GEORGE Q. CANNON: A BIOGRAPHY; by Davis Bitton; Deseret Book; 554 pages; $34.95.Davis Bitton, a historian known for his careful, meticulous research, has completed a remarkably good biography of one of Mormonism's most legendary figures -- George Q. Cannon, whom he accurately identifies as "an American celebrity . . . known personally by all of the late 19th century American presidents."
Those in Utah who have been associated with any of the numerous Cannon descendants, as prolific "as the sands of the sea," understand the impact of this man who had six wives and 43 children.
Bitton, whose reputation as a historian is flawless, has not written "a pietistic life story that perpetuates 'warm fuzzies,' " but rather he has tried to portray Cannon's "extraordinary activity and talent and at the same time place them in the larger context of the 19th century." To make that possible, he has carefully utilized the extraordinary Cannon journal, as well as every other recorded source that would shed light on this charismatic figure.
Cannon is reminiscent of President Gordon B. Hinckley because, like Hinckley, he was a counselor to several presidents, including Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff and Lorenzo Snow. In fact, his example became the very essence of what a counselor should be.
Ordained an apostle at 33, he enjoyed a steady rise in church leadership and stayed there for the rest of his life. Because of governmental disputes about polygamy, he was twice incarcerated in the Utah Territorial Prison. But for more than 40 years, he demonstrated unusual leadership abilities as an educator, journalist, entrepreneur, politician, outspoken defender of polygamy and champion of Utah statehood.
Yet, when the Manifesto announced the end of plural marriage in 1890, Cannon was assigned by President Woodruff to deliver the major speech that explained and justified the change to church members gathered in the Tabernacle. He was articulate, eloquent, cheerful, hard-working and as diverse in his talents as any other LDS leader in history, and Bitton veritably brings him to life in this volume.
On three different occasions, Cannon acted as editor of the Deseret News -- for a brief time in 1858, again from 1867-1874, then he returned to it briefly in 1877. He suggested that Brigham Young establish the Brigham Young Academy in Provo, and he even drafted the charter. Bitton says that if Brigham Young was the father of the university, Cannon "was at least a midwife."
For a long time, Cannon promoted the Deseret Alphabet, a team project he launched with his old Liverpool friend, George D. Watt. Cannon once said, "We have got the true religion, the true Church, the true system of government, the true family organization and we should have the true system of reading and writing our language."
He also contributed a great deal to the study of LDS "faithful history" through his sermons; his biography of Joseph Smith, written in 1888; and his initiation of the multi-volume "History of the Church," finished by B.H. Roberts and often called in later years "the Documentary History of the Church."
Orson Whitney once said, "Had he remained in his native England, he probably would have been heard of in Parliament, and it is within the bounds of conservative calculation to imagine such a one the peer of Gladstone, Disraeli and other premiers of the realm."
Indeed, if he had been a U.S. senator instead of a non-voting territorial delegate, he would have carved out a major governmental contribution. As it was, he was the best-known Mormon of his day. But he was completely committed to building up what he saw as "the kingdom of God on Earth."
Bitton's book on George Q. Cannon should go next to Leonard Arrington's monumental biography, "Brigham Young: American Moses," as the definitive study of one of the most important of all Mormon leaders.