Elaine Anderson Cannon (April 9, 1922 – May 19, 2003) was the eighth general president of the

Young Women organization The Young Women (often referred to as Young Women's or Young Woman's) is a youth organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The purpose of the Young Women organization is to help each young woman "be worthy to ma ...

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

from 1978 to 1984. Cannon was a writer and an editor and the author of over fifty books.

Biography

Elaine Anderson was born to Aldon Joseph and Minnie Egan Anderson in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. As a teenager, she started writing a daily column aimed at teenagers for the ''

Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is the oldest continuously operating publication in the American west. Its multi-platform products feature journalism and commentary across the fields of politics, culture, family life, faith, sports, and entertainment. Th ...

''. She studied philosophy, English, history, and speech at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

. She graduated in 1943 with a degree in sociology. On March 25, 1943, she married D. James Cannon in the Salt Lake Temple. She also did

freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

work, publishing articles in national magazines including ''

Seventeen Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese m ...

'' and '' Better Homes and Gardens''. Cannon was key figure in organizing the

LDS Student Association LDS Student Association (also known as the Latter-day Saint Student Association or the LDSSA) is an organization established under the direction of the Seminaries and Institutes of Religion of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS C ...

. While she worked in establishing Lambda Delta Sigma, the church's sorority,

W. Rolfe Kerr William Rolfe Kerr (born June 29, 1935) is an emeritus general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He served previously as the fifteenth Commissioner of Church Education and as president of the Logan Utah T ...

worked to establish the church's fraternity, Sigma Gamma Chi. Cannon was also a member of the church's Priesthood Correlation Committee. In 1959, she served as a delegate to the White House Conference on Youth. During this year, she became an associate editor for "Era of Youth," a section of the '' Improvement Era'' that was targeted to adolescents. In 1971, the church magazine '' New Era'' was launched, which was patterned after the "Era of Youth" section of the ''Improvement Era''. In 1978, church president

Spencer W. Kimball Spencer Woolley Kimball (March 28, 1895 – November 5, 1985) was an American business, civic, and religious leader who was the twelfth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The grandson of early Latter-day S ...

appointed Cannon as the successor to Ruth H. Funk as the general president of the

. During her tenure, the young women of the church began holding a yearly meeting in the

Salt Lake Tabernacle The Salt Lake Tabernacle, also known as the Mormon Tabernacle, is located on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, in the U.S. state of Utah. The Tabernacle was built from 1863 to 1875 to house meetings for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Sa ...

; the meeting was intended for all adolescent girls of the church and their mothers, and it was broadcast by satellite around the world. Also during her tenure, young women classes began being held on Sundays as part of the church's consolidated worship services. Cannon was released in 1984 and was succeeded by

Ardeth G. Kapp Ardeth Greene Kapp (born March 19, 1931) was the ninth Young Women (organization), Young Women general president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1984 to 1992. Early life Ardeth Greene was born on March 19, 1931 ...

. Cannon died on May 19, 2003 in Salt Lake City.

References

Sources

* Janet Peterson and LaRene Gaunt (1993). ''Keepers of the Flame: General Presidents of the Young Women'' (Salt Lake City:

Deseret Book Deseret Book () is an American publishing company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, that also operates a chain of bookstores throughout the western United States. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation (DMC), the ...

)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cannon, Elaine A. 1922 births 2003 deaths American Latter Day Saint writers American newspaper editors Burials at Salt Lake City Cemetery Cannon family Editors of Latter Day Saint publications General Presidents of the Young Women (organization) Writers from Salt Lake City Deseret News people American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints American women journalists Women newspaper editors People from Salt Lake City Latter Day Saints from Utah