Under the Prophet in Utah

Description

This is a memoir of Frank J. Cannon (1859-1933). Although born into a prominent Mormon family, Cannon was a freethinker and a progressive. He recounts an insiders' view of the painful process by which the Mormon church and the state of Utah became integrated into the United States. He played an active role in this history, lobbying for statehood both in the halls of Washington D.C. and in the inner councils of the Mormon church. This work is highly critical of the Mormon hierarchy, the conformist and inward-looking aspects of Mormon society, and of polygamy. However, he also praises the social programs of the Church. This is an important source document for the history of the Mormon people and the state of Utah.