For the first time ever, this special edition e-book publishes the entirety of George Q. Cannon’s journal, from 1849 to 1901. Next to Brigham Young, Cannon was arguably the best-known Latter-day Saint in the last half of the nineteenth century. His record spans five decades, a period in which he served as an editor and publisher, a businessman, an educator, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, a territorial delegate in Congress, and a counselor to church presidents Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, and Lorenzo Snow.

George Q. Cannon was a key figure in one of the great Latter-day Saint missionary stories of the nineteenth century. Beginning in 1850 he went with a few others to preach the gospel in Hawaii. Because these missionaries were poor and had to find their own way to the islands, they faced seemingly insurmountable obstacles merely to reach their destination. Once there, they grappled with new and unexpected difficulties as strangers in a strange land. Living conditions were often primitive, few natives spoke English, and ministers of other branches of Christianity offered significant opposition. This volume contains the record of Cannon’s mission in Hawaii.

George Q. Cannon was one of the original Latter-day Saint pioneers who came west after the assassination of founder Joseph Smith. After arriving in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in October 1847, he pursued the normal pioneer activities of farming, brickmaking, and building construction. In October 1849, in the middle of the California Gold Rush, Cannon was one of a small group of men chosen by church president Brigham Young to go to California and mine for gold. While preparing for the journey, Cannon began keeping a daily journal. This volume contains the record of Cannon’s sojourn in California.

One can scarcely expect to understand the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints without knowing George Q. Cannon. Although he was never president of the church, few surpassed Cannon as a leader, shaper, and defender of the church in the nineteenth century. Historian Davis Bitton’s one-volume work is true to the achievements, spirit, and life of an exceptional individual.