- Janath R. Cannon
Janath Russell Cannon (
1918-10-28 –2007-07-05 ) was a counselor toBarbara B. Smith in the general presidency of theRelief Society ofThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Cannon was also a prominent missionary in the church and was among the first missionaries of the LDS Church to preach toblack people inAfrica .Born in
Ogden ,Utah , Janath Russell was educated atWellesley College . In 1941, she marriedEdwin Q. Cannon in theSalt Lake Temple .From 1971 to 1974, Cannon and her husband were heads of the
Switzerland Mission of the LDS Church. Upon their return to Utah in 1974, Cannon became the first counselor toBarbara B. Smith in the general presidency of the church'sRelief Society . Cannon served in this capacity until 1978, when she was released so that she and her husband could become the first missionaries of the church to preach in "black Africa". They — along with Rendell and Rachel Mabey — preached inNigeria andGhana , baptized hundreds of converts, and established 27 branches of the LDS Church in Nigeria and Ghana. The first convert baptized in Nigeria wasAnthony Obinna .In the late 1980s, Cannon and her husband were the directors of the LDS Church's visitors' center in
Nauvoo ,Illinois . In 1989, they served as interim leaders of theGermany Hamburg Mission of the church; during this time, the regular president of the mission was working on getting Mormon missionaries admitted toEast Germany .From 1989 to 1992, Cannon was the matron of the
Frankfurt Germany Temple while her husband served as thetemple president .Cannon was a member of the
Mormon Tabernacle Choir for 18 years and during this time edited the choir's newsletter, "Keeping Tab". Cannon was the editor or author of a number of books on LDS Church-related topics.Cannon died in
Salt Lake City ,Utah .Publications
*Janath R. Cannon (ed.) (1991). "Nauvoo Panorama: Views of Nauvoo Before, During, and After Its Rise, Fall, and Restoration" (Nauvoo, Ill.: Nauvoo Restoration Inc.)
*Jill Mulvay Derr, Janath Russell Cannon, and Maureen Ursenbach Beecher (2002). "Women of Covenant: The Story of Relief Society" (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book) ISBN 1573456047References
*
Alexander B. Morrison (1990). "The Dawning of a Brighter Day: The Church in Black Africa" (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book) ISBN 087579338X
* [http://www.desnews.com/cgi-bin/cqcgi_plus/@plus.env?CQ_SESSION_KEY=VSOBZDWZNDYF&CQ_CUR_DOCUMENT=2&CQ_TEXT_MAIN=YES "Former LDS leader Janath Cannon dies] , "Deseret Morning News ",2007-07-14 , p. B8
*"2008 Deseret Morning News Church Almanac" (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Morning News, 2007)
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