George Q. Cannon and the start of the Gospel in Hawaii

July 21, 2009

source: Deseret News

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The 10 Mormon missionaries who opened up the "Sandwich Islands" included George Quayle Cannon, a former editor of the Deseret News.

Cannon -- along with President Hiram Clark and Elders Henry Bigler, Hiram Blackwell, John Dixon, William Farrer, James Hawkins, James Keeler, Thomas Morris and Thomas Whittle -- arrived in Oahu on Dec. 12, 1850. Cannon was 22.

The next day, they climbed a hill that overlooked Honolulu, where they constructed a stone altar and dedicated the land.

The work was challenging. The Hawaiian governor refused to let them meet freely, and Protestant ministers preached loudly against the "Mormon sinners."

Cannon and the others were often ill and homesick. They ran out of money. The language barrier was frustrating.

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