that they were among the happiest years of my life. I was sent on my first mission some thirty-nine years ago, and about one and one-half years after my arrival there, when I was presiding over the Netherlands-Belgium Mission, I had the pleasure and privilege of meeting with President Francis M. Lyman of the European Mission, and many of the missionaries of the mission over which I was then called to preside. At that time President Lyman invited us to pledge ourselves anew to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, not only while we were on our mission, but throughout our lives, that we would undertake to be true to the Gospel, and active in its service throughout our lives. That was a very remarkable pledge, in many ways, and I took it seriously. I made the pledge and I have endeavored to live in accordance with that covenant and to give of my best efforts from that time to the present. In the thirty-nine years that have passed from that time to this I have had responsibilities placed upon me in the stake presidency for twenty-one years and in the Presiding Bishopric for thirteen years. During that entire time I have been happy in giving my best efforts to advance the interests of this Church, and to seek to promote the welfare of all the people of the Church. (Cannon 1938, 94)
Elder Cannon felt that the principle of integrity was of utmost importance in the world.
Some years ago one of the great national engineering societies, composed of many thousands of members, sent out a questionnaire to these various men throughout the country, asking them to indicate the requisites to success in engineering work. The result of that questionnaire was in some respects rather surprising. Instead of specifying the first requisite as technical skill and knowledge, the statement generally made was that the first requisite is character and integrity, and that other things should follow. I am sure that that characteristic is recognized as being most important for the welfare and lasting success of men everywhere. (Cannon 1927, 15)
He loved speaking about tithing. Here are some of the statements he made regarding this principle.
I am convinced of the fact that the principle of tithing is a principle of blessing, spiritually first, financially second, and that it offers opportunity to relieve ourselves of obligations that may press upon us, and will increase our progress and growth in the gospel and in life. I know that it develops in every one that obeys it the qualities of integrity and determination to be worthy of the trust that is placed in us, so that our word shall be as good as our bond. I know that the observance of this principle will bring us up to that standard. (Cannon 1927, 18)
I would like to suggest to these brethren who preside over the various stakes, wards and missions throughout the Church, that they endeavor to teach, as far as possible, all the members of the Church directly, and particularly the young people, to pay their tithes. In our own families, as soon as our children reach the age of eight years and are baptized, we should encourage them to observe this principle, even though the amount which they pay annually may be very small; and even though we may have to start them by paying for them. As children get far enough along so that they can earn a little means they should be taught obedience to the law of tithing, the purpose of it and the way in which the funds derived therefrom are employed. If this is done, children of the Latter-day Saints will grow up with faith, I am sure, in this principle. It will become a source of strength to them. It will develop in them stability and power for the observance of every other principle of the gospel. (Cannon 1929, 44)
Elder Cannon believed very strongly that temporal matters were directly related to spiritual ones.
The Latter-day Saints recognize that material progress and temporal affairs are bound up with the spiritual; and we cannot dissociate one from the other; for they both, temporal and spiritual, affect our welfare. We can not live by the material things alone, neither can we live entirely by the spiritual things, in a sense all things are spiritual, because all things which contribute to the welfare and progress of mankind in this life, make for their eternal progress, and are in conformity with the will of the Lord. The Lord has promised the Latter-day Saints that they should enjoy prosperity—material as well as spiritual. If we live in such a way as to merit the blessings of God, he will prosper and bless us. However, the possession or absence of wealth by men does not, of itself, evidence the attitude of the Lord toward them. (Cannon 1928, 47-48)
The following is an example of some of the temporal advice he gave to the people. Only the headings were retained.
Here are some of the things which I desire to call briefly to your attention because I think they are important. They are counsels that have been given us that would save us from trouble, distress and tribulation: Live within your Income … Cultivate Thrift … Get out of Debt … Avoid Speculation … Pay as You Go … Patronise Home Industry … Watch your Markets—Avoid Over-production … Overcome Selfishness—Avoid Greed… (Cannon 1931, 107-108)
He also felt that temporal blessings were a reflection of the spiritual state of the people.
Recently I stood upon one of the foothills overlooking the Utah Valley, and the thought came to me this morning, while I was listening to Brother Smoot, of something that occurred to me there. I looked over that valley, and I can assure you, it was one of the most magnificent sights I ever beheld, to see the many manifestations of the prosperity that is attending the people generally in that section of country. While I saw the people cultivating the land and gathering the fruits thereof, I saw also that there is ample room for very many more to settle in that part of the country, as there is also room to settle in this county, and to settle in many other places in this state. There are many opportunities for us, as Latter-day Saints, of which we can take advantage to introduce industries in the midst of the people. These things, I believe, are being realized to a great extent by the Saints, and they are in line with the spirit that was manifest through President Brigham Young when he brought the people to this country, to organize the elements, to improve conditions; and while they are improving their temporal condition, to improve their spiritual condition also. (Cannon 1910, 95)
The Great Depression, however, was a large topic and had to be addressed by the Presiding Bishop.
I need not discuss with you in detail the present economic conditions. We realize what they are. Our staple industries in this state and in other parts of the country are depressed tremendously because of the low prices of those products. Wheat, wool, sugar, and the metals, which affect us directly, are low in price. They are affected by over-production, decrease of demand, and lack of proper distribution. The result is depression and resulting unemployment. It has been suggested, and it seems to me a very desirable thing, that there should be provision made by the government for the registration of all those who are not employed, and special efforts made to try to provide employment for them. There are positions and jobs open, in some instances, that might be filled by those who are most worthy, if their names and the kind of work that they are able to do were available. (Cannon 1930, 102-103)
Despite his sympathy with the economic situation of so many people, however, he felt that the depression was generally a good development to help the people humble themselves.
The economic depression that we have suffered in the last year and a half has had a serious effect, not only upon the financial condition of the people of the world, but upon their spiritual attitude. Evidences are many that, as a result of this adversity, people are becoming more humble, are cultivating clearer thinking, and greater sanity. If the effect of these unfavorable economic conditions shall be to cause mankind generally to resist arrogance and to promote human welfare, then it will have proven a benefit in disguise to that extent at least. (Cannon 1931, 16)
Around the beginning of World War II, Elder Cannon and his wife took a trip to Europe. He reported on the conditions there.
The conditions, of course, as you realize, in Europe are variable. In some of the nations there is perfect peace. The people are going about their business contentedly. Generally speaking, the agricultural, industrial and economic conditions are rather favorable. While, of course, there is considerable unemployment in most of the nations, still they are providing ways and means for those who are unemployed. Relief is generally handled entirely through Government sources.
Holland and Denmark are exporting extensively food and dairy products. Czechoslovakia has a variety of manufactures. The Czechs are called the "Yankees of Europe." Belgium has probably the greatest variety and extent of manufactures of any country in Europe.
Switzerland has made remarkable hydro-electrical developments.
In Sweden, particularly, I may say that conditions look very satisfactory and prosperous, from an economic standpoint. The country of Sweden is being largely developed hydro-electrically from the extensive facilities available there. All of the railroads are operated electrically. They have a great resource in the fine quality of iron that is to be found in that country. Stainless steel is being manufactured in large quantities. They have developed, with very great success, both producer and consumer cooperatives, which are beneficial to the people generally. Their managed currency system has helped to stabilize prices.
In Germany the people are actively engaged, under the direction of the German government, in various activities. Of course, a great deal of work is done in the service camps. All are occupied and busy. (Cannon 1938, 97)
Elder Joseph Fielding Smith had been Elder Cannon’s classmate in his school days. He gave a glowing report of his character at the occasion of his death.
I became acquainted with Elder Sylvester Q. Cannon in the days of our youth when we were students together, first in the Salt Lake Stake Academy, and then in the Latter-day Saints College which was the continuation of the former school. He was always sober-minded, thoughtful, and studious, giving attention to every detail of the lessons before him, a most excellent student. In all of his training the outstanding thing was his integrity and loyalty to the Church. Even in those early days his faith in the Gospel was manifest, and his willingness to give service for the Church and for his fellows was his keen delight.
… He was loved by all of his associates because of his faithfulness and his kindly spirit. He was calm and deliberate in his judgment, accurate in his deductions, and humble in every duty assigned to him. His passing … is keenly felt by all of his associates and friends, but they have cause to rejoice in the purity of his life and his worthy example. (Smith 1943, 379)
Conclusion
What kind of man was Elder Sylvester Q. Cannon? He was a man who naturally was interested in temporal concerns. He studied mining engineering, which he put to good use in his career and civic interests. He loved the gospel and had a strong testimony. He served as mission president twice and had traveled with his father and Elder Francis M. Lyman as their personal secretary, another example of concern with temporal affairs.
However, this concern with practical matters made him an ideal candidate for Presiding Bishop. He served for 13 years as Presiding Bishop in watching over the temporal well-being of the entire Church and helping the people make it through the Great Depression with their faith intact. He was prepared to wear out his life in the service of God, but his life was unfortunately cut short before he was able to serve much as Apostle. This willingness to serve where called and concern for the welfare of the people as a whole made Elder Cannon the remarkable person that he was.
Cannon, Sylvester Q. 1903. Seventy-Third Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: The Deseret News. 17-19.
—. 1910. Eighty-first Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: The Deseret News. 94-97.
—. 1912. Eighty-second Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: The Deseret News. 114-120.
—. 1925. Ninety-sixth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 131-134.
—. 1927. Ninety-Eighth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 15-19.
—. 1928. Ninety-Ninth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 47-52.
—. 1929. One Hundredth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 42-47.
—. 1930. One-Hundred and First Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 99-106.
—. 1931. One-Hundred and First Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 14-19.
—. 1931. One-Hundred and Second Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 104-111.
—. 1934. One Hundred Fourth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 71-78.
—. 1938. One Hundred Ninth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 94-100.
—. 1942. One Hundred Twelfth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 44.
—. 1943. "Boyhood Experiences." The Instructor, May: 241.
—. 1935. "How Teachers Influence Our Lives." The Instructor, June: 242-244.
—. 1902. "President Lyman's Tour." The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, May 8: 299-304.
Lund, Julia A. F. 1938. "Sylvester Quayle Cannon." The Relief Society Magazine, May: 299-300.
McKay, David O. 1943. "Sylvester Q. Cannon." The Improvement Era, August: 465, 509-510.
Smith, Joseph Fielding. 1943. "Elder Sylvester Q. Cannon." The Relief Society Magazine, June-July: 379.
The Deseret News. 1909. "Sylvester Q. Cannon Home From Holland." July 1: 2.
The Improvement Era. 1925. "Bishop Sylvester Q. Cannon." July: 886-888.
The Instructor. 1938. "Sylvester Q. Cannon--Apostle." May: 225.
Widtsoe, John A. 1939. "Sylvester Q. Cannon." The Improvement Era, November: 672.
Biography
Sylvester Quayle Cannon was born 10 June 1877 in Salt Lake City, Utah, to President George Q. Cannon of the First Presidency and Elizabeth Hoagland. He was the younger brother of Apostle Abraham H. Cannon. His mother died when Sylvester was only four years old. His father filled the roles of father and mother to his young son.
He attributed his testimony to his upbringing. He said:
I rejoice in the testimony I have, because I know this work is true. I was born of parents who were members of this Church, and I have been taught from my youth up to seek the Lord in prayer. I have received testimonies in praying to the Lord, evidences of the divinity of this work. I have received answer to prayer in accordance with the faith that I have exercised. I have been taught by my parents to be pure and virtuous… (Cannon 1912, 120)
As a child he attended a private school maintained by his father, which later became the Latter-day Saints’ college. He served as president of his Deacon's Quorum when he was 12 and worked on the family farm milking the cows until he was 13 when he graduated to family butcher, preparing all the cuts of meat for the family. He loved to read and had the habit of writing his name and the name of the person who gave him the book in the front of all his books.
While still in his youth, he accompanied his father as a private secretary on a trip to England. He then decided to pursue a four-year degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering and Metallurgy in 1899. That year, he was sent to examine an irrigation project in Alberta, Canada.
Following his graduation, he was called to serve a three-year mission to the Netherlands and Belgium. He served the first year of his mission in Liège, Belgium, teaching the gospel in French and German. In 1900, he was called to Rotterdam to preside over the mission and subsequently learned Dutch as well.
He told the following story about his transfer to the Netherlands:
One of the memorable incidents of my mission occurred … in 1901. … At a large meeting in Amsterdam there were many strangers present. The opening exercises seemed to be lacking in warmth. I had been presiding in the mission only a few months. Previously, for the first 10 months of my mission I had been in Eastern Belgium among the French-speaking people. I had only started to learn the Dutch language when I was appointed President. At that meeting I had expected that President [Francis M.] Lyman would occupy the time. I explained that I had not had much experience in that tongue. But he requested that I speak first, and promised that I should not lack for words. I stood up, expecting to have to express myself in halting language. But to my surprise the language came to me so fluently that I had not the least difficulty to find words. I was carried along for one-half hour by a power that led me to testify of the Gospel truths. When I was through I could scarcely tell what I had said. But President Lyman thrilled me when he said, "That was a powerful demonstration of the influence of the Holy Spirit." (Cannon, How Teachers Influence Our Lives 1935, 243)
In 1902, Elder Cannon accompanied Apostle Francis M. Lyman on his visit of the Turkish Mission. He served as his secretary on that trip and wrote a series of articles describing their travels for the Millennial Star. The following is his summary of their travels:
Our eighty-five day's journey together has been most agreeable. 8,000 miles have been covered by sea and by land. The opportunity has been afforded us of seeing the heads of two of the most widely extended religious organizations of the world—the sultan of Turkey and the pope of Rome—as, also, the Roman patriarch of Jerusalem. Our itinerary has included travels in the lands of the great powers of antiquity—Egypt, the Babylonian Empire and Assyria, the Byzantine Empire, the Turkish Empire, Greece and Rome—and almost in the order of their civilization and supremacy. … I consider it a great privilege to have had the opportunity of accompanying President Lyman upon this important trip, which under any circumstances is of great profit and under these circumstances especially so. (Cannon, President Lyman's Tour 1902, 304)
Sylvester later said that "The man who, next to my father, had the greatest influence for spiritual progress and stability in my life, was President Francis M. Lyman… His confidence in me stimulated me to greater faith and activity." (Cannon, How Teachers Influence Our Lives 1935, 243)
Sylvester's father, George Q. Cannon, passed away while he was still on his mission.
Upon his return, he was asked to address the Church in general conference as the recently released President of the Netherlands Mission. He had this to say to the congregation:
…I rejoice to be privileged to meet with the Saints in general conference. It is the first time in eight years that I have been able to meet with the Saints in this capacity. For over three years past I have been in the mission field, and previous to that I was absent studying. Therefore, I appreciate probably greater than I otherwise would what a grand opportunity it is to meet with the Saints, to partake of the spirit of conference, and to receive the instructions which are given. (Cannon 1903, 17)
After his return from Europe, he took up his engineering profession. At the organization of the Pioneer Stake in May 1904, Sylvester was called to serve as first counselor in the stake presidency. The following month he married Winnifred Saville. The two were blessed with seven children.
Then, in May of 1907, he was called to serve again as President of the Netherlands-Belgium Mission. He took his family with him this time. His first task was to supervise the publication of the first edition of the Doctrine and Covenants in Dutch. He also supervised the publication of new editions of the Book of Mormon and French and Dutch song books in addition to the extensive missionary work that took place in the mission. The Cannons third child was born in Holland.
The family returned in 1909 and Sylvester resumed his work in engineering. In 1912, he was appointed water supply engineer of Salt Lake City. The following year he was appointed city engineer, a position he occupied for 13 years, longer than anyone else up until that time. Because of his extensive engineering knowledge, Sylvester served on multiple supervisory boards of various drainage and irrigation organizations. He worked hard to improve the conditions of the water supply, paving, sewage and special lighting of Salt Lake City during his stint as city engineer.
In January of 1917, he was called to serve as President of the Pioneer Stake following the death of the previous stake president.
He also served on several boards in various different companies. He was President of the Cannon Investment Company, a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, a member of the American Society for Municipal Improvements, a member of the National Conference of City Planning, a member of the Board of Control of the Deseret Gymnasium, and president of the Board of Trustees of the Latter-day Saints University.
On 4 June 1925, President Sylvester Q. Cannon was chosen Presiding Bishop of the Church to replace Bishop Charles W. Nibley, who had been called to serve in the First Presidency.
He was very humbled by his calling and told the Saints the following:
In the important responsibility that has come to me I am sensible of the consideration of my brethren. I cannot express to you the appreciation I feel of their confidence and the confidence which I feel the Lord has in me. My only desire is that I may be worthy of that confidence and the confidence of all of you, my brethren and sisters, and of all the members of this Church. In accepting the place that has been assigned to me I realize the high standard which has been set by Bishop Nibley and his counsellors. I am glad to have the privilege of working with his associates, Bishops David A. Smith and John Wells, and all of the members of the department to which I have been assigned. I realize the great work that is there to do. I appreciate what has been done, the care and attention and the accuracy of the work, temporal largely as it is, that is assigned to that important department of the Church.
I desire with all my heart to do my part, to give the very best that is in me to advance this work, and if it were possible to even increase the care and the efficiency in looking after every interest that shall be intrusted [sic] to us in that department, to magnify the callings that come to us, and in every way to promote sympathy, kindliness, love and good will among all the members and officers of the Church. That is my only desire. I have never sought any office in this Church. I have always desired, since the years of my maturity, to endeavor to help in the building up of the work of the Lord. Since I have been able to appreciate the responsibilities of life and of the Church I have endeavored to labor and to live constantly with this expression in view contained in this revelation given by the Lord, through the Prophet Joseph, to his father—to labor "with an eye single to the glory of God." (Cannon 1925, 132)
As presiding bishop, Bishop Cannon was responsible for priesthood reports of all wards, stakes, and missions, membership transfers, receiving of tithes and supervision of Church building construction, among other things. The General Relief Society leadership also served under the leadership of the Presiding Bishopric.
Bishop Cannon expressed this regarding his duties as Presiding Bishop:
I desire briefly to report to you my stewardship in the position that I fill, as a servant of this people and as one of the servants of the Lord. The labors and duties of the Presiding Bishopric are varied and extensive. I desire to state to you that we are doing our best to fulfil the duties and responsibilities thereof, to exercise judgment, accuracy and economy in all the matters entrusted to our care; and to see that honesty and integrity are maintained in every department of the work. While the duties and labors are many and diverse, we are endeavoring to so organize and systematize the affairs that you may be assured that every phase of the work with which we have to do is being carried forward promptly and thoroughly, and the most effective results possible obtained in every division thereof. I rejoice in this duty. I may say to you that I have never worked so hard in my life as during the time that I have been in this place; and I have never enjoyed work so greatly as I have in this department. I realize that the Lord has blessed me more than I have been justified in receiving. I desire to carry on under the direction of my brethren of the First Presidency, and to do my best to advance the purposes of the Lord. (Cannon 1934, 71)
Despite his busy church schedule, he still found time to serve on various engineering-related committees. He served as chairman of the Governor’s State Flood Committee, chairman of the State Advisory Council for Unemployment, director in Zion’s Securities Corporation, ZCMI, Hotel Utah, Amalgamated Sugar Company and United States Fuel Company.
On 6 April 1938, it was voted in general conference that Sylvester Q. Cannon be “elevated” to the apostleship. He was ordained the 14th of that month. However, since there were no vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, he was not sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve at that time. He was called an “associate to the Twelve” until he was sustained as a member of that Quorum on 6 October 1939.
At the time of his calling to the apostleship, he said this:
I sense the sacredness of the important calling that has come to me in the past six months. You may realize that this call was as unexpected to me as it was to you. It was farthest from my thoughts. A large part of my life has been spent, so far as church work has been concerned, in the practical and temporal affairs of the Church; and it means quite a change to devote myself primarily to spiritual and Gospel advancement, and, more directly, to the preaching of the Gospel. (Cannon 1938, 94)
Perhaps appropriately for a former Presiding Bishop and his background as an engineer, one of his first duties as Apostle was to travel to Europe to assess the needs for new meeting houses there.
As you realize, I have just returned, with Sister Cannon, after a trip of some nine weeks abroad in visiting the ten missions in Europe. I was called, under instructions of the First Presidency, to examine into the condition of the buildings in the various missions, and building problems, and so I spent the time largely in doing that work. There are some difficult but important building problems that need prompt solution. (Cannon 1938, 95)
Elder Sylvester Q. Cannon died on 29 May 1943, 12 days short of his 66th birthday, from softening of the brain. A year or two before this, Elder Cannon had been diagnosed with high blood pressure, which undoubtedly contributed to his early death.
In April 1942, his last conference address, he said the following:
As some of you may know I have been "under the weather" and have suffered trouble with high blood pressure. My doctor advised me some time ago to observe certain rules to enable me to enjoy greater health and strength. The Presidency were very kind and considerate. They allowed me to leave and go to California. I have been there for about six weeks recently, and I have greatly improved in my condition. I feel greatly improved now. I think I ought to take up my part of the work that devolves upon me and measure up to my responsibility. (Cannon 1942, 44)
Quotes
Elder Cannon’s conference addresses were typically focused on his own calling of the time. He spoke twice as President of the Netherlands Mission, twice as Stake President of the Pioneer Stake, many years as Presiding Bishop and the last five years as Apostle. Consequently, his talks tend to strongly reflect the temporal well-being of the people. His service as Presiding Bishop was during the great depression and he spoke many times about financial conditions. He urged the people to pay their tithing and they would be blessed with the work they needed. He strongly believed in the value of work and reliance on the blessings of heaven, believing that the blessings would come with the work.
His style of speaking tended to focus on one or two main ideas and he repeated these main ideas until he had expounded on them thoroughly. He used few quotes and scriptures, preferring instead to simply explain a principle, although he would occasionally use experiences from his own life to illustrate his point. His talks were easy to understand and apply in one’s own life. However, his style began to change his last year or two of life. Suddenly, he used extensive quotes from the scriptures and his topics didn’t seem as unified and well-thought-out as they once had.
Elder Cannon had a strong testimony which he loved to bear.
My father has expressed himself on one or two occasions publicly, I believe, that he would rather that his children should die than that they should depart from the church; and I desire to bear my testimony to this effect, that I would rather die than lose the testimony of the gospel; I would rather die than become so affected in any way that I would lose the spirit of this work, because I know that it is true. I know this work is true, and that it means the salvation of every human being who will remain true and faithful, who will covenant that he will, in humility and faith, endeavor to live up to the commandments of the Lord and the revelations that He has given, and comply with the instructions and counsels of those who have been placed to lead the people. (Cannon 1910, 97)
My testimony has increased from day to day and from year to year. I have seen many evidences of the blessings of the Lord upon me and upon the people of this Church. I have had many answers to prayer. I have seen manifestations of the power of the Priesthood. I know that this work is divine. I testify to you that the Gospel has been restored through the revelation of our Eternal Father and his beloved Son Jesus Christ to Joseph Smith, followed by other divine revelations, and the restoration of the Holy Priesthood to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. I know that this divine authority to direct all the work of the Church, to perform all the ordinances of the Gospel, and to lead the Church in righteousness, has been given to men upon the earth, and that the men who have been called to preside over this Church from the beginning have been and are the Lord's anointed. (Cannon 1938, 94-95)
His final address gave him again the opportunity to share his testimony and express the hope of more years to come despite his high blood pressure.
I know the gospel is true. I have a testimony of the divinity of this cause. I am as sure of the divinity of this work as I am that I live. I desire so to live every day that I will be worthy to enjoy the blessings of the Lord. I realize the fact that I have received many blessings. The First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve have been very kind. Many things have happened in which I have received many blessings, and advantages. I can assure you that in every way I rejoice in these things, and I am very happy to be in a position to go forward and do the work that I expect to do. Of course, I will have to exercise care for the time-being till I regain my strength, so as to be able to carry forward the work devolving upon me. (Cannon 1942, 44)
Elder Cannon spent several years in the Netherlands Mission as missionary and mission president. He gave extensive and detailed reports of the state of the mission while he was serving. The following is a review of his life from his mission to the time he spoke.
I have spent five years of my life in the preaching of the Gospel abroad, and I may say to you that they were among the happiest years of my life. I was sent on my first mission some thirty-nine years ago, and about one and one-half years after my arrival there, when I was presiding over the Netherlands-Belgium Mission, I had the pleasure and privilege of meeting with President Francis M. Lyman of the European Mission, and many of the missionaries of the mission over which I was then called to preside. At that time President Lyman invited us to pledge ourselves anew to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, not only while we were on our mission, but throughout our lives, that we would undertake to be true to the Gospel, and active in its service throughout our lives. That was a very remarkable pledge, in many ways, and I took it seriously. I made the pledge and I have endeavored to live in accordance with that covenant and to give of my best efforts from that time to the present. In the thirty-nine years that have passed from that time to this I have had responsibilities placed upon me in the stake presidency for twenty-one years and in the Presiding Bishopric for thirteen years. During that entire time I have been happy in giving my best efforts to advance the interests of this Church, and to seek to promote the welfare of all the people of the Church. (Cannon 1938, 94)
Elder Cannon felt that the principle of integrity was of utmost importance in the world.
Some years ago one of the great national engineering societies, composed of many thousands of members, sent out a questionnaire to these various men throughout the country, asking them to indicate the requisites to success in engineering work. The result of that questionnaire was in some respects rather surprising. Instead of specifying the first requisite as technical skill and knowledge, the statement generally made was that the first requisite is character and integrity, and that other things should follow. I am sure that that characteristic is recognized as being most important for the welfare and lasting success of men everywhere. (Cannon 1927, 15)
He loved speaking about tithing. Here are some of the statements he made regarding this principle.
I am convinced of the fact that the principle of tithing is a principle of blessing, spiritually first, financially second, and that it offers opportunity to relieve ourselves of obligations that may press upon us, and will increase our progress and growth in the gospel and in life. I know that it develops in every one that obeys it the qualities of integrity and determination to be worthy of the trust that is placed in us, so that our word shall be as good as our bond. I know that the observance of this principle will bring us up to that standard. (Cannon 1927, 18)
I would like to suggest to these brethren who preside over the various stakes, wards and missions throughout the Church, that they endeavor to teach, as far as possible, all the members of the Church directly, and particularly the young people, to pay their tithes. In our own families, as soon as our children reach the age of eight years and are baptized, we should encourage them to observe this principle, even though the amount which they pay annually may be very small; and even though we may have to start them by paying for them. As children get far enough along so that they can earn a little means they should be taught obedience to the law of tithing, the purpose of it and the way in which the funds derived therefrom are employed. If this is done, children of the Latter-day Saints will grow up with faith, I am sure, in this principle. It will become a source of strength to them. It will develop in them stability and power for the observance of every other principle of the gospel. (Cannon 1929, 44)
Elder Cannon believed very strongly that temporal matters were directly related to spiritual ones.
The Latter-day Saints recognize that material progress and temporal affairs are bound up with the spiritual; and we cannot dissociate one from the other; for they both, temporal and spiritual, affect our welfare. We can not live by the material things alone, neither can we live entirely by the spiritual things, in a sense all things are spiritual, because all things which contribute to the welfare and progress of mankind in this life, make for their eternal progress, and are in conformity with the will of the Lord. The Lord has promised the Latter-day Saints that they should enjoy prosperity—material as well as spiritual. If we live in such a way as to merit the blessings of God, he will prosper and bless us. However, the possession or absence of wealth by men does not, of itself, evidence the attitude of the Lord toward them. (Cannon 1928, 47-48)
The following is an example of some of the temporal advice he gave to the people. Only the headings were retained.
Here are some of the things which I desire to call briefly to your attention because I think they are important. They are counsels that have been given us that would save us from trouble, distress and tribulation: Live within your Income … Cultivate Thrift … Get out of Debt … Avoid Speculation … Pay as You Go … Patronise Home Industry … Watch your Markets—Avoid Over-production … Overcome Selfishness—Avoid Greed… (Cannon 1931, 107-108)
He also felt that temporal blessings were a reflection of the spiritual state of the people.
Recently I stood upon one of the foothills overlooking the Utah Valley, and the thought came to me this morning, while I was listening to Brother Smoot, of something that occurred to me there. I looked over that valley, and I can assure you, it was one of the most magnificent sights I ever beheld, to see the many manifestations of the prosperity that is attending the people generally in that section of country. While I saw the people cultivating the land and gathering the fruits thereof, I saw also that there is ample room for very many more to settle in that part of the country, as there is also room to settle in this county, and to settle in many other places in this state. There are many opportunities for us, as Latter-day Saints, of which we can take advantage to introduce industries in the midst of the people. These things, I believe, are being realized to a great extent by the Saints, and they are in line with the spirit that was manifest through President Brigham Young when he brought the people to this country, to organize the elements, to improve conditions; and while they are improving their temporal condition, to improve their spiritual condition also. (Cannon 1910, 95)
The Great Depression, however, was a large topic and had to be addressed by the Presiding Bishop.
I need not discuss with you in detail the present economic conditions. We realize what they are. Our staple industries in this state and in other parts of the country are depressed tremendously because of the low prices of those products. Wheat, wool, sugar, and the metals, which affect us directly, are low in price. They are affected by over-production, decrease of demand, and lack of proper distribution. The result is depression and resulting unemployment. It has been suggested, and it seems to me a very desirable thing, that there should be provision made by the government for the registration of all those who are not employed, and special efforts made to try to provide employment for them. There are positions and jobs open, in some instances, that might be filled by those who are most worthy, if their names and the kind of work that they are able to do were available. (Cannon 1930, 102-103)
Despite his sympathy with the economic situation of so many people, however, he felt that the depression was generally a good development to help the people humble themselves.
The economic depression that we have suffered in the last year and a half has had a serious effect, not only upon the financial condition of the people of the world, but upon their spiritual attitude. Evidences are many that, as a result of this adversity, people are becoming more humble, are cultivating clearer thinking, and greater sanity. If the effect of these unfavorable economic conditions shall be to cause mankind generally to resist arrogance and to promote human welfare, then it will have proven a benefit in disguise to that extent at least. (Cannon 1931, 16)
Around the beginning of World War II, Elder Cannon and his wife took a trip to Europe. He reported on the conditions there.
The conditions, of course, as you realize, in Europe are variable. In some of the nations there is perfect peace. The people are going about their business contentedly. Generally speaking, the agricultural, industrial and economic conditions are rather favorable. While, of course, there is considerable unemployment in most of the nations, still they are providing ways and means for those who are unemployed. Relief is generally handled entirely through Government sources.
Holland and Denmark are exporting extensively food and dairy products. Czechoslovakia has a variety of manufactures. The Czechs are called the "Yankees of Europe." Belgium has probably the greatest variety and extent of manufactures of any country in Europe.
Switzerland has made remarkable hydro-electrical developments.
In Sweden, particularly, I may say that conditions look very satisfactory and prosperous, from an economic standpoint. The country of Sweden is being largely developed hydro-electrically from the extensive facilities available there. All of the railroads are operated electrically. They have a great resource in the fine quality of iron that is to be found in that country. Stainless steel is being manufactured in large quantities. They have developed, with very great success, both producer and consumer cooperatives, which are beneficial to the people generally. Their managed currency system has helped to stabilize prices.
In Germany the people are actively engaged, under the direction of the German government, in various activities. Of course, a great deal of work is done in the service camps. All are occupied and busy. (Cannon 1938, 97)
Elder Joseph Fielding Smith had been Elder Cannon’s classmate in his school days. He gave a glowing report of his character at the occasion of his death.
I became acquainted with Elder Sylvester Q. Cannon in the days of our youth when we were students together, first in the Salt Lake Stake Academy, and then in the Latter-day Saints College which was the continuation of the former school. He was always sober-minded, thoughtful, and studious, giving attention to every detail of the lessons before him, a most excellent student. In all of his training the outstanding thing was his integrity and loyalty to the Church. Even in those early days his faith in the Gospel was manifest, and his willingness to give service for the Church and for his fellows was his keen delight.
… He was loved by all of his associates because of his faithfulness and his kindly spirit. He was calm and deliberate in his judgment, accurate in his deductions, and humble in every duty assigned to him. His passing … is keenly felt by all of his associates and friends, but they have cause to rejoice in the purity of his life and his worthy example. (Smith 1943, 379)
Conclusion
What kind of man was Elder Sylvester Q. Cannon? He was a man who naturally was interested in temporal concerns. He studied mining engineering, which he put to good use in his career and civic interests. He loved the gospel and had a strong testimony. He served as mission president twice and had traveled with his father and Elder Francis M. Lyman as their personal secretary, another example of concern with temporal affairs.
However, this concern with practical matters made him an ideal candidate for Presiding Bishop. He served for 13 years as Presiding Bishop in watching over the temporal well-being of the entire Church and helping the people make it through the Great Depression with their faith intact. He was prepared to wear out his life in the service of God, but his life was unfortunately cut short before he was able to serve much as Apostle. This willingness to serve where called and concern for the welfare of the people as a whole made Elder Cannon the remarkable person that he was.
Cannon, Sylvester Q. 1903. Seventy-Third Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: The Deseret News. 17-19.
—. 1910. Eighty-first Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: The Deseret News. 94-97.
—. 1912. Eighty-second Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: The Deseret News. 114-120.
—. 1925. Ninety-sixth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 131-134.
—. 1927. Ninety-Eighth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 15-19.
—. 1928. Ninety-Ninth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 47-52.
—. 1929. One Hundredth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 42-47.
—. 1930. One-Hundred and First Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 99-106.
—. 1931. One-Hundred and First Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 14-19.
—. 1931. One-Hundred and Second Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 104-111.
—. 1934. One Hundred Fourth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 71-78.
—. 1938. One Hundred Ninth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 94-100.
—. 1942. One Hundred Twelfth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 44.
—. 1943. "Boyhood Experiences." The Instructor, May: 241.
—. 1935. "How Teachers Influence Our Lives." The Instructor, June: 242-244.
—. 1902. "President Lyman's Tour." The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, May 8: 299-304.
Lund, Julia A. F. 1938. "Sylvester Quayle Cannon." The Relief Society Magazine, May: 299-300.
McKay, David O. 1943. "Sylvester Q. Cannon." The Improvement Era, August: 465, 509-510.
Smith, Joseph Fielding. 1943. "Elder Sylvester Q. Cannon." The Relief Society Magazine, June-July: 379.
The Deseret News. 1909. "Sylvester Q. Cannon Home From Holland." July 1: 2.
The Improvement Era. 1925. "Bishop Sylvester Q. Cannon." July: 886-888.
The Instructor. 1938. "Sylvester Q. Cannon--Apostle." May: 225.
Widtsoe, John A. 1939. "Sylvester Q. Cannon." The Improvement Era, November: 672.