The Life of Joseph Smith, the Prophet

Facts about Joseph Smith

Joseph Smith (1805-1844) was an American religious leader and founded the unique American sect, the Mormons. or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Life of Joseph Smith, the Prophet by George Q. Cannon is distinct and has an eyewitness account Elder Cannon and the Prophet met when George was quite young and had come to Nauvoo. Illinois as a convert. And from that moment onwards, he dedicated himself to the sole purpose of restoring the truthfulness of God and bore testimony to the divine call which came to the Prophet. The author shows the vigor within the Prophet to come out with Ideas for the restoration and the complete dedication from the Prophet to his divine call in this book.
From letters, interesting firsthand accounts to and other original matter, this dramatic and honest account contains everything related to the early life of the Church as bound to the life and death of the Prophet Joseph Smith.
Jesus had said that there is no love greater than the love of a man laying down his life for his friends- (John 15:13). The book concludes with this sacrifice of the Prophet and knowledge that the true Church has been restored and will never be taken from the earth again unless Jesus Christ comes to reign himself.

Joseph Smith Jr. 

(December 23, 1805 – June 27, 1844)

• Joseph Smith was born on 23rd December 1805 in Vermont and his family moved to western New York In 1816, One of the most distinguished features of the terrain were the Indian mounds consisting of skeletons of warriors who died a long time ago. Smith discussed how some golden plates he had come upon had allowed him to decode the hieroglyphics of the tablets. lie worked on the translation after moving to Pennsylvania and according to him, it was a history of Mormonism.
• an American prophet and 4th century historian. it was about 2 Jewish people who had moved to North America and were visited by Jesus after his ascension. The Book of Mormon appeared for sale in 1830 and soon gained popularity in spreading the Mormon religion.
• Soon after Smith claimed to be a “Prophet, an Apostle of Jesus Christ and Elder of the Church” and founded a restored Christian church. However, his claim aroused aggression in the people living In New York and Pennsylvania and he called up his ever-increasing flock to an exodus in 1831. The Mormon community cultivated into a utopian communal experiment after settling in Kirtland, Ohio and the church provided sustenance from a common storehouse.
• Smith published the “Word of Wisdom” in 1833 which inspired members of the church to quit alcohol, hot drinks, tobacco and to eat meat only during winters. The Mormon temperance advocates forced a vote for total abstinence in 1836 but Smith had to rejoin his Missouri followers later on because he faced severe judgement regarding his inefficient management of Kirtland’s financial affairs. The colony did not approve of Smith and he eventually had to flee under death sentence to Nauvoo.
• Smith published a piece in the 1840s which talked about the “Hamitic curse” in a way to remove Blacks from the Mormon priesthood. He took the position that the Mormon church should allow polygamy. However, he kept his practice a secret due to Its dangerous nature and only exposed it to a privileged few. Smith considered Nauvoo as a colony independent of the U.S and he was declared the king of this new kingdom of God on earth by the leaders of his church. Smith ran for President of the United States that very same year and said that he would establish democracy and eradicate slavery.
• The Mormon polygamy practice was exposed in 1844, and an order was issued by the Illinois governor to arrest Smith but the militiamen murdered him instead, on lune 27, 1844.

George Quayle Cannon

“No matter how serious the trial, how deep the distress, how great the affliction, God will never desert us, He never has, and lie never will.”

• George Quayle Cannon was born on January 11, 1827, in Liverpool, England, United Kingdom and died on April 12, 1901, In Monterey, California, United States.
• His parents were George Cannon and Ann Quayle and he was the oldest of the 6 kids.
• His parents belonged to Peel on the Isle of Man and his brothers and sisters were Ann Cannon (Woodbury), David H. Cannon, Mary Alice Cannon (Lambert), Leonora Cannon (Gardner), and Angus M. Cannon. George Cannon’s sister Leonora Cannon wed to-be Latter-Day Saint apostle John Taylor and was baptized in 1836.
• 4 years later after the elder George Cannon received the news, the complete Cannon family was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints when Taylor arrived at Liverpool. He was only 13 years old at that time.
• The Cannon family started their journey to the United States in 1842 to sign up with the church in Nauvoo, Illinois. Cannon’s mother died when they were sailing across the Atlantic Ocean and the family reached Nauvoo safely during the Spring of 1843.1n 1844, George Sr. married Mary Edwards and the two had a daughter named Elizabeth Cannon (Piggott).
• He joined the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS Church) quite early and worked in the First Presidency under 4 consecutive presidents of the church namely John Taylor, Lorenzo Snow, Wilford Woodruff, and Brigham Young. He was the principal political strategist of the church and the press gave him the title the Mormon Richelieu- and the Mormon premier. He became a Utah territorial delegate to the U.S. Congress 5 times.
• He was into polygamy and he had 6 wives and even justified his practice. When asked about the ban regarding polygamy by the Supreme Court In the 1879 Reynolds v. United States decision, Cannon said that his only crime was that Instead of seducing and destroying women, he believed in marrying them and having children with them. He further said he wanted to be ruled out from bastardy, infanticide, and land prostitution. Cannon further justified the concept saying that if George Reynolds, a man convicted of committing bigamy was to be punished, then in the Earth full of liberty, the law is quickly summoned to punish religion but justice was nowhere to be found in the pursuit of crime.

Cannon’s Publications

• Robt. N. Baskin, contestant. v. George Q. Cannon. contestee: Brief and argument of Charles A. Eldredge, counsel of contestee. Gibson Brothers, printers. (1876)
• Cannon, George Q. Discourse: Delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City. Sunday morning. October 8, 1877. W. Budge. (1878)
• My first mission. Juvenile instructor office. 1882
• The life of Nephi: The son of Lehi. (1883)
• Life of Joseph Smith: The Prophet. (1886)
• The Latter-Day Prophet: History of Joseph Smith Written for Young People (1900)
• A history of the prophet Joseph Smith for young people. • 1969-Writings from the Western standard. Paladin Press.(1957)
• Newquist, Jerreld L. (Ed.).Gospel truth: discourses and writings of president George Q. Cannon (Vol. 1).(1974)
• Gospel truth: discourses and writings of president George Q. Cannon (Vol. 2).(1974)
• Turley, Richard E. Jr.; Cannon, Adrian; Landon, Michael (Eds.).The Journals of George Q. Cannon (Vol. 1).(1999)
• The Journal of George Q. Cannon. The Church Historian’s Press. Online Publication.(2016)

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