ABRAHAM HOAGLAND CANNON

An article appearing in the "Deseret Evening News"

on Monday, July 20, 1896.

Another of the leading men of Israel has been called to the spirit world, and the community is clothed in mourning because of the death of one of its most active and prominent members. On Sunday morning, July 19, 1896, at fifteen minutes after 5 o'clock, the spirit of Elder Abraham H. Cannon, one of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, quietly passed from his mortal tabernacle. During the severe illness which preceded Elder Cannon's death all that faith and love and skill, as exercised by mortal beings, could do, was done; but these availed not to retain here the noble spirit of one who, in the brief span of his existence on earth, had entwined his life as few men do in the closest confidence and deepest affections of his people. Bowing their heads 'neath the weight of a great sorrow, a grief-stricken community acknowledge the hand of God in their bereavement, and humbly say, "Father, Thy will be done."

It is not in the power of words to express the sense of loss that comes with the announcement of Elder Cannon's death; and the feeling is more to weep in silence than to give utterance to words of lamentation. In his life, highly respected and greatly beloved for his manifestation of the noblest characteristics that mark a humble, valiant disciple of the Lord Jesus in public and private conduct, in his death tongue and pen are incapable of voicing the emotions that well up in the hearts of those who mourn him as a departed son, husband, father, brother, friend. Brother Abraham H. Cannon was not called away in the ripe years of an advanced life, but in the prime and vigor of manhood, when the full energies of a master mind were being devoted to the good of humanity. He was stricken down with harness on, with armor bright in the cause of God and man; and while the thought may come to some that if he had worked with less of zeal, of eager courage, of determined energy, his physical powers might have preserved him to a longer lease of life on earth, who shall say that in all the circumstances leading up to and surrounding his death there was not the overruling hand of that Divine Providence whose inspiration he never failed to acknowledge in thought, word and action!

In the wise providence of the Father of all, whose mercy, justice and love are infinite, the times and seasons are appointed and controlled; and with His children who observe the laws He has given, the times of their coming and their going are not subject to their own dictation. These are under the guidance of the Father's will, for the establishing of His purposes in the highest and best blessings His children are able and willing to receive. Hence it is not for man to say that his taking away from mortality is either unfortunate, unjust or unkind in One whose attributes in these respects are perfect. It is the lesson of history that the taking of the most shining examples among men has proved the sacrifice to bring the greater blessings. This is not because the career of those called to another sphere is ended, but because their labors in the new condition are in a broader, brighter, and more effective field, by reason of their earnestness and fidelity in this. From every human point of view, the departure of Brother Cannon is an irreparable loss to his family, to the councils he was associated with, to the community in which his whole life had been spent for good, and in the Church of which he was such a devoted, faithful and consistent member. All these put forth every endeavor to retain him here, and the result leaves but one conclusion: God had appointed his time and called him hence, that his Priesthood powers and energy should be devoted to the great work of human progress in another department of the eternal life. A faithful Apostle of the Divine Master has received his appointment to another field of labor, and we who miss his presence drink from the cup of sorrow, and trust and praise God in the hour of deep affliction and trial, knowing that He doeth all things well and for the blessing of those who live Him and keep His commandments.

Relating to his latest illness, Elder Cannon's affliction was sudden and severe in its development and so averse was he to complaining that not even his family were aware of the trouble until he took to his bed two weeks ago. For some little time previously he would occasionally make a remark about his head aching, but his indomitable will kept him unceasingly at work; his tendency was to belittle any personal affliction that came upon him, and it is doubtful whether he realized until he was unable to leave his room that anything really serious threatened. About a month ago he went on a business trip to California, and while bathing there a dash of cold water in the ear caused great pain. He came home quite seriously ill; and on the 2nd of July Dr. E.B. Wright was called in. From the symptoms as described an attack of typhoid fever was feared. The physician's examination, however, led to the discovery of an ear trouble, and treatment gave temporary relief from the intense pain--so intense that when the doctor touched the ear the patient swooned. It was observed by the physician that a polypoid growth had filled the ear, and was attended by septis inflammation which communicated to within the cranial cavity. An immediate removal of the growth was advised. The case had then gone on five days since the bathing incident alluded to. From the temporary relief given, Brother Cannon did not seem to regard the affliction of great importance; but with the advent of acute pain, Dr. R.B. Pratt, an ear specialist who had been quite a favorite with the family, was consulted. She called in Dr. P?ouis, also an ear specialist, and it was determined that by this time not only was an operation necessary but constitutional treatment was an imperative need. Dr. Wright was summoned again, and the polypus or tumor was removed.

By this time the septis inflammation had increased to an alarming extent, and the doctors felt very dubious over the result. By anxiety over various business affairs, by his persistently remaining at work, and by the great loss of sleep which the agonizing pain had caused, Brother Cannon's physical and mental condition had been so weakened as to offer comparatively little resistance to the progress of the disease which had seized upon him. The whole brain was involved in a severe inflammation, secondary to the chronic trouble in the ear. When the polypoid growth was removed it was discovered that there had been a perforation of the drum membrane into the middle ear; the patient's temperature was high, the pains were intense, and the case very serious.

After the operation and the treatment following, the patient responded so readily that the attending physicians had strong hopes of his speedy recovery, the symptoms becoming favorable therefore. A few days later, Brother Cannon's conditions again became worse. The inflammation had gone within the cranial cavity and could not be localized as had been hoped. In an endeavor to give relief, a consultation was held, in which Dr. J.B. Richards and Dr. Ellerbeck took part, and a second operation was decided upon in the hope of bringing relief and securing a drainage for the cause of the trouble. This operation consisted of an incision through the skull behind the ear. It did not produce all the results hoped for, but brought some relief, the patient again rallied, and hopes for his recovery were brightened. It then became a question as to whether the constitutional treatment being given the patient could correct the trouble; this it would do if the climax was reached. But the latter was not the case. The weakened condition of the patient at the outset, and the hold which the generally inflammatory condition had taken, were too much for the vital powers and all the assistance that could be given.

During all the time of his illness the most assiduous attention was given to Brother Abraham, not only by President George Q. Cannon and the patient's immediate family and rela tives, but by President Woodruff, the Apostles and others. There was an intense anxiety for his recovery. When, after attending him closely for some days, there appeared to be a change for the better and a prospect of permanent improvement, his brother John Q. Cannon went out of the city for a few days' needed rest, the unfavorable symptoms again appeared, the brother was communicated with and immediately returned, not stopping to rest even at night till he was again at the bedside of the afflicted man. The two always had been bound together by the strongest affections, and frequently the sick man whispered his brother's name, and that brother's voice was most potent to rouse him from unconsciousness which often came in the severity of illness. On Saturday morning, the period of final unconsciousness appeared. President Joseph F. Smith who, like the other members of the First Presidency and the Apostles, had felt the keenest anxiety and solicitude for their afflicted brother, took his place in the sick man's room, and clung to him ten aciously to the last, without rest or food, prolonging his life in his earnestness to have him restored to health.

In the exercise of faith, and the prayers that were offered for the divine blessing upon Brother Abraham, there was no lack of devotion and zeal. Every effort was made in this line; yet upon all there was a feeling of depression from the outset, which it was earnestly hoped would be swept away; but Providence had decreed otherwise. The most fervent supplications did not bring that assurance which so often comes to the Saints in their exercise of the gifts that the one for whose restoration they were so anxious would be raised up; the answer to prayers was that he was in the hands of God, and the inspiration was that the time for a change to another life was approaching.

Abraham Hoagland Cannon was the son of George Q. and Elizabeth Hoagland Cannon. He was born in Salt Lake City March 12, 1859, his father being absent on a mission to the eastern states at that time. As a boy he was given the best advantages that the times afforded for an education, and being of a studious nature, availed himself thereof, finishing with the Deseret University. For a time when his father, President George Q. Cannon, was editor of the News, Abraham was employed at the institution as errand boy. Later he learned the carpenter's trade at the Church carpenter shop, and worked on the Temple block. He also studied under the late Obed Taylor, and became an architect.

In 1879 he was called on a mission to Europe. The first portion of the same he labored preaching the Gospel in the Nottingham conference, England; then he was assigned to the Swiss and German mission, where he mastered the German language, and traveled as a missionary in both Switzerland and Germany, presiding over one of the conferences in the latter country. He wrote some of the hymns which the German Saints now sing in their congregations. During his absence on this mission his mother died. He returned home in June, 1882.

On the 9th of October, 1882, Elder Cannon was ordained one of the First Seven Presidents of the Seventies; and on October 6, 1889, he was sustained at the General Conference of the Church as one of the Twelve Apostles. From that time he has been the junior member of the Council of Apostles.

In his religious life and duties he has been scrupulously strict and energetic. No duty devolving upon him was shrunk from, no obligation avoided. Every call was responded to with promptness and filled with fidelity. His precision in this regard was remarkable, and was characteristic of him from his youth up. As a boy and as a man he was frank and fearless, with a love for truth and virtue that was sublime. He never sought to shift to others any burden that devolved on him; and never hesitated in undertaking a task that fell to his lot. In his public religious calling and in his private life he was a true disciple of Christ--essentially a servant of God, whose conduct endeared him to all associates by the bonds of that pure and holy love which comes of conformity to divine principles. When, in the course of events during the persecution of the Saints, a decade since it came his turn to endure imprisonment for his religion, he did so cheerfully, praising God that he was worthy to suffer in His cause; and all sufferings and privations then and of other times in his ministry he bore without murmuring, being willing to endure all for the Gospel's sake. In his record as a man of God, he will ever live in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints, by whom he was greatly beloved.

As illustrative of his zeal and fidelity to the Gospel may be cited an incident in connection with the imprisonment referred to, when he gave expression to views characteristic of his whole life in its highest integrity to his convictions of right. He had entered into the order of plural marriage, and on March 17, 1886, being at that time twenty-six years of age, he was sentenced by Judge Zane to a term of six months in the penitentiary for his observance of that law of God. When called to receive the judgment of the court he said:

"I would like to state, your honor, that I have always endeavored to keep the laws of the United States, because I have been taught by my parents that the Constitution was a sacred instrument. That I have failed in this respect, and now stand before you convicted of the crime of unlawful cohabitation, is due to the fact that I acknowledge a higher law than that of man, which is the law of God; and that law being a part of my religion, sir, I have attempted to obey it. When I embraced this religion, I promised to place all that I had, even to life itself, upon the altar, and I expect to abide by that covenant which I made; and, sir, I hope the day will never come when I must sacrifice principle, even to procure life or liberty. Honor, sir, to me, is higher than anything else upon the earth; and my religion is dearer to me than anything else that I have yet seen. I am prepared, sir, for the judgment of the court."

Previous to this time, Elder Cannon had a long and serious illness, being prostrated with typhoid fever. His life was despaired of by many, but by the mercy and power of the Lord he was raised up, although for years after the effects of the disease caused him much suffering, and it is not certain that the cause of the recent sickness did not have its inception in the earlier illness.

Brother Cannon had extraordinary qualifications for business management, and conducted with success many enterprises undertaken under adverse circumstances. It is notable in his career that all the enterprises with which he was connected were for the advancement of Utah and her people, and of those associated with them. In 1882, when twenty-three years of age, he assumed business control of the "Juvenile Instructor" and associate publications, developing what was a small printing office into one of the foremost publishing houses of the West. During his control there, which lasted until his death, a large number of publications has been issued under his direction; and while he laid no claims to great literary genius, between his other duties, onerous of themselves, he found time to write a vast number of articles for publication, and which have been read with interest by many thousands. The amount of his labor in this line cannot be computed.

In October, 1892, in connection with his brother, John Q. Cannon, he took hold of the "Deseret News," forming the publishing company which now conducts this establishment, and assuming the business management thereof, which he conducted until a short time ago, when other duties called him away. In the year 1892 he also became the editor and publisher of "The Contributor," continuing in that relation up to date.

Of his other business ventures, there are so many that there is room here for but a penning mention thereof. He was the moving spirit in the Salt Lake and Pacific and the Utah and California railways, that great enterprise which was to connect Salt Lake City with southern California and to build a line into the Deep Creek country, and which is still under way. A few months ago he was elected director, vice president and assistant manager of the Bullion-Beck mining company. He was a director and one of the organizers of the State Bank of Utah; director of the Utah Loan and Trust company, Ogden; director in Z.C.M.I.; vice-president of George Q. Cannon & Sons company; director in the Co-operative Furniture company; first vice president of the Chamber of Commerce; the owner of a prosperous book and stationery business in Ogden; he had also been an active promoter in canal and irrigation company enterprises.

In the vast amount of labor which he performed, and in which he never seemed to tire, it may be said that during the past twenty years he has accomplished much more than many truly active, energetic men have been able to do in double that period of time.

On Sunday morning, when the spirit of Brother Cannon took its flight from the mortal body, it was without any apparent pain, and there came the peace of a calm slumber. The brave and gentle soul which had inhabited the beautiful tabernacle, preserved in purity and sanctified by conformity to Gospel laws, passed from the tired casket, leaving the later to be given over to the keeping of Mother Earth until the morning of the first resurrection, then to come forth at the sound of the trump of God, to be reunited with the spirit in the eternal triumph over death wrought out by Christ Jesus, whose disciple had finished his work in this life. His weeping family and intimate friends were gathered around, realizing that the change they had been looking for and hoping against for the past few hours, and which a few weeks ago seemed among those things most unlikely to occur, had come; and in their hearts they trusted in God for that consolation which comes only from His divine presence. The sympathy of the whole community goes out to the bereaved, and all the people mourn the death of a brother and a friend.

Words cannot add to the noble character and estimable life of the deceased. The fact that he was beloved by all who associated with him, directly or indirectly, and had the complete confidence of all, tells of his glorious record made in less than two score years of existence in mortality. There are none that had words of criticism even when he was alive, and there are none that have words too good to say of him now. He has fought the good fight, he has finished the faith, and there is laid up for him a crown in the mansions of his Father.	The time of the funeral has been fixed for 2 o'clock on Sunday, July 26th, at the Tabernacle in this city. It had been the request of the deceased that his body be preserved a week after death, and this will be complied with. The time will be necessary also to allow relatives to reach here for the occasion, some of them being in the southern part of the State, and others east and west. Three brothers are on missions, two in Europe and one in the southern states; one is at college in Philadelphia, one in New York, and one in the West. The Council of the Apostles have charge of the funeral arrangements.

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IN MEMORIAM

The following was handed in to the NEWS today by a gentleman who stated that he was an entire stranger to the late Elder Abraham H. Cannon, but had been the recipient of his kindly consideration in a time of urgent need:

Abraham H. Cannon

God smiled upon thee in the night,

And all is well with thee.

Life opened wide the Gates of Light

And whispered, "Dwell with me."

Peace drew her wing across thy brow

And brushed thy cares away.

No pain can ever reach thee now,

Within the realms of day.

The Hand that led thee through the ways

And dangers of the past,

Hath crowned the promise of thy days

And brought thee home at last.

To those who mourn with brimming eyes

His loss, The Word doth tell:-

"God's love all sorrow underlies;

He doeth all things well."

God smiled upon him while he slept

He woke to Heaven revealed

'Tis thus God's promises are kept-

His covenants are sealed!

--H. Alan Clarke

Salt Lake City, July 20, 1896